Annual 2015 2016 2017 - Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries
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Annual 2015
2016
Report 2017
2018
Director’s message
Calling this an Annual Report is a misnomer. However, in common parlance, a Quadrennial Report just
does not ‘sing’ the way that Annual Report does. And so this is an Annual Report for the first four years of
the Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries.
It does make sense. It has taken at least that many years for us to get our feet fully beneath us. When
we were created on July 1, 2015, the Institute, while it evolved from the storied Fisheries Centre, had a
new, broader mandate that spanned the natural and social sciences. We now include aquatic ecology,
economics, zoology, anthropology, sociology, oceanography, marine geochemistry, microbiology, resource
management, and international maritime law in our purview, and are charged with the mission of
leading the way to healthy and sustainable marine and freshwater systems through excellent research,
inspirational education, and innovative societal engagement. Lofty, and inspiring, goals.
Looking through the Report you will note that, while we are still finding our way, we are slowly but surely
building an Institute that is more than the sum of its parts. We are still organized in research units, but note
that in so many cases, those units work with each other to produce the excellent research we have always
been famous for. The Sea Around Us works with the Fisheries Economics Research Unit and Changing
Oceans Research Unit for numerous studies, while the Marine Zooplankton and Micronekton Laboratory
works with the Pelagaic Ecosystems Lab, which in turn liaises with Marine Mammal Research Unit and the
Statistical Ecology Research Group, and so on. We pride ourselves on our interdisciplinary nature at the
macro level, and can also celebrate our interconnectiveness at the micro.
We look forward to sharing our next milestones with you.
Dr. Evgeny Pakhomov
Professor and Director, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries
The University of British Columbia
Sea Around Us
This initiative catalogues and presents fisheries and related data at
spatial scales that are relevant to ecology and policy. The Sea Around
Us website catalogues fisheries and ecosystem data according to
Exclusive Economic Zones, Large Marine Ecosystems, High Seas
areas, and other ecologically meaningful special areas.
Principal Investigator: Dr. Daniel Pauly
Highlights previously published four similar marine fisheries catches are higher
Closing the high seas to fishing compendia for islands, covering both than reported and declining” in Nature
In 2015, with contributions from the tropical and temperate islands in all Communications and the book, Global
Fisheries Economics Research Unit, ocean basins, and ranging from the Atlas of Marine Fisheries.
the Sea Around Us entered this debate, largest, such as Greenland, to the
which was already taking place in smallest such as Pitcairn Island or The Atlas presented the methods
international fora, with the paper, Nauru, however a research group had and results of the 273 catch
“Winners and losers in a world where never presented the fisheries catches of reconstructions that the Sea Around
the high seas is closed to fishing” all island territories of the world. The Sea Us team, assisted by over 300
(Scientific Reports). This paper had a Around Us was the first to do it. researchers from all continents,
major impact; demonstrating that the carried out to cover the Exclusive
high seas generate 5 to 8 percent of the This may lead to advances in ‘nesology,’ Economic Zones of all maritime
world’s marine catch, and that only a the multifaceted disciplines devoted countries, or their overseas territories
handful of subsidized fleets can fish to the study of island economies and for the years 1950 to 2010. The Nature
there. This is effectively an oligopoly culture, but which suffered from the Communications article presented a
for accessing the different species of inability to access reliable fishery catch synthesis of these 273 reconstructions.
valuable tuna found in the area. time series from countries’ overseas
territories, such as the Galápagos, and This synthesis demonstrated that
The Sea Around Us research showed also from culturally or economically global marine fisheries catches are
that more people could benefit from important islands such as Crete, 50% higher than what the Food and
such resources if the high seas were Sardinia, Sicily, or the Baleares in the Agriculture Organization of the United
closed to fishing because a giant marine Mediterranean. Nations (FAO) reports on behalf of
reserve would be created and it would member countries, and that have been
enable overfished tuna stocks to rebuild. Global catch reconstruction
Such a recovery would generate a In 2016, the Sea Around Us had two
spillover effect that would allow for major publications; the paper “Catch Sea Around Us 2016 team at a retreat
more tuna and other highly migratory reconstructions reveal that global on the Sunshine Coast, B.C.
fish presently caught in the high
seas to be caught in the EEZs of
various countries.
Thus closing the high seas
could be catch-neutral in terms
of global fish catches while
inequality in the distribution
of fisheries benefits among
the world’s maritime countries
could be reduced by 50%.
Sub-Antarctic Islands catch
reconstruction
In 2015, the Sea Around Us
published, in a Fisheries Centre
Research Reports, a compilation
of catch reconstructions for the
often-neglected sub-Antarctic
islands. Sea Around Us had
Mission: To assess the impact
of fisheries on the marine
ecosystems of the world and offer
mitigating solutions to a range of
stakeholders such as researchers,
students, NGOs, advocacy groups,
fishers, fisheries managers,
government bodies, and
intergovernmental organizations.
Vision: To be the provider of the
most accurate, updated, complete
and used global fisheries database,
as a support system for research
devoted to the sustainable man-
agement of fisheries resources
across the world.
declining at a rate of 1.2 million tonnes Daniel Pauly and Dirk Zeller receive Ocean Award in 2016
of catch per year since the mid-1990s.
The stark difference between reported
and reconstructed catches could be
explained by the fact that the data
reported by FAO are ‘landings’ and not
‘catches,’ because they explicitly omit
discarded catches and bycatch. Also,
they cover small-scale fisheries very
cursorily, often ignoring artisanal and
especially subsistence and recreational
fisheries. Additionally, they do not
attempt to include illegally caught fish,
thus masking issues associated with
Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated
(IUU) fisheries. The Sea Around
Us database, on the other hand,
covered all those sectors, as the catch
reconstruction methodology that was
developed corrects for the omissions in
Daniel Pauly receives the 2016 Albert Ier Grand Medal
the FAO database. in the Science category
The data behind these catch
reconstructions are available on
the Sea Around Us website (www.
seaaroundus.org) and are corrected
and updated regularly. Individual catch
reconstructions are also submitted to
scientific journals and over 100 of them
have already been published in the
peer-reviewed literature.
The results from both the Nature
Communications paper and the Atlas
drew a lot of attention from the media,
with over 100 stories published in
various outlets (i.e. The Washington Post,
The Guardian, The Huffington Post, BBC,
and CBC). Daniel Pauly receives Radio-Canada’s Scientist of the Year Award in 2017
Documenting the Sea Around Us’ freshwater bodies. The piece was among world, stock assessments of major
work UBC’s Top 5 Stories of 2017. species occurring and exploited therein.
