LEK is collected during a personal interview. Participants are asked to identify any ecological value or feature of importance by drawing on nautical charts. Living Oceans Society meets with participants one on one or in groups. We work with them to ensure that the information is recorded accurately and that proper data sharing agreements are arranged. In the case of fishing areas, each fishing site is drawn on a chart by circling the appropriate area and then each ‘polygon’ is assigned a relative importance value ranging from high to low by the data provider (MAP1). This is done for each fishery on the coast for which LEK has been shared. Fishermen are also given the opportunity to suggest marine areas for protection, identify former fishing "hot spots" and valuable spawning and nursery habitat. This information provides an important historical context for fisheries activities in the past.
The individual polygons of many fishermen (MAP 2) are combined and digitally analyzed to produce shaded value maps. The highest values are shown in yellow (MAP 3). These summary maps are then posted on our website.
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To arrange a meeting to share your information you can use the form above or contact us at 250-973-6580 or marineplanning@livingoceans.org
