Tkismultnej (Let’s Swim Together): Unama’ki Salmon Symposium

In the Mi’kmaw language, Tkismultnej translates to “Let’s Swim Together” and Plamu is the word for salmon. Tkismultnej was chosen to highlight the need for collaboration in plamu conservation: Let's swim together towards a brighter future for these incredible fish! 

A hat and sticker from the Tkismultnej Gathering

On March 6th and 7th, Dr. Chad Walker, Dr. Megan Fuller, Sian Borden, and Lorraine Marshall attended the Tkismultnej Salmon Symposium organized by the Unama’ki Institute of Natural Resources at the Membertou Trade & Convention Centre. Team members Dr. Shelley Denny and Alitta Patles played an integral role in organizing this gathering which aimed to inspire fisher leadership and enhance plamu conservation planning in Unama’ki.  

The goal of this gathering was to provide an intervention or proactive/preventative activities for Species at Risk, in this case plamu, under immediate threat from human activity. Mi’kmaq fishers, harvesters, biologists, and conservationists from various federal agencies attended and presented throughout the day on March 6th. It was very interesting to learn about the state of plamu in Unama’ki, the current conservation efforts, and how collaboration and different tools can assist conservation and species recovery.  

On March 7th, a more intimate gathering for Mi’kmaq Salmon Harvesters and First Nation fisheries departments (Eskasoni, Membertou, Potlotek, Wagmatcook, and We’koqma’q) was held to introduce them to the project and learn about their concerns. Dr. Fuller presented the project to the group and Michael Charlton, postdoctoral fellow at Cranfield University, joined us virtually on March 7th to share about his role in the project. Members of the project team led a discussion-based workshop to learn more about the harvesters’ opinions. The discussion was shaped by 3 questions. The questions and the key takeaways are shared below:  

What do we want to learn? 

• Water quality in the Bras d’Or Lakes 

• Conservation planning and methods 

• Plamu ecology and biology 

How do we want to work together?  

• Research methodology and values that should guide the research 

• Improving the relationship between harvesters and other stakeholders in the fishery 

How do we want to make change?  

• Incorporating Two-Eyed seeing and other Indigenous methodologies 

• Making actionable changes in the short-term 

• Work towards creating long-term big picture changes 

The knowledge gathered at this symposium will be used to guide the work in Unama’ki for this project. We are thankful to the Unama’ki Institute of Natural Resources for organizing this important gathering and in particular to Alitta Patles and Dr. Denny for their hard work in organizing it.