The international dimension of the Sea
Around Us’ catch reconstruction work Assessing the world’s fish stocks Sea Around Us Down Under
was captured in an award-winning In 2018, with the support of Oceana, In June 2017, Dr. Dirk Zeller, who had
documentary produced by Ms. Alison and based on the Sea Around Us’ been Sea Around Us’ project manager
Barrat for the Khaled Bin Sultan Living reconstructed catch time series, Dr. M.L. since 1999, became a professor of
Oceans Foundation. The film is titled ‘Deng’ Palomares led the Sea Around Us Marine Conservation at the University of
An Ocean Mystery: The Missing Catch. team on a project aimed at performing Western Australia (UWA) and launched
This documentary premiered at the over 2,000 stock assessments , the Sea Around Us – Indian Ocean, the
Smithsonian National Museum of essentially covering the most important project’s first external ‘branch.’
Natural History and on Smithsonian exploited marine fish and invertebrate
Channel on Earth Day 2017. It is now species in the world. Sea Around Us activities at UWA have
available online and has gathered a brought attention to the Indian Ocean,
dozen awards and thousands of views. The group used the CMSY method an area often neglected in global studies
developed by long-time collaborator, but crucial when dealing with food
GOLT paper creates some buzz Dr. Rainer Froese, and colleagues. This security, as countries along the Indian
In August 2017, Dr. Daniel Pauly and method requires only catch time series Ocean Rim are home to one-third of the
Dr. William Cheung (a former Sea as input, along with easy-to-obtain world’s population.
Around Us postdoc, now professor ancillary quantitative information,
in the Institute for the Oceans and which makes it ideal for determining Dr. Zeller’s appointment helped solidify
Fisheries), published the paper “Sound trends in fish biomass in data-poor areas the Sea Around Us’ partnership with
physiological knowledge and principles and inform fisheries managers in charge UWA and its Marine Futures Lab led by
in modeling shrinking fishes under of establishing catch quotas. Prof. Jessica Meeuwig, as well as with
climate change” in Global Change the Minderoo Foundation, one of the
Biology. It explained how higher This work allowed the Sea Around unit’s new partners.
temperatures, by elevating the oxygen Us team to present, for every ‘Marine
requirements of fish, force them to Ecoregion’ and thus every EEZ of the Sea Around Us team UWA
remain smaller, as is already occurring in
various species.
This obvious inference was based on the
fact that fish gills, as a two-dimensional
surface, cannot grow as fast as their
bodies, i.e., the 3-dimensional volumes
that gills supply with oxygen. Hence,
the larger fish get, the less oxygen they
obtain per unit weight. It is thus no
surprise that they must remain smaller
when exposed to higher temperatures.
The article, which was based on Dr.
Pauly’s Gill-Oxygen-Limitation Theory
(GOLT), also attracted a lot of attention
from researchers, NGOs and media
because of the growing worries about
the implication of ocean warming and
deoxygenation, and similar processes in
Partners and Donors
Bloomberg Philanthropies Marisla Foundation Paul M. Angell Family Foundation
Changing Ocean Research Unit Mava Foundation Pew Charitable Trusts
Conservation International Minderoo Foundation Rockefeller Foundation
David and Lucile Packard Foundation Nereus Program United Nations
FishBase and SeaLifeBase Oak Foundation University of Western Australia
Fisheries Economics Research Unit Oceana Vulcan Inc.
Global Greengrants Fund Paul G. Allen Family Foundation Walk Free Foundation
Collaborative papers on fisheries whose fleets rely heavily on government available on the Sea Around Us website,
expansion and slavery at sea subsidies, fish far away from home can be viewed at country level, as well
“Far from home: distance patterns of ports, and fail to comprehensively report as for Large Marine Ecosystems and
global fishing fleets,” was published in their actual catch, tend to fish beyond other geographies, and thus enables
Science Advances, and marked the first sustainable limits and are at higher comparative assessments of the
collaborative research article between risk of labour abuses. In a vicious cycle, ecosystem impact of fishing, particularly
the Sea Around Us at UBC, the Sea such labour abuses become ‘hidden by bottom trawlers.
Around Us – Indian Ocean, the Marine subsidies’ that allow those distant-water
Futures Lab at UWA, and the Minderoo fishing fleets to remain profitable and This work is being complemented with
Foundation. continue their unscrupulous operations. the construction of a global database
on fishing effort, as expressed by the
The authors mapped the growth and Fisheries catch by gear cumulative power of the engines in the
spread of industrial fisheries using Sea An intense effort led by Tim Cashion, fishing fleets of maritime countries,
Around Us data and found that heavily- resulted in the world’s fisheries catch ranging from small coastal to large
subsidized industrial fishing fleets have disaggregated by major industrial fishing offshore vessels. This database is
doubled the distance they travel to gears. This disaggregation, published expected to be made public in 2020.
fishing grounds since 1950 but catch in the journal Fisheries Research and
only a third of what they did 65 years Sea Around Us team UBC
ago per kilometre travelled.
The article received coverage by
important media outlets which,
together, have a potential audience
reach of 30 million people.
The same groups, together with the
Walk Free Foundation/Minderoo
Foundation, published “Modern
slavery and the race to fish” in Nature
Communications. This garnered massive
media coverage and received a score
of 320 in Altmetric, meaning it was in
the 96th percentile of the nearly 3,000
articles in the journal. By combining
fisheries data from the Sea Around Us
with country-level data on modern
slavery from the Walk Free Foundation,
the researchers found that countries
Staff and Researchers
Faculty Krista Greer Postdoctoral Fellow
Daniel Pauly Principal Investigator Lincoln Hood Gabriel Vianna, SAU-IO
Dirk Zeller Associate Faculty, SAU - IO Simon-Luc Noel
Gordon Tsui Visiting Scientist
Staff Rachel White Cui “Elsa” Liang
Deng Palomares, Project Manager Jessika Woroniak
Dirk Zeller, Project Manager (1999- Courtney Brown (2019) PhD Student
Tim Cashion (2015-2018) Cui “Elsa” Liang (2015-2016)
2017)
Angelina Coulter (2015-2018) Myriam Khalfallah
Maria Ho, Administrative and Financial
Darcy Dunstan (2015-2019) Lu Zhai
Clerk (2014-2017)
Valentina Ruiz Leotaud, Sarah Popov (2015-2018)
Amy Rose Coghlan (2015-2017) MSc Students
Communications Officer
Eric Sy (2014-2018) Rebecca Schijns
David Geselbracht, Communications
Maeve Winchester (2015-2017) Matthew Ansell SAU-IO
Officer (2015-2016)
Amy McAlpine SAU - IO
Miel Ortiz, Website designer
Madeline Cashion (2015-2018)
Research Assistants Research Fellows
Lucas Brotz
Elaine Chu Co-op Students
Maria (Deng) Palomares (2001-2017) Audrey Zhu (2018-2019)
Brittany Derrick
María Frias-Donaghey RC Hernandez (2019)
Project Seahorse
Project Seahorse is an interdisciplinary and international organisation committed to conservation and
sustainable use of the world’s coastal marine ecosystems. It engages in connected research and
management at scales ranging from community initiatives to international accords. Collaborating with
stakeholders and partners, Project Seahorse use seahorses to focus its efforts in finding marine
conservation solutions.
