Pakosi, Kjimskiku (Switey), and two Wisqoq trees were planted around a specially constructed eight-pointed star. CBU President Dr. John Harker explains, “Our reputation as Atlantic Canada’s leader in Aboriginal post-secondary education is one that we are very proud of here at CBU. The green space that has been revitalized with the Mi’kmaq eight-pointed star and traditional Mi’kmaq plants is a wonderful reminder of the more than 35-year relationship that Cape Breton University holds with Aboriginal communities regionally and afar.  This attractive space complements the ongoing transformation taking place at CBU and will be enjoyed by the University community and visitors to our campus for years to come.”

Lisa Young, UINR’s Executive Director talked about UINR’s relationship with CBU. “UINR has a long history of association with CBU, and through our Memorandum of Understanding, we have embarked on many projects together over the years. We are currently working with The Unama’ki College on a video with Unama’KIDS and are partnered with CBU on a research project on Kluskap’s Cave. Our collaboration with CBU’s Bras d’Or Institute recently had its students assisting us on our salmon smolt wheel project. This dedication and planting of these important Mi’kmaq plants symbolizes UINR’s commitment to working with the University community to see our relationship grow and flourish.”

UINR’s 2012 calendar is now available. If you would like to receive a printed copy, drop us an E-mail with your name and mailing address and we will get one out to you. In the meantime, you can download a pdf file by clicking here. Happy New Year everyone!

Often these areas are not considered important for aquatic life but they are the best places to fish eels. Land activities, such as subdivision developments, can affect water by acting as a source of sediments that make blue water brown when it rains.

In Eskasoni, an important eel fishing and overwintering area was on the receiving end of sediments. UINR’s Tyson Paul recalls how brown the water would be after a light rainfall.  “We expect to see large volumes of brown, sediment-laden water after very heavy rainfalls,” he explained, “but we were seeing this even after showers.”

Sediments settle out of the water and can smother life on the bottom. Eel grass gets buried and fish gills become clogged. Aquatic plants can’t produce oxygen because sunlight doesn’t reach them. While eels like the soft bottom to burrow, their prey doesn’t. If there is no food for the eels, there will be no eels in the area.

In the fall of 2010, UINR met with Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Nova Scotia Environment to discuss ways to fix the problem. In March 2011, 315 metres of ditch was re-created and lined with rock. To prevent flooding and uptake of sediments from the road, five culverts were re-aligned and one was replaced. Two outlets of riprap were created to help slow down the flow of water. The remediation was successful. It was found that the lining reduced sediments by 98% during light rainfall events.

UINR works with communities to promote practices that encourage people to be kind to nature. Shelley Denny is UINR’s Biologist and Research Coordinator. She believes that change is necessary. “Our actions on land are harming the beauty and quality of our water. After it rains, it takes longer for brown water to become clear and longer for eel fishers to put food on the table. Our actions affect our traditional way of life. To maintain traditional fishing areas, we need to change how we do things on land.”

The project is a model of how to do things differently in our community and make a positive affect on water quality. Funding was provided through Environment Canada’s Habitat Stewardship Program.

shelley.denny@uinr.ca

Area before remediation

While eels have been fished in and around the Bras d’Or Lakes for hundreds of years, we never knew how old they were, how long they could grow, whether we had more female than male eels in the population, or if they had the swimbladder parasite.

UINR recently completed a study to help us understand the local eel population in the Bras d’Or Lakes.  The research, supported by Aboriginal Funds for Species At Risk, documented eel habitats outside Unama’ki Mi’kmaq communities and to address some of these questions.

Eels are designated as a Species of Special Concern under the federal Species At Risk Act. This designation means that eels are not as plentiful as they once were, but the current population is not so low that they warrant a threatened or endangered designation.

Through discussions with Mi’kmaq eel fishers, who graciously contributed samples for analyses, and our own surveys in different habitats throughout the Bras d’Or Lakes watershed, we were able to study 188 eels from our primary eel fishing location.

So what did we learn?

All of the eels that were greater than 30 cm in our samples were females. Yes, every one.

The largest eel we examined was 92.8 cm (0.98 m) and was 1.5 kg. It was 18 years old. The oldest eel we found was 19 years old and she was 66.0 cm (0.660 m) and weighed 612 g (0.612 kg). The smallest eel caught was 16.5 cm and was one year old. This young eel was caught in Christmas Pond in Christmas Island.

There is greater variation in age with the size of the eel. For example, the range of ages for an eel that was 50 cm (0.5 m) was eight to sixteen, while an eel around 40 cm may be four to eight years old.

The swimbladder parasite, Anguillicoloides crassus, was found in the Bras d’Or Lakes and was more widespread than we first thought.  After two years of sampling, we can confidently report that, overall, approximately 46% of the eels are infected with the parasite. But it’s not like this everywhere.

