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The eastern coastline of James Bay is known to have been home to sizeable eelgrass beds (Zostera marina L.) which thrived in the bay's shallow, subarctic waters. The region was subjected to substantial hydroelectric dams, large fires, and other human activities in the past half-century. To assess the impact of these factors on eelgrass beds, a historical reconstruction of eelgrass bed distribution was performed from images acquired by Landsat-5 Thematic Mapper (TM) in 1988, 1991, and 1996 and images of the Landsat-8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) in 2019. All the images were classified using the Random Forests classifier (RF) and assessed for accuracy each year on a bay-wide scale using an independent field validation dataset. The validation data were extracted from an eelgrass bed map established using aerial photos and field surveys in 1986, 1991, and 1995 and from a field survey in 2019. The overall validation accuracy of the classified images (between 72% and 85%) showed good agreement with the other datasets for most locations, providing reassurance about the reliability of the research. This makes it possible to use satellite imagery to detect past changes to eelgrass distribution within a bay. The classified images of 1988 and 1996 were also compared to aerial photos taken in years close to each other at ten sites to determine their ability to assess small eelgrass beds' shape and presence. Such a comparison revealed that the classified images accurately portrayed eelgrass distribution even at finer scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numbers of temperate‐breeding Atlantic and Mississippi Flyway Canada geese have greatly increased since the 1980s. Consequently, numbers of yearlings, sub‐adults and failed breeders undertaking pre‐molt migration to northern latitudes has also increased, potentially providing additional hunting opportunities for Cree hunters living near James Bay, Canada. We described movement patterns and habitat use of molt migrant Canada geese Brenta canadensis maxima along the east coast of James Bay based on nine geese fitted with GSM–GPS devices during 11 northward and eight southward migrations between 2015 and 2019. Geese staged for 2.8 ± 0.6 days (mean ± standard error of the mean) at 3.2 ± 0.6 staging sites (mostly tidal flats and salt marshes) from the first week of June in spring and 3.8 ± 1.8 days at 2.0 ± 0.5 staging sites (mostly inland freshwater wetlands, peatlands and tidal flats) from the first week of September when returning south. Shallow and deep water habitats were used as resting sites during both migrations. In spring, molt migrants were mostly harvested in June well after the migration of sub‐arctic breeding geese whereas in autumn, both subspecies were harvested in September. Molt migrant temperate‐breeding geese can increase harvest opportunities and represent supplementary wildlife food for Cree communities. However, the current number of molt migrant geese harvested by Cree hunters is not sufficient to significantly impact populations of temperate‐breeding geese. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Avian Conservation & Ecology is the property of Resilience Alliance and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) are an important wildlife food resource for Cree people living in communities along the James Bay coasts. According to Traditional Ecological Knowledge, environmental changes along the coast have affected hunting success. Also, changes in the relative abundance of different goose populations that use James Bay may affect hunting opportunities. The objective of our study was to use band recoveries to identify Canada Goose populations harvested by Eeyou Istchee Cree hunters in their Eastern James Bay territory between 2000 and 2020. A total of 744 band recoveries were reported including 198 from the Atlantic Population (AP), 82 from the Southern Hudson Bay Population (SHBP), 122 from the Atlantic Flyway Resident Population (AFRP), 339 from the Mississippi Flyway Giant Population (MFGP), and three that could not be assigned to a population. The percentage of banded geese that were recovered was three times greater for the AP than for the other three populations. Eighty-seven percent of recoveries were reported in spring and 72% were submitted by hunters from the two northern communities (Chisasibi and Wemindji). Most recoveries were reported from coastal hunting sites, but a greater proportion of banded geese of the AP were recovered inland compared to the other goose populations, an indication of their propensity to migrate inland. The most noticeable change in the goose harvest compared to the 1970s was the rapid increase of molt migrant temperate-breeding geese of the AFRP and MFGP. In addition to environmental changes along the James Bay east coast, changes in the relative abundance of each goose population may affect hunting success because each population is differently susceptible to hunting within the territory due to differences in migratory behavior. Our study demonstrates the usefulness of band recoveries in tracking these changes and we therefore encourage agencies to maintain banding programs and Cree hunters to report their recovered bands.

