Arctic Research

The Arctic Research Division's mandate is to provide information to support the management of arctic fisheries resources and fish habitat to the Department and its Land Claims co-managers. Successful co-management and conservation of the arctic fisheries resources depends on the acquisition, interpretation and dissemination of biological knowledge of the animals and the ecological processes that affect them. Increasingly, the Division meets its responsibilities through partnership projects with co-management boards. One of the Division's goals is to expand and further develop such joint projects.

The Division is based at the Freshwater Institute (FWI) in Winnipeg, Manitoba and consists of four research sections and an administrative section. The four research sections are:

• Arctic Fish Ecology and Assessment Research (AFEAR)
• Arctic Marine Mammal Ecology and Assessment Research (AMMEAR)
• Arctic Stock Assessment (ASA)
• Arctic Environment and Contaminants (AEC)

Much of the Division's research is driven directly by the needs of the fishery co-management boards and is directly funded by those groups. The specific co-management boards that are primary partners with DFO in the Arctic are:

• Nunavut Wildlife Management Board
• Fisheries Joint Management Committee
• Gwich'in Renewable Resource Board
• Sahtu Renewable Resources Board

Research needs and requirements are also identified in Integrated Fishing Management Plans for arctic species and as a result of international agreements related to fisheries management.

Other partners and clients of the Arctic Research Division include:

• Arctic resource users
• Hunters and Trappers Committees and Organizations (HTCs, HTOs)
• Fishery managers within DFO
• Other government departments
• The national and international scientific community (e.g. International Council for the Exploration of the Sea)
• Great Slave Lake Fisheries Advisory Board