GLATOS

Mississagi River and Delta Lake Sturgeon

Project Title

Namee (Lake Sturgeon, Acipenser fulvescens) of the Mississagi River Watershed: Knowledge Gaps and Research—a Two-Eyed Seeing approach

Project Code

MFNLS

Project Duration

June 2023 - November 2026

Project Description

Namee, Lake Sturgeon, has always been an important cultural and subsistence fish species for First Nation communities. We are using a two-eyed seeing approach, utilizing both Traditional (Indigenous) Ecological Knowledge through land use and area mapping and Western Science, to better understand the ecology of Namee of the Mississagi River and Delta.

Objectives

The objectives of our project, a Mississauga First Nation initiative, are to determine population size, sex ratio, migration patterns, overwintering sites, location(s) and timing of spawning, and recruitment of Namee from the Mississagi River watershed.

Investigators

Matthew Litvak (Mount Allison University - Department of Biology) - mlitvak@mta.ca
Keith Sayers (Mississauga First Nation - Lands And Resources)
Amanda Cress (Mississauga First Nation - Lands And Resources)
Chris Davis (Ontario Ministry Of Natural Resources And Forestry - Upper Great Lakes Management Unit)
Kathleen Ryan (Saugeen Ojibway Nation)
Ryan Lauzon (Chippewas Of Nawash Unceded First Nation)
Kelly Withers (Evolugen - Brookfield Power)
Andre Martel (Canadian Museum Of Nature)
Ashlyne Norris (Anishinabek - Ontario Fisheries Resource Center (A/OFRC))

Funding

Mississauga First Nation
Fisheries and Oceans Canada - Aboriginal Fund for Species at Risk
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry
Evolugen
Mount Allison University
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
Anishinabek - Ontario Fisheries Resource Center (A/OFRC)