Shifting baselines in Puget Sound: population abundance of Pacific herring and its use by Native Americans over the millennia
Presentation Abstract
Healthy marine ecosystems have become a top priority for management and conservation bodies. However, the definition of ecosystem health is usually based on data from populations that have already been degraded by recent human impacts such as commercial resource extraction, climate change and habitat destruction. Unfortunately, this incremental degradation of natural ecosystems is linked directly to the erosion of social systems, especially among Indigenous peoples. Pacific herring (Clupea pallasi) might be an example of ‘shifting baselines’ in the marine environment, as intense commercial fishing in both Canada and the US predate recent biomass estimates. Furthermore, the predominance of herring bones in archaeological remains and the importance of herring in local oral history are often not matched by the limited number of tribal herring fisheries today. Here, we present the rationale of a Washington Sea Grant funded project to reconstruct pre-industrial levels of population diversity of Pacific herring in Puget Sound, and to gather traditional local knowledge on its past abundance and cultural importance to local tribes. The project draws from several disciplines including anthropology, archaeology, and genetics, and is nested within two larger programs, the Herring School (SFU, Canada) and the NSF IGERT Program on Ocean Change (UW, USA). Specifically, we will (i) synthesize traditional local knowledge about herring in Puget Sound, (ii) quantify extant genetic population diversity, (iii) compare pre-industrial genetic population diversity estimated from archaeological bones with that of extant herring, and (iv) carry out outreach activities with our tribal partners. We expect that the project will lead to a re-evaluation of recovery goals of Puget Sound herring and foster discussions about achievable and desirable management goals between tribal and other stakeholder groups.
Session Title
Session S-03D: Forage Fish Research and Protection in the Salish Sea
Conference Track
Species and Food Webs
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2014 : Seattle, Wash.)
Document Type
Event
Start Date
1-5-2014 5:00 PM
End Date
1-5-2014 6:30 PM
Location
Room 6C
Genre/Form
conference proceedings; presentations (communicative events)
Contributing Repository
Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Pacific herring--Washington (State)--Puget Sound--History; Fish surveys--Washington (State)--Puget Sound--History; Indians of North America--Fishing
Geographic Coverage
Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Puget Sound (Wash.)
Rights
This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Type
Text
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
Shifting baselines in Puget Sound: population abundance of Pacific herring and its use by Native Americans over the millennia
Room 6C
Healthy marine ecosystems have become a top priority for management and conservation bodies. However, the definition of ecosystem health is usually based on data from populations that have already been degraded by recent human impacts such as commercial resource extraction, climate change and habitat destruction. Unfortunately, this incremental degradation of natural ecosystems is linked directly to the erosion of social systems, especially among Indigenous peoples. Pacific herring (Clupea pallasi) might be an example of ‘shifting baselines’ in the marine environment, as intense commercial fishing in both Canada and the US predate recent biomass estimates. Furthermore, the predominance of herring bones in archaeological remains and the importance of herring in local oral history are often not matched by the limited number of tribal herring fisheries today. Here, we present the rationale of a Washington Sea Grant funded project to reconstruct pre-industrial levels of population diversity of Pacific herring in Puget Sound, and to gather traditional local knowledge on its past abundance and cultural importance to local tribes. The project draws from several disciplines including anthropology, archaeology, and genetics, and is nested within two larger programs, the Herring School (SFU, Canada) and the NSF IGERT Program on Ocean Change (UW, USA). Specifically, we will (i) synthesize traditional local knowledge about herring in Puget Sound, (ii) quantify extant genetic population diversity, (iii) compare pre-industrial genetic population diversity estimated from archaeological bones with that of extant herring, and (iv) carry out outreach activities with our tribal partners. We expect that the project will lead to a re-evaluation of recovery goals of Puget Sound herring and foster discussions about achievable and desirable management goals between tribal and other stakeholder groups.
