The information that is currently being gathered by Living Oceans Society is pooled together so that raw data of specific areas of importance, especially with respect to fishing areas, are not revealed in the maps we produce. For more information on how Living Oceans Society uses and shares data, please download a copy of our Data Sharing Agreement.
One concern that many fishermen have about Living Oceans Society’s LEK work is that we will use the information we receive to restrict access, especially with respect to our campaign to establish a network of marine protected areas (MPAs). In our data sharing agreement with participants, Living Oceans Society agrees that data provided through interviews that depict areas of commercial value will not be used directly to define or identify MPAs. Instead, these data will be used to identify areas of value to fishermen and other participants. LOS will take these data into account to help us arrive at MPA proposals that minimize overlap with important fishing areas wherever possible. In instances when LOS makes an MPA recommendation on a known fishing ground, we will identify what information we are using to form the basis for our proposal and note this potential conflict openly and transparently.
In 2005 Living Oceans Society completed a coast-wide marine habitat analysis that identified areas of high conservation utility. A similar analysis of expanded scope is currently being undertaken by the B.C. Marine Conservation Analysis (BCMCA). Eventually, we plan to combine the results from our LEK Project and Fisheries Use Analysis with the BCMCA analyses so that recommendations and plans for a network of MPAs can take local ecological knowledge into account and minimize economic impacts on commercial and recreational fishermen.
