The Herring School: Bringing together culture, ecology, and governance to support sustainability

For many indigenous peoples, the right and ability to fish is inseparably linked to their history, social relations, economy, and physical well-being.  In the western North America, Pacific herring (Clupea pallasi) plays a foundational role in coastal food webs and is a cultural keystone species of Coastal First Nations.  Oral historical and archaeological evidence indicate that for millennia herring have been central to economic and social systems of Coastal communities.  However, beginning in the late 19th cen, herring has severely declined throughout much of its North Pacific range, thus threatening both the cultural and ecological systems that rely on this once abundant fish. In this presentation, we describe the efforts of the "Herring School" a multi-disciplinary and multi-community effort that blends western scientific, local, and traditional knowledge to understand the cultural, social, ecological, legal, and economic contexts of herring in British Columbia.  Ultimately, the goal of the "School" is to provide the social and natural scientific information needed to support sustainable, local management of herring.