Sociocultural dimensions of ocean acidification and related changes in marine food systems, a community-based project with Squaxin Island Tribe

• Main Authors: Poe, Melissa, Krise, Charlene, Donatuto, Jamie, Levin, Phillip S.
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Western CEDAR 2016
• Subjects: Fresh Water Studies; Life Sciences; Marine Biology; Natural Resources and Conservation; Ocean acidification
• Online Access: https://cedar.wwu.edu/ssec/2016ssec/climate_change_ocean_acidification/5

This presentation discusses the sociocultural dimensions of ocean acidification (OA) through a community-based participatory project with the Squaxin Island Tribe located in South Puget Sound. Ecological conditions of the Salish Sea are complex, and face increasing pressures and uncertainties from climate-related ocean changes. One type of ocean change, OA, is altering bio-chemical processes of coastal waters, with potentially negative impacts to marine resources important to human communities. For many millennia, the people of the Squaxin Island Tribe have relied on marine resources such as clams, oysters, and salmon for food, ceremony, and trade. Rights to access and use these important seafoods are protected in the 1854 Treaty of Medicine Creek. Since 2014, our team has been working to document the social, cultural, and health importance of clams, oysters and other shellfish with the goal of providing community-driven information to improve regional environmental planning. Here, we present results from recent participatory interviews and community workshops to identify the social and cultural vulnerabilities of OA based on anticipated effects to culturally-important species. We also discuss efforts to develop local strategies to respond to these and other challenges, and point to some of the broader regional implications for meeting these challenges together.