Council of the Haida Nation

Abstract We explore a “Go With the Older Fish” (GWOF) mechanism of learned migration behaviour for exploited fish populations, where recruits learn a viable migration path by randomly joining a school of older fish. We develop a non-age-structured biomass model of spatially independent spawning sites with local density dependence, based on Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii). We compare a diffusion (DIFF) strategy, where recruits adopt spawning sites near their natal site without regard to older fish, with GWOF, where recruits adopt the same spawning sites, but in proportion to the abundance of adults using those sites. In both models, older individuals return to their previous spawning site. The GWOF model leads to higher spatial variance in biomass. As total mortality increases, the DIFF strategy results in an approximately proportional decrease in biomass among spawning sites, whereas the GWOF strategy results in abandonment of less productive sites and maintenance of high biomass at more productive sites. A DIFF strategy leads to dynamics comparable to non-spatially structured populations. While the aggregate response of the GWOF strategy is distorted, non-stationary and slow to equilibrate, with a production curve that is distinctly flattened and relatively unproductive. These results indicate that fishing will disproportionately affect populations with GWOF behaviour.

Abstract Balancing trade‐offs amongst social–ecological objectives is a central aim of natural resource management. However, objectives and resources often have spatial dimensions, which are usually ignored in trade‐off analyses. We examine how simultaneously integrating social–ecological benefits and their spatial complexities can improve trade‐off analysis. We use Pacific herring ( Clupea pallasii, Clupeidae)—an ecologically important forage fish with social, cultural and economic value to communities and commercial fisheries—as a case study. By combining spatial management strategy evaluation with social benefits analysis, we illustrate when policies aimed at aggregate stocks versus spatially segregated substocks of fish fail to balance trade‐offs amongst social–ecological objectives. Spatial measures (e.g. area‐based closures) may achieve some objectives but produce alternative trade‐offs that are sensitive to assumptions about fish population dynamics and social complexities. Our analyses identify policies that are inefficient (e.g. yielding economic costs without producing social or ecological gains), highlight management strategies that generate trade‐offs and indicate when costs are distributed unequally for different user groups. We also point to strategies with outcomes that are robust to spatial uncertainties and reveal research priorities by identifying which performance metrics exhibit sensitivity to spatial ecological assumptions. Collectively, our analyses demonstrate how incorporating social objectives and spatial dynamics into management strategy evaluation can reveal trade‐offs and the implications of management decisions.

In this paper, we argue that Indigenous data sovereignty (IDS) is vital for addressing threats to ecosystems, as well as for Indigenous Peoples re-establishing and maintaining sovereignty over their territories. Indigenous knowledge-holders face pressure from non-Indigenous scientists to collaborate to address environmental problems, while the open data movement is pressuring them to make their data public. We examine the role of IDS in the context of cumulative effects and climate change that threaten salmon-bearing ecosystems in British Columbia, guided by content from an online workshop in June 2022 and attended exclusively by a Tier-1 audience (First Nations knowledge-holders and/or technical staff working for Nations). Attention to data is required for fruitful collaborations between Indigenous communities and non-Indigenous researchers to address the impacts of climate change and the cumulative effects affecting salmon-bearing watersheds in BC. In addition, we provide steps that Indigenous governments can take to assert sovereignty over data, recommendations that external researchers can use to ensure they respect IDS, and questions that external researchers and Indigenous partners can discuss to guide decision-making about data management. Finally, we reflect on what we learned during the process of co-creating materials.

