This collaborative project partners with the Nunatsiavut Government, Torngat Wildlife Plants and Fisheries Secretariat and Torngat Fish Producers Co-Operative to combine different types of fisheries related data to develop a holistic picture of Arctic char populations and support Inuit food security in Nunatsiavut, Labrador Canada. In addition to caribou and seal, Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) are one of three essential dietary staples for Inuit communities in Nunatsiavut.

 

As the climate continues to change across the Inuit Nunangat or homeland, caribou numbers have declined and local communities are increasing their reliance on char for sustenance. Nunatsiavut is an Inuit governed territory established in 2005 through the Labrador Inuit Land Claims Agreement. This agreement allocated 100% of Arctic regional char quota licenses, issued by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), to the Nunatsiavut Government. Due to a combination of lifecycle complexity and a history of inconsistent broad-scale federal monitoring support, abundance estimates for Arctic char residing in Nunatsiavut waters have high uncertainty. Therefore, it is unclear how many char will be there for future generations. On a place based level, the Arctic char fishery is knowledge rich, with a local history of documenting char migrations since time immemorial. Yet, this fishery has been historically categorized by DFO as “data deficient.”  

 

Led by PhD student Dylan Seidler, this project will use data synthesis to provide a glimpse into the history of the char fishery in Nunatsiavut and illustrate how different types of knowledge and data must be included in order to develop a holistic estimate of char populations. Additionally, qualitative and quantitative data sources will be compiled into models that detail the past, present, and future status of char populations to support Inuit food security.