Community-Integrated GIS in the Bay of Fundy Groundfishery

Abstract

This paper is designed examine the development of Community-Integrated Geographic Information Systems (CIGIS) in the marine environment. Through a review of a mapping project, whose information base is Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) of spawning and nursery areas of the groundfishery in the Bay of Fundy, Canada, recommendations on data collection, database development, and data visualization are made for their incorporation into a GIS. This paper addresses how CIGIS may be useful not only for the constituents whose knowledge is the basis of the database, but for the fisheries managers who should consider this data in the overall framework of the decision-making process. Conclusions indicate that database development needs to start with the highest resolution possible. In dealing with local knowledge the dataset needs to be fully inclusive of all responses even when the information may not be validated by another source. A ranking system would separate unsubstantiated responses and validated responses. Visualization of local knowledge should also follow the same level of resolution as the database and, where possible, be confined to a single data point. More detailed information on the site should be incorporated as text into the metadata or as an actual record in the attribute table.