$1.5 million newly awarded to the Ocean Tracking Network (OTN) by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) will enable the continuation of a successful partnership first established through a 2018 NSERC Strategic Partnership Grant—Apoqnmatulti’k [Mi'kmaw for 'we help each other']—a collaboration between the Unama’ki Institute of Natural Resources (UINR), the Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq/Mi’kmaw Conservation Group (CMM/MCG), the Marine Institute of Natural and Academic Science (MINAS), the Ocean Tracking Network (OTN), Dalhousie University, Acadia University, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO).
This collaborative initiative is pairing Mi’kmaw, western scientific and local ways of knowing to track the movements and seasonal habitat use of valued aquatic species of interest to Mi’kmaw and coastal communities in Nova Scotia (Mi’kma’ki).
Apoqnmatulti’k study sites.
Apoqnmatulti’k is guided by the principle of Two-Eyed Seeing (Etuaptmumk). Conceptualized by Mi’kmaw Elder Albert Marshall, it refers to learning to see from one eye with the strength of Indigenous ways of knowing, and from the other eye with the strength of western ways of knowing. Two-Eyed Seeing requires space for co-learning and co-development through respectful dialogue. In keeping with this principle, all aspects of Apoqnmatulti’k have been co-developed—from project governance to communication outputs, to knowledge co-production and capacity-sharing—all of which have been central to the initiative.
"Two-Eyed Seeing is the gift of multiple perspectives, and we can use them together for the benefit of all. We've come a long way in helping each other understand our perspectives and how we conduct research. Apoqnmatulti'k is an important project in that light,” says Shelley Denny, UINR’s Senior Advisor.
Skyler Jeddore (Apoqnmatulti’k community liaison for the Bras d’Or Lake), and OTN field technician Nathan Glenn during an acoustic receiver maintenance mission in the Bras d’Or Lake.
Studies using acoustic telemetry and habitat mapping techniques will be paired with different knowledge systems to address current and emerging questions within two unique, biologically rich and culturally significant marine ecosystems: the Bay of Fundy (Pekwitapa’qek), a highly productive, tidally driven ecosystem that supports both resident and seasonally migratory species, and the Bras d’Or Lake (Pitu’pa’q), a complex estuarine ecosystem that provides important habitat for many fish and invertebrate species and is a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve.
“With Apoqnmatulti’k, we’re working with Mi’kmaw communities, local fishers, academia and regulators to really understand the information gaps and how we can work together to fill them,” says Sara Iverson, OTN’s scientific director. “We were all part of this project from the outset, which has helped build a foundation of trust and a truly participatory collaboration, and we’re excited to take part in this community-driven research for another five years.”
The study will build on the research undertaken since 2018, with a focus on key aquatic species including striped bass (ji’kaw), American eel (katew), gaspereau (kaspelaw), and American lobster (jakej). New knowledge generated through the project will address information gaps among Mi’kmaw rights holders, local knowledge holders and communities. It will also support Mi’kmaw governance and help inform transformational policy changes that include Mi’kmaw and community perspectives, which are critical to sustainably managing these ecosystems. Knowledge generated through the project is helping to inform stewardship and management frameworks in Nova Scotia—and across the country—in support of a healthier ocean for the benefit of all Canadians.