“It’s something we’ve always been working towards.”

Those are the words of Ernie Tallio, Guardian Watchmen Manager for the Nuxalk Nation on BC’s Central Coast. He’s talking about an agreement between the Nuxalk and Kitasoo Xai’xais First Nations and BC Parks to share compliance and enforcement responsibilities within provincial protected areas in the Nations’ territories. The Shared Compliance and Enforcement Pilot Program officially launched in July 2023 with five Nuxalk and six Kitasoo Xai’xais Guardians receiving park ranger appointments.

“It’s exciting to be part of this initiative… to be part of something that’s a first in Canada,” said Ernie. “It’s taken several years to get to this point and a lot of collaboration with BC Parks. We were often told by government agencies we work with that we didn’t have any authority but now we do.”

The 11 Guardians with park ranger appointments have the same powers under the Park Act as park rangers employed by BC Parks in more than 40 protected areas, including Tweedsmuir Park, the Fiordland Conservancy, Kitasoo Spirit Bear Conservancy and Dean River Conservancy. They can give warnings or issue tickets for infringements of the Act. Among other training, each has taken BCIT’s BC Parks Law and Its Administration course and participated in a two-week ranger bootcamp at Manning Park.

The agreement between BC Parks and the Nuxalk and Kitasoo Xai’xais is a recognition that these Central Coast Nations have sustainably managed resources in their territories for thousands of years.

“This is an incredibly important step towards reconciliation,” said Dana Holtby, an advisor with the BC Parks’ Indigenous Relations Team and part of the technical working group for the pilot. “It’s a unique moment when the Crown has recognized the authority, capacity, and capability of the Guardian programs. It’s a recognition of the role Guardians have played in stewarding their territories for generations. People in these communities are incredibly proud of the work the Guardians are doing.”

BC Parks has been collaborating with both Nations for two decades, working side by side on park management planning and through joint training and patrols. MaPP has also played an important role in creating space to allow a strong and trusting relationship to grow. The organization hosted a communication workshop for BC Parks operational staff and Guardians in 2018 as well as joint training to foster a more collaborative approach to monitoring the Central Coast. Another communication and collaboration workshop was held in 2019 and MaPP also funded Guardians to take part in BC Parks ranger training in Williams Lake.

MaPP is committed to providing ongoing coordination and support for compliance and enforcement. This contributes to numerous objectives and strategies of the Central Coast Marine Plan including improving marine-based compliance monitoring, and minimizing current and potential ecological impacts of logging-related activities. Over time, MaPP expects the pilot project will build First Nations’ capacity for compliance and enforcement, increase respect for the authority of First Nations’ Guardian programs, improve understanding, communication, and collaboration between provincial agencies and First Nations, and ensure compliance with marine laws on the Central Coast. Collaborative stewardship will result in improved Central Coast Marine Plan outcomes. MaPP also hopes the program will serve as a path for other Nations seeking greater authority to manage and make decisions regarding their territories.

“This work is serving as an inspiration for other Nations,” said Ernie. “I attended an Indigenous Leadership Initiative gathering in Ottawa in spring 2023 and there was definitely interest in what we’re doing.”

“There are a lot of eyes watching this pilot,” added Dana. “We’re excited to continue to build the partnership between BC Parks and the Kitasoo Xai’xais and Nuxalk Nations, and to see where this pilot leads us.”

A research partnership is helping Central Coast First Nations get the data they need to evaluate opportunities in the vibrant international seafood market for Panopea generosa — or geoduck, as this species of burrowing clam is more commonly known.

A traditional food for coastal Indigenous people, geoduck can live more than 140 years, and a single female geoduck can produce 5 billion eggs over the course of her life. The clams are described as having a sweet, clean ocean taste and a texture that’s squid-like with a bit of crunch. Since the 1970s, B.C.’s geoduck industry has grown into a multi-million-dollar business. Today, about 3 million pounds are harvested annually by divers in waters up to 30 metres deep, and by people digging them up at low tide. More than 90 percent of this harvest is flown fresh to Asia, where it can fetch $30 a pound.

For First Nations that are part of the Marine Plan Partnership (MaPP), the burning question is whether geoduck clams can be profitably cultivated to become a sustainable business.

