Early Career Perspectives on the Future of Freshwater Fisheries Science, Management, and Policy in Canada

Canadian freshwater fisheries provide vital economic, social, and cultural value.  Maintaining the viability and sustainability of freshwater fisheries lies at the heart of the intersection between fisheries science, management, and policy.  Even so, Canadian freshwater fisheries have been fraught with challenges since their earliest days.  Fisheries science has made leaps and bounds during this time, becoming more integrative, multi-disciplinary, and diverse.  We have not only gained a better understanding of fish, fisheries, and ecosystems, but we have also had increased integration of science, management, and policy.  Looking forward, our fisheries face a number of existing and emerging threats, including climate change, invasive species, habitat degradation, regulated rivers and water demands, and fisheries overexploitation.  With such uncertainty on the horizon, there is value in taking a philosophical view of the future of freshwater fisheries in Canada.  Our objective is to provide an overview of risk factors relevant to Canadian freshwater fisheries from the perspectives of a diverse team of early career fisheries scientists, including graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and early career academics.  We integrate our prognostications to provide an outlook for the future of freshwater fisheries science, management, and policy in Canada.