In 2009, Whycocomagh Bay had 65% of infected eels and this increased to 75% in 2010. Nyanza Bay also has a high number of infected eels at 60% in 2009 and increasing in 67% in 2010. Other areas also showed an increase in infection between 2009 to 2010.  Infected eels in East Bay eels increased to 27% from 25% and the southern portion increased to 25% in 2010 from no detection in 2009.

The most parasites found in one eel were 75 in Whycocomagh Bay. West Bay was the only area that did not have any eels infected with the parasite.  As this parasite only affects eels and not humans, you can still eat eels. It is difficult to determine if an eel is affected with the parasite just by looking at its body.

In general, eels were found throughout the Bras d’Or Lakes and in a variety of habitats. They were  commonly fished in the shallow, warm and protected embayments and barachois ponds. Many of our surveys in which we captured eels all had these traits in common and many of the habitats are found both outside and within our communities. All our waters are home to this incredible species. Let’s work together to make sure they stay that way.

Many people helped us in our research by providing eels and assisting in many ways: Barry Bernard, Blair Bernard, Winston Bernard, Joe Googoo, and Charles Young. Dean Denny, Angela Morris, Simon Sylliboy, Tyson Paul, and O’Hara Young assisted with collecting samples and processing. Aboriginal Funds for Species At Risk provided funding to  support our research.

shelley.denny@uinr.ca

Parasites in eel swimbladder

Infested eel swimbladder

Healthy eel swimbladder

In celebration of Mi’kmaq History Month, UINR is participating in CBU’s dedication of  Kina matneway Na Klinkn (Embracing Knowledge) at the CBU Courtyard.

UINR’s Executive Director Lisa Young will plant Switey and Pakosi, traditional Mi’kmaq plants to celebrate the garden’s dedication.

Elder Albert Marshall will plant a Wisqoq (Black Ash) tree on behalf of UINR’s new organization MELC (Mi’kmaq Environmental Learning Centre).

Never was a man so happy to skin an eel. The joy in that moment carried into every part of Blair’s life. His world was outdoors. Hunting and fishing were an excuse to be in nature. It was where he felt alive. He brought that energy, that understanding with him to his work and friendships.–Weldon Bona

Blair was one of the nicest people I ever had the pleasure of knowing. He found enjoyment in simple things in life like being outdoors, hunting, fishing, eating. His idea of dressing up for work was to leave his work boots at home. He took a trip to Colorado once and fell in love with the place because of the abundance of mountains and wildlife. He said he’d love to live there someday.–Lisa Young

My favourite story about Blair would have to be the time he was teaching Shelley and I how to skin and gut eels for our research. I was so afraid to pick up or even touch the eel (it wasn’t even alive, by the way) and Blair kept laughing at me. Finally he asked me, “Why are you so afraid of the eel? It’s just food!” This gave me a whole new perspective on looking at eels and I won’t forget this bit of advice. I am still a little bit afraid of eels, especially when they are alive, but I just have to remember, it’s just food! –Angela Denny

We went moose hunting together a few times and after a long day of not seeing anything we would pull over and make hot tea and something to eat. Just that we were out there enjoying the scenery and company made the day fly by and enjoyable despite not seeing any moose. Blair was a jack-of-all-trades.

He could make anything, fix anything, build anything, catch and hunt anything and would share anything or any knowledge he had to help you. He would help with anything he could to anyone that asked.–Hubert Nicholas

Blair and I shared an office for much of his time at UINR. He was a problem solver and never hesitated to jump into a project even if it wasn’t related to what he was working on. If he saw that he could help, he would. We shared a lot of laughs. Blair was famous for his appetite and often had stories about the latest place where he tried the best (usually seafood) dish, or scheduling meetings in Wagmatcook on Wednesdays specifically so they could have corned beef for lunch. Blair’s family and friends were so special to him, especially when Nadine or one of the kids would call the office, you could hear the tone of his voice change. He was always so happy to hear from them. I am so grateful to have the honour to have known him, and will miss and think about him always.–Annie Johnson

When I started working at UINR, I shared an office with Blair for one whole year, and we talked and laughed every day. I don’t remember everything we talked about, but in my mind I still picture him sitting at his desk with his big smile spitting into empty coke bottles because he always had chew in his mouth. Some things we laughed at were foolish and may not have been funny to others, but we found the simplest things to humour ourselves. He found it especially funny when he and Clifford would go out to buy fish for dinner and make the office smell like a fish processing plant. You knew immediately when you walked in what Blair had for lunch. I would start with the air freshener and opening doors. He would say “smells like someone baking a cake.” I’m going to miss that man, his humour, his friendship, but I don’t think I will miss the smell of fish.–Serena Paul

We spent a lot of time just chatting as office mates. He was a jack-of-all-trades. He knew a little bit about everything. He was one of the most honest and sincere men I have ever met and he will be greatly missed.
–Mark MacPhail

