Ha’oom Fisheries Society Blog
At Ha’oom Fisheries Society, capacity building is about more than offering workshops or training.
Our Capacity Building Team works across the five Nations to support fishers, youth and community members through training, mentorship, business support, funding opportunities, partnerships, and projects that strengthen participation in the fishery.
You might not see them out front every day, but behind the scenes, Tessa, Keshia, and Izzy are helping keep Ha’oom Fisheries Society running every day.
From preparing Board meetings and supporting negotiations to processing invoices and making sure everyone gets paid on time, our Admin and Finance Team provides the organizational, administrative, and financial support that keeps the rest of the organization moving forward.
So, who are the people behind all of this work? Let’s meet the team!
We're excited to announce that our Salmon Laws Community Liaison team is now complete!
Some of our liaisons have already been working with us for the past few months, and yesterday, Samantha John officially accepted the Ehattesaht Salmon Laws Community Liaison position. This means we now have a full liaison team representing each of the five Nations!
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!
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.
