Barbara Neis | Memorial University of Newfoundland (original) (raw)

Papers by Barbara Neis

The Dalhousie Law Journal, 1995

Human Ecology, 2006

Questions centered on the development of local and traditional ecological knowledge and the relat... more Questions centered on the development of local and traditional ecological knowledge and the relationship of that knowledge to the development of conservation and management practices have recently attracted critical attention. We examine these questions with respect to the dynamic commercial fisheries of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The knowledge of fish harvesters coevolves with fishing practices and is

Marine Policy, 2008

The Newfoundland fishery has always been a dangerous industry, but since the collapse of groundfi... more The Newfoundland fishery has always been a dangerous industry, but since the collapse of groundfish stocks the pattern of risks has changed. To understand these changes we developed the Fishing Vessel Safety Longitudinal Analysis, a linked database comprising Department of Fisheries and Oceans catch and effort records, Search and Rescue Information System records, and Newfoundland and Labrador Workplace Health Safety and Compensation Commission claims. This paper discusses the methodological challenges and solutions associated with linking these databases. We conclude that improved coordination between these agencies is a prerequisite for linking their respective databases, which would in turn offer greatly enhanced opportunities to contribute to fishing safety.

Fish and Fisheries, 2011

Introduction 428 Four case-studies 428 NE Atlantic-Barents Sea: cod, herring and capelin 429 NW A... more Introduction 428 Four case-studies 428 NE Atlantic-Barents Sea: cod, herring and capelin 429 NW Atlantic-Newfoundland and Labrador: cod and crustaceans 431 Upwelling systems-Northern Benguela Current: small pelagic fishes 434 Upwelling systems-Ghana: demersal and small pelagic fishes 436 Comparisons and contrasts from the case-studies 438 Ecological (biophysical) system 438

Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 2012

ABSTRACT To understand and mitigate the increasingly rapid and complex global and local changes o... more ABSTRACT To understand and mitigate the increasingly rapid and complex global and local changes of coastal marine social-ecological systems in such a manner as to ensure their sustainability requires both recognising the dynamic nature of the interactions within and between these systems, and drawing on insights from different types of knowledge and knowledge-generating systems. This requires the systematic collection, comparison and (where feasible) integration of scientists' and stakeholders' knowledge from a broad range of natural and social science and humanities backgrounds, different social-ecological locations (spatial, temporal and organisational), local experiences and traditional practices, as well as formal knowledge. Considered separately, each of these groups can only throw light on how a part of the system is changing and, because of interactivity and complexity, may sometimes misunderstand what is actually happening, its social and environmental consequences, and the available options and alternatives for change. We suggest ways in which integration of the various knowledge bases for fisheries management might be achieved, and the types of governance infrastructure that would need to be put in place.

T HE knowledge that indigenous, artisanal and commercial fi shers and marine hunters accumulate o... more T HE knowledge that indigenous, artisanal and commercial fi shers and marine hunters accumulate over the course of their fi shing careers can be invaluable to marine researchers despite its low scientifi c repute among methodological purists. Over the past several decades, and in tropical, temperate and Arctic fi sheries, it has cast considerable light on important subjects such as stock structure, interannual variability in stock abundance, migrations, the behaviour of larval/post-larval fi sh, currents and the nature of island wakes, nesting site fi delity in sea turtles, spawning aggregations and locations, local trends in abundance and local extinctions. It has also cast light on the dynamics of fi sheries and their relationship to scientifi c understanding. This chapter draws on a series of examples from indigenous, artisanal and commercial fi sheries to explore ways in which the knowledge of fi shers and fi sheries scientists can complement each other and, in the process, drive forward not only our knowledge about fi sheries' resources but also our capacity to manage our degraded marine ecosystems to recovery. 1. As a fi sheries biologist, Bob Johannes worked primarily with artisanal fi shers and fi sheries science in tropical contexts (Johannes, 1981, 1993, 1998a, b). Barb Neis is a social scientist who has done similar work with commercial fi shers in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, and with temperate fi sheries researchers (Neis and Felt, 2000). Before his untimely death in 2003, Bob asked Barb to contribute to his 'The value of anecdote' paper. Unfortunately, she did not get a chance to work on the paper while he was alive. She hopes he would approve of her contributions to the work. 00_Livre_Fishers'Knowledge.indb 41 00_Livre_Fishers'Knowledge.indb 41 8/

