A professor in the UNBC Anthropology program is one of only 15 university professors across Canada this year to receive a prestigious Fulbright fellowship, which facilitates exchanges between faculty in Canada and the United States. Caroline Butler is the first UNBC professor to receive a Fulbright award and she will study the effects of fishery policies on fishing enterprises and coastal communities.

Dr. Butler will compare both the approaches and the impacts of fisheries policies on the west and east coasts of North America to better understand overall compliance, fishery participation and investment, and community stability. The field research made possible by the Canada-US Fulbright Program will focus on the restructuring of the groundfish (cod, halibut, flounder, etc) fisheries of New England. Currently based in Prince Rupert, Dr. Butler will conduct the American portion of her research in affiliation with the Massachussetts Institute of Technology Sea Grant’s Centre for Marine Social Sciences in Boston from January to May, 2007.  

“The New England case study will complement my research in northern BC,” says Dr. Butler, whose husband is a commercial fisherman in Prince Rupert.  “The fisheries in both regions are experiencing significant transformation, and it is important to understand the impacts on fishing communities.  There are both similarities and differences in the management approaches, which makes the comparison helpful for the development of equitable and sustainable fisheries policies. The research will focus on the perspectives of fishing families about recent regulation and management changes.”  Dr. Butler is an Adjunct Professor who has taught a number of Anthropology courses for UNBC since Summer 2004.

“Caroline Butler’s research on resource and fisheries management is both timely and important,” said Michael K. Hawes, Executive Director of the Foundation for Educational Exchange. “Professor Butler is an outstanding young scholar, and I am certain she will contribute in important ways to the development of natural resource policy in Canada and in the United States.”

Recognized as one of the world’s foremost educational exchange programs, the Fulbright program is active in more than 150 countries worldwide. The Canada-US Fulbright program builds mutual understanding and promotes a deeper knowledge of Canada-US relations by supporting research on contemporary public policy issues relevant to Canada, the United States, and the relationship between the two countries. UNBC has hosted two American Fulbrighters since the Canada-US Fulbright Program’s inception in 1991.

Contact:
Caroline Butler, Adjunct Professor of Anthropology, UNBC - 250.624.3061
Rob van Adrichem, Director of Media and Public Relations, UNBC - 250.960.5622