Principal Investigator: Dr. Amanda Vincent
Highlights
Saving seahorses & securing the shallow seas
Threatened by non-selective gear and other bad fishing
practices, as well as habitat degradation, seahorses are flagship
species for a wide range of marine conservation issues.
Through biological and social research, management and
policy change, field conservation, and citizen science, Project
Seahorse is dedicated to ensuring that seahorse populations
and their habitats are healthy and well-managed.
• Researchers published a monograph on seahorse
taxonomy that now serves as the global reference for
policy and management (2016).
• Project Seahorse obtained the first film footage of
seahorse birth in the wild, with 2.39 million views on
YouTube (2016).
• Dr. Amanda Vincent was one of six finalists for world’s Seahorses (and many other organisms) are incidentally
pre-eminent Indianapolis Prize in animal conservation caught in multiple artisanal as well as commercial
(2016). fisheries throughout their range - and this is the major
• The project completed the first global conservation threat facing them. Even though small numbers are
assessments (www.IUCNredlist.org) for all 323 species of caught per unit of effort, the number of individuals taken
syngnathid fishes (2017).
is substantial. © Sarah Foster/Project Seahorse
• Project Seahorse co-hosted the 3rd global SyngBio
meeting for researchers and managers engaged with
Making trade & fisheries sustainable
the Syngnathid family of fishes: seahorses, pipefishes,
Project Seahorse team members track the global seahorse
pipehorses, and seadragons (2017).
trade through a combination of field work and data analysis.
• As Chair of the global expert group on syngnathid fishes,
In the 1990’s they uncovered the vast geographical and
Dr. Vincent established the group’s first strategic plan
economic scope of this trade. About 15-20 million seahorses
(www.iucn-seahorse.org) (2017).
are traded, live and dead, around the world each year. They are
• Four toolkits on seahorse conservation in China, Portugal,
used in traditional medicine, for display in aquariums, and as
Florida (USA), and South Africa, respectively, were created
curios. Working with the United Nations’ global agreement,
(2017-2018).
the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
• iSeahorse, Project Seahorse’s citizen science programme
(CITES), they continue to make notable contributions to trade
for seahorses (www.iSeahorse.org), reached >400
regulation. Throughout 2015-2018, Project Seahorse:
sightings and 12 trends monitoring team globally (2018).
• Provided practical policy advice
on seahorses for 182 nations, as
key advisors to the United Nations
Impacts Convention on International Trade
• Catalysed creation of Project Seahorse’s 35th no-take marine protected area in Endangered Species;
in the Philippines (2016). • Hosted inter-governmental events
• Provided the technical and policy input that prompted the near global on (i) connections between illegal
closure of legal exports of seahorses, with new suspensions of trade from wildlife trade and illegal fishing and
Guinea, Senegal, and Thailand (2016). (ii) implementation of global export
• Created breakthroughs in seahorse and marine conservation in China, with controls on marine fishes (2016);
gains in professional training, citizen science, spatial planning, advancement Discovered that 95 % of seahorse
of protected areas, and outreach (2017). imports to Hong Kong SAR – a major
• Supported development of one new marine protected area in each of global centre for wildlife trade -
Argentina, Bahamas, and China (2017-2018). reportedly came from countries that
had ended exports (2017);
AWARDS
and HONOURS
Amanda Vincent was
awarded the Le Cren Medal
(Fisheries Society of the British
Isles) for outstanding work in
conservation, education and
outreach (2018).
Amanda Vincent was one of six
finalists for world’s pre-eminent
Indianapolis Prize in animal
conservation (2016)
Amanda Vincent and Xiong Zhang
visiting the CITES Authority in Beijing,
December 2018. © Amanda Vincent/Project Seahorse
Partnerships and
• Provided key input on seahorse conservation issues (and more) to technical
committees of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species Collaborators
(2017-2018); Guylian Belgium Chocolates
• Mobilised information on trade bans/suspensions and continuing IUU trade Langar Foundation
into a formal CITES document with Decisions that was then submitted by
Maldives, Monaco, Sri Lanka and USA (CoP18 Doc. 72) (2018); and, Zoological Society of London
• Created a conservation toolkit on bottom trawling in India (2017). Center for Marine Sciences,
University of Algarve, Portugal
Training conservationists & building capacity
Chandrakasem Rajabhat University,
Under greater pressure than ever before, the world’s oceans need more champions
and more optimists. Project Seahorse is training the next generation of scientists,
Thailand
conservationists, and advocates to stand up for the oceans. To date Project Seahorse Fisheries NSW, Australia
has trained 175+ professional conservationists (and ~80 volunteers) around the Hirosaki University, Japan
world, with backgrounds ranging from the biological sciences to law to the arts. It
also mentors and supports many other colleagues. Knysna Basin Project, South Africa
• Dr. Vincent is co-investigator on new NSERC CREATE grant ($1.56 million) for NatureServe, USA
Training Our Future Ocean Leaders programme (2016)
• Dr. Vincent was appointed as Chair of the Marine Conservation Committee for
Oceanario de Lisboa, Portugal
the global union of conservation agencies and organizations (IUCN) (2017) Peau-Bleue, France
• Dr. Vincent spent a year travelling to support marine conservation projects Research Centre in Biodiversity
around the world, providing
and Genetic Resources (CIBIO),
collegiate contributions in
Argentina, Bahamas, China,
University of Porto, Portugal
France, India, and South Save Our Seahorses Malaysia
Africa (2017-2018). South China Sea Institute of
Oceanology, Chinese Academy of
Sciences, China
State University of Paraíba (UEPB),
Brazil
The National Scientific and
PhD candidate, Tanvi Technical Research Council of
Vaidyanathan, standing Argentina (CONICET)
by baskets of bycatch University of Tampa, USA
destined for chicken feed
in Mandapam north, India. Vivekananda College,
©Amanda Vincent/Project Manonmaniam Sundaranar
Seahorse University, India
Staff and Researchers A Great seahorse
(Hippocampus kelloggi) in
Prof. Amanda Vincent, Professor
black coral, Oman. It is
and Director, Project Seahorse
traded both live for the
Dr. Sarah Foster, Research Associate aquarium trade as well as
