Lead: Vic Gillman, Fisheries Joint Management Committee / Frank Pokiak, Inuvialuit Game Council
This project is building a baseline understanding of ecosystem structure and function of the Beaufort Sea coastal food-web. The project uses food-web biomarkers at a regional scale that captures both estuarine and marine coastal ecosystems in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region. Community relevant coastal programs have been developed to focus on key valued ecosystem components that include (i) coastal fish, (ii) beluga, and (iii) their supporting ecosystem (habitat) at harvest/hunt sites for each of the six Inuvialuit Settlement Region communities. While species monitored may differ among sites, the methods employ a standardized approach by using common indicators that define trophic interactions.