Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
Incorporation of Traditional and Local knowledge and values in fisheries management
Pacific Fisheries Resource Conservation Council
The Pacific Fisheries Resource Conservation Council hired ESSA to explore the scope and potential of traditional ecological knowledge, local ecological knowledge and fishers' knowledge for expanding and strengthening Pacific salmon management.
The project had three main phases: 1) collection and review of the literature, 2) analysis of selected case studies, and 3) development of an implementation strategy. ESSA developed criteria that identified five case studies:
- Skeena Salmon Harvest Management
- Aquatic Management Board (West Coast Vancouver Island)
- Northern Co-management Boards
- Copper River Watershed Management
- Endangered Status Assessments in Canada
The resulting report describes the methodology for the project, what was learned, and recommendations for how these lessons can be used to improve Pacific salmon management. Much of the knowledge learned and the recommendations in the implementation strategy apply not only to Pacific salmon management, but also to fisheries management in general as well as the management of other natural resources.