Indoor concentrations of black carbon (BC) were measured when wood was burned for traditional cultural activities in a study in a Cree community located in subarctic Canada. The study also included an intervention using a propane-fuelled heater to mitigate in situ BC. Mass concentrations of BC were measured in a game-smoking tent for 39 days and in hunting cabins on the west coast of James Bay, Canada, for 8 days. Five-minute averaged BC mass concentration (N = 12,319) data were recorded and assessed using optimised noise-reduction averaging. Mean BC mass concentrations were lower in hunting cabins (mean = 8.25 micrograms per cubic metre (µg m−3)) and higher in the game-smoking tent (mean = 15.46 µg m−3). However, excessive BC peaks were recorded in the game-smoking tent (maximum = 3076.71 µg m−3) when the fire was stoked or loaded. The intervention with the propane heater in a hunting cabin yielded a 90% reduction in measured BC mass concentrations. We do not presume that exposure to BC is of concern in hunting cabins with appropriate wood-burning appliances that are well-sealed and vent outside. In game-smoking tents, we advise that persons take intermittent breaks outside of the tent for fresh air. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indoor concentrations of black carbon (BC) were measured when wood was burned for traditional cultural activities in a study in a Cree community located in subarctic Canada. The study also included an intervention using a propane-fuelled heater to mitigate in situ BC. Mass concentrations of BC were measured in a game-smoking tent for 39 days and in hunting cabins on the west coast of James Bay, Canada, for 8 days. Five-minute averaged BC mass concentration (N = 12,319) data were recorded and assessed using optimised noise-reduction averaging. Mean BC mass concentrations were lower in hunting cabins (mean = 8.25 micrograms per cubic metre (µg m−3)) and higher in the game-smoking tent (mean = 15.46 µg m−3). However, excessive BC peaks were recorded in the game-smoking tent (maximum = 3076.71 µg m−3) when the fire was stoked or loaded. The intervention with the propane heater in a hunting cabin yielded a 90% reduction in measured BC mass concentrations. We do not presume that exposure to BC is of concern in hunting cabins with appropriate wood-burning appliances that are well-sealed and vent outside. In game-smoking tents, we advise that persons take intermittent breaks outside of the tent for fresh air.

Copyright of Anthropologica is the property of CASCA and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Polar bears are important socio-cultural symbols in the communities of the Eeyou Marine Region (EMR) in northwestern Québec, Canada. Members of the Cree communities in this region are generally not active polar bear hunters, but they encounter polar bears when fishing, trapping, or hunting during the ice-free season. A growing body of scientific evidence suggests that reduced annual sea ice cover in Hudson Bay has led to declines in body condition of polar bears in the local Southern Hudson Bay subpopulation and to a population decline in the neighboring Western Hudson Bay subpopulation. In June 2012, we conducted 15 semi-directed interviews on the subject of polar bear biology and climate change with local elders and hunters in three communities in the northern EMR: Wemindji, Chisasibi, and Whapmagoostui. The interviews held in Whapmagoostui included informants from Kuujjuarapik, the adjacent Inuit community. The interviews addressed knowledge gaps in the Recovery Strategy for Polar Bear in Ontario. Transcripts of the interviews were coded thematically and analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative methods. The interviews revealed important insights into polar bear distribution, terrestrial habitat use, denning, and foraging patterns. Participants were unanimous in their recognition of a warming climate and prolonged ice-free season in the area in recent years. However, communities differed in their observations on other issues, with latitudinal trends evident in observations of polar bear distribution, denning activity, and foraging habits. Communities also differed in their perception of the prevalence of problem polar bears and the conservation status of the species, with one-third of participants reporting that polar bears will be unaffected by, or even benefit from, longer ice-free periods. A majority of participants indicated that the local polar bear population was stable or increasing. Interviewees also identified future research priorities pertinent to the communities, and provided comments on the methods employed by polar bear biologists. Our results demonstrate that communities in the EMR have important knowledge about