Modeling Fisheries Co-Management on the West Coast of Vancouver Island

On the West Coast of Vancouver Island, what started as a single area pilot project for salmon co-management now applies to most of the island’s coast, and is gaining widespread attention as a best practice model that could... [ view full abstract ]

On the West Coast of Vancouver Island, what started as a single area pilot project for salmon co-management now applies to most of the island’s coast, and is gaining widespread attention as a best practice model that could apply across the province and beyond; not just for salmon, but more broadly for fisheries and natural resource management generally. Co-management salmon roundtables started in the Barkley Sound, home to 5 Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations and two non-indigenous communities. These tables now also encompass the Clayoquot Sound, Nootka Sound, Kyuquot Sound and Cheewaht watershed involving 13 Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations and 8 non-indigenous communities, along with all fishing sectors, stewardship groups and numerous stakeholders. Together with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, these roundtables demonstrate a success story in indigenous and local knowledge being incorporated with western science. Further, the roundtables provide an important example of economic, cultural and conservation voices, which aren’t mutually exclusive, coming together on harvest and stewardship issues. In this presentation, the governance aspects of the roundtables will be outlined, as will new methodologies for risk assessment and habitat status assessment that are being used to develop the ‘business case’ for funding restoration. Lessons learned from the evolution of the roundtables will be shared, with an interest in facilitating a discussion about what interested parties would need to replicate this model in their communities.