My painting, Know How To See, was inspired by the conversations I participated in on False Creek’s shoreline. When discussing the design process of the reclamation project Habitat Island, Mark Adams said that you must “know how to see”. This phrase resonated with me that afternoon, and after returning home I feel as though this concept encompasses one of my greatest takeaways from learning about commercial fishing and habitat loss that day which this activity made me realise: these processes are extremely multidimensional and complex, and sometimes very concerning issues can be hidden if we are too narrowly focused.
After attending this trip, I believe I have a wider perspective on the British Columbian fishing industry and the diverse influences that have changed False Creek’s habitat. On fishing in British Columbia, insights from Fraser MacDonald made an impression on me, which I believe are key to address to eventually solve the problem of overfishing. This ocean conservation issue is one that I feel increasingly drawn to when I think of my future career. These insights are the lack of social relations between the DFO and fishers, the continuation of fishing by lost gear, and the undervalued fishing labour that is occurring in my own city. This is a problem we were introduced to when reading Fraser’s testimonial to the Canadian Fisheries Committee. I understood Fraser’s experience over his 2017 halibut season and the labour he owed in a new way after speaking with him. I believe this reflection demonstrates the importance of hearing and seeing problems on the ground, rather than keeping them theoretical or distant from the people affected. Though overfishing is one of the greatest environmental concerns of our time, I realised that there are other layers to the fishing industry that I had been ignoring. By expanding my vision of fishing in my career to understand fishers' concerns, I aim to be a part of developing meaningful outcomes to address this problem.
After walking along the False Creek seawall and visiting Habitat Island, I felt struck by the great degree that this shoreline has changed, especially in such a short period of time. One aspect of this that was notable to me was the irony that celebrating the power of humanity- both through Expo 86’ and the Vancouver 2010 Olympics- has greatly contributed to the downfall of False Creek for wildlife by leading the shoreline to be developed in a very human-centric way. This led me to think of my experience attending the Olympic games here. I have wonderful memories of this time with my family, though part of me began wondering if it was all worth exerting more environmental pressure on False Creek, through the development of Olympic Village and potential impacts of tourism like more recreational boating. Hosting such notable events can have a positive effect on tourism, as was seen in Vancouver after the Olympics (Sant et al., 2013). False Creek is a popular place to recreate, where I noticed many boats and paddlers on the water. I believe that connecting with the outdoors is vital to its conservation though being aware of our footprint is also vital, something that I feel we can improve on in this city. This visit to Habitat Island and False Creek has led me to think differently about the role that human-centric social and cultural movements have on our shore, which is very visible when viewing historic photos of this region.
I created this painting to represent my desire to expand my perspective when attempting to solve environmental problems that I am passionate about in my lifetime. Here, I stand with a pair of binoculars and fixed eyes, focusing on two important issues I am concerned with and felt were connected to this activity: overfishing and habitat loss. These words were drawn to appear aggressive, to reflect the danger they pose to the health of the ocean and species in it. However, behind me there is a collection of considerations and problems that I am not seeing. Regarding fishing this includes undervalued labour, like Fraser has experienced, ghost gear, and the poor social relations between fishers and the DFO. On False Creek’s habitat loss, concepts like industrialization, Expo 86’, and the Olympics are included. The words “can’t turn back the clock” are written on a clock as reclamation must be the goal for enhancing False Creek, because restoration is not possible to bring the environment back to its exact original state (Adams et al., 2012). Though this is troubling, my painting is full of bright colours to represent that creative solutions are needed, which I am confident we have the capacity to find within ourselves.
So, how do we know how to see? This trip has taught me that we can see by being present in the problem, we can see by listening to others, and in this case we can see by looking over our shoulders at what dimensions of the problem we are missing. To continue on with the story of this painting in my life, I would lower the binoculars from my eyes. Not to discourage my interest in a particular problem, but to ensure I was seeing the whole picture.
More Questions to Explore:
Can ghost gear be recycled for other uses or can retrieved material be used as an educational resource in the city? I feel as though if more people knew of this issue, there could be more support for environmental groups collecting the gear and increased participation from vessels who report issues.
To mend the social relations between the fishers and the DFO, Fraser said that meaningful consultation was needed. How would fishers like this to be facilitated?
References
Adams, M. A., Wernick, B. G., Nikl, L. H. (2012). Reclamation of ecological functions within a marine ecosystem: Redevelopment of the Southeast False Creek lands in Vancouver, Canada. WIT Transactions on Ecology and The Environment, 162, 339-348.
Sant, S., Mason, D. S., & Hinch, T. D. (2013). Conceptualising Olympic tourism legacy: Destination marketing organisations and Vancouver 2010. The Journal of Sport Tourism, 18(4), 287-312.