If you live in Eskasoni, Potlotek or Waycobah, watch the mail for a copy of your guide to protecting the environment in your community. UINR has put together an easy-to-read booklet of easy tips and useful information on little things that you can do to make a healthy environment for eels, fish, you and your friends and family.

Chiefs and Councils passed resolutions that community members must contact the Band Council and obtain written permission before clearing or using any unencumbered Band land.

These booklets feature illustrations by Potlotek resident Chris Andrews and are written by UINR biologist and research coordinator Shelley Denny and Tyson Paul with the assistance of community members and organizations.

Clean water is essential to survival of kataq eels. It is habitat for many different plants and animals like plamu salmon,kaqpesaw smelt, atoqwa’su trout, mntmu oysters and kaspe’laq gaspereau.

Fish habitat is protected by law. We all have a part to play in fish habitat conservation and protection. It is important we use our land properly. Our actions affect the Bras d’Or Lakes and other rivers, ponds and lakes. We are all connected.

These booklets show what you can do to protect these special places.

UINR is sending a booklet to every household in Potlotek, Eskasoni and Waycobah and extra copies are available at our office in Eskasoni or at uinr.ca

The illustrations on this page show:
When approaching land, lift outboard motors and land boats in areas with less eel grass. Eel grass is important to many fish species, including eels.

Show ways to protect aquatic habitat to the next generation by example.

Leave a naturally occurring 20 m (66 ft) buffer zone of trees, shrubs, grass and groundcover to hold soil in place and minimize erosion. It protects water from accidental leaks from furnace oil, sewage, gas and oil.

Community Aquatic Monitoring Program– CAMP is a project where communities monitor the health and marine productivity of their local aquatic ecosystem.

From May–September, we monitored six sites around the Bras d’ Or Lakes using protocols developed by Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Long-term monitoring of fish and crustacean species, water temperature, salinity and dissolved oxygen profiles, vegetation and quality of sediment samples will help us determine if changes in the aquatic community structure are taking place, identify the cause, and take action to mitigate any negative impacts.

Classroom and field training took place in early May with coordinator Jim Weldon. Participants included Keith Christmas (Membertou), Rodney Alex, Shauna Gould and John T. Johnson (Eskasoni Fish & Wildlife), Robert Livingston (Stewards of River Denys Basin), Shelley Porter (CEPI), Shelley Denny, Dean Denny, Angela Morris and Allison McIsaac (UINR). Also in attendance were Lorne Penny and Stephanie Rose from DFO in Sydney. Eskasoni’s Grade 6 class was recruited to help and topics discussed ranged from respecting species to species behaviour.

UINR hopes that this program will lead to other community-based monitoring activities on the Bras d’Or Lakes. CAMP is funded by UINR and the in-kind contributions of human resources from the Mi’kmaq communities of Unama’ki.

shelley.denny@uinr.ca

It is going to be a busy year for UINR! We recently received support from Aboriginal Funds for Species at Risk to continue our eel research in the Bras d’Or Lakes. The project will determine biological characteristics and the relationship of American Eel (Kataq) abundance in the Bras d’Or Lakes. We will be conducting eel and elver habitat surveys, gathering biological data and landing estimates from the food, social and ceremonial eel fishery. We are expanding sampling to include freshwater rivers and lakes and barrachois ponds for eels.

Our research will include discussions with Elders and eel fishers on eel ecology in freshwater and fishing efforts by habitat type and season. We will establish a timeline for when the swimbladder parasite appeared in the Bras d’Or Lakes eel which will help provide a traditional balance to our research.

UINR is proud of our unique approach to sample collection for research. Eels are obtained fresh, processed for the required data, then cleaned and skinned so that they can be returned to the fisher. To date, around 80% of eel samples have been returned for consumption or communal sharing. If they do not want the eels, samples are frozen and given to those who want a small feed of eels.

UINR also received funding to develop best management practices for shoreline development with our Mi’kmaw communities.  These guidelines will provide protection for the near-shore region used by eels. Shelley Denny, UINR’s Biologist and Research Coordinator explains: While we have constitutionally protected rights for food, social and ceremonial fishing, and now the right to fish for a moderate livelihood, we cannot forget our responsibility to the eel and the environment that nourishes it. I see this development as a pro-active approach to eel conservation by way of habitat protection. Having these standards in place for the Bras d’Or Lakes will be the first of its kind in Nova Scotia.

This area is an important habitat for many other species such as oysters, mussels, juvenile fish, and as spawning areas for herring.  Denny acknowledges the work of the Bras d’Or Lakes Collaborative Environmental Planning Initiative for researching shoreline protection measures that are commonly used in other provinces and their potential application for our region:  CEPI put together a useful document to help us help ourselves. I think the time is right to pursue this issue and we are doing this in collaboration with others around the Bras d’Or Lakes. I am confident our efforts will have a positive impact on the health of the Lakes and I’m very excited to be part of this process. UINR is meeting with member communities to confirm their participation. Funding for this project was provided through Environment Canada’s Habitat Stewardship Protection program.

shelley.denny@uinr.ca

Throughout June, UINR staff will catch, measure and release elvers (young eels) as they enter the rivers and brooks between Ingonish Beach and Neil’s Harbour.

