Understanding Contaminants in Traditional Fisheries of the Eeyou Marine Region

PROJECT LEAD: EMRWB

PROJECT PARTNERS: Cree Board of Health and Social Services James Bay (CBHSSJB), Cree Trappers Association (CTA), Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), Northern Contaminants Program (NCP)

DURATION: 2023-2025

Between 2016-2018, the EMRWB conducted community consultations on research priorities for the communities of the EMR. These consultations identified community concerns about contaminants in traditional foods, particularly fish.

This project aims to understand:

  • Mercury concentrations in fish from traditional harvesting programs along the coast.
  • Identify if there are other contaminants of concern (PFAS, PCBs) present in fish from traditional harvesting programs along the coast.

This information will be used to address community members questions and to assure community members that their traditional foods are safe to eat.

In 2023, the EMRWB partnered with local fish harvesting programs in Waskaganish, Eastmain, and Wemindji to collect samples from whitefish and cisco that were distributed to community members.

We collected:

  • Fish length, weight, and age to better understand the fish population and health.
  • Flesh to assess stable isotopes (carbon & nitrogen) – this provides an understanding of the fish’s place on the food web.
  • Flesh to assess contaminant concentrations.

In 2024, the EMRWB will partner with Chisasibi and Whapmagoostui to collect the same information about their fish!