How should we conserve wild salmon? This question sits at the heart of my research into the use of hatcheries as contested technologies for the conservation of wild Atlantic and Pacific salmon. This research situates hatchery and stocking work as inherently a social endeavor, and looks at the human dimensions of stocking efforts in the context of the Anthropocene.

The Great Lakes have been fished since time immemorial by Indigenous fishers, and in more recent centuries by an evolving cast of settler fish harvesters. Today Great Lakes commercial fisheries collectively make up one of the world’s largest freshwater commercial fisheries, yet our understanding of the human side of these fisheries is still rooted in the past. Little is known about the contemporary challenges and opportunities faced by these fish harvesters as they occur in the many unique fishing contexts presented by these stories lakes. This research here focuses on the fish harvesters of the Great Lakes, and the coastal communities in which their fisheries are embedded, including the decline of working waterfronts, generational succession and planning within the fisheries, and community access to local seafood.

Science and research are only meaningful if they are understood. Knowledge mobilization (KMb) is a key feature of my research program, and we are always looking for new ways to share the messages and knowledge developed through our empirical work. To date, the FishPeoplePlace lab has has used podcasting, film, and PubCasts to better share research with wide audiences.