Dr. Lindsay Aylesworth, PhD dried, for use in traditional
student and Research Associate medicine. It is classified as
Dr. Sara Lourie, Research Associate Vulnerable on the IUCN
Dr. Lucy Woodall, Research Red List for Threatened
Associate Species. © John van Lent/
Dr. Tse-Lyn Loh, Postdoctoral Guylian Seahorses of the
Fellow World
Dr. Xiong Zhang, PhD student, then
Postdoctoral Fellow
Lily Stanton, Syngnathid Research
Biologist
Regina Bestbier, Research
Biologist and Communications
Coordinator
Riley Pollom, Syngnathid
Research Biologist
Scott Finestone, Operations
Manager
Tyler Stiem, Communications
Manager
Kyle Gillespie, PhD student
Ting-Chun Kuo, PhD student
Jennifer Selgrath, PhD student
Tanvi Vaidyanathan, PhD
student
Iwao Fujii, MSc student
Clayton Manning, MSc
student
Allison Stocks, MSc student Measuring dried seahorses in Vietnam. Although CITES has suspended exports
Emilie Stump, MSc student of seahorses from Vietnam, they still make up a significant portion of the
seahorse stock in the markets of Hong Kong – the world’s largest importer of
dried seahorses. Photo by Allison Stocks/Project Seahorse
Partners and Donors
Aquarium du Quebec, Canada Munich Zoo, Germany
Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund NSERC CREATE program
Greensboro Science Center, USA Ocean Park Conservation Foundation Hong Kong
Guylian Belgian Chocolates Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, USA
Herbert W. Hoover Foundation, USA People’s Trust for Endangered Species, UK
Indianapolis Zoo, USA Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium, USA
International Conservation Fund of Canada (ICFC) Save Our Species
International Union for the Conservation of Nature Synchronicity Earth, UK
Laguntza Foundation Taiwan Forestry Bureau, COA
Langar Foundation, Canada Whitley Fund for Nature
Mohamed Bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund
Fisheries Stock Assessment
Principal Investigator: Dr. Murdoch McAllister
Highlights
Bayesian stock assessments evaluation.” The
Dr. McAllister undertook research on UBC team led the
developing Bayesian stock assessment development of
methodologies, and implementations new assessment
of those, in collaborations with agency and simulation
scientists in Europe, New Zealand, the evaluation models
US, and Canada on numerous fisheries in collaboration
stock assessments and have led the way with DFO,
to the more common implementation industry groups,
of Bayesian stock assessment Oceana, and
methodologies in fisheries stock SFU academics.
assessments. Since 2015, he has led They developed
the development of stock assessment and applied new
methodologies for fisheries for several modeling software
different stocks on the Pacific and to evaluate a Redfish - © Saulius Peleda /Pixabay
Atlantic coasts of Canada. Dr. McAllister large variety of different candidate
the UBC team had evaluated as desirable
was the lead analyst in developing and management methodologies for the
for the future management of the
applying Bayesian stock assessment fishery. This time industry partners
Canadian Atlantic redfish fishery. The
methods for DFO assessments of Fraser agreed not to bring in its own stock
management procedures considered
River Eulachon, and outside waters assessment consultants and strongly
had been found to perform acceptably
yelloweye rockfish on the Pacific coast, supported the new management
in terms of specific conservation and
and for Acadian and deepwater Atlantic process and fishery management
fishery economic objectives under a
redfish on the Atlantic coast. models developed by McAllister’s UBC
large variety of plausible hypotheses
team.
about redfish stock dynamics. DFO is
Atlantic redfish fishery
currently preparing to implement one
Dr. McAllister’s collaborative research In May 2018, DFO and fishing industry
of these management procedures to set
with the federal Department of groups selected a small subset of the
catch limits for the Canadian Atlantic
Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), numerous management options that
redfish fishery. The potential economic
and Canadian fishing industry
organizations on the Canadian Atlantic
Vision: The economic, social Mission:
redfish fishery led to the mending
of a long-standing, and previously welfare, quality of life, and other • Develop innovative modeling
adversarial, relationship between DFO overarching benefits derived by tools to:
and fishing industry groups on the human communities from fisheries • Analyze numerous types of
stock assessment and management of are fostered through the rigorous fishery and ecological data;
the Canadian Atlantic redfish fishery. application of scientific research • Improve understanding of
Atlantic redfish stock assessments that informs fisheries decision the dynamics of fish and
carried out between 2010 and 2016 makers and stakeholders about the fisheries;
had been highly contested by industry potential consequences, short-term • Evaluate the potential
groups with those groups bringing in and long-term of alternative fisheries consequences of different
their own consultants to contest the
management approaches. The management options; and
DFO assessments of Atlantic redfish.
Management recommendations to development of empirically-based • Identify new management
keep quotas low had been contested fisheries dynamics models that can options to solve “real world”
by industry, which successfully had be applied to evaluate the potential problems.
lobbied the Minister of Fisheries to consequences of alternative • Provide basic and advanced
keep the catch quota much higher. In management actions is essential to training in modeling and data
early 2017, Dr. McAllister undertook developing a rational, objective basis analysis.
a new collaborative assessment and for marine resource management • Engage with agencies and
management approach to the redfish decisions. stakeholders to improve upon
fishery called “management strategy practice.IOF
GRADUATE PROGRAM
predation and PhD student Rachel Neuenhoff was
In addition to his work with ECODIGM, Dr. hatchery releases on first author of the paper “Continued
McAllister successfully led the IOF’s proposal Chinook salmon decline of a collapsed population of
for two graduate programs, a Masters and PhD in productivity in the Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) due
Oceans and Fisheries, with final approval given from Pacific Northwest”, to predation-driven Allee effects”
the BC Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and published in the published in the Canadian Journal of
Training in December 2018. The two programs opened Canadian Journal Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, in 2019.
