Recognition and use of indigenous knowledge in resource management can increase the information available about the resource and facilitate establishment of a larger management role for local resource users. This paper examines the use of indigenous knowledge in resource management using the case of knowledge of Pacific salmon {Oncorhynchus spp.) among the Upper St'at'imc, near Lillooet, British Columbia (B.C.). Salmon in the study area are currently managed by the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO). This system was established in the 1940s and overlays a traditional management system consisting of fishing site ownership, a well-defined system of access to sites, rules of conduct at fishing sites for the catching and processing of fish, and harvest restrictions. Recent DFO policy changes, signified by the Aboriginal Fisheries Strategy, indicate a movement toward a larger management role for First Nations. This study addresses what indigenous knowledge is available, how it compares to knowledge used by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and how indigenous knowledge can be used in modern salmon stock management. A literature review was supplemented by interviews with elders, young Upper St'at'imc leaders, and both DFO and non-DFO biologists. Current indigenous knowledge pertains to salmon stocks, habitat, and practices and philosophy. Indigenous knowledge can be primarily distinguished from western scientific knowledge on the basis of the following properties of the indigenous system: a greater amount of qualitative vs. quantitative information; an obvious recognition and discussion of anomalies; the perception of a wide range of variables in a region; the use of specific local technology; the development of analysis based on both observations over a medium-sized area and traditional ideologies; and differences in institutional arrangements for gathering knowledge. Differences between indigenous and western scientific knowledge are related to the requirement that DFO accumulate and process a large amount of information over a very large geographical area. Several barriers exist to using indigenous knowledge in modern resource management, including the fact that indigenous knowledge does not fit readily into established methods for gathering and analyzing data. Using indigenous knowledge may be facilitated by innovations at both the local and state levels.

Recognition and use of indigenous knowledge in resource management can increase the information available about the resource and facilitate establishment of a larger management role for local resource users. This paper examines the use of indigenous knowledge in resource management using the case of knowledge of Pacific salmon {Oncorhynchus spp.) among the Upper St'at'imc, near Lillooet, British Columbia (B.C.). Salmon in the study area are currently managed by the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO). This system was established in the 1940s and overlays a traditional management system consisting of fishing site ownership, a well-defined system of access to sites, rules of conduct at fishing sites for the catching and processing of fish, and harvest restrictions. Recent DFO policy changes, signified by the Aboriginal Fisheries Strategy, indicate a movement toward a larger management role for First Nations. This study addresses what indigenous knowledge is available, how it compares to knowledge used by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and how indigenous knowledge can be used in modern salmon stock management. A literature review was supplemented by interviews with elders, young Upper St'at'imc leaders, and both DFO and non-DFO biologists. Current indigenous knowledge pertains to salmon stocks, habitat, and practices and philosophy. Indigenous knowledge can be primarily distinguished from western scientific knowledge on the basis of the following properties of the indigenous system: a greater amount of qualitative vs. quantitative information; an obvious recognition and discussion of anomalies; the perception of a wide range of variables in a region; the use of specific local technology; the development of analysis based on both observations over a medium-sized area and traditional ideologies; and differences in institutional arrangements for gathering knowledge. Differences between indigenous and western scientific knowledge are related to the requirement that DFO accumulate and process a large amount of information over a very large geographical area. Several barriers exist to using indigenous knowledge in modern resource management, including the fact that indigenous knowledge does not fit readily into established methods for gathering and analyzing data. Using indigenous knowledge may be facilitated by innovations at both the local and state levels. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

The relative abundance of coho salmon (Oncorhmchus kisutch) in the Kains island troll fishing area was computed, for the years 1943 to 1951 inclusive, on the basis of the average catch per boat per day each year. The resulting figures varied from a minimum of 75, pounds per boat per day in 1946 to a maximum of 231 pounds per boat per day in 1951. These yield per unit effort figures were then statistically compared with the average surface salinity, or average surface temperature, for various periods in the life history of the coho taken by the fishery in these years. It was found that a very high correlation (r = 0.85, p = 0.01 - 0.001) existed between the average "summer" salinity (June to September inclusive) and the poundage yield per unit effort during that same year. It is suggested that this correlation is explainable in terms of varying growth rates in different years, and by variations in the numbers of fish taken in these years, both of these factors being governed by the availability of food, as evidenced by surface salinity. / Science, Faculty of / Zoology, Department of / Graduate

This study examines the complex problems associated with the allocation and management of mobile salmon resources passing through politically partitioned land and sea space in southeastern Alaska and northern British Columbia. While the salmon fishing industry was found to be relatively important at the local level, it is suggested that the salmon of Canadian origin removed off Noyes Island "by Alaskan fishermen are not of critical importance to the economies of either Alaska or British Columbia when considered as a whole. Therefore, it is concluded that the Noyes Island conflict should not be allowed to jeopardize the salmon conservation programs of Canada and the United States by provoking a de facto abrogation of a mutually advantageous treaty designed to prevent the massive oceanic capture of salmon. From this case study in political geography it was determined that salmon fishing conflicts can best be understood by examining: (1) The peculiar nature of the salmon resource. (2) The state of knowledge concerning its origins and movements and the spatial implications of these movements. (3) The evolution of opposing national fisheries, (4) Interrelated political considerations. It was also found that salmon fishing conflicts could be classified into two categories based upon quantitative and ideological differences. Finally, a tentative geographic model was constructed that could serve as the basis for organizing future enquiry into salmon fishing disputes by clearly illustrating the spatial problems common to such conflicts. The model particularly emphasizes the lack of congruency between biotic and political units and the effects this has on competing, nationally organized exploitation of the salmon resource. / Arts, Faculty of / Geography, Department of / Graduate