I knew Blair all my life, however, we became good friends while working at UINR. Blair was a man of incredible “niceness,” and his dedication to family and friends was surely his most admirable trait. I will truly miss my friend and I still can’t believe that he’s journeyed to the Happy Hunting and Fishing Grounds with his ancestors at such a young age. Someday, the reality will set in. He has left a positive and friendly impact on many peoples’ lives and I know his legacy will live on in his children, family, friends, relatives, and co-workers alike.–Clifford Paul

One of the stories that sticks out in my mind happened a few years ago. Blair and the Guardians were involved in a project by EFWC and sponsored by Nova Scotia Fisheries at the request of the angling community. Rainbow trout is an introduced species that was affecting the native population of speckled trout. Anglers requested that they be allowed to keep rainbow trout they caught to reduce the threat to the speckled trout population.

For a few years, discussions took place at meetings and in the communities and finally, it was agreed that a survey should take place to collect information before this initiative could happen. Data collection would make sure it proceeded in the right direction.  As you know, there was a good-sized population of speckled trout to be considered.

Since there was an active smelt fishery in the winter, it was decided that this would be a good time to record what was being caught by ice fishermen in various locations. In the past, nobody had ever studied the number of smelts being caught through the ice or the number of different species.  At that time it was difficult to get information from anglers because of mistrust, people presuming someone was keeping an eye on them or what they were catching. In general, information was scarce, but it was important to know the numbers before proceeding.

Well, getting back to our story…it was decided that someone had to collect information and that Guardians in our Mi’kmaq communities would be ideal to do the job. The Guardians agreed to interview fishermen in the field.  Very little training was involved and their approval was a key to success of the project.

Many stories came out during the process and choosing just one was very difficult. Blair Bernard had a great interest in fish and wildlife. One thing everybody knew about Blair was his gentle way of speaking and talking to people. He was well respected in both native and non-native communities.

One of the areas surveyed was MacAulay’s Cove near Big Harbour Island (Malagawatch). If you’re familiar with this area, there is a bridge and a sharp turn about three kilometres before you get to the turn-off to Mala. There is a small cove on your right before you cross the bridge. During the winter people flock to this cove because of the shelter from prevailing winds. Ice fishermen love it. It is close to the road and they can easily get to their vehicles to get warm.

If you’re driving by, you can see all kinds of things fishermen use to keep comfortable. Fishermen believe in comfort and some go out of their way to build huts and different types of chairs from milk crates, buckets and boxes.

Getting back our friend Blair, he would interview anglers and record their catches. One day Blair interviewed a group of fishermen at MacAulay’s Cove. The fishermen were very cooperative and even offered Blair some cooked, fried smelts. “Go inside the hut and help yourself to a feed of smelts,” was the word he got.  Of course, when you offer Blair seafood, be prepared for the consequences.

After a while, the fishermen decided to join Blair in the hut. They went inside and asked Blair where the five dozen smelt they prepared were. Blair commented, “You offered them and so I had a feast and that was it.”  All the fishermen could see was the heads and tails of the fish, like you see in a cartoon where a cat has feasted on its favourite meal. That was the big story that was talked about for quite awhile in the angling community!

The final conclusion from the surveys was to allow anglers to keep rainbow trout, but not the speckled trout. I recently spoke to Dan MacLean from Nova Scotia Fisheries in Pictou and he commended the fine work that Blair and the Guardians did, saying it was the main reason the rainbow trout fishery is in place.

charlie@uinr.ca

CEPI members: Shelley Porter, Annie Johnson, Dan Christmas, René Lavoie, Lisa Young, Anthony Morris and Charlie Dennis

With a vision for the protection and sustainability of the Bras d’Or Lakes and watershed, the document is a “process plan” for people and government who work and live around the Lakes.

Lisa Young, UINR Executive Director and member of CEPI Management Committee, was in attendance. “It took some time to get here but it was well worth the wait. It’s been quite an experience working with the partners around the CEPI table. They are a dedicated bunch of people who are very generous with their time and knowledge. I personally feel very proud and privileged to have played a part in the development of a document that is as special and unique as the Bras d’Or Lakes.”

The CEPI process plan describes a way to work together to address environmental management issues around the Bras d’Or Lakes. Inspired by the medicine wheel and two-eyed seeing, the plan proposes seven guiding principles to help decision-making and action. These principles influence how decisions are made and actions taken:

We are part of nature, not the owners of her.

We will assist in healing previous damages.

We will consider the impact of our present actions on future generations.

We will pay attention.

We will cause no net loss of habitat.

We will work together.

We are accountable.

You can download The Spirit of the Lakes Speaks at brasdorcepi.ca

Presenters Mike MacKenzie, Jessie Helen MacNeil and Annie Johnson;Audience members review reportHandmade gift presented to friends of CEPI