INTRODUCTION 3.1 Case studies 3.2 Summary of findings 3.3 Background to the Canadian northern shr... more INTRODUCTION 3.1 Case studies 3.2 Summary of findings 3.3 Background to the Canadian northern shrimp fishery 3.4 Objectives 3.5 Rationale 3.6 Research methodology and approach 3.7 Clearances 4. RESULTS 4.1 Allocating licenses and quota 4.2 Mandating regional development 4.3 Using shrimp quota for fisheries development and diversification 4.4 Processing shrimp and harvester-processor relations 4.5 Investing in regional and community development initiatives outside the fishery 4.6 Models of regional development 4.7 Conclusions and policy implications 5. REFERENCES

Building resilient fisheries and coastal communities for Newfoundland and Labrador's future is on... more Building resilient fisheries and coastal communities for Newfoundland and Labrador's future is one of the most important opportunities and challenges of our time. In many of our coastal communities, fisheries continue to be the major source of employment and wealth generation, a crucial part of rural economies, of our identity and our cultural heritage. The owneroperator small and medium-scale enterprises and fish plants generate most of this wealth and employment. In recent decades our fisheries and coastal communities have weathered some severe storms, including the 1990s collapse of our groundfish stocks. Their capacity to respond to such challenges without fundamental cultural, social and ecological change is evidence of their resilience, which is now in serious jeopardy. It is threatened by unfounded claims that our fisheries are broken and the best way to fix them is by turning fisheries quotas and licenses into commodities that can be bought and then sold to the highest bidder. It is also suggested that we get rid of policies that limit vertical integration, although such policies have kept access to many (not all) of our fish resources widely dispersed around our coasts. As a result they have both enhanced the employment and wealth they produce for the province, and anchored much of that wealth in the households of people who work in the industry and in the communities where they live. This is not the time to jettison them. The resilience of our fisheries and coastal communities is also threatened by being undervalued by all levels of government, leaving them vulnerable to policy failure. That vulnerability will deepen unless we shift our emphasis from downsizing to revitalizing our fisheries and coastal communities, investing particularly in our small-and medium-scale fisheries and coastal communities. For this, we need a new policy framework that builds on their strengths and addresses their vulnerabilities because our fisheries are not broken. The intent of this Policy Paper, and the associated Policy Booklet, is to lay the foundations for that new framework. Chapter 1 provides a snapshot of current marine fisheries and coastal communities at the level of regions and the province. It sets the statistical and information stage for our more detailed discussions in subsequent chapters of our fisheries strengths and vulnerabilities, and for our recommendations for building resilient fisheries and coastal communities for the future in the province. Chapter 2 examines the argument, common among some commentators, that our fisheries are 'broken' and require a different policy framework that supports greater vertical integration through the fuller commodification of access rights. We conclude that our fisheries are not broken, and that the recommended policy changes, if implemented, would devastate the economies of many coastal communities, be costly for those who actually work in the industry, erect new barriers for the entry of young people into fisheries, and would not deliver the SECTION 1: OVERARCHING RECOMMENDATIONS ** Recommendation 1. The federal and provincial governments, the FFAW and industry should continue to shift their emphasis from downsizing to revitalizing our fisheries and coastal communities, by developing and implementing a policy framework with revitalization (achieved through integrated rural development) as its core objective. Recommendation 2. This new federal-provincial policy framework for revitalized fisheries should include clear recognition of the interdependence that exists between fisheries resilience, integrated rural development and the resilience of coastal communities. Recommendation 3. The federal and provincial governments, the FFAW and industry should bring representatives of coastal municipalities and of other sectors more fully into fisheries discussions, so that they are better aware of what is happening in the industry and can provide input on issues that are vital to the future resilience of both our fisheries and these communities. Recommendation 4. The new policy framework should include a carefully developed strategy for supporting the viability of small and medium-scale owner-operator enterprises. This should include attention to the intergenerational transfer of harvesting and processing enterprises and their assets in a way that ensures these are retained, wherever possible, by people living and working in the regions adjacent to the resources on which they rely. Developing this will require a labour market study of employment and recruitment, since both of these are essential to revitalization. ** Recommendation 5. The federal government should provide the investment needed to ensure that it is able to live up to its commitments in international agreements, including implementing the ecosystem-based management approach to which it is already committed. vi SECTION II: CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS ** Recommendation 6a. The federal government should commit to the further development of nested governance structures, with policies developed through open consultation, and with decision-making being carried out as near as possible to, and with the involvement of, those affected. Policy-making will still need to take into account larger societal concerns and the interests of future generations. Recommendation 6b. As part of the better-developed nested governance structure, the Province should increase its capacity to participate as a major stakeholder in fisheries science and management, particularly as these affect coastal communities. Recommendation 6c. The provincial and federal governments should invest more fully in the science, governance and integrated development of our inshore and coastal zone. They should work with the university, industry and community groups to establish a coastal community observatories network (C-CON) in the province. C-CON should have the capacity to carry out interdisciplinary, community-engaged collaborative research that cuts across disciplinary and institutional boundaries, and links resource management and conservation concerns to those related to institutional and infrastructural requirements and regional economic development priorities. Recommendation 6d: This revitalized science and governance system should be based on collaborative science and management principles that ensure that fish harvesters and others are involved in designing the research, carrying it out, and interpreting the results. It must include the development of a conservation strategy for each of our fisheries and for different parts of our marine ecosystems. Those strategies should be monitored and evaluated on a regular basis. SECTION III: INDUSTRY-RELATED RECOMMENDATIONS **Recommendation 7. The federal government should retain and enforce the owner-operator and fleet separation policies and the policy around controlling-agreements. ** Recommendation 8. The federal government, with support from the FFAW, the provincial government, and other groups, should develop strategies to enhance the longer-term resilience of our small and medium-scale owner-operator fleets. ** Recommendation 9. The federal government should ensure that a core objective of its strategies to address vulnerability is to protect the viability of these fleets into the future, through balanced and coherent policies arrived at through transparent processes. ** Recommendation 9a. An unbalanced policy that the federal government should review and reject is the 'last-in-first-out' policy (LIFO) in the shrimp fisheries. It appears to have been arrived at through non-transparent processes. More importantly, it will undermine the diversity and resilience of our owner-operator shrimp enterprises by allocating the vast majority of the quota cuts to those owner-operators thereby threatening these enterprises' future viability. vii Recommendation 10. The federal and provincial governments should work with the FFAW and other groups to ensure that the resources on which the owner-operator small and medium scale fleets depend are sustainably managed and not intercepted by boats from other sectors. **Recommendation 11. It is time for the provincial government to launch a systematic investigation into the history and effects (past and present) of the Minimum Processing Requirements. This should include an assessment of the full range of other types of strategies that might be used to achieve, or ideally exceed, the capacity of these Requirements to support diverse fisheries and to anchor fisheries wealth in coastal areas, where it can contribute to economic development. Recommendation 12. The provincial government should then work with the federal government, the FFAW and industry to develop new mechanisms for processing and marketing that will anchor fisheries employment and wealth in coastal areas, where they can contribute to economic development. Recommendation 12a. All levels of government and industry, with input from municipalities, should identify optimal ways of organizing harvesting and processing licensing and management that maximize the wealth (including employment) generated from these resources, and then anchor that wealth in the relevant regions and the province as a whole. Recommendation 12b: Instead of concentrating our attention on only a few species-crab, shrimp, lobster and codall levels of government, with input from the FFAW and processors (and with help from the university and other organizations as appropriate), should be considering the full basket of more than 50 different species that are currently landed in different regions. They should also take stock of other species, not currently landed, that could be commercialized in the future. Recommendation 13. All levels of government should help to carry out market analyses for all of these species, including markets for fish and shellfish of different qualities and sizes, and develop a comprehensive marketing...