A case study of the chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) gauntlet fisheries in Southern British Columbia is described. Acrimony between industry and government managers has been commonplace in the management of this fishery. In an attempt to alleviate this acrimony, a management system call the "clockwork" has been implemented, which provides all fishermen an opportunity for greater understanding of the management rationale and greater input into the decision-making process. The clockwork has been generally successful; the stocks are rebuilding and the fishermen are involved in the management of the fishery. However, two problems are identified in the clockwork. First, the success of the clockwork in alleviating the aaimony associated with the chum fishery depends on the ability of fishery managers to provide sound and scientifically defensible in-season stock assessments. If the assessments have no better track record than the intuition of managers and fishermen then the clockwork will not be successful. Second, there is a nagging problem of allocation of harvests between the mixed stock fishery in Johnstone Strait and the terminal fishery in the Fraser River. The main factor is the difference in price behveen the two fisheries; the price in the terminal fishery is only about one-third of the price paid in the mixed stock fishery, Dynamic programming techniques are used to determine the optimal harvest strategies for this gauntlet fishery. Generally, the optimal strategy is similar to a fixed escapement strategy when both stocks are equally abundant. But when one stock is much more abundant the optimal strategy is to harvest harder in the mixed stock fishery. With the current difference in value per fish between the two fisheries, the optimal exploitation rates in the terminal area are zero, all the catch is taken in the mixed stock fishery. The minimum price at which terminal fisheries provide long term economic benefit is the threshold price. For the parameters used to describe the current fishery, the threshold price is approximately 40% of the mixed stock fishery price. Furthermore, the threshold price differs with stock recruitment parameters, especially stock productivity and recruitment variability. Generally the more similar the stocks are, with respect to stock and recruitment characteristics, the lower the threshold value for fishing in the terminal areas. The results provide a basis for discussion of the utility of terminal fisheries, and by adjusting the relative value of the terminal fishery in relation to the mixed stock fishery can incorporate additional social and aesthetic values, as well as costs such as harvesting costs and fisheries management costs. / Science, Faculty of / Zoology, Department of / Graduate

The principal focus of this comparative-historical study is the fundamental differences in the perspectives of the Indian, commercial, and sportfishing user groups. A second focus is the differences in outlook of the professions involved in the management of the fisheries, and how their management paradigms have developed over time. Evidence is presented on the social history of the fisheries, including their regulatory history and the manager-user relationship. Using the rich material presented by the participants in the Pearse Commission as a primary source, the perspectives of user and manager are outlined. In particular, the views users expressed on the emotional policy issue of TURFs are defined. A comparison of these views clarifies the major interests within the fisheries. Observation of the interactions between the user groups and regulatory authorities, both during and after the Commission, reveals the ability of these interest groups to lobby very effectively within the Canadian democratic system. The major social conflicts within the fisheries that are representative of the importantly different perspectives are: culture conflict, sportfishing/commercial fishing conflict, political ideological conflict, and conflict between profession frames. The most serious conflict is between Indians and other resource users. Indians have sought legal recognition of existing aboriginal rights in fishing, involving increased allocations to Indian users; other users greatly fear displacement as the resources are reallocated. As independent "co-management" planning procedures are being carried on simultaneously between Indian bands and government, and between commercial and sport groups and government, the objectives of the two often conflict. The result is a management and allocation process that remains extremely volatile and subject to such intensive lobbying that rational planning is difficult. The fisheries management and planning process could benefit from the greater inclusion of the social sciences, a move which would help describe with greater accuracy the complex human components of the fisheries. Such an approach would also seek to develop the potential of mediation and negotiation as a means of integrating a number of rational, professional frameworks with user group perspectives, and would imply a continuance in the recent shift from centralist to intermediary planning. It is suggested that crucial management decisions relating to "endangered" stocks of salmon be delegated to councils of professional biologists, for in such cases it is important that lobbying processes not be allowed to compromise conservation principles. Also, economists should assume management roles that can better accommodate, in the processes of policy making, the heavy overlay of politically-important social policies inherent in the fisheries. To date, intense negotiation and bargaining processes, involving both user groups and the management professions, have been effectively conducted on both a public and private level. These processes have promoted ongoing social learning which has had a positive effect within the B.C. salmon fisheries (examples are the Pearse Commission, MAC, CFIC, PARK, and the Canada/U.S. Treaty). These types of processes appear to lend themselves to the establishment of lasting bio-anthropological contracts, and the subsequent realization of more rational salmon fisheries management. A planning process focused upon reducing social conflict, through the development of ongoing negotiation processes between the many participants in the fisheries, is considered the most likely to succeed. Not only will this better maintain the generally good record of biological sustainability of the B.C. salmon fisheries, but also it will gradually enable the full development of their considerable economic and social potential. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

