Ocean Back: Inuit-led Governance for the Future of Fisheries in Nunatsiavut

Abstract

Fisheries governance represents a key opportunity for upholding the rights of Indigenous Peoples in Canada. But how to fulfill these rights, and how to ensure that Indigenous Knowledges, values, and priorities guide management remains a challenge. For Inuit in Nunatsiavut, commercial fisheries have been part of life for hundreds of years, supporting social and economic wellbeing in the region. Still, the benefits from these fisheries continue to drain to the south because they are managed according to a southern management paradigm based on Western science and values and not managed according to Labrador Inuit needs. There is a need for new governance frameworks in natural resource management that uphold Inuit self-determination and support the vitality and resilience of Inuit. The purpose of this research is to understand how commercial fisheries governance can be structured to serve the interests of Inuit in Nunatsiavut. Guided by a partnership with Inuit stakeholders in the fishing industry, the research uses an interdisciplinary approach to address this objective. First, ten years of meeting minutes from the Torngat Joint Fisheries Board were analyzed to characterize the role of the co-management board and other Nunatsiavut-based stakeholders in fisheries governance. This analysis revealed the activities in which the Torngat Joint Fisheries Board engages and how they work with other actors in the region. Next, semi-structured interviews were conducted with stakeholders in the fishing industry to better understand the nature of the relationship between Labrador Inuit and the commercial fisheries. The interviews identified a complex network of values held by stakeholders that stand in contrast to the current southern paradigm for management. Then, the research turns to consider the future of the fishing industry, as imagined by Labrador Inuit. A participatory scenario planning process was undertaken to imagine the future of the fishing industry, leading to a reflection on the effectiveness of this method. Finally, a workshop for the project partners provides an opportunity to share stories and imagine desirable futures. This dissertation provides critical insights into a mature land claim-based co-management arrangement and has implications for the future of natural resource governance in Canada. The research shows that Nunatsiavut has significant capacity to govern fisheries beyond the current management paradigm, and through the visioning project participants expressed a desire to see the industry managed according to their own values, priorities, and knowledge. Participants’ vision of the future represents an understanding of sovereignty that would empower Inuit as equal partners in fisheries governance. This research advances the scholarship on fisheries co-governance and provides a window into what Inuit-led futures can look like.