Marine Policy, Jun 1, 2022

In May, 2019, On the Move was asked by partner BuildForce Canada if we had any research findings ... more In May, 2019, On the Move was asked by partner BuildForce Canada if we had any research findings related to the potential impact of rising housing costs and transit times and cost on construction labour markets within large Canadian cities including particularly Toronto and Vancouver. This report summarizes relevant On the Move research and findings from a quick scan of existing research relevant to this larger question. We want to thank Bill Ferreira for triggering this review and BuildForce Canada staff for useful feedback and suggestions for earlier drafts. Findings in this report are the responsibility of On the Move and do not reflect the opinions or views of BuildForce Canada.

The Bonne Bay Marine Station (BBMS) is a prize asset of Memorial University. It actively contribu... more The Bonne Bay Marine Station (BBMS) is a prize asset of Memorial University. It actively contributes to the three University pillars: Research, Teaching and Engagement. Bonne Bay -- a small fjord on the west coast of Newfoundland at the base of the Great Northern Peninsula and in the heart of Gros Morne National Park -- is ecologically unique. It has a very wide number of marine habitats and species, ranging from sub-arctic to temperate. In 1969, because of this, the BBMS was established to take advantage of the exciting opportunities for marine research that it presented; at that time, it carried out research and training in marine biology. In 2003, with funding from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), the province and Memorial University, the new station was transformed into a community-partnered institution with a formal mandate for public outreach. The new BBMS and its mandate were designed to support the development of the local economy, including tourism. As a res...

