Facilitators:
Brett Van Poorten, Simon Fraser University
Michael Berry, Simon Fraser University
Maya Townened, Simon Fraser University
Angela Ratzburg, Simon Fraser University

People have formed important relationships with different populations of char on the land. However, Traditional and Western views of what is a population and how many are there, are very different. Western traditions require long time-series of ‘data’ (e.g., standardized catch rates), but this is impractical and ignores the wealth of lived experiences by harvesters and communities. It is important to open lines of communication between harvesters, knowledge keepers, and decision-makers (resource boards, DFO, others) if we are to get information needed to make decisions. This is especially true as climate change is changing the landscape and the community needs for these fish. This workshop will explore different ways of getting information and how to use information to help make decisions that sustain these fish and fisheries for many generations to come. 

Facilitator: Andrew Seitz, University of Alaska Fairbanks

Dolly Varden has a large range across North America that spans the U.S./Canada border, yet findings from research and monitoring programs on each side of the border are infrequently shared and discussed.  In this workshop, findings from research and monitoring in Alaska will be briefly shared, to facilitate a cross-border discussion about observations and trends of Dolly Varden in the Arctic. 

Facilitators:
Heidi Swanson, Wilfrid Laurier University
Eric Hitkolok, Community of Kugluktuk
Rosie Smith, University of Waterloo

Both searun Arctic char and Dolly Varden use the Coppermine River near Kugluktuk, Nunavut. We will begin this session with a presentation on our research tracking char near Kugluktuk and what we have learned about the similarities and differences between the two species, followed by group discussions and sharing about the movements and distributions of the two species in other areas.

Facilitator: Paden Lennie, Herschel Island–Qikiqtaruk Territorial Park

This workshop will bring together the Char harvesters and other user groups, focusing on aspects that we see while we are using the land during harvesting seasons and the environmental changes driving the fish. 

Themes that will be discussed: 

1) Physical Appearances (i.e. lesions/ growths/ swelling/ scars/ swelling eyes/etc); 

2) Eating Quality (i.e. fat amount/ soft meat/ change in color/ taste/etc); 

3) Environmental effects (i.e. spawning areas/ ocean habitat/ water temp/ prey/ distribution/etc); and 

4) Techniques we as the harvesters can do to better understand these changes.