Research Document 2021/041

Dolly Varden (Salvelinus malma malma) fisheries in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region and the Gwich’in Settlement Area 2009–2014: harvest, monitoring and communications in an adaptive co-management setting

By Lea, E.V., Gallagher, C.P., Maier, K., and Ayles, B.

Abstract

Dolly Varden are an important cultural and subsistence food source for residents of the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (ISR; primarily Aklavik, NT), and the Gwich’in Settlement Area (GSA; Aklavik and Fort McPherson, NT). Subsistence fishing for Dolly Varden generally occurs along the Canadian Beaufort Sea Coast, in the Mackenzie River Delta and its tributaries, and upriver at spawning and overwintering areas. Dolly Varden are co-managed under the Inuvialuit Final Agreement and Gwich’in Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement through community-based working groups and an overarching Steering Committee established under the Dolly Varden Integrated Fisheries Management Plan. The working groups include representatives from community resource management and co-management boards along with territorial and federal governments. The West Side Working Group (WSWG) and Rat River Working Group (RRWG) have made recommendations on the management, monitoring, and research of Dolly Varden populations, including decisions on harvest levels. The process associated with these harvest decisions and methods for the collection of harvest data between 2009 and 2014 are described and harvest data are summarized by area and/or stock, where possible. From 2009 to 2014, the total Dolly Varden harvest from all coastal and inland locations within the ISR and GSA ranged between 654 and 1,086 fish. Estimated harvest rates for the Big Fish, Babbage, and Rat River populations were less than 7% of population abundance estimates. Regular review of harvest data and results from research and monitoring programs, along with traditional and local knowledge by the WSWG and RRWG will continue to support the successful adaptive co-management of Dolly Varden populations.

Research Document 2021/041 (PDF, 1,392 KB)

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