This paper discusses the social impacts of the Atlantic fisheries crisis, the ways those impacts ... more This paper discusses the social impacts of the Atlantic fisheries crisis, the ways those impacts are being mediated by New Right policy initiatives, and the gendered outcomes of these processes. Greater involvement of women in decision-making could contribute to building a more socially and ecologically sustainable relationship with our marine resources.

In some parts of Newfoundland and Labrador, particularly in rural areas, the current tourism indu... more In some parts of Newfoundland and Labrador, particularly in rural areas, the current tourism industry indirectly depends on the existence of a vibrant, local fishing industry. Opportunities to consume locally produced seafood, to observe and interact with industry people, boats, fish plants and other infrastructure, and to experience fisheries-related tangible and intangible cultural heritage are part of what attracts people to the province. These aspects of our coastal fishing communities are also important to local people providing employment, income, access to seafood and many other benefits. In some cases, families that depend on the fishery for employment also appear to have members who work in the tourism sector (although we are not aware of any quantitative research documenting the extent to which this happens). Furthermore, as labour shortages develop in the fishery, tourism sector families might provide workers and sources of investment for the fishery sector in the future....

American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 2020

BackgroundDespite being largely preventable, many occupational diseases continue to be highly pre... more BackgroundDespite being largely preventable, many occupational diseases continue to be highly prevalent and extremely costly. Effective strategies are required to reduce their human, economic, and social impacts.MethodsTo better understand which approaches are most likely to lead to progress in preventing noise‐related hearing loss, occupational contact dermatitis, occupational cancers, and occupational asthma, we undertook a scoping review and consulted with a number of key informants.ResultsWe examined a total of 404 articles and found that various types of interventions are reported to contribute to occupational disease prevention but each has its limitations and each is often insufficient on its own. Our principal findings included: legislation and regulations can be an effective means of primary prevention, but their impact depends on both the nature of the regulations and the degree of enforcement; measures across the hierarchy of controls can reduce the risk of some of these ...

Gender, Place & Culture, 2021

Fisheries and aquaculture have been the subject of feminist research and activism globally for de... more Fisheries and aquaculture have been the subject of feminist research and activism globally for decades. The result is a rapidly expanding body of literature examining women and fisheries and gender relations from oceans to plate. This body encompasses diverse and substantive critiques of mainstream fisheries research, policy and practice that ignore women's contributions showing how local practices, political economies and state policies (re)produce gender inequalities around access to fisheries resources and related wealth. Their work has had positive results. Some fishy feminist work draws on ecofeminism and feminist political ecology to explore links between resource degradation, neoliberal capitalism and patriarchy, but more needs to be done. This paper places existing North Atlantic feminist fisheries research in conversation with an emerging body of feminist scholarship interrogating human-fish relations. It makes the case for applying an ecofeminist lens in future work foregrounding how relations among humans, fisheries and fish are shaped by intersecting capitalist, colonial, speciesist and patriarchal systems of oppression. This lens would highlight the multiple oppressions that arise from altered fishery and aquaculture arrangements and dynamics in the age of the Anthropocene. Putting these bodies of work into lively conversation contributes to both the feminist fisheries/aquaculture and the more-thanhuman literatures.

Poster Presentations, 2021

Conclusion This study has revealed skin-related QoL is significantly more impaired in women. Seve... more Conclusion This study has revealed skin-related QoL is significantly more impaired in women. Several studies have reported a similar result. This could be explained by the fact that traditionally, in Tunisia, women have been predominantly responsible for household chores, and therefore more exposed to substances that can trigger dermatological conditions. In addition, the aesthetic consequences of skin pathology do not have the same impact on men and women.

