At Ha’oom Fisheries Society (“HFS”), we believe that youth are essential to the future of the fisheries. Rebuilding fisheries capacity is not only about training and certifications, but it is also about creating opportunities for youth to spend time on the water and learn directly from experienced fishers. 

Meet Our Science Team: Candace, Jess and Keaton!

At Ha’oom, our Science Team is all about helping the five Nations care for their fisheries in a way that reflects both Nuu-chah-nulth Knowledge and the best available science. We work closely with the Nations’ fisheries departments to understand what’s happening in their hahuułi, design research and monitoring that meets their priorities, and make sure the information we gather genuinely supports their management decisions.

This work is about long-term stewardship; we are passionate about building capacity in Nuu-chah-nulth youth, strengthening partnerships with universities and researchers, and ensuring that science grows and lives within the Nations.

Let’s introduce the team making this happen! 

We are very excited to share that Cedar Dawson joined the Ha’oom team as our Salmon Governance Project Coordinator! Learn more about Cedar and their new role as the Salmon Governance Project Coordinator. Welcome to the team Cedar!

Want to learn about Kadin and Olivia? While they don’t make any decisions about how the fisheries are managed—those decisions always come from the five Nations—they carry out the day-to-day work needed to implement the Nations’ direction on it. Their job is to make sure the fisheries run smoothly on the ground and on the water! 

The Mowachaht/Muchalaht Food Security Project aims to map the current food security situation in the community and find out where the challenges are in accessing traditional and market foods. The goal is to find the gaps in access and come up with practical solutions to make sure community members have enough access to traditional and market food. In the end, the project will create an emergency food plan and propose new programs to build long-term food security for MMFN.

Ha’oom is partnering closely with the Balance Co-Lab — a powerhouse team of 24 university-based researchers across 5 universities and 13 research units. The purpose of the Balance Co-Lab is to advance Indigenous self-determination, community capacity and well-being. Their work brings community- and university-based partners together to co-create decision-support and cumulative impact assessment systems aligned with Indigenous knowledge and values.

We’re excited to share that Charlene Miller has officially joined Ha’oom as the Project Coordinator for the Nuu-chah-nulth Salmon Laws & Consultation Protocols Project! Charlene brings deep experience working with Nuu-chah-nulth communities and a strong passion for protecting Indigenous rights and knowledge. Through this important project, Charlene will coordinate between Ha’oom, the Balance Co-Lab, and the five Nations to document, revitalize, and affirm traditional Nuu-chah-nulth salmon laws and governance systems, and co-develop a consultation protocol that reflects each Nation’s rights, governance, and values. This project is being led in partnership between Ha’oom Fisheries Society, the Balance Co-Lab, and the Ahousaht, Ehattesaht/Chinehkint, Hesquiaht, Mowachaht/Muchalaht, and Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations.

Ha’oom Fisheries Society, the Balance Co-Lab, and Ahousaht, Ehattesaht/Chinehkint, Hesquiaht, Mowachaht/Muchalaht, and Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations (known as the five Nations) are working together to document, revitalize, and affirm traditional Nuu-chah-nulth laws related to salmon conservation and fisheries governance.

This initiative will be rooted in the five Nations’ inherent rights and responsibilities to steward their ha-ha-houlthee and manage their fisheries based on traditional teachings, practices, and governance systems.

As you may have seen in our newsletters, we have an amazing team of MBA Capstone students from the University of Victoria working with the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation to support a critical fisheries and food security project.

The team is conducting a cold chain analysis for Mowachaht/Muchalaht’s fisheries operations, which involves assessing current seafood handling and storage processes, identifying infrastructure gaps (particularly around ice and cold storage), and developing recommendations and solutions to improve fish quality, operational efficiency, and long-term sustainability. This work not only helps strengthen Mowachaht/Muchalaht’s fisheries operations but also supports future infrastructure grant applications and informs the broader Mowachaht/Muchalaht Food Security Project (project details to be announced on June 6th!).

This specialized program will be designed specifically for your communities and your fishers by the amazing team at Balance Co-Lab, a group of experts and professors from the University of Victoria, including Indigenous business and leadership specialists.

Some of you, especially from Mowachaht/Muchalaht, may already know Balance Co-Lab through our collaboration on the Mowachaht/Muchalaht food security project. Now, we’re lucky to have their team designing this business-focused training!