“It is a very hot commodity right now, and there is a lot of interest in cultivating [geoduck] in both subtidal and intertidal zones,” observes Dr. Myron Roth, an aquaculture and marine fisheries expert at the Ministry of Agriculture & Food. “But we don’t really have the numbers yet to show how lucrative it will be. On paper it looks really good, but nobody grows fish on paper!”

“This industry is very much in its infancy,” adds Sally Cargill, a marine planning specialist at the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship, and the provincial co-lead for MaPP implementation. “There’s quite a bit of investment required up front to start a commercial operation, so the feasibility of it needs to be looked at very closely.”

That’s why Central Coast MaPP partners, the Heiltsuk and Kitasoo Xai’xais Nations, have teamed up with North Island College (NIC) on a five-year research project to explore the viability of intertidal geoduck aquaculture in the region. During the summer of 2023, juvenile geoduck were planted at study sites on the Central Coast, selected based on the Nations’ knowledge of geoduck in the area, key habitat parameters, and other factors. “You need that ‘Goldilocks zone’,” explains Logan Zeinert, a research technician from NIC’s Centre for Applied Research, Technology & Innovation and Project Lead. “A good sandy site with a deep enough substrate that the geoduck clams can bury themselves.” Over the next two years, geoduck survival and growth at these sites will be carefully monitored and compared to determine optimal production conditions. The resulting data will be useful both to researchers and the communities evaluating the commercial viability of geoduck aquaculture at these sites.

“I hope geoduck aquaculture can deliver financial benefits and employment for our Nations,” says Heiltsuk Nation Aquatics Manager Mike Reid from his home in Bella Bella. “The bigger point is that it could provide more sustainable, low-impact food source, especially as other sources, like salmon, are not doing well.” Reid says the Heiltsuk and other coastal peoples have long harvested geoduck for food, even in subtidal zones, using ingenious methods that predated technologies used by today’s underwater harvesters.

Santana Edgar, Marine Planning Coordinator for the Kitasoo Xai’xais, is also looking forward to research insights. “Can we successfully grow geoduck, and do we have enough suitable intertidal habitat to achieve the economies of scale to create meaningful employment for our people?” she asks. “Kitasoo Xai’xais have been engaged in finfish aquaculture since the 1990s and have always wanted to expand operations into shellfish aquaculture. This can be a low impact way of benefiting from our surrounding ocean.”

Core funding for the project comes from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and the Rural Economic Diversification and Infrastructure Program (REDIP), with additional funds and in-kind contributions from CCIRA, the Central Coast Commercial Fisheries Association (CCCFA), the Province of B.C, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO).

 

For many years, guardian watchmen have been stewards for the Heiltsuk, Kitasoo/Xai’xais, Wuikinuxv, and Nuxalk Nations on the Central Coast. And for the past five years, each Nation’s program has been able to accomplish more thanks to MaPP, which funds two positions in each Nation with a specific focus on monitoring key ecosystem-based management (EBM) indicators. Guardians are now collecting data in places and on a scale that no other agency does, and the impacts are changing the way species are managed and biodiversity is protected.

“Funding from MaPP has opened up a whole new set of work and grown our capacity,” says Diana Chan, who works with the Heiltsuk Nation. “These guardians monitor EBM indicators including kelp and Dungeness crab. We’re using the Dungeness crab surveys to inform our collaborative management discussions with Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO).”

“Our program is more robust because of MaPP funding,” agrees the Kitasoo/Xai’xais Nation’s Evan Loveless. “It takes time to build capacity and there are ongoing challenges of working in remote communities. But our partnership with MaPP means we have data from across the region that we can use for more strategic management. We’re planning better and we’re moving towards improved stewardship over our marine environment.”

The Central Coast Indigenous Resource Alliance (CCIRA) supports the regional stewardship efforts of guardian watchmen programs within the four Central Coast Nations, and these programs are in turn part of broader regional network supported by the Coastal Stewardship Network. Tristan Blaine trains the MaPP-funded watchmen on how to collect data that informs ecosystem-based management.

“Having everyone collect data the same way means we have uniform information that can be used to make valid comparisons and communicate coast-wide trends,” he says. “This gives the data more power to be used for resource management decisions. And the watchmen are starting to appreciate the importance of their work; I’ve noticed a real shift in their sense of ownership of the territory and its resources.”