Labour & Industry: a journal of the social and economic relations of work, 2020

Research in Australia and internationally indicates that construction work is linked to higher su... more Research in Australia and internationally indicates that construction work is linked to higher suicide rates. Higher rates are associated with irregular, intense and remote working, as well as labour force demographics. Through the organization MATES in Construction, the Australian construction sector has become a world-leader in researching and seeking to address the problem of suicide in the sector. This contribution is an edited version of an interview carried out between the lead author and Jorgen Gullestrop, CEO of Mates in Construction in Queensland and Northern Territory, Australia. The interview took place during Jorgen's February 2020 visit to Newfoundland and Labrador (NL), Canada, on the opposite side of the world. There has been very little research or active mobilization around suicide in construction in Canada. During his visit, Jorgen spent a week with the NL Construction Safety Association's membership. The interview provides important insights into the Australian construction industry as it operated when Jorgen first came to Australia from Denmark in the 1980s. It also provides insights into the structure of the industry today, including how it is organized around precarious employment. Jorgen touches on the origins of MATES, how the MATES program works, and why, although Jorgen came out of the union movement, MATES was established as an independent charity separate from employers and unions. The interview includes reflections on gender, suicide and MATES, and on the importance of academic research to the MATES agenda. KEYWORDS construction workers; mental health; occupational health; mobility Research in Australia and internationally indicates that construction work is linked to higher suicide rates, a factor associated with irregular, intense and remote working 1 , as well as labour force demographics (Heller et al. 2007; Milner et al. 2017). Although construction is a major industry in Canada, employing 1.3 million people in 2015 (Statistics Canada 2016), there is very little Canadian research on suicide and mental health in the sector. Looking at data from 1991-2001, Mustard et al. (2010) found that men working in clay, glass, or stone processing or forming; excavating, grading, paving, or related; and motor transport operating occupations had a statistically significant elevated CONTACT Barbara Neis

Canadian Studies in Population, 2020

An estimated 17% of the Canadian labor force engage in complex/extended employment-related geogra... more An estimated 17% of the Canadian labor force engage in complex/extended employment-related geographical mobility ranging from extended daily commutes to regional, interprovincial and international mobility. The opportunities and challenges of particular types of mobility for family lives have been studied most often in isolation (i.e. daily commutes, fly-in/fly-out or international migration), and attention to mobility is largely absent from the work-family literature. Drawing on presentations and discussions at two recent conferences with a focus on families, work and mobility in Canada, this Research Note highlights some of the gaps in existing knowledge about families, work and mobility and some family-related challenges associated with extended/complex mobility for work from the standpoint of those living it, those studying it and those striving to serve and support these workers and their families. Examples discussed here encompass families where members are employed offshore, in other provinces and in the military. The impact of mobility on the family lives of temporary foreign workers is also discussed. We conclude with a few policy recommendations related to helping workers and their families deal with extended/complex mobility.

Gender, Place & Culture, 2018

Household, journey-to-work, and workplace dynamics intersect and are diverse and changing. These ... more Household, journey-to-work, and workplace dynamics intersect and are diverse and changing. These intersections contribute to gendered, classed, and racialized divisions of labour at home, at work, and on the road. Research on journeys-towork has generally focused on journeys that happen daily, follow similar routes, at similar times, and involve travel to a single, fixed workplace. Time geography has shared some of this focus in its attention to fixity and constraints that shape these kinds of movements in time and space. However, change and disruption in home lives, journeys-to-work and in the location and scheduling of work are widespread. Feminist intersectional rhythmanalysis may be better equipped to address these. This article draws on insights from a body of Canadian research captured here in the form of 5 vignettes that describe intersecting home, work, environmental and employmentrelated geographical mobility (E-RGM) rhythms and some of their consequences across diverse groups, sectors and contexts. The vignettes are derived from research among trucking, construction, seafood processing, homecare, and precariously employed urban immigrant workers. We focus on groups engaging in complex, extended and often changing E-RGM to and within work. The vignettes highlight ways diverse gendered, classed and some racialized spatio-temporal rhythms of work, E-RGM, weather and seasons, and household lives intersect to disrupt and, as we move through the vignettes, increasingly constrain the capacity of these diverse groups of workers and their households to achieve even fragile synchronicities, reflecting the extension of coercion beyond the workplace into life at home and work-related mobilities.

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 2019

An interdisciplinary team of academics and representatives of fishing fleets and government colla... more An interdisciplinary team of academics and representatives of fishing fleets and government collaborated to study the emerging requirements for sustainability in Canada’s fisheries. Fisheries assessment and management has focused on biological productivity with insufficient consideration of social (including cultural), economic, and institutional (governance) aspects. Further, there has been little discussion or formal evaluation of the effectiveness of fisheries management. The team of over 50 people (i) identified a comprehensive set of management objectives for a sustainable fishery system based on Canadian policy statements, (ii) combined objectives into an operational framework with relevant performance indicators for use in management planning, and (iii) undertook case studies that investigated some social, economic, and governance aspects in greater detail. The resulting framework extends the suite of widely accepted ecological aspects (productivity and trophic structure, bio...