Northern coastlines face increasing challenges in marine conservation as climate change, shifting ocean currents, and human activities place pressure on sensitive benthic ecosystems. Nunatsiavut, a sovereign Inuit region in Labrador, Canada, has over 17,000 km of coastline made up of dynamic landscapes featuring high marine biodiversity. There, swift currents, restrictive weather, a prolonged sea ice season, and uncharted seafloors make benthic studies of nearshore areas using conventional scientific methods difficult and costly. Therefore, most studies that have been conducted in Nunatsiavut catalogue the benthos in deeper waters away from the coastline, but not where Labrador Inuit most often interact with the benthos. This study helps to fill critical knowledge gaps in benthic community composition in a culturally appropriate manner that reinforces the relationships between community members, the benthos, and researchers. To do this, we used GoPro cameras and participatory mapping to better understand benthic communities in coastal Nunatsiavut, as well as the relationships between the benthos and Labrador Inuit. We identified 60 taxa comprising seven near-shore benthic community assemblages in areas that are challenging to access using more conventional scientific benthic survey methods, doing so at a fraction of the cost and with greater community engagement in the research project. By identifying these species through methodology centered on the relationships between Labrador Inuit and the benthos, the results can be instrumental in informing resiliency plans, especially as they relate to food security in the face of climate change.
Ortenzi et al. (Thu,) studied this question.