The data the watchmen collect are used to inform collaborative management with the provincial and federal governments. Kelp monitoring, for instance, is informing a MaPP regional kelp monitoring program. Observations of vessel traffic provide data for marine park management and use permits. Data collection assists with determining if forestry activities in the marine environment are in compliance with the conditions in the tenure agreement and Management Plan, and also helps identify hot zones for oil spills as well as for mitigation and response management. Ocean temperature and other oceanographic indicators are noted, offering insights on climate change and impacts on critical near-shore habitats such as kelp and eelgrass. Data gathering has also proved vital in protecting sacred cultural sites and good sources of food such as Pyropia (edible seaweed).

The Dungeness crab survey is one of the longest-running projects on the Central Coast. Alejandro Frid is CCIRA’s science co-ordinator and, in collaboration with Madeleine McGreer, analyzes the data watchmen collect.

“The data are being used to monitor EBM Indicators and to see if MaPP’s protection management zones are helping with conservation as well as defining where commercial and recreational fisheries are having an impact,” says Alejandro. “The Dungeness crab data were used extensively by our joint technical working group with DFO and resulted in closures to commercial fisheries intended to restore and preserve First Nations’ access to traditional foods. That’s been the most impactful study so far but we’re also on the way to applying the data collected in other areas.”

MaPP funding has also helped build bridges between the Nations and provincial agencies.

“MaPP has helped us build relationships with the Nations and we’ve gained a better understanding of the guardian watchmen programs, their concerns and focus,” says Natural Resources Officer Denise Blid. “We now have regular meetings and have worked together on a number of occasions. It’s a priority for our agency to continue to work together to strengthen these partnerships.”

Momentum is also building between watchmen and BC Parks’ officials. Peter Woods is the agency’s area supervisor on the Central Coast.

“The guardian watchmen attended ranger training in 2018 and 2019 and we held a joint workshop last year that was a great success in building trust and followed that up with another in 2019 that has helped us forge an even stronger relationship,” says Woods. “We discussed joint patrol opportunities as well as future projects; collaboration has increased substantially between BC Parks and the four Central Coast Nations. That will result in strong protection and stewardship of our resources.”

“Every year, we can point to more tangible outcomes thanks to the MaPP-funded guardians,” says CCIRA’s program director, Aaron Heidt. “The programs are gaining capacity and professionalism. There’s growing awareness with provincial agencies and that’s leading to better co-ordination and improved working relationships. Over the long-term, I see these watchmen as playing a key role in who we go to for scientific data on the Central Coast and as the face of MaPP implementation as well as marine conservation and management.”

The fjords of B.C.’s Central Coast are home to an astounding abundance of marine life including fragile deep-sea corals and sponges and the rockfish they provide habitat for. While First Nations Elders have long spoken of this profusion of life, traditional Indigenous knowledge is now backed up by scientific data gathered during an expedition aboard the Canadian Coast Guard research vessel Vector. Scientists visited Kynoch Inlet, Seaforth Channel and Fitz Hugh Sound in March 2018 as part of a collaborative survey between Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), Oceana Canada, Ocean Networks Canada, the Central Coast Indigenous Resource Alliance (CCIRA), and the Heiltsuk and Kitasoo/Xais’Xais First Nations. The Marine Plan Partnership’s (MaPP) Central Coast Marine Plan includes objectives and strategies for identifying and closing information gaps – and there is much to learn about marine life far below the water’s surface.

“The plan was essential to our expedition,” said Oceana Canada’s Science Director Dr. Robert Rangeley. “We were building on existing knowledge and we referred to the Central Coast Marine Plan frequently. There was a lot of back and forth between the partners about where to explore and the Central Coast marine plan was used in those discussions.”

The expedition used a camera capable of filming at depths of more than 2,000 metres—much deeper than previous studies had access to.

“We were able to find high densities of vulnerable species such as corals and sponges in habitats never explored,” said DFO’s Program Head for Deep Sea Ecology, Tammy Norgard. “We’ll be using these findings to refine our modelling to determine locations for these species.”

Marine Planning Co-ordinator for the Kitasoo/Xai’Xais Nation Barry Edgar acted as the community liaison in Klemtu. “People were fascinated to watch the live video feed and surprised to see all the life at those depths,” he said. “It confirmed a lot of knowledge that has been passed down and we also learned a lot. It was great to have this happen in our community.”