polar bear ecology and illustrate the unique opportunities and challenges of combining traditional ecological knowledge with wildlife science in the context of a rapidly changing subarctic environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From 2009-2014, incidental collections of terrestrial molluscs were made from the Far North of Ontario, Canada. Thirty-four species of terrestrial molluscs were identified from these collections, including one exotic species, Deroceras reticulatum, and three newly reported species from the Far North, Vallonia pulchella, Vertigo cf. genesii, and Gastrocopta similis. Vertigo cf. genesii is newly reported from Ontario. Some species have not been collected in Ontario for many years and some of these only once before. Subnational conservation ranks are discussed for higher-ranked species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research by Eugene Hunn (1996) suggested that toponymic density and population density are roughly equal for a range of indigenous groups across North America. In Wemindji, Quebec, historic and current toponymic and population data support Hunn's observation. I demonstrate that toponymic constraints are real by holding the number of traditional toponyms (898) as a background constant, and estimating the growth of Wemindji's population from 1960 to 2010 based on knowledge held by local experts. Measurements from historic air photographs assumed toponymic growth proportional to the area within the limits of Wemindji town development. A set of 78 new town place names provide a baseline for that measurement. Relative to toponymic density, population density steadily increased from 1960 to 2010, with a graph depicting the two densities suggesting equality in approximately 1995. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known about the movements and home range of boreal woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus) in the James Bay lowlands. As part of ongoing studies to measure the potential effects of the De Beers Victor Project on the local and regional environment, a study of woodland caribou was initiated. This study involves the use of GPS collars with Argos satellite system uplink to monitor movements of caribou. Additional aerial surveys of a study area (22 000 km2) in the early and late winter are used to provide an overall indication of the usage of the area around Victor by caribou and other wildlife. Animals were collared in December 2004 at varying distances from the Victor site (max. 60 km). Preliminary data for 2005 has been analysed. During 2005, some animals moved large distances >480 km from Victor, while others were relatively sedentary. One animal (from the total of ten) was harvested by a hunter in March. The only obvious trend in movement patterns occurred in the middle of November when all the collared animals began to move north-west. The daily distances moved in November were much greater (10-20 km/d) than earlier in the year (0.5-10 km/d) and by mid December they were all north and west of their locations when first collared, in some cases more than 480 km to the northwest of their initial capture sites. The minimum annual distances covered for the nine remaining animals ranged between 900 and 1500 km. The home ranges of the caribou ranged from 8000 km2 to 56 380 km2 with a mean home range of 23 434 km2, which is much greater than boreal woodland caribou in other parts of Ontario.

To determine past distribution and relative abundance of caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) in the Hudson Plains Ecozone (HPE) of Ontario, we reviewed past HPE-wide winter systematic aerial surveys, partial winter systematic surveys, summer photographic surveys, incidental observations of caribou, and other sources of information from the period 1950—2003. We conducted new HPE-wide aerial surveys in February 2003 and 2004 to evaluate current distribution patterns. From this information, we defined 9 core wintering areas in the HPE and differentiated between 3 catego¬ries of relative abundance. Wintering areas for the January—March period have changed relatively little over the past 45 years. Summer distribution of caribou along the Hudson Bay coast apparently shifted or expanded from the area west of the Severn River to the central and eastern portions of the coast since the 1980s, and caribou observations have become much more common in the area east of the Winisk River since 1998. Because major resource development activities in the HPE are proposed and some are imminent, we recommend additional caribou surveys to document current caribou population identity, size, and distribution, and research projects to better define caribou wintering areas, calving areas, and movement patterns in the HPE.

Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) are managed by the 5 nations where they occur (Canada, Greenland/Denmark, Norway, Russia, United States) using discrete subpopulations. In Canada, polar bears are harvested throughout their range, and several subpopulations are managed by more than one jurisdiction; therefore, recent management focused on ensuring sustainable polar bear harvests. Consequently, the subpopulation from which harvested bears are removed and the geographic boundaries of that subpopulation must be correctly identified. However, boundaries of the Southern Hudson Bay (SH) subpopulation have not been verified using satellite radio-telemetry data. Sea ice duration has already declined in Hudson Bay and James Bay, and both the duration and distribution of sea ice are predicted to decline greatly in the next century; therefore, it is important to document current habitat use patterns to assess the potential impacts of climate change. We used a probabilistic approach to describe the utilization distribution for the SH subpopulation based on data from 1997-2003 from 26 adult female bears fitted with satellite collars and assessed whether the currently accepted boundaries represent the population utilization distribution. We conclude that the SH boundaries do reflect the current spatial distribution of adult female bears in this subpopulation. Our analysis provides a benchmark to compare to the future distribution and habitat use of this subpopulation in response to effects of climate change and identifies future research needs to investigate polar bear distribution in James Bay and in the area near the boundary between the SH and Western Hudson Bay management zones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: In Canada, unique food security challenges are being faced by Aboriginal people living in remote-northern communities due to the impacts of climate change on subsistence harvesting. This study used traditional environmental knowledge (TEK) to investigate whether there was a temporal relationship between extreme climatic events in the summer of 2005, and fish die-offs in the Albany River, northern Ontario, Canada. Also, TEK was utilized to examine a potential shift in subsistence fish species distribution due to climate change. Methods: To investigate whether there was a temporal relationship between the fish die-offs of July 2005 (as identified by TEK) and an extreme climatic event, temperature and daily precipitation data for Moosonee weather station were utilized. To determine if there was an increasing trend in mean maximal summer temperatures with year, temperature data were examined, using regression analysis. Present-day fish distributions were determined using unpublished TEK data collated from previous studies and purposive, semi-directive interviews with elders and experienced bushman. Results: Fish die-offs in 2005 occurred during the time period 11-18 July, as reported by participants. Recorded air-temperature maxima of the two July 2005 heat waves delineate exactly the time period of fish die-offs. Two heat waves occurring during the same summer season and so close together has never before been recorded for this region. A highly significant (p<0.0009) positive relationship between mean maximal summer temperatures and year was evident. Regionally novel fish species were not apparent, utilizing TEK. Conclusions: Traditional environmental knowledge coupled with climate data revealed temporal relationships between extreme climatic events in 2005, and fish die-offs in the Albany River. Thus, climate change can directly impact food security by decreasing the number of fish through mortality--and indirectly through population dynamics--by impacting the yield of fish subsistence harvests in the future. By contrast, TEK did not reveal northward expansion of novel fish species in the Albany River or fish distributional contraction in the western James Bay region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accounts of the adaptive responses of northern aboriginal peoples include examples of purposive modification and management of ecologically favorable areas to increase resource productivity. Practices include clearing of trees, burning of berry patches and construction of fish weirs. This paper examines the adaptive capacity of the northern aboriginal community of Wemindji, east coast James Bay, in relation to long term landscape changes induced by coastal uplift processes. Associated changes are noticeable within a human lifetime and include the infilling of bays, the merger of islands with the mainland, as well as shifts in vegetative and wildlife communities. In response, generations of Cree hunters have actively modified the landscape using a variety of practices that include the construction of mud dykes and the cutting of tuuhiikaan, which are corridors in the coastal forest, to retain and enhance desirable conditions for goose hunting. We provide an account of the history, construction, and design of these features as well as the motivations and social learning that inform them. We reveal a complex and underappreciated dynamic between human resistance and adaptation to environmental change. While landscape modifications are motivated by a desire to increase resource productivity and predictability, they also reflect an intergenerational commitment to the maintenance of established hunting places as important connections with the past. Our findings support a revised perspective on aboriginal human agency in northern landscape modification and an enhanced role for aboriginal communities in adaptive planning for environmental