Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Dynamics of Conflict, Knowledge and Conservation in the Mi'kmaq Fisheries, Atlantic Canada

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Graduate student Gretchen Fox, supervised by Dr. Dorothy C. Holland, will investigate the multiple sources of conflicts that occur when natural resources, such as fish, are co-managed by aboriginal people and the state in Atlantic Canada. Rapid depletion, pollution, and habitat destruction of marine resources are among the most pressing concerns facing North America today. Without successful management, many of these resources are at risk of extinction. At the same time, aboriginal peoples' rights to use and manage natural resources are increasingly being recognized. To address these trends, Canada has promoted co-management, where management responsibilities for natural resources are shared between the state and aboriginal groups. Although lauded by policy-makers, co-management is frequently fraught with conflict. To understand the sources of this conflict and what potentially could be done to avoid it, Fox's research will focus on how Mi'kmaq people in Atlantic Canada engage in negotiations for co-management of several lucrative, but threatened, commercial fisheries. She will document the unique ecological knowledge of the Mi'kmaq fishers and examine the relationship between this knowledge and the positions they take during co-management negotiations with the Canadian government. Fox will employ a mixed methods, ethnographic research strategy. She will spend 12 months in several Mi'kmaq communities conducting archival investigations and participating and observing at local social, cultural, and political events. She also will join crews on fishing boats and observe at co-management seminars and negotiations. In addition, she will conduct in-depth interviews with a cross-section of community residents including fishers, political leaders, elders and entrepreneurs. This research will contribute significantly to the education of a female social scientist. It also may increase understanding of resource management strategies in contexts with multiple stakeholders.