Page 27 - EUREKA Winter 2017

Dyanne Wilson

Fish ecologist Steven Cooke on the banks of the Rideau River, which flows past the Carleton campus. Getting his feet wet
across Canada makes his research interesting — and relevant.

wouldn’t have as much of an impact, as a “program,” not a series of fish. Salmon are a migratory species
and our students would not be as “projects” with start and stop dates, that move from the ocean to their
employable. Plus, the problems we so there are fluid transitions between spawning grounds, through areas
face, such as climate change and people who come and go. I can’t where recreational, commercial
food security, are bloody complex be the face of the program in every and First Nations fishers interact.
and need to be addressed by teams location; it’s usually a grad student. When you work with people in a
with a range of perspectives. When one is leaving, they overlap community who can help advocate
We do a lot of work with salmon with the student who is coming in, for a change in fishing practice, that
on the West Coast, and this entails so the trust and goodwill they have message really resonates — it’s not
collaboration with Indigenous developed are transferred. coming from outsiders who have
communities. I think of this research Ultimately, this research is for the parachuted in.

science.carleton.ca 27