Climate change is not only accelerating the melting of sea ice in the Arctic, but it is allowing access to a virtually untouched fishery of Arctic char, Arctic cod, and Northern shrimp.
That’s prompted researchers from Carleton University, Queen’s University, and the Ontario Genomics Institute to collaborate on a project entitled, “Towards a Sustainable Fishery for Nunavummiut”.
Their project has won $5.6 million dollars in Genome Canada’s 2014 Large-Scale Applied Research Project Competition. It’s the only grant awarded in Ontario and a first for the Faculty of Public Affairs.
“This is a major four-year interdisciplinary project,” says Stephan Schott, a professor in Carleton’s School of Public Policy and Administration and a co-leader on the project. “Our task is to strengthen food security in Nunavut, explore sustainable economic development opportunities for Nunavummiut (the people of Nunavut) and assist in the development of a co-management strategy for Arctic char for communities in the Lower Northwest Passage.”
A social scientist, Schott will be responsible for “the integration of science with traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), the translation of genetic and scientific findings into public policy, and social and economic benefits for Canada and indigenous communities in Nunavut.”
Schott will work closely with Chancellor’s Professor Fraser Taylor, the director of Carleton’s Geomatics and Cartography Centre, as well as Amos Haynes. His co-leads on the project are biologists at Queen’s University.