A zoning framework was developed for the Marine Plan Partnership for the North Pacific Coast (MaPP) in order to provide guidance for decisions regarding coastal and marine economic development, marine resource management, and marine protection or conservation across the MaPP region, the Northern Shelf Bioregion, British Columbia, Canada. The MaPP Zoning Framework was developed over an 18-month period at the beginning of the marine spatial planning (MSP) process with stakeholder consultation and incorporated lessons learned from other planning efforts in British Columbia and globally. The three main requirements for the Framework included that it was applicable and flexible for use across the MaPP regional boundary, which included four sub-regions that had diverse priorities and marine activities, that guiding principles for zoning would provide consistency for policy and other decisions within the MaPP regions, and that zone categories synergized with existing policy and legislation. A stakeholder advisory process was used to develop the Framework which resulted in three zone categories to achieve the goals of MaPP: Protection Management Zone (PMZ), Special Management Zone (SMZ), and General Management Zone (GMZ). Zone identification included numerous factors such as species and habitat diversity, cultural values, existing uses and activities, and priorities for sustainable economic development and conservation. The Framework was effectively used to zone 102,000 km2 of the MaPP region during the MSP process for more than 15 different sectors that were within the scope of the MaPP partners’ jurisdiction. Importantly, the Framework was successfully adapted across the four distinct MaPP sub-regions and consistently applied for an effective regional approach to decision making and management for both First Nations and provincial governments.

Marine protected area (MPAs) networks can buffer marine ecosystems from the impacts of climate change by allowing species to redistribute as conditions change and by reducing other stressors. There are, however, few examples where climate change has been considered in MPA network design. In this paper, we assess how climate change considerations were integrated into the design of a newly released MPA network in the Northern Shelf Bioregion in British Columbia, Canada, and then evaluate the resulting network against projected physical and biogeochemical changes and biological responses. We found that representation, replication, and size and spacing recommendations integrated into the design phase were met in most cases. Furthermore, despite varying degrees of projected changes in temperature, dissolved oxygen, and aragonite saturation across the MPA network, suitable habitat for demersal fish species is projected to remain in the network despite some redistribution among sites. We also found that mid-depth MPAs are particularly important for persistence, as fish are projected to move deeper to avoid warming in shallower areas. Our results highlight that a representative MPA network with adequate replication, that incorporates areas of varying climate change trajectory, should buffer against the impacts of climate change.

Abstract Damselfishes are known keystone species of reef environments, however large-scale distribution patterns are poorly studied in the southwestern Atlantic. We evaluated main drivers of distribution of three conspicuous damselfishes, along tropical and subtropical coastal systems, in Brazil. Abundances were assessed against wave exposure, depth (within 1–7 m in tropical and 1–11 m in subtropical reefs) and benthic cover. Despite differences between systems, exposure and depth consistently explained damselfishes distribution. Stegastes fuscus, the larger damselfish species of the genus in the southwestern Atlantic, was dominant in both systems, inhabiting preferably shallow and sheltered reefs. Conversely, Stegastes variabilis occupied shallow habitats with higher exposure. Stegastes pictus was absent from tropical reefs sampled, inhabiting depths >7 m, in subtropical reefs. Species were weakly associated with benthic features, which poorly predicted changes in abundances. Regardless, S. fuscus showed association with articulated calcareous algae, and S. variabilis juveniles associated with erect macroalgae. Despite occurring in very distinctive reef systems, Brazilian damsels habitat requirements are consistent in both tropical and subtropical reefs. While highly persistent species, long term monitoring will inform us how they respond to pervasive global changes and human impacts along Brazilian reefs.

Northern abalone are an important component of the intertidal and subtidal ecosystems of the Pacific Coast. This research was carried out to test the feasibility of utilizing underwater stereo-camera technology to conduct surveys to estimate the abundance and size structure of northern abalone populations. Consistent with other studies, depth and substrate both impacted the density and length of northern abalone, and provided a basis for implementing stratification strategies for density estimation. The average deployment took about 18 min and resulted in 47 useable image quadrats. The estimated time to analyze each frame was about 3 min, translating into ∼2.5 h of processing time per deployment. The precision of the resulting density estimates was high (relative error ∼0.22–0.37 depending on the method used for stratification) and could be improved by increasing the number of study sites to 35 or greater. The pooled density of northern abalone was estimated as 1.07 individuals/ m–2 (SE = 0.21) and the mean length of northern abalone across the study sites was 67.7 mm (SE = 0.08). Future stereo-camera surveys could be used as a cost-effective supplement to self-contained underwater breathing apparatus diver surveys to increase the precision of abundance and size estimates of northern abalone populations.

