J. Pellerin et J. Grondin, Assessing the state of arctic ecosystem health: Bridging Inuit viewpoints and biological endpoints on fish health, ECOSYST HEA, 4(4), 1998, pp. 236-247
Citations number
81
Categorie Soggetti
Environment/Ecology,"EnvirnmentalStudies Geografy & Development
As with all of the world's ecosystems, the Arctic ecosystem is challenged b
y anthropogenic inputs. As a result of their global vision of the ecosystem
in which they live, the Inuit community is concerned with the fact that tr
aditional food may not be edible due to pollution. As part of a broader eco
system health research program examining the biological, economic, and cult
ural impacts of environmental contamination in the Arctic, the aim of our p
roject was to assess Arctic ecosystem health by the tentative bridging of s
cientific and traditional knowledge. Specifically, the goal was to verify a
possible relationship between Inuit perception of the health of their ecos
ystem and scientific assessment of deformities, pollutant levels, and paras
ites in Arctic char, an important food source for the Inuit. In order to do
this, it was necessary to take into account Inuit knowledge of contaminati
on and perceived effects on human and ichtyofauna health.
Two fish sampling sites were chosen in Ungava Bay, Nunavik, (northern Quebe
c, Canada) and field sampling took place in August 1994 during the upstream
migration of Arctic char. While large amounts of parasites were observed,
there were no evident signs of fish health alteration such as deformities o
r very low condition factors despite the common observation by Inuit that d
eformities were more abundant than in the past. Although the hypothesis tha
t a possible increase in parasitism in fish due to anthropogenic pollutants
could be neither proved nor completely disproved (in particular because of
a lack of unhealthy fish), the research process has still proved to be use
ful; namely, to reassure stakeholders about the quality of the fish stocks
studied, to enhance dialogues between researchers and the communities invol
ved in the project, to provide an opportunity for regional stakeholders to
guide locally relevant research, and to provide researchers with some under
standing of the differences between risks perceived by the general populati
on and dangers identified by the experts.