Page 26 - EUREKA Winter 2017

Fish finder

If all we did was fundamental science,
I wouldn’t get yelled at

during community meetings

It’s the middle of winter, but Carleton professor Steven Cooke,
Canada Research Chair in Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology,
is already thinking ahead to next year’s field work. Sure, he has
boatloads of data to analyze over the winter — statistics from salmon
migrations in B.C., for instance — and telemetry equipment has been
deployed to track the movement of electronically tagged fish under
the ice in Lake Ontario. But Cooke knows the importance of laying
the groundwork for the research that he and the 40 or so postdocs,
grad students and undergrads in his lab will be conducting in 2017
and beyond. And at the core of these efforts is a crucial principle:
collaboration. — as told to Dan Rubinstein

Field work begins well ahead of pollution and degraded habit of how people interact with aquatic
when you arrive on site. It can take were deemed “areas of concern.” ecosystems. Humans are both the
years to understand the issues and Hundreds of millions of dollars have cause of environmental problems and
co-create a research agenda. If we been invested in restoration, and the solution.
just dropped in and then left with we’re partnering with organizations Biology is just part of the picture.
our results, the science is less likely such as Fisheries and Oceans We collaborate with social scientists
to be relevant and change people’s Canada to find out whether it’s been and community groups — the nexus
habits or policy. effective — if it’s safe to get into a between science and people. If all
The Lake Ontario work goes back kayak or fish or take your kids to the we did was fundamental science,
to the 1970s, when 40 or so places beach. This research is helping us I wouldn’t get yelled at during
in the Great Lakes with significant develop a broader understanding community meetings, but our work

science.carleton.ca 26