Marine protected area (MPA) networks are commonly designated to achieve ecosystem-level conservation objectives. To design MPA networks capable of achieving such objectives, there has been a strong emphasis placed on the importance of incorporating connectivity into their design. Approaches to incorporate connectivity, however, have primarily been developed from a population-based, biotic perspective that overlooks the abiotic components of ecosystems. Ecological evidence suggests that ecosystem connectivity - the movement of materials, including organisms, detritus, and inorganic nutrients, between ecosystems - can be a fundamental driver of ecosystem dynamics, emphasizing the need for MPA network design strategies to adopt a broader, ecosystem-based perspective on connectivity. Here, we propose a conceptual framework for integrating ecosystem connectivity into the design of MPA networks, using the best available data. Through the application of our framework to a case study on the Pacific coast of Canada, we present the current state of knowledge regarding benthic ecosystem connectivity in temperate marine environments. We highlight potential interdependencies between benthic marine ecosystems, and present evidence-based rules of thumb for integrating ecosystem connectivity into the design of MPA networks. We discuss our findings in relation to Canada’s MPA network objectives and design guidelines.

Abstract Coastal kelp forests are important sources of primary productivity and provide essential habitat and ecosystem services. In many areas around the world, the formation and persistence of urchin barrens threatens kelp forest ecosystems. Over the past several decades, restoration efforts have emerged aiming to increase the abundance of foundation species like kelp in such systems. However, we lack a comprehensive understanding of how successful kelp restoration affects the nutritional landscape and the fitness of kelp forest herbivores. We bridge this knowledge gap with a Before-After-Control-Impact Paired Series (BACIPS) focused on kelp forest restoration where reductions of herbivorous sea urchins in Haida Gwaii resulted in substantial increases in kelp abundance in habitat previously characterized as barrens. Specifically, we document body size specific shifts in the fatty acid (FA) profiles of red sea urchins ( Mesocentrotus franciscanus ) and northern abalone ( Haliotis kamtschatkana ). FAs associated with bacteria and diatoms were elevated in tissues of urchins and abalone in barrens habitat while kelp biomarkers were elevated in restored kelp forest habitat. For urchins, these shifts tracked the increase in gonad mass following kelp forest recovery. For abalone, these results varied depending on animal body size. Specifically, abalone exhibited a continuous size-specific shift from biofilm-associated markers at small sizes to kelp-associated markers as animals increased in size. For both species, a marked increase in essential fatty acids was observed following kelp restoration. Our results demonstrate kelp restoration via sea urchin reduction enhances not only the quantity but also the quality and diversity of food in previously degraded habitats, and subsequently enhances the amount and nutritional quality of roe (i.e., gonads) in sea urchins therein.

Marine protected area (MPA) networks are commonly designated to achieve ecosystem-level conservation objectives. To design MPA networks capable of achieving such objectives, there has been a strong emphasis placed on the importance of incorporating connectivity into their design. Approaches to incorporate connectivity, however, have primarily been developed from a population-based, biotic perspective that overlooks the abiotic components of ecosystems. Ecological evidence suggests that ecosystem connectivity - the movement of materials, including organisms, detritus, and inorganic nutrients, between ecosystems - can be a fundamental driver of ecosystem dynamics, emphasizing the need for MPA network design strategies to adopt a broader, ecosystem-based perspective on connectivity. Here, we propose a conceptual framework for integrating ecosystem connectivity into the design of MPA networks, using the best available data. Through the application of our framework to a case study on the Pacific coast of Canada, we present the current state of knowledge regarding benthic ecosystem connectivity in temperate marine environments. We highlight potential interdependencies between benthic marine ecosystems, and present evidence-based rules of thumb for integrating ecosystem connectivity into the design of MPA networks. We discuss our findings in relation to Canada’s MPA network objectives and design guidelines.