Hay River dock (by Ymblanter - CC 4) with a coastal trout growth model inset (described below)

Arctic research in our lab is done in collaboration with colleagues at the Freshwater Institute (FWI) of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Canada. It focuses on the life history and assessment of Arctic species of commercial and/or cultural importance.

Our work has examined different life-histories in Broad Whitefish (Coregonus nasus) (VanGerwen-Toyne et al. 2012, Martin et al. 2021) and Arctic Char (Lowen et al. 2009, Lowen et al. 2010). This work focused on the design and analysis of field samples to establish variation in growth and maturity among anadromus and lacrustrine forms. We have also examine Lake Trout (Salvelinus namaycush) growth differences across salinity ranges in coastal environments (Kissinger et al. 2016, Kissinger et al. 2019 ) as illustrated in the model and plots at the top of this page.

Current collaborative research involves the analysis of past DFO survey and harvest data (see current students) from the Arctic to develop more detailed population estimates. These fisheries are often data limited in comparison to the industrial fisheries of the BC coast or Atlantic Canada.