Base de données de recherche des TNO

étiquettes: contaminants, mercury, fish, traditional knowledge, metals, burbot

Objectif(s): To determine if burbot contaminant concentrations indicate a change over a 10-15 year period.

Description du projet: The short-term goals are to determine if 2019 burbot contaminant concentrations: 1) remain below Health Canada guidelines (i.e. <0.5 ppm mercury per gram fish); 2) are associated with dietary indicators to determine the influence of diet (via stable isotope ratios) on contaminant concentrations in current fish, although previous results suggested no association; and, 3) as well as to look for linkages between historical environmental/meteorological data with burbot contaminant data. The long-term goals for this project are: 1) to determine if burbot contaminant concentrations indicate a 5% change over a 10-15 year period with a power of 80% and a confidence level of 95%; and, 2) to work with the Fort Good Hope Renewable Resource Council to identify additional priorities for research and/or monitoring, and to establish a robust communication strategy. Upon arrangement with the Fort Good Hope Renewable Resource Council (FGH RRC), the research team will travel to Fort Good Hope in fall/winter of 2019 to report upon project results and consult with the Council about their priorities within the scope of the project (e.g. research objectives, outreach, training in subsequent years of the project). This will also be an opportunity to discuss, in-person, the project design, methodology, and use of Indigenous Knowledge to holistically interpret the project results. The research team will ask that the Fort Good Hope Renewable Resources Council put an announcement out to collect loche (whole fish). Frozen fish will be shipped to the University of Manitoba for processing (e.g. measuring length and weight, tissue sub-sampling, sexing, aging). Analyses of mercury will be completed. Brominated and fluorinated compounds will be analyzed by Environment and Climate Change Canada, respectively. Stable isotope ratios of nitrogen and carbon will be analyzed at Laval Université. The Research team will be presenting project updates and results to the FGH RRC and the Sahtu Renewable Resources Board (SRRB) throughout the project lifecycle. Final contaminants data will also be presented to the Northwest Territories Regional Contaminants Committee. The research team aims to inform these groups, as well as the community of Fort Good Hope at large, about the health and consumption safety of these loche. The research team plan a community consultation visit. This in-person meeting would allow for the residents of Fort Good Hope to learn more about the project and provide input and questions. The research team also welcome feedback from the FGH RRC and SRRB to evolve the project to meet their priorities for the management of renewable resources. The group is happy to engage with other groups (e.g. schools, Aurora College), as the FGH RRC sees fit both from a communications standpoint and a capacity-building standpoint. The team will provide in-person visits to the community of Fort Good Hope (e.g. meetings, posters, local radio), and short, digestible progress reports to FGH RRC, SRRB, Sahtu Land and Water Board and other interested organizations throughout the life cycle of the project through email. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from November 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019.