The project is looking at the migration of the elvers from the ocean into the freshwaters of the Park. The project is part of a larger Parks Canada study designed to better understand the status of the American eel in Atlantic Canada.

UINR biologist Shelley Denny explains, I think this is an excellent opportunity to learn about eels in other habitats around Cape Breton Island. We often forget that that eels can be found in virtually any body of water, from the smallest stream or pond to large estuaries such as the Bras d’Or Lakes.

In 2006, American eel was listed as a species of special concern by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Eels live in freshwater, but breeds only once in the saltwater of the Sargasso Sea before it dies.

It’s great that Parks Canada has taken a keen interest in learning about the local eel population and we are honoured to have been invited to assist with their project, Shelley concludes.

UINR is Cape Breton’s Mi’kmaq voice on natural resources and the environment. UINR represents the five Mi’kmaq communities of Unama’ki on Mi’kmaq natural resources and their sustainability.

Cape Breton Highlands National Park is part of a system of national parks, national historic sites and national marine conservation areas committed to protecting and presenting Canada’s natural and cultural heritage for generations of Canadians.

shelley.denny@uinr.ca

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Science paired with Mi’kmaq traditional knowledge is the key to UINR’s research activities. This unique pairing has been called “Two-Eyed Seeing” and brings together the best of western science and traditional knowledge.

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UINR’s research is guided by our communities and the advice and guidance of our community’s Elders. Our emphasis is research on species of concern to Mi’kmaq such as oyster, lobster, eel, gaspereau and other food fishing species. Species at Risk and invasive species are also of great concern at UINR.

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Clean drinking water and marine water quality are an important part of our work. We are responsible for monitoring drinking water safety in our communities and check water quality weekly in four of our communities.

In an effort to help, UINR laid geotextile fabric over the bank to the shore, fortified by sandbags. We are developing a long-term strategy to permanently address the problems.

Malagawatch is a special place. Over 650 hectares of land on the Bras d’Or Lakes, Malagawatch has the distinction of being shared by the five First Nations bands in Unama’ki. While some people live there year-round, Mala, as it is affectionately known, is mainly a retreat. Mi’kmaq people have gathered there for a very long time.

Malagawatch has an old cemetary, dating back hundreds of years and a special shrine is erected there. Situated on the banks of the Bras d’Or Lakes, the area has experienced major erosion. In the past year, much of the bank has fallen away, threating the graves with the possibility that they could be lost.

info@uinr.ca

From UINR Marten – Vol.4. Issue.4 – Winter 2008

This year we will address knowledge gaps in the life history and ecology for eels residing in the Bras d’Or Lakes through a series of surveys for elvers (juvenile eels less than 10 cm in length) and adult eels.

Elvers grow into adult eels that we fish, so it’s important for us to understand the habitats that are necessary for their survival. Over the next several weeks, UINR will be sampling the nearshore marine habitats outside each Mi’kmaq community to get an idea of what types of habitat elvers are found.

We are also looking for samples of adult eels caught by the Food, Social and Ceremonial eel fishers. If you are willing to spare a couple of eels, we would greatly appreciate it! Your eels will be examined for the presence of the swimbladder parasite that was recently found in eels around Cape Breton, and to take measurements on length, weight and age. This information will be used to determine growth rates for the Bras d’Or Lakes’ eel population.

The swim bladder parasite impairs the eel’s ability to swim and escape predators. It also may affect their ability to make the lengthy migration to spawning grounds in the Sargasso Sea in the Atlantic Ocean between Bermuda and the Bahamas.

If you see us sampling in your community, don’t hesitate to see what we are doing or ask questions!

shelley.denny@uinr.ca

From UINR Marten – Vol.4. Issue.3 – Autumn 2008

Sometimes, legend has a way of being confirmed in modern-day science. We now recognize frogs and other amphibians as being significant indicators on what is happening in our environment. This becomes really alarming when we look at the state of the frog in our world today.

Frogs and other amphibians have been on the planet for over 360 million years. Scientists are saying that, in our lifetime, up to 1/2 of the amphibian species that we now know will be extinct! More than 120 have already gone in recent years.

To raise awareness, 2008 has been named the International Year of the Frog.

Habitat loss is the major threat and the rapid spread of a disease called amphibian chytrid fungus is of urgent concern because of its tendency to drive species to extinction quickly. Amphibian chytrid is currently unstoppable and untreatable in the wild, even in protected areas. In the environments where it thrives, the fungus can kill 80 percent of native amphibians within months, leading to widespread amphibian extinctions.

So why should we care? Amphibians are a critical part of a healthy natural world. In addition to their value as a beautiful part of nature, they offer many benefits to us.

Amphibians are “the canaries in the coal mine”. They are among the first species to be affected by environmental stress so when they show declines in the wild, it serves as a warning to other species, including humans.

They play an important role in the food web as both predator and prey, maintaining the delicate balance of nature. Where they are disappearing, detrimental effects are already being documented.

Amphibians eat pest insects, benefiting successful agriculture around the world and minimizing the spread of diseases, including malaria.

The skin of amphibians has substances that protect them from some microbes and viruses, offering possible medical cures for a variety of human diseases, including AIDS.

Frogs have had a special place in various human cultures for centuries, cherished as agents of life and good luck.

From UINR Marten – Vol.4. Issue.1 – Spring 2008