The purpose of this project is recover fossils that document the evolution of the earliest jaw-bearing fishes. The scientific objectives of this work are to understand the anatomycand diversity of the earliest jaw-bearing fishes which lived about 420 million years ago. To accomplish this, we need to obtain fossils which are buried in the rocks of the Canadian Arctic. In 2018, we discovered a locality in the marine limestones and mudrocks of easter Cornwallis Island, hosting well preserved fossils of such fishes. The exposed bedrock allows us to look for fossils directly at the surface, and therefore requires only a minor excavation (particularly as the target fossils are quite small---typically only a few centimeters in size). Our project will focus on an area of outcrop on an unnamed stream flowing into the southwest corner of Read Bay on eastern Cornwallis Island. Our two main activities will be: 1) prospecting the talus slope where we have found fish fossils weathering out naturally in the slabs of talus; 2) creating a small excavation into the bed where the fish-bearing talus is originating to find 'fresh' unweathered material. These fossils will be stabilised in the field and collected for study in the laboratory. The processing of these rocks will be used to extract microfossils: fossils of small objects like teeth and scales, which can be used to tell us about the different members of the ancient fossil fish community that lived in this area. Activities: Our objectives are to sample the bedrock in these exposures in order to extract fossils and micro-fossils from the rocks. This will involve travelling on foot to exposed bedrock areas, and then walking around on these exposures to examine the rocks carefully for fossils in the talus lying at the surface. The fossils we are targeting are relatively small fish bones (a few millimeters or centimeters in size). A small excavation is proposed, using only hand tools and no machinery or industrial equipment. The maximum extent of this excavation is estimated to be around 3 to 4 cubic meters. We will back-fill the resulting cavity with rock and restore the area to a natural contour. As the slope is already talus-covered, this will not leave a readily visible scar. We estimate the removal of a maximum of 200 kg of fossil-bearing samples from the work. Our team will consist of a group of 5 people: 4 research scientists and 1 local guide from Resolute. We will have only a single camp, located close to our working area (see interactive map). We will access this camp by helicopter charter from Resolute. Camp will consist of 5 individual tents, plus a main basecamp tent. We will use propane stoves for cooking, plus two naphthalene-fuelled camp stoves for backups. We will pack in all of our food. We will pack out all food waste and packaging, or dispose of biodegradable food waste by burying. Human waste will be buried and toilet paper will be burned. These activities will be kept away from main water sources. If our camp is placed near a water source, we will ensure disposal of human and food waste well away from these sources. For washing up in camp, we will use biodegradable soaps. Our schedule is approximate and subject to aircraft availability and weather. Our current scheduled date into the field assigned by the Polar Continental Shelf Program is 30 July 2020 and we will be taken out of the field on 9 August. We will be transported by helicopter to our camp near Read Bay and will spend the 10 days in this area. We will then be transported back to Resolute by helicopter. We will exercise no-trace camping practices. At the conclusion of activities at the camp, we will remove all structures (tents) and restore the ground to a natural likeness. Permits and engagement with local communities: We have contacted the Resolute Bay HTA, but are currently awaiting a reply. We will be applying for a Water Board license exemption certificate and a a CLEY Archaeology and Palaeontology Permit. Because this work is strictly palaeontological, a Nunavut Research Institute license is not required. Therefore, our application Archaeology and Palaeontology Permit are not yet submitted at the time of submitting the LUPIT application. However, all necessary permits will be obtained before commencing any work.