Shared knowledge to identify American lobster/jakej (Homarus americanus) movement patterns and habitat use in the Bras d'Or Lake/Pitu’paq

Abstract

Natural sciences are dominated by western knowledge and often discount Indigenous knowledge systems. This study uses Two-Eyed Seeing/Etuaptmumk to identify movement patterns and habitat use of American lobster/jakej in the Bras d’Or Lake/Pitu’paq. Lobster productivity within the lake is low and there is a lack of characteristic lobster habitat in the study bay, yet Mi’kmaw knowledge confirms high site fidelity of lobster within this area. Fine-scale movement patterns derived with acoustic telemetry positioning systems were paired with quantitative habitat analysis to perform integrated step selection analyses. Few lobsters exhibited a significant effect of substrate on habitat selection. This can be a result of the life stage of study lobsters or their abundance and distribution within the study site. Adaptive co-management, utilizing a framework that values diverse ways of knowing, can lead to evidence-based management that supports Mi’kmaw self-determination and leads to stronger and more equitable management of lobster.