Research Partners | Current Projects

**Colton Van Der Minne**
Colton is from ƛaʔuukʷiʔatḥ (Tla-o-qui-aht) First Nation on his father’s side, and of mixed settler descent maternally. He is currently a PhD student at the UBC Centre for Indigenous Fisheries, working in partnership with ƛaʔuukʷiʔatḥ and Ha’oom. Colton’s research is focused on the haʔukmin (Kennedy) Watershed. His work supports the restoration of the watershed and the salmon that live in it. More broadly, he aims to protect and strengthen Tla-o-qui-aht’s relationships with haʔukmin and its fish by upholding nuučaan̓uɫ principles throughout his work.

**Mack Bartlett**
Mack’s research is in partnership with Pacific Salmon Foundation and Ha’oom Fisheries Society to implement a large-scale PIT tagging and fish health program focused on WCVI Chinook salmon, which are threatened by
local extinction. Mack will be trying to determine how Chinook survival is influenced by stressors during their early life at sea by pairing tagging and molecular genetic stressor and disease profile data.

Mack is a PhD Candidate supervised by Dr. Francis Juanes at UVIC and in partnership with Pacific Salmon Foundation and Ha’oom Fisheries Society.

**Darienne Lancaster**
Darienne is researching new methods for identifying rockfish hotspots using non-destructive echosounder and ROV surveys on WCVI. Her work will help local fishers avoid non-target fish species and provide faster tools for regional groups to create detailed coastal maps of rockfish hotspots. Darienne is a PhD candidate in the Juanes Lab at the University of Victoria working in partnership with Ha'oom Fisheries Society and Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

**Hutton Noth**
Hutton Noth is a master's student at Simon Fraser University, working in partnership with the Ha’oom Fisheries Society and the Salmon Watersheds Lab under the supervision of Dr. Kyle Wilson and Dr. Jonathan Moore. Her research focuses on assessing the health of Coho salmon populations on the West Coast of Vancouver Island by developing watershed-based habitat metrics. Hutton’s work aims to contribute to the conservation of local coho populations and help support stewardship practices.

**Jared Dick | Whehs-Wiss-Sunup**
Jared is from Port Alberni and traces his ancestors through the Hupacasath and Tseshaht First Nations. Jared’s research aims to explore how Indigenous Knowledge can inform the new federal salmon rebuilding plan process. It seeks to identify the levels and attributes that Nations consider as being “healthy” or “rebuilt” for salmon populations. He is conducting this work with Dr. Natalie Ban at the Marine Ethnoeocology Lab through UVIC and in partnership with Ha’oom Fisheries Society and DFO.

Research Partners | Completed Projects

**Julia Bingham PhD**
Julia conducted their dissertation research with the permission, guidance, and collaboration of Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations and Ha'oom Fishing Society. The research focused on knowledge integration into salmon fishery governance on the west coast of Vancouver Island, B.C. (WCVI). Salmon is highly valued for cultural, environmental, economic, spiritual, and relational importance to multiple First Nation and Canadian stakeholders that hold different worldviews, beliefs, and knowledges. This presents a challenge in developing fishery management plans that adequately address stakeholder rights, knowledge, values while meeting fishery and conservation objectives.

Julia conducted this research under the supervision of Dr. Grant Murray at Duke University.

Katrina Bernhaus MEM

Katrina conducted her master’s research with the permission, guidance, and collaboration of Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation, Ha’oom Fisheries Society, and Ocean Wise. Her research critically investigates the use of the Ocean Wise seafood sustainability program in the context of small-scale and rights-based Pacific salmon fisheries in B.C. She seeks to outline an inclusive, adaptable, and fisher-centric approach to seafood recommendation tools that incorporates community engagement, partnership formation, traditional knowledge, and considerations for rightsholders in the process.

Katrina was advised by Dr. Grant Murray and Dr. John Virdin of Duke University on this project.