Credit: CC0 Public Domain
Simon Fraser University has released a new study that shows ancient Indigenous fishing techniques can be used today to guide sustainable management and conservation.
The Tsleil-Waututh Nation collaborated with us and used new palaeogenetic analytical methods developed in SFU Archaeology’s ancient DNA laboratory. Professor Dongya Yang directed the new collaboration study. It provides strong evidence that Coast Salish people managed chum salmon by selectively picking males prior to European colonization.
Because male salmon are larger than female salmon, selectively harvesting male salmon will increase the harvest's size. This helps ensure successful spawning, as one male can mate and mate with multiple females. This allows fisheries the ability to increase their harvest without compromising future returns.
Thomas Royle, a postdoctoral fellow in the lab, says that this management practice is also described by Coast Salish knowledge. "Through archaeology we were able extend the time depth for this practice by 2,000 year," he said.
The new palaeogenetic techniques were applied to the archaeological salmon vertebrae to determine the sexes of each sample. This was done to confirm Coast Salish tradition knowledge that has been passed down for many centuries.
Tsleil Waututh ancestors worked for salmon abundance over millennia and passed their knowledge to the next generation. These TsleilWaututh traditional practices could be used to inform conservation and management in light of the current declines and collapses of many commercial fisheries.
The Tsleil–Waututh Nation (Michael George and Michelle George), SFU, Thomas C.A. were part of this research collaboration. Royle, Hua Z, Miguel Alcaide and Ryan Morin were part of the Tsleil–Waututh Nation project to determine the state of Burrard Inlet's pre-contact ecosystems.
Further exploration: Mapping the evolution and coastal waters of Metro Vancouver with The Burrard Inlet
More information: Jesse Morin et al, Indigenous sex-selective salmon harvesting demonstrates pre-contact marine resource management in Burrard Inlet, British Columbia, Canada, Scientific Reports (2021). Journal information: Scientific Reports Jesse Morin et al, Indigenous sex-selective salmon harvesting demonstrates pre-contact marine resource management in Burrard Inlet, British Columbia, Canada,(2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-00154-4
