Traditional Kwakwaka’wakw Harvesting of Ts’áts’ayem - Eelgrass, Zostera marina L.

Zostera marina L.; Zosteraceae (eelgrass), an aquatic angiosperm, is a keystone species in estuarine systems in the Northern Hemisphere. Underwater prairies, formed by rhizome growth and seed dispersal, increase biodiversity and productivity and are sensitive indicators of ecosystem stability. The Kwakwaka’wakw of Northern Vancouver Island and adjacent mainland of British Columbia historically gathered these rhizomes, called “ts’áts’ayem ”, for food. Contemporary elders recall harvesting considerable quantities every spring, and have indicated that, like other traditionally harvested plants, ts’áts’ayem prairies are more productive when routinely harvested. Through semi-structured interviews and harvesting expeditions with elders, we learned the traditional protocols for gathering ts’áts’ayem. With this knowledge we designed controlled in situ experiments to test the influence of harvesting on density patterns. Overall, hypotheses gleaned from Kwakwaka’wakw elders’ traditional ecological knowledge were supported by our field research and ecological literature, and provided a strong framework for this ethnoecological study of ts’áts’ayem.