Informed Consent Form
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION AND STEWARDSHIP BY SMALL-SCALE FISHERIES COMMUNITIES AND ORGANIZATIONS
Informed Consent Form
This consent form describes your choices with the survey, and what will happen with the information you provide.
Once you have reviewed it, at the bottom is a button “I Agree” for you to click if you wish to continue to the survey.
1. You are under no obligation to participate in this survey. Participants do not receive any payment, incentive, reimbursement or compensation for participation.
2. We expect the survey could take around 30 minutes to complete, or up to 60 minutes depending on how much detail you provide.
3. You may withdraw your participation at any time, or decline to answer questions that you do not feel comfortable with. If you choose to withdraw during the completion of the survey, simply do not click on ‘submit your responses’ and the information you input will not be saved. If you choose to withdraw after completing the questionnaire and having your information reviewed, please contact us at SSF-Stewardship@smu.ca
4. Your responses will be stored securely, on a password protected network drive at computers of Saint Mary’s University, and on computers of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and used only by staff from SMU and FAO as part of an analysis of conservation/stewardship activities by fishing communities and fisher organizations, and as part of the data provided on the publicly accessible database on the SSF Conservation and Stewardship website. It may also be used in producing an SSF Conservation and Stewardship Guidebook to be published by FAO.
5. This is NOT an ‘anonymous’ survey, and the information you provide will NOT be kept confidential. Some parts of the information you provide, and a community photo if provided, will be made available for public viewing through the SSF Conservation and Stewardship website, where both you and your organization (if applicable) will be identified. This includes identifying your conservation/stewardship story on an interactive world map. Users accessing the map will be able to see the community or organization’s name, location and some brief details about their particular experiences (e.g., the type of ecosystem, type of fishery, etc.). Some of the information may also be used for research outputs such as academic papers, reports and presentations for the public and for consultations with government, industry and other stakeholders at local, national and international levels. In those outputs, your name and that of your organization (if applicable) may be given, in the context of the specific fisheries and fishing communities you discuss in your responses. Your contact information, such as email, mailing address, and phone number will remain confidential and will not be shared. We recognize that as this study involves the identification of participants, and that not all stakeholders, community members or other interested parties will share the same values regarding the use/conservation of fishery resources, this personal identification could potentially result in social risk due to these potentially conflicting interests. By consenting to continue with the survey, you are agreeing to this public identification. Note, though, that the data gathered through this survey will only be used for the above purposes, by Saint Mary’s University and the UN FAO, as described. No information or data will be used for commercial purposes.
6. We do not foresee any risks arising from your participation. In fact, we believe that by participating, you will benefit from being part of a unique knowledge platform on small-scale fishing communities, fishing organizations, and their important role relating to conservation/stewardship, and livelihoods, at a global scale.
7. We reserve the right to remove your submission at any time in the future, at our discretion.
8. By providing a submission, you agree that we may contact you in the future regarding your submission.
9. By consenting to participate you have not waived any rights to legal recourse in the event of research-related harm.
10. You will be able to view the resulting publicly available information, as well as find the results of this study, when completed, by visiting the SSF Conservation and Stewardship website.
11. Please note if you are viewing this survey in a language other than English, it has been translated using Google translate and as such there may be language errors. If any part of the content of this consent form or the survey itself is unclear, or if you have any further questions, you are encouraged to contact us at the email or phone number provided below.
12. This research is conducted under the direction of Tony Charles at Saint Mary’s University (SSF-Stewardship@smu.ca), funded by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). There are no perceived conflicts of interest on the part of the researchers, their institutions or research funders. This research has been reviewed and approved by the Saint Mary’s University Research Ethics Board (REB 21-007). If you have any questions or concerns about ethical matters you may contact the Chair of the Saint Mary’s University Research Ethics Board at ethics@smu.ca or 1-902-420-5728.
If you are in agreement and wish to continue, please sign this Informed Consent Form by entering your full name and email below, then selecting “I AGREE” to start the survey. Selecting “I DISAGREE” will return you to the homepage.