for admission of new graduate students in September, of Fisheries and The research documented in this paper
2019. There was a total of 20 graduate students Aquatic Sciences showed a very strong predator driven
registered in the program on its official start date in 2018. The paper Allee effect in the southern Gulf of St.
documented research Lawrence cod population, i.e., over the
in September 2019, most coming from transfers
that found that there past two decades that the average stock
into the program from existing programs but was a significant and productivity was negative at low cod
with eight new applicants accepted strong negative correlation stock abundances, i.e., below 200,000
directly into the program. between local harbour seal tons. This is despite there being a
abundance and Chinook salmon moratorium on the fishery for this
productivity in 14 of 20 stocks stock and bycatch being held at a very
value of landings from this fishery investigated. In contrast no significant low level over the past three decades
within the next decade is forecasted to negative correlations between Chinook since the fishery closed. Applying field
run at about $20-40 million per year. salmon productivity and salmon observations of gray seal predation on
hatchery releases in all twenty stocks overwintering mature cod from this
In addition, a 1.5 year management was found. The analysis predicted stock, the analyses showed that marked
strategy evaluation that Dr. McAllister that, on average, that the maximum increases in predation from gray seals
led from 2016-2018 to evaluate sustainable yield for Chinook salmon since the 1980s could explain the very
candidate management procedures for stocks has declined by 74 percent in large observed increases in cod natural
the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Laurentian association with the observed 10-fold mortality rates and the continued
Channel Atlantic redfish fishery increase in harbour seal abundance in decline in abundance of this cod stock
passed peer review in April 2018. DFO the Salish Sea since 1970. since the 1990s.
considers the results as setting a new
fishery management policy for this
fishery. A journal article based on this
collaboration was published in the
Canadian Journal of Fisheries and
Aquatic Sciences in October 2019.
Pinniped abundance
PhD students supervised by Dr.
McAllister investigated the potential
impacts of the several-fold increase
in pinniped abundance on the
Atlantic and Pacific coasts of
Canada. This research resulted in
the publication of high quality
journal articles that provide some
of the most scientifically rigorous
evaluations yet of the hypothesis
that predation by pinnipeds
has markedly increased natural
mortality rates and reduced
productivity and sustainable
fishery yields of important
commercial fish stocks on
Canada’s Pacific and Atlantic coasts. PhD
student Ben Nelson was first author of
the paper “Effects of harbour seal Harbour seal - © Skeeze/PixabayOnward and upward - training the Dr. Nathan Taylor (postdoc, 2007-2010),
next generation of experts was hired as a biologist by DFO in 2010 Staff and Researchers
Many of the PhD students and post- and in 2015 became Acting section
head of the Marine Ecosystems and
Roberto Licandeo
doctoral researchers trained and (PhD Candidate. Oceans and
supervised by Dr. McAllister have been Aquaculture Division. In 2018 he was
Fisheries)
successful in applying for research hired as bycatch coordinator at ICCAT in
and analyst positions within agencies Madrid. Dr. Divya Varkey (postdoc, 2011-
responsible for natural resource 2017), was hired as a research scientist Ben Nelson
management. These include Fisheries at the DFO St. Johns Laboratory in 2017. (PhD Candidate. Zoology)
and Oceans Canada, the Pacific Drs. Catarina and Shannon Obradovich
Salmon Commission, the International (supervisor for PhDs) were hired into Sarah Hawkshaw
Commission for the Conservation of stock assessment analyst positions with (PhD Candidate. Oceans and
Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), the UK Game DFO in 2018. Sarah Hawkshaw (current Fisheries)
and Wildlife Conservation Trust, and the PhD student), was hired as a stock
US Corps of Army Engineers. Dr. Robin assessment analyst by the DFO Institute Aaron Greenberg
Forrest (postdoc, 2008-9), was hired as of Ocean Science in 2017. Dr. Tom (PhD Candidate. Zoology)
a research scientist with DFO in 2010, Carruthers (PhD supervisor at Imperial
and in 2016 became a section head of a College London, and research associate Rachel Neuenhoff
new Quantitative Assessment Methods 2010-2015), was hired as an Assistant (PhD Candidate. Zoology)
Section at the Pacific Biological Station. Professor at UBC in 2017.
Hanbyeol Jang
(PhD Candidate. Oceans and
Fisheries)
Vania Henriquez
(PhD Candidate. Oceans and
Fisheries)
Partnerships
Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) Redfish scientists, Fisheries Modeling and stock Assessment Unit,
Mont Joli, Quebec Yokohama National Fisheries Research Institute,
Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) Pelagic Fisheries Yokohama, Japan.
Scientists, Pacific Fisheries Modeling and Stock Assessment Unit, Sekai
Biological Station, Nanaimo, BC National Fisheries Research Institute, Nagasaki, Japan.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) Stock Assessment Fisheries Modeling and Stock assessment unit,
Research Scientists, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Sciences,
St. Johns, Newfoundland. Wellington, New Zealand.
The Canadian Wildlife Service, Pacific Region, Delta, BC. US Army Corps of Engineers, Oregon.
BC Ministry of the Environment, Applied Freshwater Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute, Finland.
Ecology Unit, UBC, Vancouver Campus.
Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, Fordingbridge,
UK.Carruthers Lab
Dr. Tom Carruthers joined IOF as an Assistant Professor in 2017. In that time his lab has established a
research network and tools for eco-certification (MSC) and status determination (UN FAO) for the majority
of the world’s fisheries. Through their developments in Management Strategy Evaluation and state-of-the-
art population assessment, the small team is arguably one of the most advanced applied fishery modelling
units in the world.
Principal Investigator: Dr. Tom Carruthers
Highlights
Online decision making tool
In partnership with the Marine
Fishery system models
The Lab published an online repository
Partners and Donors
Stewardship Council and the UN Food of complete fishery system models that The Marine Stewardship Council
and Agricultural Organization, the have supported and will continue to The UN Food and Agricultural
Carruthers Lab published the Method support peer reviewed publications on
Administration
Evaluation and Risk Assessment fishery management solutions.
