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. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UBC/oai:circle.library.ubc.ca:2429/4546 |
| Date | 11 1900 |
| Creators | Joseph, Robert |
| Source Sets | University of British Columbia |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis/Dissertation |
| Format | 5645229 bytes, application/pdf |
| Rights | For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use. |
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