Combining Genomic Insights and Traditional Indigenous Knowledge for the Conservation of Pacific Salmon

VANCOUVER, BC, Aug. 2, 2023 /CNW/ - Pacific salmon populations have been in significant decline for the past four decades. A new research project is investigating whether the solution to the sinking salmon numbers may come from combining modern genomic science with traditional fisheries conservation techniques practiced by the Tsleil-Waututh people for over 2,000 years.

Pacific salmon populations, like the Chum salmon shown here, have been in significant decline for the past four decades. This project braids together traditional Indigenous knowledge with cutting-edge genomic science and will use archaeological evidence dating back 3,000 years to shed light on ancient selective fisheries employed by the Tsleil-Waututh people around Burrard Inlet and how those practices could inform restoration efforts for Pacific salmon stocks along the Canadian West Coast. (CNW Group/Genome British Columbia)

A reconstruction illustration of intertidal fish traps that were found around Comox Harbour on Vancouver Island. These are an example of fisheries management systems practiced by Indigenous communities. (CNW Group/Genome British Columbia)

The project is funded by Genome BC with a research team drawn from the Tsleil-Waututh Nation and Simon Fraser University's Department of Archaeology and the University of British Columbia's Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries.

The first archaeological evidence of selective fisheries in the Pacific Northwest

This project builds upon archaeological work performed by the Tsleil-Waututh Nation in Burrard Inlet.

The ancestors of Coast Salish peoples are known to have lived around the Salish Sea since at least 2,000 BCE. Archaeological and isotopic evidence suggests about 95 percent of the protein in their diets came from marine sources. Increasingly detailed analyses of food remains from archaeological sites, using tools like ancient DNA, are providing new insights into the lives of the Coast Salish peoples and how they used and managed resources.

Samples of salmon remains from between 300 BCE and 1,500 CE were identified in shell middens using radiocarbon dating. DNA was extracted to identify the species and their sex.

While researchers found a variety of aquatic species in these middens, there was a significant abundance of male Chum salmon at all the locations, suggesting that male Chum salmon were selectively harvested, preserving the female chum to maintain future stocks.

Braiding together Traditional Knowledge with genomic information to improve modern fisheries practices

However, many questions remain unanswered including why the Tsleil-Waututh people began to use this strategy? Did an increasing human population require such management or did the chum population decrease, forcing this approach? How did climate change over the past two millennia impact the relationship between the Tsleil-Waututh people and the salmon?

The new research partnership between Genome BC and the project team is trying to answer some of those questions. "Tsleil-Waututh knowledge of their ancestors' practices or interpretations of their ancestors' responses to changes in salmon behaviour or abundance are not generally accessible to researchers. By maintaining a continuous dialogue in the research process with Tsleil-Waututh knowledge holders and staff, we can interweave our genetic and temporal results with this knowledge to better explain and interpret our conclusions," says Dr. Jesse Morin, one of the project co-leads who is an Adjunct Professor at UBC Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries and the Simon Fraser University Department of Archaeology and has performed research for the Tsleil-Waututh Nation on this topic since April 2011.

Recognizing the power of weaving genomic information with traditional Indigenous knowledge, this project aims to shed light on historical changes in salmon population levels and ancient conservation methods. Researchers will analyze bone samples of Pacific salmon spanning the past 3,000 years in Burrard Inlet to uncover valuable insights.

"Recovering and analyzing DNA from small archaeological fish bones can now provide important information about fish species ID and sex ID, thanks to the advancement of ancient DNA techniques," says Dr. Dongya Yang the other project co-lead and a Professor at Simon Fraser University's department of Archaeology. "The new genomic approach based on the next generation of sequencing technology will prove to be even more powerful and insightful and it will also allow us to examine the population changes over time."

This project will investigate whether male selective harvesting was a common practice throughout different time periods or if it emerged as a response to salmon abundance decline, possibly caused by climatic changes. The project's findings will inform efforts to restore Pacific salmon stocks along the West Coast of Canada.

About Genome British Columbia: 

Genome BC is a not-for-profit organization supporting world-class genomics research and innovation to grow globally competitive life sciences sectors and deliver sustainable benefits for British Columbia, Canada and beyond. The organization's initiatives are improving the lives of British Columbians by advancing health care as well as addressing environmental and natural resource challenges. In addition to scientific programming, Genome BC works to integrate genomics into society by supporting responsible research and innovation and foster an understanding and appreciation of the life sciences among educators, students, and the public. genomebc.ca

SOURCE Genome British Columbia

A.G. Klei, Senior Communications Manager, Genome BC, Mobile: [phone], Email: [email protected]; Lindsay Marsh, Communications Manager, Tsleil-Waututh Nation, Tel: [phone], Email: [email protected]