(MERA) online tool to support decision More Information: NSERC Discovery grant
making in all fisheries. MERA is the http://www.datalimitedtoolkit.org/ Department of Fisheries and Oceans
culmination of more than 15 person- fishery_library/ Collaborative Research Projects
years of software development
(DLMtool, MSEtool) and is the first Natural Resources Defense Fund
theoretically rigorous tool to inform
fishery managers on research gaps,
most cost-effective data collection Mission: To bring strategic, transparent and accountable decision
protocols, the best resource assessment making to fisheries management.
type. MERA also provides state-of-
the-art stock status determination
for fisheries in the full spectrum of
Trout catch - © Skeeze/Pixabay
data-poor to data-rich. MERA is in beta
testing but will go ‘live’ in early 2020 for
use in fishery improvement projects,
seafood certification (MSC) and status
determination (FAO).
Beta version:
http://142.103.48.20:3838/MERA_2/
BC recreational trout fishery
In a breakthrough in fishery systems
modelling, the Carruthers Lab
published the first relatively complete,
empirically derived, landscape-scale,
Social-Ecological Systems model for
the $1bn BC recreational trout fishery
(Carruthers, T.R., et al. 2018. Landscape-
scale social and ecological outcomes
of dynamic angler and fish behaviors:
processes, data and patterns. Canadian
Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic
Sciences. 2019, 76(6): 970-988).
Staff and Researchers
Dr. Tom Carruthers Dr. Adrian Hordyk Dr. Quang Huynh
(Principal Investigator, Assistant (Postdoctoral fellow) (Postdoctoral fellow)
Professor)Policy for Restoration of Ecosystems and
Fisheries (PERF) Principal Investigator: Dr. Tony Pitcher
Highlights Mission: To foster analysis seabirds) with different functions
Pacific Herring supporting in policy that within marine ecosystems. The
There is a pressing need to understand can lead to the restoration of Roundtable’s goal was to develop
policy recommendations for herring
the pivotal role of low-trophic level ecosystems and their fisheries. management and governance and
or forage fish in social-ecological
systems. In British Columbia, Pacific compose a synthesis paper that
in BC marine ecosystems, aboriginal addresses the ethical dilemmas that
herring feed marine mammals,
communities, and commercial fisheries. ensue from herring’s provisioning role
seabirds and fish, and compete with
The full series is on display at the for both humans and ecosystems.
zooplanktivores, such that any changes
Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries.
to herring biomass ripple through the
entire food web. Moreover, herring
PERF also hosted an International
supply both commercial and First
Research Roundtable in 2016 that Partners and Donors
Nations fisheries. Improved ecological
science of herring requires ecosystem-
focused on the ethical challenges of NSERC
herring food webs and value chains. Peter Wall Institute
based analysis and integration of this
Herring food webs connect diverse
fishery’s strong ecological and human MITACS
ecological species (e.g., euphausiids,
impacts. PERF partnered with the
Council of Haida Nation and Heiltsuk
copepods, finfish, whales, seals, and Council of the Haida Nation
First Nation, for whom herring are Skipper Otto Seafood
embedded in traditional culture, to
undertake innovative ecosystem- Staff and Researchers
based initiatives to advance forage fish
science, perform ecosystem modelling Principal Investigator Graduate students
of herring management scenarios with Dr. Tony Pitcher Sahir Advani, PhD student
participatory research, and explore the Jamie Slogan, PhD student
integration of traditional values and
Research Associate Szymon Surma, PhD student
ethics with scientific principles.
Dr Mimi Elizabeth Lam Nicolas Talloni, PhD student
One activity that informed these values Jeffrey Scott, MSc student
was a serigraph series, produced by Postdoctoral fellows
Haida artist April White, called “Herring Dr Rajeev Kumar
People”. These serigraphs highlight Dr Wade Smith
the importance of Pacific herring’s role
Herring People - Humpback whale - © April White 2016Global Ocean Modelling
Focusing on the development of a spatial model of the global ocean
to support informed policy and management decisions, Global Ocean
Modelling participates in the development of the Ecopath with
Ecosim approach and software.
Principal Investigator: Dr. Villy Christensen
ECOPATH
The unit serves as a central hub for the Ecopath Research and Development
Consortium for which Principal Investigator, Dr. Villy Christensen, serves as
Executive Board Chair.
The Consortium has the following members,
1. Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, Lowestoft
Laboratory (UK); Staff and researchers:
2. Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas Instituto Politécnico Nacional Principal Investigator
(Mexico); Villy Christensen, PhD
3. Ecology Department, The Scottish Association for Marine Science (UK);
4. Ecopath International Initiative research association (Spain); Postdoctoral fellows
5. ESSA Technologies (Canada); Vijay Kumar, PhD
6. Estonian Marine Institute, University of Tartu (Estonia);
7. Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economy, The Arctic University of Norway Graduate students
(Norway); Abdulrahman Ben-Hasan, PhD
8. FishBase Information and Research Group (Philippines); candidate
9. Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences Center, Agrocampus ouest, institute for life, food Abdulrahman Ben-Hasan, MSc
and horticultural sciences and landscaping (France); (2017)
10. Fisheries Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (USA);
11. Institute for Research and Development (France);
Danielle Edwards, PhD candidate
12. Instituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale (Italy);
Patricia Woodruff, PhD candidate
13. Institute of Marine Sciences, Middle East Technical University (Turkey);
14. Institute of Marine Science, Spanish National Research Council (Spain);
Santiago de la Puente, PhD student
15. Iranian national institute for oceanography and atmospheric science (Iran); & Ocean Leaders Fellow
16. Joint Research Centre, Ispra (Italy); Santiago de la Puente, MSc (2017)
17. Kinneret Limnological Laboratory, Migdal (Israel);
18. Centre de Recherches Insulaires et Observatoire de l’Environnement, University Greig Oldford, PhD student & Ocean
of Perpignan (France); Leaders Fellow
19. Louisiana State University (USA);
20. M-expertise marine (Canada); Carolina Lang, MSc student &
21. Marine Research Institute, Klaipėda University (Lithuania); Ocean Leaders Fellow
22. Texas A&M University Corpus Christi (USA);
23. The Potomac Environmental Research and Education Center, George Mason Key collaborators
University (USA); Joe Buszowski, consultant
24. Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (Spain); Marta Coll, PhD
25. Universidade de São Paulo (Brazil); Jeroen Steenbeek, MSc
26. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (Brazil); Carl Walters, PhD
27. University of Cape Town (South Africa); and
28. University of South Florida (USA).
Vision: Advancing ecosystem-based fisheries management in the global ocean.
