Coastwide analysis of Pacific herring population structure using traditional ecological knowledge
Presentation Abstract
Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii) are distributed across coastal waters of the Pacific Northwest; however, different countries/states have very different harvest and management policies. In Washington State, current management strategies emphasize conservation and rebuilding of herring stocks. In contrast, the relatively larger biomass of herring in Canadian waters supports both commercial and subsistence fisheries, and management efforts are primarily focused on user conflicts and allocation issues. Another contrast between the two countries concerns the status of individual spawning aggregates, which are managed as separate stocks in Washington, but as a part of larger stock complexes in Canada, despite consistent claims of First Nations of the existence and depletion of local, non-migratory stocks. A coast-wide analysis of population structure informed by traditional ecological knowledge is important to resolve isolated herring stocks and predict the effect of management measures. To address this issue, we sampled twelve populations of herring from Washington State and British Columbia. We confirmed genetic differentiation among temporally isolated herring populations and discovered high-resolution DNA markers using next-generation sequencing. These markers will be used in future analyses of mixed fisheries and ancient population structure. In addition, we will use the newly-developed markers to test hypotheses based on traditional ecological knowledge of resident and migratory herring stocks.
Session Title
Ecological and cultural context of Pacific herring in the Salish Sea
Conference Track
Species and Food Webs
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2016 : Vancouver, B.C.)
Document Type
Event
Start Date
2016 12:00 AM
End Date
2016 12:00 AM
Location
2016SSEC
Type of Presentation
Oral
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 fisheries--British Columbia; Pacific herring fisheries--Washington (State); Pacific herring--Monitoring--Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Fish stock assessment--Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.)
Geographic Coverage
Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Washington (State); British Columbia
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
Coastwide analysis of Pacific herring population structure using traditional ecological knowledge
2016SSEC
Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii) are distributed across coastal waters of the Pacific Northwest; however, different countries/states have very different harvest and management policies. In Washington State, current management strategies emphasize conservation and rebuilding of herring stocks. In contrast, the relatively larger biomass of herring in Canadian waters supports both commercial and subsistence fisheries, and management efforts are primarily focused on user conflicts and allocation issues. Another contrast between the two countries concerns the status of individual spawning aggregates, which are managed as separate stocks in Washington, but as a part of larger stock complexes in Canada, despite consistent claims of First Nations of the existence and depletion of local, non-migratory stocks. A coast-wide analysis of population structure informed by traditional ecological knowledge is important to resolve isolated herring stocks and predict the effect of management measures. To address this issue, we sampled twelve populations of herring from Washington State and British Columbia. We confirmed genetic differentiation among temporally isolated herring populations and discovered high-resolution DNA markers using next-generation sequencing. These markers will be used in future analyses of mixed fisheries and ancient population structure. In addition, we will use the newly-developed markers to test hypotheses based on traditional ecological knowledge of resident and migratory herring stocks.
