Current opportunities (2022/23)
Conservation and management projects I am currently working on in the Omineca Region in BC include the following fish species: Arctic Grayling, Bull Trout, Burbot, Lake Trout, wild and stocked Rainbow Trout, wild and stocked Kokanee, and the endangered White Sturgeon.
Positions listed are available within the Omineca Fisheries team (BC Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations & Rural Development (FLNRORD) and/or through my academic affiliation with UNBC or collaborations with colleagues, partner organizations, and First Nations:
CURRENT POSTINGS (click on job title to access job posting as PDF):
Expressions of interest for prospective project participation, undergraduate research, and/or graduate research are welcome anytime - email me ([email protected]).
Contact me to explore other opportunities.
Positions listed are available within the Omineca Fisheries team (BC Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations & Rural Development (FLNRORD) and/or through my academic affiliation with UNBC or collaborations with colleagues, partner organizations, and First Nations:
CURRENT POSTINGS (click on job title to access job posting as PDF):
Expressions of interest for prospective project participation, undergraduate research, and/or graduate research are welcome anytime - email me ([email protected]).
Contact me to explore other opportunities.
Current Student Mentoring (2018-present)
aGraduate Students:
Current:
Co-advisor of Mr Graeme Lyon, MSc student (Fall 2020 start) in the NRES grad program at UNBC (with Dr. Mark Shrimpton):
Project: Juvenile White Sturgeon post release survival in lake and river environments (Nechako River)
Past:
Committee member of Ms Jessica Woskett, MA student (graduated in 2026) in the NRES grad program at UNBC (co-advisers: Drs. Jennifer Wigglesworth and Philip Mullins)
MA Thesis: Fisher and non-fisher perceptions, preferences, and participation: Exploring diverse stories within the Omineca regions’ recreational fisheries
Link: https://unbc.arcabc.ca/dissertations-and-theses/30716?search=woskett
Committee member of Ms Elizabeth Hirsch, MSc student (graduated in 2026) in the NRES grad program at UNBC (with Dr. Eduardo Martins).
MSc Thesis: Characterizing the recreational burbot fishery at Carp Lake, British Columbia using fisher surveys and a novel tag-recovery approach
Link: https://unbc.arcabc.ca/dissertations-and-theses/30718?search=hirsch
Co-advisor of Mr Cale Babey, MSc student (Fall 2018 start) in the NRES grad program at UNBC (with Dr. Mark Shrimpton):
MSc Thesis: Fate of hatchery-reared juvenile Nechako white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus): Assessment of predation by river otters (Lontra canadensis)
Link: https://unbc.arcabc.ca/dissertations-and-theses/20477?search=babey%20cale
Co-advisor of the late Daniel Larson (*1995-2020), MSc student in the NRES grad program at UNBC (with Dr. Eduardo Martins):
Project: Thermal experience of wild and stocked rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and kokanee (O. nerka) in a changing lake environment;
Undergraduate Students (4):
2021 UNBC Undergrad Thesis by Ms Carly Walters (Stellako Rainbow Trout population estimates)
2020 UNBC Undergrad Thesis by Mr Daniel Scurfield (Upper Fraser Bull Trout Redd trends)
2019 FLNRORD Coop/Aux-Supervisor of Mr Kai Breithaupt: 2015-2018 Small Lakes Stock Assessment report - soon available on BC's EcoCat.
2018 FLNRORD-PICS Coop-Supervisor of Ms Keegan Paterson: Bull Trout Climate Action Intern (May-Dec 2018)
Current:
Co-advisor of Mr Graeme Lyon, MSc student (Fall 2020 start) in the NRES grad program at UNBC (with Dr. Mark Shrimpton):
Project: Juvenile White Sturgeon post release survival in lake and river environments (Nechako River)
Past:
Committee member of Ms Jessica Woskett, MA student (graduated in 2026) in the NRES grad program at UNBC (co-advisers: Drs. Jennifer Wigglesworth and Philip Mullins)
MA Thesis: Fisher and non-fisher perceptions, preferences, and participation: Exploring diverse stories within the Omineca regions’ recreational fisheries
Link: https://unbc.arcabc.ca/dissertations-and-theses/30716?search=woskett
Committee member of Ms Elizabeth Hirsch, MSc student (graduated in 2026) in the NRES grad program at UNBC (with Dr. Eduardo Martins).