Mission: Develop research that supports policy making, including through the Ecopath with Ecosim approach
and software (www.ecopath.org)Marine Zooplankton and Micronekton
Laboratory
Through active field data collection and modelling, the Marine Zooplankton and Micronekton Laboratory
focuses on understanding marine ecosystems’ structure and function, physical-biological interactions,
biogeochemical coupling, active carbon transport, and ecosystem responses to climate change. The
research spans species ecology from plankton to fish to food webs covering water column processes in the
world ocean from the North Pacific to the Southern Ocean.
Principal Investigator: Dr. Evgeny Pakhomov
Highlights
Antarctic Krill present) and spatial retrospective Plankton and the biological pump
Dr. Pakhomov undertook trophic analysis of length frequency data sets of This research covered poorly studied
ecophysiology, life cycles, and Antarctic krill in the Southern Ocean. groups of zooplankton and nekton in
demography research on Antarctic the pelagic and demersal food webs.
(Euphausia superba) and Antarctic Eddy Pump and Under Sea Ice Main achievements included:
neritic (Euphausia crystallorophias) • mapping macroplankton and
habitat projects
krill. Fundamental advances were micronekton distribution;
Research here focused on
made in the fields of the large–scale • studying community dynamics on
understanding the contribution of
distribution, stock assessment, long- meso- and macro-scales as well as in
metazoan zooplankton to the carbon
term variation, demography (growth, relation to major frontal systems;
sequestration in the Southern Ocean.
mortality, longevity, reproduction, • producing daily ration estimates for
The main emphasis given to pelagic
recruitment), daily rations, contribution major carnivorous zooplankton and
tunicates. In particular, the ecology of
of autotrophic and heterotrophic food micronekton species and groups,
the Antarctic pelagic tunicate was re-
sources to the diet, individual and including mesopelagic fish, arrow
evaluated with regard to their horizontal
population grazing impacts of two key worms, jellyfish, euphausiids,
distribution that identified their
stone euphausiid species (larval stages ctenophores;
southward shift during the past century.
and adults) within the coastal and open • understanding the importance
This was one of the first elemental and
ocean high Antarctic ecosystems. of each group in the regional and
ecophysiological studies, helping to re-
evaluate tunicate functional
Dr. Pakhomov was part of the team importance in the Antarctic
that created and published the unique pelagic ecosystem.
data base (KRILLBASE) with the
unprecedented temporal (1926 till
At sea - © Evgeny Pakhomov Research on board - © Evgeny Pakhomovseasonal carbon transfer from
surface layers to the deep ocean;
• completing a comprehensive
analysis of demersal fish
community structure and feeding
ecology in the Indian sector of the
Southern Ocean.
Marine-terrestrial interactions in
sub-Antarctic island systems
Dr. Pakhomov’s research contributed to
the development and understanding
of the ‘life-support system’ of the
sub-Antarctic Prince Edward Island
ecosystem, which is ultimately
dependant on allochthonous food
supply and culminated in creation of
the detailed PEIs ecosystem model.
Forage fish science
Pakhomov’s undertook research
to advance the understanding the
ecosystem role of Pacific herring in
coupled social-ecological systems. Labwork - © Evgeny Pakhomov
This study, undertaken with the PERF Staff and researchers
research unit, focused on collaborative
MSc students
solutions for Haida herring fisheries.
Partnerships Yago Doson Coll
The missing link NIWA (New Zealand) Yulia Egorova
The Micronekton lab undertook a
British Antarctic Survey (UK) Lian Kwong
marine ecosystem assessment to Natalie Mahara
evaluate how zooplankton rates Alfred Wegener Institute Samantha James
constrain fisheries and phytoplankton (Germany)
biomass.
Vanessa Fladmark
University of South Wales
(Australia) PhD students
Joanne Breckenridge
Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) - © Evgeny Pakhomov Yulia Egorova
Lian Kwong
Yulia Kuzmenko
Florian Lüskow
Technicians
Vanessa Fladmark
Marina Espinasse
Postdoctoral Fellows
Boris Espinasse
Natasha Henscke
Research Associates
Brian Hunt
Mimi Lam
Visiting Scientist
Dr. Yongqiang ShiPelagic Ecosystems Laboratory
Principal Investigator: Dr. Brian Hunt
Highlights Canada C3 expedition
Canada C3 expedition
Dr. Hunt was the chief scientist on two
legs of the Canada 150 anniversary C3
expedition (Sep-Oct 2017). While on
board, Dr. Hunt managed the integrated
data collection for ocean and terrestrial
systems in British Columbia. In addition,
he was the lead communicator of C3
science to BC coastal communities.
Krill life history
Dr. Hunt co-authored a new formulation
of krill life history in the pack ice zone
that revises understandings of how krill
will respond to warming oceans and
sea-ice decline .
Hakai Coastal Initiative Marine
Food Webs Working Group microbial phytoplankton, protozoa, received extensive international media
The Hakai Coastal Initiative’s Marine zooplankton, and fish. This research coverage.
Food Webs Working Group is a initiative is poised to significantly
collaborative research unit that aims advance our understanding of how DEWEX program
to understand how marine food webs marine food webs operate, and how Dr. Hunt completed three pivotal
operate, with a particular focus on they will respond to changing ocean contributions to the DEWEX program
British Columbia’s coastal ocean. conditions. (DEep Water formation Experiment)
The group hired two dedicated resolving the response of plankton
postdoctoral fellows to assist with the Jellyfish and drones communities to deep-water formation
research, which has a strong focus on Dr. Hunt and his team worked on in the west Mediterranean Sea.
understanding connections between mapping marine resources using aerial
the planktonic organisms that form drones to map jellyfish blooms along Salish Sea’s Southern Resident
the base of the food web, including the the Pacific coast. The story and video Killer Whale population
connections between viruses, bacteria, about this innovative use of aerial tools With the Marine Mammal Research
Unit, the Pelagic Ecosystems Lab
successfully applied to the Department
of Fisheries and Oceans Canada for the
project “Impacts of marine ecosystem
variability on the Southern Resident
Killer Whale population in the Salish
Sea.” This $1.1million research grant will
be used to examine how changes in
the food web in areas of the Southern
Resident Killer Whale affect the
abundance and quality of Chinook
salmon.
Coastal Rainforest Margin Network
The lab led Workshop 2 of the Coastal
Rainforest Margin Network: Marine-
terrestrial interactions in the Pacific
Temperate Coastal Rainforest domain.
Coastal research - © Brian HuntPartnerships
British Columbia Pteropods and Interactions With Warming.
