Lab Community Leadership

Hannah L. Harrison - Principle Investigator

I am originally from traditional Dena’ina lands (Homer, Alaska) where I grew up in a salmon fishing family. My work and interests stem from a close relationship with fish, fish places, fish people and an intrinsic drive to question power.

By discipline, I am best described as a human ecologist, meaning I’m interested in the many facets of human-environmental relationships. I specialize in qualitative research and am interested in critically exploring problems related to marine social-ecological systems, particularly within fisheries and coastal community contexts. I have also developed a portfolio of knowledge mobilization skills and approaches that I implement within most projects.

I earned my Bachelor of Science (Natural Resource Management) and Master’s of Science (Environmental Ethnography) at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. My PhD was earned as part of a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions ITN at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences.

I came to Canada in 2019 as a postdoctoral scholar at the University of Guelph on Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe territory (Guelph, Ontario).

In July of 2022 I joined the Marine Affairs Program at Dalhousie University in Mi’kma’ki (Nova Scotia), where I now work as an Assistant Professor in the Marine Affairs Program.

Currently my work is focused on several key areas:

  • Salmon (Pacific and Atlantic) conservation as understood through social-ecological systems lens

  • Equity in Access, particularly to public coastal space and local seafood

  • Aquatic ‘invasive’ species management in the Anthropocene as understood through management and social perspectives

My work and research is in service to managers and communities (including communities of practice). If you have a natural resource topic or problem and are looking for collaboration with a social scientist, please get in touch!

Current Student Community

Michael is a 2024/2025 Master of Marine Management candidate at Dalhousie University. Growing up in Toronto, Michael gained an appreciation for the outdoors and aquatic ecosystems through weekend camping and fishing trips with his dad and siblings. This enthusiasm seamlessly transitioned into Michael's academic journey during his undergraduate years. In 2022, he successfully earned his BSc (Hons.) in Biology with a minor in Geography from Queen’s University.

One of Michael’s research interests is salmonid species, in their ecology and biology, but also in the importance they hold for people. As such, Michael has joined the FishPeoplePlace Lab as a graduate student researcher on the “Tilling Wild Waters” project. This project aims to understand the underlying motivations and values within communities who stock Atlantic salmon in the Maritimes. Through understanding their “why”, policy can be shaped to incorporate these human dimensions when considering the future of Atlantic salmon conservation measures.

Cara is a 2023-2025 Master of International Development Studies candidate at Dalhousie University. As an interdisciplinary program, the International Development program allows students to branch into many different sectors. This has allowed Cara to bridge her love an interest in coastal spaces with her passion for social justice, social-ecological connectivity, and climate adaptation by joining the FishPeoplePlace Lab. Her Bachelor’s degree in Global Resource Systems from the Faculty of Land and Food Systems at the University of British Columbia (conferred in May 2023) has inspired her to pay special attention to the response of the food system and food system workers to the themes in her thesis research.

Cara’s experience working in Search and Rescue for the Canadian Coast Guard exposed her to the interface between the sea-going people of the maritime provinces and the ocean, and evoked a deeper questioning of how this connection affects the ways that people along the coast are adapting to the changing climate (including erosion, increased storm frequency and severity, flooding, etc). She will be writing her Master’s thesis in late 2024 and early 2025 after completing her qualitative data collection process in the summer and fall of 2024.

Ojas is a 2024-2025 Master of Marine Management candidate at Dalhousie University. Despite growing up in the desert state of India, his early fascination with oceans and ships ignited a passion for marine environments. After earning his bachelor’s degree in marine engineering in 2016, Ojas embarked on a seven-year journey as a merchant naval engineering officer, accumulating invaluable experience at sea.

Driven by his dedication to ocean sustainability, Ojas transitioned into academia to contribute to conservation and sustainability efforts. His graduate project, "Network Analysis and Stakeholder Mapping for North Atlantic Right Whale Conservation," focuses on gathering data on collaboration, compiling information on participants in multi-stakeholder and rightsholder committees, and employing social network analysis to develop a collaboration network matrix of groups involved in North Atlantic right whale conservation. As part of the FishPeoplePlace Lab, Ojas is excited to apply these skills during an internship with the Canadian Wildlife Federation, furthering his commitment to protecting marine ecosystems.

Abby is a 2024-2025 Master of Marine Management candidate at Dalhousie University. Hailing from beautiful Prince Edward Island, Abby fell in love with the ocean from an early age. Coming from a coastal community with family members who depend on the ocean for their livelihood, she was able to see firsthand the importance of conserving the ocean to not only preserve ecosystems, but to preserve social and cultural ways of life.

These experiences led Abby to the University of New Brunswick where she graduated with an undergraduate degree in marine biology with honours. During her summers, Abby had the privilege of working for local conservation organizations, enriching her understanding of effective management strategies for harmonizing ecological preservation with societal needs. For her graduate project, Abby will be working with the Halifax Port Authority and FishPeoplePlace Lab to examine aquatic ecosystems on or around the port. This work is being undertaken to gain a better understanding of ecosystems that are being positively, negatively, or neutrally affected by port operations. Through this work, Abby will create recommendations for an aquatic monitoring program for the Halifax Port Authority.

Ireland is a 2024-2025 Master of Marine Management candidate at Dalhousie University. Although she grew up far from the ocean in Calgary, Alberta, her love for the marine environment was fostered by vacations to the coast and Blue Planet documentaries. This passion drove Ireland to the University of New Brunswick where she completed her Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology with a minor in Zoology. Her passion for conservation led her to pursue the marine management program as she recognizes that the change she wants to see starts with management.

Ireland’s interest in conservation helped shape her graduate project titled “Examining federal policy surrounding the potential impacts to wild Atlantic salmon from enhancement programs.” Ireland will combine government management and academic research through her summer internship with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada while also being supervised by Dr. Hannah Harrison in the FishPeoplePlace Lab. This research will help to understand how policy surrounding conservation efforts can aid in safeguarding endangered species. Ireland is hopeful that her research can provide management recommendations on the future policy involving Atlantic salmon stocking programs.

Graduated Lab Community

Brianna Crosby

Brianna graduated with a Master of Marine Management in May 2024. During her time in the FishPeoplePlace community, she was a Sobey Fund for Oceans Scholarship recipient at Dalhousie University. She graduated from Mount Allison University in 2022 with a BSc (Hons.) in Biology. Brianna grew up in Nova Scotia – Canada’s ocean playground – which developed into a lifelong love of the sea. She is happiest at the beach, wading through the waves to look for shells and marine life.

Brianna has a keen interest in native species conservation and invasive species management in Atlantic Canada. Her master’s work focused on the green crab, which is found along the shores of each Atlantic province and threatens native species biodiversity and important commercial fisheries. Brianna investigated how Atlantic Canadian green crab fisheries could be used as a form of invasive species management. She completed her degree in December 2023. Click here to read her graduate project.

Katherine Dalby

Katherine graduated as a Master of Resource and Environmental Management in May 2024. Growing up in the Greater Toronto Area, her connection to nature was fostered by her close family and community through storytelling, which became a passion for communications and environmental science.

Katherine earned their Bachelor of Science at University of Guelph in Environmental Biology. By integrating her passion for communications and academic background, Katherine has undertaken leadership roles in science communication, focusing on environmental education, public engagement, youth outreach, and social media marketing.


Katherine now works as a policy analyst for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.