Floating Ideas Lecture Series

Doors Open 6:30pm, Lecture 7:00pm

Regular admission applies, free for members and annual pass holders

Chiixuu Tll iinasdll: A Story of People Nurturing Seafood to Grow

Relationships between indigenous Haida, sea otters, and ecosystems of Haida Gwaii, British Columbia, Canada, adapted and persisted for millennia until the maritime fur trade disrupted Haida culture and extirpated sea otters. For nearly 200 years, ocean ecosystems in Gwaii Haanas have been out of balance. With loss of sea otters that are voracious shellfish predators, macroinvertebrates became larger and much more abundant. Kelp forests today are greatly diminished in abundance, depth and area due to intense grazing by hyperabundant urchins freed from top-down control. Degraded kelp forests negatively impact marine ecosystems, species at risk, and culturally important species by reducing habitat, primary productivity and coastal protection. The Haida Nation and Canada are collaborating to restore kelp forests over a 3-km long restoration site. Working with fishing industry partners, we mimicked sea otter predation by removing and cracking >75% of the urchins at the site, providing traditional foods, guuding.ngaay (red urchin) and styuu (green urchin), to Haida communities. With researchers, we are leveraging restoration efforts to better understand how urchin removals cause dynamic change in rocky reef ecosystem components and population dynamics, using a before-after control-impact design. Remarkable change in kelp depth and density has already occurred 6-9 months post-restoration. Through the Chiixuu Tll iinasdll project, Gwaii Haanas’ cooperative management partners are showcasing how co-management and collaboration can advance shared conservation goals and objectives.

Dr. Lynn Lee is an ardent fan of all ‘fish’ in the sea, Lynn has logged well over 1000 scientific dives in cold water and is currently the marine ecologist for Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve, National Marine Conservation Area Reserve, and Haida Heritage Site. She recently finished her doctoral thesis that explores ecological interactions, historical ecology and governance related to northern abalone conservation and sea otter recovery. Lynn lives on a hobby farm in Tlell on Haida Gwaii with her spouse and son, Fred the cat (and sourdough) and a garden. Over 25 years of life and work on the islands have found her engaged in a diversity of marine and land conservation initiatives. A few highlights include marine biologist planner and dive biologist for the Haida Nation, local coordinator for World Wildlife Fund Canada, stream restoration biologist and member of many local land and marine use planning tables. When not engaged in things ecological, you might find Lynn making art, playing music, experimenting in the kitchen or walking on the beach.

Photo credit: Ryan Miller (millermarine.ca)