NIMMSA Conservation Fund Project
Year awarded
Marine Stewardship in Mamalilikulla Territory
Awarded Organization:
Marine stewardship initiatives within Mamalilikulla traditional territory, supporting conservation and cultural values.
Six days of field work were conducted at Mound Island from April 27th to May 2nd 2025 monitoring one beach. Clam species observed included butter clams, cockles, horse clams, little neck clams, manila clams and razor clams. Other marine invertebrates observed included numerous sea cucumber, gooseneck barnacles, sea stars, red urchin and limpets. Individual counts were not provided.
Thirty people participated in this project including out guardian crew, participants from neighbouring nations and an elder with extensive clam harvesting experience. The guardian crew gained practical experience identifying clam species and assessing their abundance through the rapid clam survey. The participating elder shared knowledge and stories about harvesting clams in the area. The beach area was cleaned, large boulders were cleared from an area. Drone imagery from 2022 and 2025 area variable to help show changes to the beach.
The project helped us understand the effort required to restore a clam garden beach that has not been actively tended to for many generations. It also generated research ideas involving both terrestrial and marine portions of Mound Island. We plan to continue work on Mound Island taking an approach that considers connections between the land and the sea. This work re enforces the need to strengthen protection for clam gardens and cultural sites like Mound Island. Our team is exploring protection options beyond existing provincial and federal measures to determine what vest supports the nations priorities. We have decided to substantially reduce the tourism on Mound Island to help protect the ancestral clam garden wall and surrounding beach.