MSc Thesis: Characterizing the recreational burbot fishery at Carp Lake, British Columbia using fisher surveys and a novel tag-recovery approach
Link: https://unbc.arcabc.ca/dissertations-and-theses/30718?search=hirsch
Co-advisor of Mr Cale Babey, MSc student (Fall 2018 start) in the NRES grad program at UNBC (with Dr. Mark Shrimpton):
MSc Thesis: Fate of hatchery-reared juvenile Nechako white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus): Assessment of predation by river otters (Lontra canadensis)
Link: https://unbc.arcabc.ca/dissertations-and-theses/20477?search=babey%20cale
Co-advisor of the late Daniel Larson (*1995-2020), MSc student in the NRES grad program at UNBC (with Dr. Eduardo Martins):
Project: Thermal experience of wild and stocked rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and kokanee (O. nerka) in a changing lake environment;
Undergraduate Students (4):
2021 UNBC Undergrad Thesis by Ms Carly Walters (Stellako Rainbow Trout population estimates)
2020 UNBC Undergrad Thesis by Mr Daniel Scurfield (Upper Fraser Bull Trout Redd trends)
2019 FLNRORD Coop/Aux-Supervisor of Mr Kai Breithaupt: 2015-2018 Small Lakes Stock Assessment report - soon available on BC's EcoCat.
2018 FLNRORD-PICS Coop-Supervisor of Ms Keegan Paterson: Bull Trout Climate Action Intern (May-Dec 2018)
Selected Research Projects (2004-2017)
Canadian Arctic
Pingualuit (Crater) Lake, Nunavik, Quebec, Canada, 2012-present (read more)
CSI Husky Lakes Research near Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories, 2011-2014 (read more)
Fish Presence in Small Tundra Lakes near Inuvik, Northwest Territories, 2009-2012 (read more)
Mercury in Arctic Char - Research in Nunavut and elsewhere in the Canadian Arctic, 2004-2008 (see Publications)
Pingualuit (Crater) Lake, Nunavik, Quebec, Canada, 2012-present (read more)
CSI Husky Lakes Research near Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories, 2011-2014 (read more)
Fish Presence in Small Tundra Lakes near Inuvik, Northwest Territories, 2009-2012 (read more)
Mercury in Arctic Char - Research in Nunavut and elsewhere in the Canadian Arctic, 2004-2008 (see Publications)
British Columbia (Canada)
Past
'The Fukushima Legacy', ongoing (read more)
Risks and radiation impacts in the B.C. coastal-marine environment following the Fukushima nuclear accident. Alava J.J. and N. Gantner, 2018; In: Ocean Watch British Columbia Edition. First Edition. K. Bodtker (Ed). Coastal Ocean Research Institute, Ocean Wise. 2018. Available online.
Fukushima-derived radioactivity measurements in Pacific salmon and soil samples collected in British Columbia, Canada. 2018. Domingo T., K Starosta, A. Chester, J. Williams, S. J. Lehnert, N. Gantner, J.J. Alava; Canadian Journal of Chemistry, 2018, 96:124-131, https://doi.org/10.1139/cjc-2017-0272
Media coverage - Times Colonist article (Victoria, BC)
Mount Polley Tailings Pond breach, ongoing (read more)
Publication (Open Access) - Petticrew et al. 2015 The impact of a catastrophic mine tailings impoundment spill into one of North America's largest fjord lakes: Quesnel Lake, British Columbia, Canada. Geophysical Research Letters 42
Media coverage - CKPG TV (Prince George, BC) | CBC Daybreak North (Northern BC) | CBC News The National (Canada wide)
Past
'The Fukushima Legacy', ongoing (read more)
Risks and radiation impacts in the B.C. coastal-marine environment following the Fukushima nuclear accident. Alava J.J. and N. Gantner, 2018; In: Ocean Watch British Columbia Edition. First Edition. K. Bodtker (Ed). Coastal Ocean Research Institute, Ocean Wise. 2018. Available online.
Fukushima-derived radioactivity measurements in Pacific salmon and soil samples collected in British Columbia, Canada. 2018. Domingo T., K Starosta, A. Chester, J. Williams, S. J. Lehnert, N. Gantner, J.J. Alava; Canadian Journal of Chemistry, 2018, 96:124-131, https://doi.org/10.1139/cjc-2017-0272
Media coverage - Times Colonist article (Victoria, BC)
Mount Polley Tailings Pond breach, ongoing (read more)
Publication (Open Access) - Petticrew et al. 2015 The impact of a catastrophic mine tailings impoundment spill into one of North America's largest fjord lakes: Quesnel Lake, British Columbia, Canada. Geophysical Research Letters 42
Media coverage - CKPG TV (Prince George, BC) | CBC Daybreak North (Northern BC) | CBC News The National (Canada wide)
International
Belize
'Determining impact of a dump site on the Rio Grande river, Southern Belize, using stable isotope and trace elemental analysis of aquatic species of multiple trophic levels.' Undergraduate Project by Chantelle Halvorson (VIDEO 1 + 2), Environmental Studies Department, UVic, Victoria, BC & James Foley, Research & Monitoring Department,Toledo Institute for Development & Environment, Punta Gorda, Toledo, Belize.
Belize
'Determining impact of a dump site on the Rio Grande river, Southern Belize, using stable isotope and trace elemental analysis of aquatic species of multiple trophic levels.' Undergraduate Project by Chantelle Halvorson (VIDEO 1 + 2), Environmental Studies Department, UVic, Victoria, BC & James Foley, Research & Monitoring Department,Toledo Institute for Development & Environment, Punta Gorda, Toledo, Belize.