“Before this expedition, the deepest we’d been able to do video work was 200 metres,” added CCIRA Field Technician Tristan Blaine. “Our Elders have talked about these areas, but there was no scientific knowledge. The data we’ve collected has changed the way we see these fjords and provides vital information needed for protecting them.”

“The information collected will feed directly into the process of planning a network of marine protected areas in the Northern Shelf Bioregion, with a goal of protecting high value areas including unique habitats and species,” said Sally Cargill, a marine planning specialist with the provincial government and Central Coast co-lead for MaPP. “Deep sea corals and sponges were found within protection management zones. The new information also provides further rationale for MaPP’s protection management zones and may inform future management direction in those areas.”

All the partners were enthusiastic about the expedition’s community engagement component that was led by Maia Hoeberechts with Ocean Networks Canada.

“Ocean Networks Canada supplied the satellite dome and transmitted the underwater video feed to communities along the Central Coast and elsewhere,” said Maia. “This was broadcast to the schools in Bella Bella and Klemtu. We also made sure community members from youth to Elders had an opportunity to visit the research vessel and take part in the expedition. Our goal was to help provide data that helps communities, governments and industry to make informed decisions about our future.”

 

Four First Nations are partnering with the Province of B.C. to implement MaPP on the Central Coast through a coordinated response to three aquatic invaders: European green crab, tunicates, and bryozoa.

Originating in northern Europe, green crab is billed by Fisheries and Oceans Canada as “one of the world’s 10 least wanted species.” They’re small (about 10 cm wide) but multiply rapidly, tolerate a wide range of salinities, and survive out of the water for up to two weeks. They disrupt ecosystems by voraciously consuming mussels and clams and decimating habitat for important species like Dungeness crab, wild salmon, and manila clams.

Tunicates (commonly known as sea squirts) and bryozoa (tiny aquatic invertebrate animals) are at least as pernicious. These filter-feeders live on almost any underwater surface, including plants, other animals, and marine structures. Growing in colonies, they can quickly overtake kelp and seagrass beds, plug water pipes, and sink marine structures. Once established in a new area, they’re very tough to get rid of.

Tristan Blaine is a professional diver and field technician who works for the Central Coast Indigenous Resource Alliance (CCIRA, which is comprised of the Heiltsuk, Kitasoo/Xai’Xais, Nuxalk, and Wuikinuxv First Nations). He describes the challenge of “biofouling” from tunicates and bryozoa: “You clean them off [marine structures], and a month later they’ve totally regrown. The amount of work involved is pretty concerning.”

These problematic species have hitchhiked to oceans around the world, as larvae in ballast water on intercontinental shipping routes and on poorly cleaned boat hulls, fishing gear, aquaculture equipment, floating debris, and ocean currents.

In May 2017 as part of MaPP implementation, CCIRA began building on the Heiltsuk Nation’s work over the past decade to eradicate green crabs around Gale Creek—by expanding it to include the other Central Coast Nations. More than 10 people (Guardian Watchmen and other fieldworkers) from the four Nations are now monitoring these aquatic invaders, collecting critical baseline data on their presence, abundance, and damage to the ecosystem.

For green crabs, the monitors use traps specially designed to reduce bycatch, boating several times weekly to trap locations to record trap data and dispatch them (usually by freezing). Green crab have been found at 4 of 25 continuously sampled sites—but data suggest green crab are spreading more slowly than expected on the Central Coast. Is this because of Heiltsuk extirpation efforts—destroying hundreds annually—or because of deep, chilly conditions of the region’s many fjords?

“We don’t know yet,” says Blaine. “But I can guarantee that if more trapping effort were all that’s required to get rid of green crab, these Nations would have everyone in their communities helping.”

To look at tunicates and bryozoa, monitors suspend weighted plates 1.5 m below docks at Shearwater Marina—about 4 km east of Bella Bella and the hub of Central Coast marine traffic. “The goal is to sample areas with highest boat traffic, because that’s one of the ways they spread,” explains Blaine.

After five months, monitors retrieve plates, record data on the observed tunicates and bryozoa in CCIRA’s database, and send five randomly selected plates to researchers at Fisheries and Oceans Canada for detailed analysis.

