Issue # 10, April 2019
Inside The Common Voice, issue number ten: MPA network updateCCIRA hires new staff, Oceans RFA formalizes collaborative marine management process…
MPA network update
Work continues on the Canada-British Columbia Marine Protected Area Network Strategy—a government-to-government-to-government effort to create a marine protected area network within 13 bioregions in Canada, including the Central Coast of BC. This work—co-led by provincial and federal agencies along with 17 First Nations (including Central Coast Nations)—is critical to protect marine resources that are in …
CCIRA hires new staff
See all of our team members. Jean-Phillip Sargeant, Marine Response Coordinator Jean has a passion for resource management and the marine environment. After graduating from the University of Victoria with a degree in geography he spent time abroad to acquire a graduate degree in coastal and marine resource management. Jean has had the opportunity to …
Oceans RFA formalizes collaborative marine management process
In June 2018, on National Indigenous People’s Day, representatives from 14 First Nations gathered near Prince Rupert, along with officials from Canada’s Federal Government, to announce a landmark agreement for working together to protect and manage the North Pacific Coast. The Reconciliation Framework Agreement for Bioregional Oceans Management and Protection, often referred to simply as …
Groundfish chasing the light for science
Counting fish isn’t easy – especially when counting live fish that are swimming around in the depths of the ocean. But since 2015, CCIRA has been doing just that by towing a video camera equipped with lasers behind a boat. Using data from this work, CCIRA scientists have published a paper in the journal Biological …
Crab pilot project a positive step towards collaborative fisheries management
Together, the project partners conducted an extensive assessment of current crab science. This included the science our Nations have conducted within our territories that incorporates our Indigenous and local knowledge. This illustrates DFO’s willingness to accept Indigenous knowledge and Western science as complementary ways of knowing…
Incorporating Indigenous perspectives in research
Under the direction of our Science Coordinator, Alejandro Frid, CCIRA has established a record of publishing in top scientific journals. This growing body of work illustrates CCIRA’s commitment to doing rigorous research on marine resources that matter to our Nations, while also illustrating how Indigenous knowledge and Western science can complement one another. In collaboration …
Great Bear Rainforest IMAX features our Nations
In February of this year a really big film hit theatres around the world. Three years in the making, the Great Bear Rainforest IMAX showcases the wild beauty and rich wildlife of the coast. Importantly, it also features Central Coast First Nations people and our strong ties to this place as its original stewards…
Rebuilding depleted fisheries: why it matters to coastal communities
Our Nations have a deep connection with the ocean. For millennia, the ocean has provided for our people, sustaining us physically, culturally and economically. Sadly, industrial fishing practices have depleted many of fisheries we rely on. In this video, filmmaker and Oceana Canada’s Senior Advisor, Alexandra Cousteau, spends time in our communities to learn about the …
New CCIRA study identifies key habitats for rockfish conservation
What’s at stake when it comes to conservation of fish populations on the Central Coast? Frank Johnson of the Wuikinuxv Nation puts it this way: “We stand to lose a lot. If we lose all the fish, they’ll be no Wuikinuxv.” In other words, as seafaring and fishing people, the culture, livelihood and physical sustenance …
