About | Save Our Shores

Pauquachin First Nation Marine Department Services

The PFNMD operates as a hub for environmental restoration, cultural preservation, and community engagement. Through its work, the department addresses critical environmental challenges such as habitat degradation, water pollution, and the impacts of climate change, while fostering a deep connection to traditional practices. By emphasizing co-governance models and community-led stewardship, the department empowers Pauquachin members to take active roles in protecting their territory and resources.

From shellfish restoration projects and ecological monitoring to hosting workshops and engaging youth in climate-health initiatives, the Marine Department exemplifies Pauquachin’s commitment to holistic stewardship. Its efforts not only benefit the Pauquachin community but also contribute to broader regional ecological health, setting a standard for Indigenous-led environmental management.

Marine and Coastal Stewardship

Shellfish Restoration: Rebuilding shellfish habitats in Coles Bay to restore traditional food sources and improve ecological health. This includes releasing detailed reports addressing water contamination and proposing solutions for reopening shellfish harvesting areas.
Clam Garden Construction: Building a 650-meter clam garden wall to enhance marine productivity, support cultural practices, and mitigate heat dome impacts on local habitats.
Shoreline Restoration: Completing a 250-meter softened shoreline area with native plantings, providing a habitat for food and medicinal plants, while stabilizing the shoreline to mitigate erosion and climate impacts.
Water Quality Monitoring: Conducting regular water sampling and analysis in collaboration with partners such as Swim Drink Fish and UVic to support the safe reopening of shellfish beds and protect marine ecosystems.
Ecological Surveys: Evaluating habitat conditions, mapping Indigenous food and medicine resources, and monitoring ecosystem changes to inform restoration strategies.

Community Engagement

Workshops and Events: Hosting on-the-land camps, knowledge-sharing workshops, and community gatherings to promote cultural stewardship and environmental education.
Youth Leadership Development: Providing summer internships and leadership roles in the Marine Department, offering hands-on training in stewardship, resource management, and environmental monitoring.
Traditional Knowledge Integration: Incorporating Indigenous knowledge into all stewardship and restoration activities, ensuring cultural practices guide ecological management.
Cultural Reconnection: Facilitating the reintroduction of cultural harvesting practices, including stewardship events and ceremonies, and creating spaces that celebrate Pauquachin’s heritage.

Erosion Control Projects

Undertaking engineering assessments and restoration work to address shoreline erosion, supported by a Disaster Risk Reduction grant from UBCM.

Collaborative Projects

Partnering with regional and federal agencies to engage the community in co-governance models for resource management.

Cross-Jurisdictional Partnerships: Collaborating with WLRS, DFO, District of North Saanich, BC Parks, and other partners to align ecological monitoring and restoration with regional goals.
Policy Advocacy: Contributing to regional and national marine policy development, including input into the Coastal Marine Strategy and advocacy for the "Healthy Shellfish Initiative.
Food Forest Development: Establishing a 2.2-acre food forest on-reserve with over 60 harvestable plants, aimed at enhancing food security, promoting climate resilience, and creating learning opportunities for the community.

Marine Department Operations

Operating and maintaining scientific equipment and vessels to ensure effective monitoring and stewardship across Pauquachin territory.

Adaptive Management

Developing strategies to adapt to climate change impacts, including cumulative effects analysis and climate-resilient infrastructure projects.

Culture Revitalization

Our coasts and beaches are irreplaceable...
let’s save them together.

PFNMD has successfully advocated and supported wider marine initiatives, as well as benefits all neighbouring communities, with our advocacy for policy changes, including contributions to the Coastal Marine Strategy, and initiation of transformative projects such as the restoration of shellfish habitats and the development of adaptive food systems provincially and nationally, as well as locally centering our communities' food access, health, youth stewardship, and language revitalization programs. These achievements highlight the community’s capacity to deliver impactful programs internally and externally, through re-awakening and implementation of cultural practices.

Our Vision

Our vision is to achieve equitable programming that ensures the long-term sustainability of stewardship programs, fosters cultural resilience, and addresses the environmental health challenges facing our region.