The intent was to quickly train local stewardship technicians to do all baseline analysis, but it’s a very specialized process. There are only a few biologists in BC equipped to definitively identify these invasive species, using a microscope and working through complicated classification steps. Each of the 22 1-cm² points on a plate can host several tunicate and bryozoa species, and analysis of five plates can take a couple of days to complete.

Data shared among Nations begs questions: If eradication of invasives isn’t realistic, can they be contained? Should regulations be strengthened and better enforced, and if so, how? How will climate change affect these introduced species?

Some answers may come from a related MaPP-funded study on climate change that began in January at the University of Victoria, says Sally Cargill. She’s a marine planning specialist with the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, and is the provincial co-lead on implementation of the Central Coast marine plan.

“They’re looking at existing frameworks and tools for carrying out vulnerability and risk assessments that have been used around the world,” says Cargill, noting that risks include invasive species. “They’ll recommend assessments that could be applied to the MaPP areas.” The sub-regions could then decide to carry out detailed vulnerability and risk assessments in coming years—which could lead to actions such as additional monitoring, site restorations, education campaigns, and measures to protect aquaculture operations.

The Nations’ millennia-long connection to these ecosystems is integral to this work, says Blaine: “They rely on the surrounding resources to survive, and a big priority for these communities is to make informed choices about resource management.”

First Nations people have long understood that the use of natural resources needs to be carefully managed in order to remain sustainable. They recognize that species, ecosystems and humans cannot be considered in isolation – healthy environments and healthy communities go hand-in-hand. This has been a guiding principle in their relationship with nature for thousands of years. Today, the Coastal First Nations – Great Bear Initiative Coastal Stewardship Network is supporting First Nations in using monitoring and standardized data collection to demonstrate scientifically why this approach, known as ecosystem-based management (EBM), is so important to preserving the lands and waters for future generations.

Chantal Pronteau and Curtis Rollie are guardian watchmen in the Central Coast’s Kitasoo/Xai’Xais Nation. This is the second year they have been monitoring and protecting their territory’s natural resources. Both live in Klemtu but are stationed in remote Mussel Inlet for three months of the year and spend an additional three months monitoring the rest of their Nation’s vast area.

With support from the Marine Plan Partnership (MaPP), Rollie and Pronteau took the first level of the Coastal First Nations Stewardship Technicians Training Program and are now participating in Level 2. The training includes 14 courses that develop a variety of skills including environmental compliance and monitoring.

“The training made a huge difference to how we do our work,” says Pronteau. “It made me more comfortable in my role as a watchman. This is work that can’t be done from a desk; we are the stewards of this land.”

“I’ve learned what to look for when patrolling, how to approach people so they feel welcome, and how to enforce First Nations laws,” says Rollie. “The small motors course has been valuable as we rely on our boats every day to accomplish our tasks.”

EBM monitoring is a priority for near-term implementation of the MaPP Central Coast Marine Plan, and Rollie and Pronteau collect data to support a variety of indicators including key species as well as noting human pressures on the ecosystem. They enter their findings on tablets and upload the information to the Coastal First Nations Regional Monitoring System (RMS).

“We’ll enter how many crab traps we see and where they are, how many boats we see and what they’re doing,” says Rollie. “We’ll record locations of logging and fishing tenures to monitor whether they’re operating in the right zone. We’ve done a rockfish survey where we count all the fish we catch in a 15-minute span and document all of them. We record water temperature, salinity and pH levels. We have a long list of things to check and all these indicators show us how everything is interconnected.”

Lara Hoshizaki administers the database that guardian watchmen such as Pronteau and Rollie upload information to. As the regional monitoring system coordinator, she works closely with the six Coastal First Nations that use the RMS and provides monthly reports.

“A standardized system is able to provide a more accurate regional picture,” says Hoshizaki. “The data collected support Nations in studying and communicating what’s happening in their territories in a quantifiable way and also support ongoing scientific research, for example, the trap sighting data collected by the RMS is shared with the Central Coast Indigenous Resource Alliance for use alongside their ongoing Dungeness Crab research. EBM monitoring offers a holistic picture by looking at a broad suite of indicators related to ecological, economic, social and cultural well-being, and can provide solutions from several perspectives.”

An EBM framework guides the implementation of many of the MaPP strategies and the work the guardian watchmen perform is important to its success. Through training, MaPP is building capacity to collect data related to EBM indicators. This improves monitoring and enforcement and measures long-term changes in ecological and human well-being.