Indigenous communities in and around the Pacific, including Kanaka Maoli, First Nations, Native Americans, Māori, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, Ryūkyūan, and additional Pacific Peoples, are united by deep, long-standing relationships with the ocean, but face common challenges when managing coastal fisheries due to globalization, colonialism, and climate change. This session aims to foster solidarity and collaboration among fishers, practitioners, and researchers from these communities and their allies. We invite participants to share examples and strategies for successful Indigenous-led fisheries stewardship while navigating contemporary, often non-traditional and externally imposed systems of power and influence. This hybrid session welcomes diverse contributions, including oral presentations, poetry, and artwork, to encourage broad engagement and celebrate multiple forms of knowledge dissemination. Emphasizing Indigenous and Pacific community representation, the event seeks to provide a platform for sharing knowledge and building connections to support sustainable coastal fisheries across the Pacific.
Organizer: Sara Cannon, University of British Columbia, [email protected]
Co-organizers: Nakoa Goo, Niegel Rozet, Magul Rulmal, Colton Van Der Minne, Amber Datta, Nicole Crane, Kalena Kattil-deBrum
Supported by: Centre for Indigenous Fisheries at the University of British Columbia Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, One People One Reef, Kua’āina Ulu ’Auamo, AFS International Fisheries Section