Grant: Project Grant

The project will answer the question of how the predicted changes in the access to fish will affect First Nations' nutritional health and develop marine management plans and public health policy accordingly. Multiple factors, including climate change, competition with other fishing sectors, and changes in fisheries policies are altering the availability of fish to First Nations and elevating the risk of food insecurity, poor nutrition and chronic diet-related diseases in coastal seafood-dependent communities. Multiple marine policies could be used to alleviate these risks. We propose to co-develop adaptation strategies for healthy fisheries and food security under alternative climate change scenarios with species distribution model, existing data from the First Nations Food Nutrition and Environment Study and new data on FSC (Food Social and Ceremonial) needs to be collected from several Coastal First Nations communities in BC. The collection of additional data on the use, trade, and availability of subsistence and artisanal fisheries will inform these models and will be guided by our partnering communities. This will allow Coastal First Nations and the First Nations Health Authority to jointly 1) develop adaptation strategies and 2) provide the scientific rationale for their implementation based on the health implications of different marine management strategies.