Data were collected from participating grow-out salmon farmers, processors, and the B.C. Salmon Farmers' Association, through interviews, and utilized to define a base farm. A microcomputer based spreadsheet model was constructed to capture the important biological and economic variables. The model details the operating costs and returns of a farm for five years, and assumes operating costs are consistent with the fifth year to provide cash flows for a total of 20 years. The financial analysis includes an examination of the net present values, the net farm income, and the internal rate of return. Results indicate that the base farm is a viable investment at a 6.9% discount rate. A sensitivity analysis is utilized to determine the critical variables in the operation of a grow-out salmon farm. The most sensitive variable turned out to be the growth rate of salmon. The base farm was found to be vulnerable to economic variables such as the product price, and the feed price. Other important biological variables are the feed conversion ratio and the mortality rate, both of which have a significant effect on the viability of the base farm. / Land and Food Systems, Faculty of / Graduate

A procedure for applying the concepts of Bayesian decision theory to salmon management is presented and illustrated with an application to the Babine system sockeye salmon fishery in British Columbia. The particular decision considered is the recommended escapement to aim for in a given year. The Babine fishery is described and the decision theory concepts are outlined. The procedure involves defining the relationship between the recommended spawning escapement and the number of adults returning in the cycle year in probabilistic terms; defining the utility, that is the relative desirability of various sizes of catch; and computing the total expected utility of both the catch in the current year and the spawning returns associated with alternative values of the recommended escapement. The escapement with the maximum expected utility should be chosen and recommended. / Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies / Graduate

The question to which this study is addressed is: can the Eraser River sockeye salmon fishery be managed in such a way as to maximize its present worth? A review of the existing biological and economics literature would suggest that such optimal management is indeed possible. Putting numbers into the theoretical equations and solving for an optimal solution has been based on a three part approach. First, a Ricker form of recruitment function was used to model the basic interseasonal relationship between spawning escapement and subsequent future recruitment. Second, nonlinear production functions were used to model the harvesting process in a highly cyclical fishery spread out over a fairly extensive fishing gauntlet. And third, it is assumed that the manager is faced with two inter-related problems which must be solved simultaneously: he must decide the optimal escapement which has future revenue consequences in terms of size of catch and future cost consequences in terms of size of the subsequent recruitment (the larger the recruitment, the lower the harvesting costs), and he must decide the least cost spatial combination of harvesting gear to take the specified catch. The major finding of this study is that it is possible to manage the Fraser River sockeye salmon fishery in an optimal manner and to do so would increase its present worth substantially. The use of cycle dummy variables to allow for the marked four year cycles in both recruitment and harvesting patterns plays a major role in improving parameter estimation. Nonlinear programming techniques can be developed to allow the simultaneous determination of the optimal intertemporal spawning escapement and the least cost spatial allocation of effort to harvest the optimal catch. The original contribution of this dissertation lies in its use of deterministic models to empirically solve the problem of optimal management of a fishery. / Arts, Faculty of / Vancouver School of Economics / Graduate

Conventional fisheries management has appeared to be at odds with the rights of Native people in the Province of British Columbia. At the same time many Native Bands want to focus on the salmon fishery for economic and cultural revival. The combination of these two factors with growing management problems for the Federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has, for some Bands resulted in efforts toward cooperative management (co-management) of the resource. This thesis analyzes the outcomes of efforts towards co-management of one Band (Ditidaht, at Nitinaht Lake), and evaluates its effectiveness in the early stages of implementation. The thesis includes both a literature review and a case study that describes the Band's efforts at local control in light of their developing property rights, made stronger by recent court cases. It also describes how the DFO has responded to these developments, and how both groups attempted to keep the process directed toward improved fisheries management. The literature review reveals that while there are a number of advantages to the practice of co-management over conventional systems, there also a number of challenges that face local groups attempting this practice. The case study focuses particular attention on how the Ditidaht Band has responded to these challenges. Strategies used by the Ditidaht Band and the DFO, in response to increasing property;. . rights of the Band, to better manage the salmon fishery and to overcome barriers to the exercise of co-management are documented and analyzed. These strategies have generally evolved from concern for the conservation of salmon on the part of both parties. For the Ditidaht these strategies also involved a search for economic development opportunities. Outcomes of the efforts of the two parties are also analyzed in terms of propositions about co-management set out in the literature. It is concluded that the DFO has been reluctant to grant the Ditidaht control over fisheries management functions and appear to have done so done so reluctantly, and only as a result of recent court cases. Because of this Ditidaht input has been kept to a minimum and basically only involves enforcement. As for the Ditidaht Band, it has not taken full advantage of alliances with other parties as a mechanism for enhancing its control over the resource. The Band has also generally not responded to the importance of internal cohesion by establishing a forum for solving disputes over allocation. They have also failed to see the importance of using public concern for conservation as a strategic tool. The case study highlights the importance of looking beyond short-term interests, in this case economic development, in order to become self-sufficient in the long-term.