GRADUATE STUDENT INTERNSHIP / CO-OP PROJECT FORM
TITLE:
PROJECT
PROJECT
SPONSOR
LOCATION:
Illuminating differences in Marine Fisheries Management in Among Canada’s Marine Regions
Living Oceans Society – Downtown Vancouver Office
TERM:
3 Months (flexible start and end dates)
FROM: April 2015
NAME:
Karin Bodtker
TITLE:
Director of Mapping and Analysis
DIVISION:
BRANCH / SECTION:
Living Oceans Society
ADDRESS:
204 – 343 Railway Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6A 1A4
EMAIL:
PHONE:
TOPIC OR RESEARCH
QUESTION:
(Briefly describe the research
question being addressed
through this project)
KEYWORDS:
TO: August 2015
kbodtker@livingoceans.org
604-696-5044
FAX:
Management of marine commercial fisheries is one of the mandates of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Stock assessments, management plans,
advisory boards and variation orders opening and closing each fishery are all pieces of the process. How is each of these implemented in Canada’s different
regions? The mandate, the responsibility and the policies are federal, yet there seem to be different levels of public access to fisheries management
information among the six regions. Is fisheries management implemented differently across the regions, or is it just public access to information that differs?
How does this impact those involved in the fisheries and Canadians with an interest in marine resource management? This research will collate information
on how commercial fisheries are managed in each of Canada’s regions, document similarities and differences, and develop hypotheses to explain any
differences.
Natural Resource Management, Fisheries Management, Social ecological systems, Common pool resources
(List key words to describe the
field of study and project)
PROJECT DESCTIPTION &
RELEVANCE:
(Provide an overview of the
context for the internship and
why it is important. Describe the
project, its tangible, intended
outcomes and the role of the
student.)
Project description: Living Oceans Society is renowned for its mapping and analysis work related to marine planning, Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), and
commercial fisheries, especially on the Pacific Coast of Canada. We showed that no MPAs in the Canadian Pacific EEZ are completely closed to commercial
fisheries, even though the management plans for many of these MPAs clearly indicate the intent to prohibit all resource extraction (Robb et al. 2011). Updates
to that analysis have been completed (Robb et al, in review) and the overall results have not changed. We hypothesize that the implementation of fisheries
closures for the purpose of meeting MPA management intent is not happening due to lack of interagency or intergovernmental cooperation and collaboration.
In British Columbia, provincial and/or federal MPA managers would need to work with federal fisheries managers to implement fisheries closures that coincide
with MPAs. Does this issue persist across Canada’s regions? This research project will take a step back and look more broadly at the management of commercial
fisheries in each of Canada’s marine regions. In our previous work we also found it quite challenging to piece together the information required to map all the
closures for commercial fisheries for any given year or season. Is this type of information more publically accessible in some regions than in others? The student
will start by confirming a list of commercial fisheries that take place in each region and documenting the annual steps taken by fisheries managers to manage
their fisheries, noting how advisory boards are organised and governed and noting any differences among regions. Then the student will collate as much
information as possible, noting what is publically accessible, including fishery management plans, stock assessments, and the official orders that implement
fisheries openings and closures. The intended outcome is a report on the fisheries management process as it may vary across Canada’s regions, complete with
hypotheses to explain any differences. Time permitting and skills permitting some mapping (GIS) work to summarise findings co uld be undertaken.
References:
Robb, C.K., Bodtker, K.M., Wright, K., and J. Lash. 2011. Commercial fisheries closures in Marine Protected Areas on Canada’s Pacific coast: the exception not the
rule. Marine Policy 35: 309-316.
Robb, C.K., Wright, K., and K.M. Bodtker. In Review. Evaluating the Contribution of Sites toward a Network of MPAs in British Columbia, Canada. Coastal
Management Journal.
Relevance: Fisheries management is topical globally as our marine resources continue to be depleted and as ocean conditions change with climate change. The
Canadian government has committed to national networks of Marine Protected Areas that effectively represent and protect at least 10 percent of Canada’s
marine bioregions by 2020. However, to date, there is no evidence that fisheries management is contributing to this process. Changes to fundamental
environmental laws over the last 2 years, a new National Online Licensing System for commercial fish harvesters, repeated cuts to DFO funding and staffing
levels have surely affected different regions differently. A review of the fisheries management systems as they are implemented in different regions across
Canada will provide the ground work for important integration of fisheries and Marine Protected Area management. In the longer term Living Oceans is working
to ensure that MPAs are effective and can assist in the recovery and maintenance of Canada’s oceans. Improved integration with fisheries management is one
avenue we are pursuing. Living Oceans plans to undertake analyses of existing MPAs and overlap with commercial fisheries in each of Canada’s Oceans, to assess
whether MPAs are being managed according to their intent (i.e., as a measure of effective management). This internship project will help us understand
whether problems we have exposed in the Pacific Region (Robb et al 2011) in terms of access to the information exist in other regions. It will also begin to collate
the information we need to undertake the national assessment.
Experience/Skills Required: The intern will be a graduate student with a keen interest in fisheries management, and the application of national policies. The
candidate must be able to take direction and work in a flexible yet demanding atmosphere. We are looking for someone with the following knowledge and skills:

Familiarity with national fisheries management policies and recent trends.

Good research and analytical skills

Handling of and analysis of qualitative project data

Experience with requesting government data and/or fearlessness and perseverance in requesting information from government bureaucrats.

Ability to write clear, concise scientific reports

Experience setting clear objectives, following priorities, meeting milestones, and knowing when to asking for help.

Excellent writing, oral communication and presentation skills.

Ability to work independently.

GIS experience with ArcGIS is an asset but not required
Living Oceans Society is a non-profit research and public education organization, committed to conserving marine biological diversity to ensure a healthy ocean
and healthy coastal communities. To support this we often engage in scientific, social and economic research. Our programmes include ocean planning for a
future that reflects the people who work and live on the coast, abundant sea life through networks of marine protected areas, sustainable seafood through the
development of ecosystem based fisheries and healthy oceans by eliminating the risk from oil spills, salmon aquaculture, and other industrial activity.
Funding Requested from BRITE
$6,000.00

AVAILABLE FUNDING:
NO
YES
IF YES, THEN LIST AMOUNT:
6,000.00, to be confirmed January 2015
PROJECT TYPE (Check the relevant type(s) of work to be undertaken for this internship / co-op project)
FIELD WORK
GIS ANALYSIS (potentially if the student has the skills and interest)
RESEARCH PROPOSAL DEVELOPMENT
POLICY ANALYSIS
LITERATURE REVIEW
SURVEY DESIGN
SHORT STUDY / ASSESSMENT
MODEL DEVELOPMENT (research prioritization framework)
DATA COLLECTION
OTHER
please describe: Compare and contrast management implementation
DATA / STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
EXPECTED DELIVERABLES:
(Summarize the intended
project deliverables, e.g.,
research report, data analyzed,
and presented in a spreadsheet
format, etc.)
Revised April 2009
Expected Deliverables:

A list of commercial fisheries active in each region across Canada.

A research report comparing the delivery of fisheries management among Canada’s regions, answering the research questions above.

Documentation of the level of accessibility of information relevant to fisheries management (e.g. stock assessments, fisheries management plans,
spatial information on openings/closures), and a collection of documentation gathered.

Time permitting, spatial data collection describing fisheries across the regions.