change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The seaweed flora from James Bay, Canada is compared with three contiguous northeastern Canadian Arctic areas (Hudson Bay, Hudson Strait, and the Ellesmere-Baffin Islands area extending northward to the Arctic Ocean). A conspicuous reduction pattern was evident with 131 taxa recorded for the Ellesmere-Baffin Islands area, 106 for Hudson Strait, 81 from Hudson Bay, and 44 in James Bay. The Ellesmere-Baffin Islands area has a more rocky open coastal environment and higher salinities than James Bay, which is more highly sedimented and impacted by hydroelectric development and freshwater discharge. The Ellesmere-Baffin Islands area (∼32-30.5%) has a higher mean number of shared taxa (90.0 ± 18.4 SE) than James Bay (37.6 ± 2.7 SE), while Hudson Strait and Hudson Bay have intermediate values of 78 ± 14.1 SE and 64 ± 9.2 SE, respectively. The combined flora from the four areas consists of 164 taxa, including 49 red, 65 brown, 1 chrysophyte, and 49 green algae. Fifty of these total taxa (31%) were only found in one area, with 25 occurring between Ellesmere Island and Baffin Island, 13 within the Strait proper, and 6 in both Hudson and James Bays. Strong habitat and salinity gradients, as well as the great distances between collection sites and the haphazard nature of collections may have contributed to these restrictive patterns. Cheney's (1977) floristic ratio documents that all four geographies (including their composite flora) have cold water floras. Four new distributional records are documented from James Bay: Chaetomorpha minima, Elachista fucicola, Phyllophora pseudoceranoides, and Spyridia filamentosa. The cryptogenic taxon Spyridia, which has unclear origins, is a warm-water disjunct in the northwestern Atlantic previously known only from one site in Nova Scotia and a few locations in southern Maine/New Hampshire but mostly south of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. A single introduced species (Dumontia contorta from Europe) is recorded from James Bay and the Ellesmere-Baffin Islands area, while none are documented from the other areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecosystems are complex and difficult to predict and control. Western science-based societies have tended to simplify ecosystems to manage them. Some indigenous and other rural groups who interact closely with a given resource system seem to have developed practices that are adapted to live with complexity. This paper examines how indigenous Cree hunters in James Bay, subarctic Canada, understand and deal with ecological complexity and dynamics, and how their understanding of uncertainty and variability shape subsistence activities. The focus is the Canada goose ( Branta canadensis) hunt which is adaptive to shifts and changes in local and regional conditions. Ecological understandings of Cree hunters allow them to account for and deal with a very large number of variables at multiples scales. The Cree deal with these variables qualitatively, an approach consistent with some scientific ways of dealing with complexity, such as adaptive management and fuzzy logic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Great concern has been raised with respect to the 13 traplines that constitute the traditional territory of the Ouje-Bougoumou Cree located in the James Bay region of northern Quebec, Canada, with respect to mine wastes originating from three local mines. As a result, an “Integrative Risk Assessment” was initiated consisting of three interrelated components: a comprehensive human health study, an assessment of the existing ecological/environmental database, and a land use/potential sites of concern study. In this paper, we document past and present land use in the traditional territory of the Ouje-Bougoumou Cree for 72 heads of households, including 13 tallymen, and use a Geographic Information System (GIS) to layer harvest/hunting and gathering/collecting data over known mining areas and potential sites of concern. In this way, potential receptors of contamination and routes of human exposure were identified. Areas of overlap with respect to land use activity and mining operations were relatively extensive for certain harvesting activities (e.g., beaver, Castor canadensis and various species of game birds), less so for fish harvesting (all species) and water collection, and relatively restrictive for large mammal harvesting and collection of firewood (and other collection activities). Potential receptors of contaminants associated with mining activity (e.g., fish and small mammals) and potential routes of exposure (e.g., ingestion of contaminated game and drinking of contaminated water) were identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite their dual importance in the assessment of endangered/threatened species, there have been few attempts to integrate traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and evolutionary biology knowledge (EBK) at the population level. We contrasted long-term aboriginal TEK with previously obtained EBK in the context of seasonal migratory habits and population biology of a salmonid fish, brook charr, (Salvelinus fontinalis) inhabiting a large, remote postglacial lake. Compilation of TEK spanning four decades involved analytical workshops, semidirective interviews, and collaborative fieldwork with local aboriginal informants and fishing guides. We found that TEK complemented EBK of brook charr by providing concordant and additional information about (1) population viability; (2) breeding areas and migration patterns of divergent populations; and (3) the behavioral