Fish-WIKS Research Project

12/21/2017

From all of us at Fish-WIKS, we wish you a happy holiday season and prosperous new year! http://mailchi.mp/a4c08a06ffee/happy-holidays-from-fish-wiks.

From the Fish-WIKS Project to our friends and colleagues in British Columbia, Ontario, Nunavut, Nova Scotia and around the world.

10/04/2017

We have a new website! Check it out at www.dal.ca/fishwiks

10/04/2017

October is Mi'kmaq History Month! See below for events going on all month to help celebrate

The Creation of Mi’kmaq History MonthIn 1993, Premier John Savage and Mi’kmaw Grand Chief Ben Sylliboy declared October as the official month to recognize and celebrate Mi’kmaw culture and heritage. Mi’kmaq History Month is celebrating its 24th-year and invites everyone to join in the celebration of...

10/02/2017

Our latest version of Fish-WIKS features is out now: http://mailchi.mp/5658c2c054e3/fish-wiks-newsletter

Email [email protected] if you'd like to subscribe!

Fish-WIKS research looks at understanding western and indigenous knowledge systems and explores how the different processes by which knowledge is acquired, transmitted and used can be harnessed to enhance Canadian fisheries policy. Read More... ______________________________________________________...

09/20/2017

Our Newsletter "Fish-WIKS Features" will be sent out this week. If you would like to subscribe please email [email protected]

08/30/2017

Be sure to keep an eye on our website: fishwiks.ca to keep up with the project and various news items. Also a reminder that our newsletter will be out mid-September. Please email [email protected] if you'd like to be added to our mailing list.

04/27/2017

Arctic Region PhD student completes fieldwork in Nunavut

Between mid-February and the end of March Mirjam Held, the PhD student for the Arctic region, travelled to Nunavut for her fieldwork. Yes, it was cold, on average around -30°C (as it is a dry cold it is not as chilling), but most days were sunny and beautiful. While travelling in Nunavut can be challenging any time of year, Mirjam luckily only had to put up with minor hiccups. As part of her quest to explore the relationships between Inuit and Western knowledge and management systems in Nunavut fisheries governance, she interviewed people in Naujaat, Pond Inlet and Igloolik.

In Iqaluit, she had illuminating meetings with staff from Inuit Organizations as well as from the federal and the territorial governments, including the Fish-WIKS partners at the Government of Nunavut’s Fisheries and Sealing Division. In addition, she had the opportunity to attend a regular meeting of the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board (NWMB) and to catch up with Erin Keenan, the former Master student for the Arctic region, who is now working as a Wildlife Management Biologist at NWMB. In the three hamlets, Mirjam collaborated with the managers of the local Hunters and Trappers Organizations who assisted her in making contacts and finding interpreters. Each hamlet is a very unique community, but they were all very welcoming and eager to participate in Mirjam’s research. She considers it a great privilege to have been given the opportunity to talk to hunters old and young as well as female and male Elders. Their stories and insights, along with the stark beauty of the natural landscape but also the many issues facing the communities will stay with her forever. While Mirjam was busy interviewing people, Jade Owen, the Community Liaison Coordinator for Nunavut, made sure everybody involved in the research was adequately reimbursed for their time and knowledge. ᖁᔭᓐᓇᒦᒃ, thank you, to everybody who played a part in making this fieldwork adventure a great success. Mirjam is very pleased with the volume and depth of the data set collected and looks forward to further analyze it. This will take some time, as it will for all the impressions to fully sink in.

01/19/2017

Meet Fish-WIKS' newest Community Liaison Coordinators.

Dwayne Naskawa (Inland Region) - Dwayne has been the Chief Executive Officer of Nipissing First Nation, located on the shores of Lake Nipissing in northern Ontario since January 2004. He has spent his career working in First Nations in senior roles in the areas of natural resources development, treaty research, governance, and administration. Dwayne has led various tripartite negotiations including the Ontario First Nations Policing Agreement and the development of the Anishinabek/Ontario Resource Management Council.

Jade Owen (Arctic Region) - Jade joined the Fish-WIKS team in November 2016 as the community liaison coordinator for Naujaat. She graduated with a BA in political science and economics from the University of Victoria, and is currently pursuing a graduate degree from Concordia University. Originally from Chilliwack BC, she now lives in Iqaluit where she works for the Department of Environment’s fisheries and sealing division.

11/03/2016

On October 26, 2016, Oceana Canada held its first scientific forum, Rebuilding Abundance – Restoring Canada’s fisheries for long-term prosperity. Fish-WIKS was well represented by Principal Investigator, Dr. Lucia Fanning, and Steering Committee members Shelley Denny, Unama’ki Institute of Natural Resources and Audrey Mayes, Assembly of First Nations.

During the Forum in Ottawa, The Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, announced that his department has released key information on the status of Canadian fish stocks, sharing the results of an annual Sustainability Survey for Fisheries, and investing additional funds to increase science capacity.

06/02/2016

Congratulations to Fish-WIKS Masters student, Erin Keenan, who officially graduated from Dalhousie University with a Master of Marine Management degree on June 1, 2016. Erin did not attend the ceremony as she was in Naujaat with other members of the Fish-WIKS team for a planning session and to present her research findings to the community. To recognize this milestone, Principal Investigator, Dr. Lucia Fanning, presented Erin with a caribou antler carving created by a Nunavut artist.

04/19/2016

The Fish-WIKS Team is coming to Naujaat, Nunavut!

During the first week of June 2016, members of the Fish-WIKS Steering Committee will travel to the northern region research location, Naujaat (formerly Repulse Bay) to hold planning sessions and to meet with community members.

Dr. Lucia Fanning, Principal Investigator for the Fish-WIKS project says, “A core principle of the Fish-WIKS Partnership project is to conduct research that is driven by our regional and community Indigenous partners on the west coast, east coast, the inland region and the North. To that end, our main governance body for Fish-WIKS, our cross-Canada Steering Committee, has committed to holding our annual work planning meeting in each of our four partner regions to demonstrate the importance of visiting and better understanding our partners’ placed-based context. We are looking forward to holding our upcoming meeting in Naujaat , Nunavut and to having the opportunity to thank the community and the Government of Nunavut for their ongoing commitment to the goals and outcomes of the Fish-WIKS project – that of enhancing fisheries governance in Canada.”

Also in attendance will be PhD student Mirjam Held and recent Masters student graduate, Erin Keenan. Erin will make a presentation to the Naujaat community based on the research she conducted during an internship in Naujaat in 2015. Details on time and place to follow. Mirjam will update the Steering Committee on her work to date and her plans to complete her PhD studies focussing on marine mammal fisheries in Nunavut.

01/25/2016

Stories from the Land workshop held at Nipissing First Nation October 2015