Monitoring salmon aquaculture waste: The contribution of First Nations’ rights, knowledge, and practices in British Columbia, Canada

British Columbia's current approach to monitoring salmon aquaculture waste is disconnected from political and legal trends towards the recognition of Aboriginal rights in Canada. Drawing on insights from collaborative monitoring in northern Canada and interviews with 23 Kwakwaka’wakw clam-diggers and cultural specialists (2006–2007), preliminary directions for integrating First Nations’ values, knowledge and stewardship practices into marine environmental monitoring are identified. Kwakwaka’wakw monitoring practices include the use of qualitative individual, community and population scale indicators and the integration of traditional knowledge as baseline data about the healthy conditions of traditional food resources.