Our Mission

Pauquachin First Nations' Marine Departments' Missions revolves around four major pillars of action.

We aim to see increased autonomy in management of marine resources throughout traditional Pauquachin Territories, including commercial fisheries, recreational harvesting, marine project consultations and coordination, and community well-being assisted by marine department projects.
We aim to restore traditional marine foods and increase harvesting practices to levels guaranteed by Douglas Treaty rights, focusing on the right “to carry on fisheries as formally”, as a main priority directly related to central community needs.
We aim to see long-term, sustainable, and ethical creations of marine projects that directly benefit Pauquachin First Nation members, culturally, environmentally, and economically.
We aim to protect the islands, sea, and species traditionally stewarded by Pauquachin First Nation, as well as cultural sites, practices, and communities, through direct actions in the marine environment in Pauquachin First Nation traditional territories.

Ecological Stewardship Award

Pauquachin First Nation Marine is restoring coastal ecosystems while revitalizing traditional stewardship practices. In August 2025, Pauquachin First Nation, Pauquachin First Nation Marine, community members, neighbouring Nations, volunteers, and international guests came together to construct over 400 feet of freestone terraces in Coles Bay to create the first new Sea Garden in the Southern Gulf Islands! By combining Hul'q'umi'num' knowledge with western science, the project restored 2.2 acres of intertidal habitat, increased biodiversity, and supported over 60 culturally significant species.

Beyond ecological gains, the Sea Garden strengthens cultural revitalization and intergenerational learning, engaging Elders, Youth, and community members in hands-on restoration. Through this project, Pauquachin First Nation demonstrates a model of ecological stewardship that is culturally rooted, scientifically rigorous, and community-driven.

Pauquachin First Nation Marine Department Services

Shellfish Restoration: Rebuilding shellfish habitats in Coles Bay to restore traditional food sources and improve ecological health. This includes releasing detailed reports addressing water contamination and proposing solutions for reopening shellfish harvesting areas.

Clam Garden Construction: Building a 650-meter clam garden wall to enhance marine productivity, support cultural practices, and mitigate heat dome impacts on local habitats.

Shoreline Restoration: Completing a 250-meter softened shoreline area with native plantings, providing a habitat for food and medicinal plants, while stabilizing the shoreline to mitigate erosion and climate impacts.

Water Quality Monitoring: Conducting regular water sampling and analysis in collaboration with partners such as Swim Drink Fish and UVic to support the safe reopening of shellfish beds and protect marine ecosystems.

Ecological Surveys: Evaluating habitat conditions, mapping Indigenous food and medicine resources, and monitoring ecosystem changes to inform restoration strategies.

​​

Workshops and Events: Hosting on-the-land camps, knowledge-sharing workshops, and community gatherings to promote cultural stewardship and environmental education.

Youth Leadership Development: Providing summer internships and leadership roles in the Marine Department, offering hands-on training in stewardship, resource management, and environmental monitoring.

Traditional Knowledge Integration: Incorporating Indigenous knowledge into all stewardship and restoration activities, ensuring cultural practices guide ecological management.

Cultural Reconnection: Facilitating the reintroduction of cultural harvesting practices, including stewardship events and ceremonies, and creating spaces that celebrate Pauquachin’s heritage.

Undertaking engineering assessments and restoration work to address shoreline erosion, supported by a Disaster Risk Reduction grant from UBCM.

Partnering with regional and federal agencies to engage the community in co-governance models for resource management.

Cross-Jurisdictional Partnerships: Collaborating with WLRS, DFO, District of North Saanich, BC Parks, and other partners to align ecological monitoring and restoration with regional goals.

Policy Advocacy: Contributing to regional and national marine policy development, including input into the Coastal Marine Strategy and advocacy for the "Healthy Shellfish Initiative.

Food Forest Development: Establishing a 2.2-acre food forest on-reserve with over 60 harvestable plants, aimed at enhancing food security, promoting climate resilience, and creating learning opportunities for the community.