This 3-day interdisciplinary workshop aimed to explore ways of creating an integrated environmental and social history of the marine ecosystem of the Strait of Georgia, and to determine how to draw up credible, detailed, scientifically-supported future scenarios for the Strait using insights from this history.

Costanza et al. (2007) summarised the task that we attempted to explore in this workshop, “Humans cannot predict the future. But, if we can adequately understand the past, we can use that understanding to influence our decisions and to create a better, more sustainable and desirable future.”

The overall objective was be to draft a proposal for a PWIAS Major Thematic Grant (MTG) on the same theme. We debated achievable outputs from an MTG, such as an integrated history of the Strait published as a book, the analysis and suitable publication vehicle for future scenarios resulting from climate change and precautionary ecosystem-based management. Finally we explored means, such as a web-based system, of obtaining community-led feedback and evaluation of these futures.

Because the field of historical reconstruction is a relatively new one, suitable interdisciplinary methodologies have been far from established. Moreover, ways of using insights from the past to influence policy are controversial. We discussed more robust approaches to creating future scenarios.

The workshop had about 40 invited participants, including fourteen of the world leaders in the historical reconstruction and rational management of marine ecosystems. The first day was open to the public and included keynotes from leading overseas guests and a discussion panel.

The Sea Before Us: Reconstructing the Strait of Georgia was an Exploratory Workshop funded by a grant from the Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies at the University of British Columbia awarded to Principal Investigators Tony Pitcher, Fisheries Centre, and Coll Thrush, History.