Rapid recovery of Dungeness crab within spatial fishery closures declared under indigenous law in British Columbia

Frid, Alejandro; McGreer, Madeleine; Stevenson, Angela

doi:10.1016/j.gecco.2016.01.002

Cited by 37 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 15 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…The species has a relatively fast life-history, reaching sexual maturity at two to three years of age and growing to commercially harvestable size in two to four years (Rasmuson 2013). Thus, local increases in relative abundance (i.e., at the scale of individual bays) can occur within one or two years after reductions in fishery pressure (Taggart et al 2004;Frid, McGreer, and Stevenson 2016). Also, nutrient subsidies associated with forest inputs and runs of anadromous fish may contribute to local variation in Dungeness crab productivity (Harding and Reynolds 2014).…”

Section: Biological and Management Contextsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…DFO did not legislate the spatial closures, yet each First Nation publicly asked commercial and recreational fishers to respect their laws, and conducted patrols to request noncompliant fishers to remove their traps. Over a 10-month monitoring period (late April 2014 to early February 2015) compliance was generally good, and the body size and catch-perunit effort of legal-size male Dungeness crabs increased at closed sites but declined at open sites (Frid, McGreer, and Stevenson 2016). According to Indigenous fishers, however, crab populations remain depressed, even within spatial closures, relative to their historical baseline.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Motivated to revitalize their management practices and address the decline of species inherent to traditional foods, Indigenous people now seek to increase their role in modern fisheries management and conservation (Sheppard, Beumer, and McKinnon 2008;Stephenson et al 2014;Frid, McGreer, and Stevenson 2016). Dungeness crab (Cancer magister) in the Central Coast of British Columbia (BC), Canada (Figure 1), are at the center of these issues.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In response, DFO has asked First Nations to provide evidence of a problem in satisfying FSC fishery needs. As a step toward providing that evidence, in 2014 the four Central Coast First Nations began a collaborative large-scale spatial experiment, applying Indigenous law to close 10 sites to commercial and recreational crab fishing, and sampling Dungeness crab at these locations and 10 additional sites open to all fisheries (Frid, McGreer, and Stevenson 2016). DFO did not legislate the spatial closures, yet each First Nation publicly asked commercial and recreational fishers to respect their laws, and conducted patrols to request noncompliant fishers to remove their traps.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…First, we interviewed First Nation members to (a) document changes to Dungeness crab abundance and catches as observed and experienced by FSC fishers over the course of their lifetime, (b) estimate the number of Dungeness crabs required for FSC purposes by each community, and (c) define a successful FSC harvest, based on their needs and expectations from past catches (i.e., before recent declines) by FSC fishers. Second, we then used the survey data collected during the spatial experiment (Frid, McGreer, and Stevenson 2016) and information obtained from interviews to model the probabilities of successful FSC harvests for Dungeness crab at nine locations. Through these analyses, we illustrate the integration of Indigenous knowledge and science to address a modern fishery problem with implications for Indigenous rights, providing a general approach applicable elsewhere in the world.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Indigenous knowledge as data for modern fishery management: a case study of Dungeness crab in Pacific Canada

Ban

Eckert

McGreer³

et al. 2017

Ecosyst Health Sustain

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Introduction: Fisheries management is often data-limited, and conducted at spatial scales that are too large to address the needs of Indigenous peoples, whose cultures depend upon the local availability of marine resources. Outcomes: We combined Indigenous ecological knowledge with simulation modelling to inform modern fishery management. Semi-structured interviews with Indigenous fishers in coastal British Columbia, Canada, uncovered severe declines in the abundance and catches of Dungeness crab (Cancer magister) since the 1990s. We modelled the current probability of "successful" crab harvesting trips-as defined by expectations from past catches by Indigenous fishers-using fishery-independent data from nine sites. These probabilities were very low (<20%) for all sites except one. Discussion: Our study highlights that local depletions, which Indigenous fishers attribute to commercial and recreational fisheries, have been widespread and undetected by federal managers who manage Dungeness crab at regional scales without fishery-independent data. Further, local depletions impacted the ability of Indigenous fishers to access traditional foods. Conclusion: Integrating Indigenous knowledge with scientific research is crucial to inform locally-relevant fisheries management and conservation.

show abstract

Section: Biological and Management Contextsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Indigenous knowledge as data for modern fishery management: a case study of Dungeness crab in Pacific Canada

Ban

Eckert

McGreer³

et al. 2017

Ecosyst Health Sustain

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Predation scars provide a new method to distinguish native and invasive crab predation on mollusc prey

Barclay,

Amos,

Leighton

et al. 2024

Ecology and Evolution

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Crab species are increasingly important socioeconomic resources that are threatened by human exploitation, climate change, and invasive species, such as European green crabs (Carcinus maenas). However, the continued health of their populations is often uncertain given the limited long‐term population data, necessitating alternate approaches to ensure their continued viability. Furthermore, C. maenas are one of the most highly invasive and destructive marine species globally, posing a threat to local ecosystems and species, including socioeconomically important crabs and their mollusc prey. Improved understanding of C. maenas invasions and their impacts on local crab and mollusc resources is therefore vitally important. Here, we present a new method for identifying species‐level presence and relative abundances of important crab species, including invasive C. maenas, from the scars they leave on their prey. We conducted controlled manipulative feeding experiments in which individuals of Dungeness crabs (Metacarcinus magister), red rock crabs (Cancer productus), and C. maenas, were allowed to attack snails (Tegula funebralis) and produce sublethal shell damage. Resulting shell damage was photographed and landmarked for geometric morphometric analyses to determine any differences in the shape of shell damage between crab species. There were statistically significant differences between the shape of shell damage created by all three crab species (p < .0001). Shell damage formed a gradient from narrow/deep (C. productus) to shallow/wide (C. maenas) with M. magister as an intermediate form. Our method provides a novel, cost‐effective tool for long‐term species‐specific reconstructions of crab populations and assessing the broader ecological impacts of C. maenas invasions that can inform management and mitigation for these three important crab species.

show abstract

Contributions of Indigenous Knowledge to ecological and evolutionary understanding

Jessen

Ban

Claxton

et al. 2021

Frontiers in Ecol & Environ

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Indigenous Knowledge (IK) is the collective term to represent the many place‐based knowledges accumulated across generations within myriad specific cultural contexts. Despite its millennia‐long and continued application by Indigenous peoples to environmental management, non‐Indigenous “Western” scientific research and management have only recently considered IK. We use detailed and diverse examples to highlight how IK is increasingly incorporated in research programs, enhancing understanding of – and contributing novel insight into – ecology and evolution, as well as physiology and applied ecology (that is, management). The varied contributions of IK stem from long periods of observation, interaction, and experimentation with species, ecosystems, and ecosystem processes. Despite commonalities between IK and science, we outline the ethical duty required by scientists when working with IK holders. Given past and present injustice, respecting self‐determination of Indigenous peoples is a necessary condition to support mutually beneficial research processes and outcomes.

show abstract

Rapid recovery of Dungeness crab within spatial fishery closures declared under indigenous law in British Columbia

Cited by 37 publications

References 15 publications

Indigenous knowledge as data for modern fishery management: a case study of Dungeness crab in Pacific Canada

Indigenous knowledge as data for modern fishery management: a case study of Dungeness crab in Pacific Canada

Predation scars provide a new method to distinguish native and invasive crab predation on mollusc prey

Contributions of Indigenous Knowledge to ecological and evolutionary understanding

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About