Fisheries, Subsistence, and Habitat
Publications Searchable Database
Search Again| Division: | Division of Subsistence |
| Title: | Traditional ecological knowledge and biological sampling of nonsalmon fish species in the Yukon Flats region, Alaska |
| Author: | Michael Koskey, Kristin Mull |
| Year: | 2011 |
| Report ID: | ADF&G Division of Subsistence, Technical Paper No. 362 |
| Abstract: | This project combines social scientific and biological methods to contribute to contemporary knowledge of nonsalmon fish species in the communities of Fort Yukon, Circle, Central, Beaver, and Birch Creek. Centered in the Birch Creek area, these communities have long relied on nonsalmon fish species for subsistence purposes. This project complements other projects funded by the Office of Subsistence Management to present a comprehensive picture of subsistence harvests of whitefish Coregonus and Prosopium cylindraceum, sheefish Stenodus leucichthys, northern pike Esox lucius, Arctic grayling Thymallus arcticus, longnose sucker Catostomus catostomus, burbot Lota lota, and Alaska blackfish Dallia pectoralis for a significant stretch of the Yukon, Koyukuk, and Tanana River drainages. Since the beginning of this study in April 2006, 20 key respondent interviews were completed with 21 individuals, and all five study communities were surveyed for their nonsalmon fish harvests. This study revealed the highly variable use of whitefish and other nonsalmon fish in the southern Yukon Flats. The importance of these resources, both in the past and at present, and the change in relative importance of specific species is now better understood. Several themes emerged from the harvest surveys and key respondent interviews. For example, the use of specific nonsalmon fish is based on a variety of factors, including the presence and influence of elders, the perceived need for food by those who cannot obtain wild foods on their own, the need to prepare for cultural events such as potlatches, and the perceived relative condition (i.e., health, taste, appearance, size) of the fish as compared to another species. Although the use of geographic placenames is almost entirely in English, some elders recalled the Gwich’in names for certain land features that served to provide information about changing land and water conditions due to climate change. |
| Keywords: | Interior Alaska, Yukon River, Fort Yukon, Beaver, Birch Creek, Circle, Central, Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge, nonsalmon fish, traditional ecological knowledge, harvest monitoring |