ecology of populations within feeding areas; all of which may ultimately affect the maintenance of population diversity. Aboriginal concerns related to human pressures on this species, not revealed by EBK, also help to focus future conservation initiatives for divergent populations and to encourage restoration of traditional fishing practices. However, relative to EBK, the relevance of TEK to salmonid biodiversity conservation was evident mainly at a smaller spatial scale, for example, that of individual rivers occupied by populations or certain lake sectors. Nevertheless, EBK was only collected over a 4-yr period, so TEK provided an essential long-term temporal window to evaluate population differences and persistence. We concluded that, despite different conceptual underpinnings, spatially and temporally varying TEK and EBK both contribute to the knowledge base required to achieve sustainability and effective biodiversity conservation planning for a given species. Such integration may be particularly relevant in many isolated regions, where intraspecific diversity can go unrecognized due to sparse scientific knowledge or undocumented TEK, and where governmental agencies and local communities increasingly seek to find common ground on which to address biodiversity issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Anthropologica is the property of CASCA and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Exposure to methylmercury is a concern for those who rely on fish as a traditional food in the Eeyou Istchee territory of James Bay, Quebec, Canada, because industrial land uses overlap with community water bodies where fish are harvested. Consequently, this study assessed if traditional practices, particularly fishing, increased the risk of exposure to methylmercury from the consumption of locally harvested fish. We designed a geographic information system (GIS) that included land use and fish methylmercury tissue concentrations to assess clustering of potential hot spots. We also used generalized linear models to assess the association of fish consumption to blood organic-mercury concentrations, and logistic regression models to assess the probability of fish exceeding the safety threshold for methylmercury tissue concentrations in areas of high intensity land use. The GIS demonstrated significant clustered hot spots around regions of hydroelectric and mining land use. Our results also revealed that adult consumption of pike, lake trout and/or walleye, and child consumption of pike or walleye were significantly associated with blood organic-mercury concentrations. Further, large fish harvested in a community with high intensity land use yielded a 77% probability that the fish exceeded the safety threshold. From a human exposure perspective, our study highlights the need for further research on children who consume fish from this region. Land use results in hot spot clusters of medium- and large-fish with methylmercury tissue concentrations greater than 0.50 mg Hg/kg wet weight, in three species (lake trout, pike, and walleye) that are harvested as traditional food and may – when coupled with the frequency of consumption – pose a hazard to community members who consume them. These fish species are also positively associated with blood mercury concentrations in certain communities. Image 1 • Land use and development increase number of significant Hg hot spots. • Variation of fish tissue MeHg by community and species. • Fish may exceed safety threshold in presence of high-intensity land use. • Blood-Hg concentrations associated with consumption of piscivores. • Fish is nutritious and can be eaten safely with effective consumption warnings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fishing is part of the traditional activities of Indigenous people in Canada. However, it is also a route of exposure to methylmercury, a known neurotoxicant, and this is a concern for those who rely on fish as part of their diet. The probable weekly intake (PWI) of methylmercury from six species of fish was calculated for Indigenous community members (N = 1406), grouped by age and sex, and compared to Canadian and international provisional reference doses to assess exposure. Mixed-effects regression models were also used to estimate the input of methylmercury into the blood, and Hazard Quotients (HQ) were used to assess potential effects. Of the species of fish in our study, walleye and lake trout contributed the most to methylmercury intake. There was a positive association between the consumption of walleye and the total blood mercury concentrations of mercury in women and men (R2 A = 0.40 and 0.47, respectively), and to a lesser extent, children. Similar results were observed for the consumption of lake trout. The 95th-percentile HQ for girls (3.16) and boys (3.18) from the consumption of lake trout was relatively high, and to a lesser extent, so was the HQ for walleye and pike. The consumption of some species of fish increases the exposure to methylmercury, however, taking a balanced approach, there are health benefits associated with the consumption of fish that must be considered. To mitigate future exposure to methylmercury, we recommend follow-up blood monitoring and local-geospatial-based assessments. • Consumers of large predatory fish have higher total blood mercury concentrations. • Children should be cautious of consuming too much large and medium predatory fish. • Blood-Hg concentration following fish consumption predicts methylmercury exposure. • Fish consumption is good for health and dependent on seasonal availability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]