Hakai Institute: Dr. Hunt partnered with the Hakai Institute through three Hakai In partnership with the Southern California
Coastal Initiative working groups: Coastal Water Research Project.
1. Food Webs;
2. Ocean productivity; and DEWEX (DEep Water formation
3. Riverine Coastal Domain. Experiment). Partnership with 62
international scientists primarily from
He is the Principal Investigator of the Hakai Institute Juvenile Salmon Program
French laboratories (LOMIC, CEFREM,
and collaborates in their Ocean Observing Program. Dr. Hunt also partnered with
LEGOS, MIO, LOV, LOG, LOCEAN, LA,
Hakai Institute on two Mitacs grants.
DTINSU, CNRM-GAME, IMAGE, LSCE-
IPSL, CEREGE) researching the biological
Pacific Salmon Foundation: Dr. Hunt is a member of the Salish Sea Marine
response of deep-water formation in the
Survival Project Synthesis Committee, and partners with PSF on a Mitacs grant.
west Mediterranean Sea.
Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO): Dr. Hunt works in partnership with
numerous DFO researchers on projects in BC: Jar of collected krill ©Brian Hunt
• Dr. Ian Perry (IOS/PBS) – Plankton Food Webs;
• Dr. Ian Forster (WVL) – Plankton food webs and salmon ecology;
• Dr. Chrys Neville (PBS) - Plankton food webs and salmon ecology; and
• Dr. Jennifer Boldt (PBS) - Forage fish ecology.
Wuikinuxv First Nation: The Lab monitored sockeye salmon health in Rivers
Inlet.
K’omoks Nation: The Lab has developed a partnership with the K’omoks Nation
on a field program measuring microplastics baselines in Baynes Sound.
Association of Denman Island Marine Stewards: Developed a partnership on a
field program measuring microplastics baselines in Baynes Sound.
Canada
Dr. Hunt was the chief scientist on two legs of the Canada 150 anniversary C3
expedition. This research voyage was undertaken in partnership with multiple
organizations in planning and implementation, including: Staff and researchers
• Students on Ice Foundation;
Postdoctoral Fellows
• Canadian Museum (Ottawa); and
• Department of Fisheries and Oceans (Halifax). David Costalago
Hayley Dosser
International Boris Espinasse
Coastal Rainforest Margins Network: Dr Hunt is a Steering committee member Jessica Garzke
of the National Science Foundation Research Coordination Network, in Fernanda Giannini Colo
partnership with researchers from the Alaska Rainforest Center, University of Caterina Rodriguez Giner
Alaska, and University of Washington. Jacqueline Maud
Wade Smith
International Year of the Salmon: In partnership with the North Pacific
Anadromous Fish Commission and researchers from its member countries (USA, Graduate Students
Russia, Japan, Korea).
Vanessa Fladmark, MSc student
Caroline Graham, MSc student
Transient memories: Deep-sea coral record of upwelling around the Maldives, in
partnership with researchers from the University of Western Australia, University Samantha James, MSc student
of Queensland, University of Rhode Island, and Nanyang Technological Yuliya Kuzmenko, PhD student
University. Jessica Schaub, MSc student
Thomas Smith, MSc student
MOBYDICK (Marine Ecosystem Biodiversity and Dynamics of Carbon around
Kerguelen: an integrated View) In partnership with the French National Research Technician
Agency and researchers at the University of Aix Marseille. Lauren Portner, Research
Technician
Synthesis Group: Thresholds of Ocean Acidification Impacts on CalcifyingStatistical Ecology Research Group
Principal Investigator: Dr. Marie Auger-Méthé
Highlights Mission: The Statistical Ecology Research Group works to support
Arctic Research improved conservation and management of aquatic ecosystems by filling
Four research projects focused on arctic gaps in knowledge of the behaviour, population dynamics, movement,
ecosystems were undertaken. As part of and space-use of aquatic animals and developing tools that will help
a longer-term collaboration with Mark predict how they will be affected by rising human pressures.
Mallory (Acadia University) on arctic
seabirds, the group started a study to
understand the migratory patterns of
Arctic terns and to identify key areas for
their conservation. The second project
focused on methods to understand the
foraging ecology of arctic mammals,
specifically it aimed to understand the
relationships between the foraging
behaviour of polar bears and narwhals,
how the behaviour of each species
responded to environmental factors,
and how this information could be
linked to individual fitness and the
risks associated with environmental
change. The third project focused on
the relationship between ringed seals Polar bear - © Annie Spratt/Unsplash
and polar bears, and how it is influenced for ecologists on methods to fit and
by changing sea ice regimes. It also assess them. This effort is also tied to
involved developing models and the group’s work on stock assessment (with Drs. Ruth Joy and Dominic
collaborating with local communities to modelling with Dr. Andrew Edwards Tollit, SMRU consulting) for DFO
incorporate local priorities into wildlife (DFO) and as a member of the Canadian (Dr. Sheila Thornton) who will use it
management, and to identify critical Statistical Sciences Institute working in management of the population.
habitat. The fourth project focused on group. It helped Dr. Andrew Trites and
understanding the habitat use of three
his team (Scott Hinch, Brian Hunt,
ice seal species (ringed seals, bearded
Southern Resident Killer Whale Nancy Heckman, and others) secured
seals, and spotted seal) in Alaska, with
Research funding (NSERC & DFO-Whale Science
its primary goal to integrate movement
The group developed a new statistical for tomorrow). Their work focused
data with traditional knowledge.
method to integrate multiple data on understanding the movement
sources to infer the spatial distribution behaviour of both species.
Integrating Traditional Knowledge of southern resident killer whales
and Western Scientific Data
Through work, funded, amongst others,
by the North Pacific Research Board Partnerships
Core Program and the Marine Mammal
Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO)
Commission, the group worked to
integrate Bayesian statistical methods Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC)
with local and aboriginal traditional South Atlantic Environmental Research Institute (SAERI)
knowledge into fully formed models. SMRU Consulting
Canadian Statistical Sciences Institute
Collaboration on State-Space Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)
Models Canada Research Chair Program (CRC)
The group organized an international
Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI)
workshop on new developments in
state-space models at Casa Matemática North Pacific Research Board (NPRB)
Oaxaca, Mexico. Dr. Auger-Méthé led Marine Mammal Commission (MMC)
the writing of extensive review on state Fish & Wildlife Compensation Program
space models with practical advice Kenneth M Molson FoundationYou can also read
