The subsistence harvest in 8 communities in the central Kuskokwim River drainage, 2009
Dates
Year
2012
Citation
Brown, Caroline L., Magdanz, James S., and Koster, David S., 2012, The subsistence harvest in 8 communities in the central Kuskokwim River drainage, 2009: Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game, Division of Subsistence, v. Technical paper no. 365.
Summary
This report summarizes the results of research conducted in 2010 on the subsistence harvest and uses of wild foods in 8 Kuskokwim River communities: Aniak, Chuathbaluk, Crooked Creek, Lower Kalskag, Red Devil, Sleetmute, Stony River, and Upper Kalskag (estimated total population 1,450). The principal questions addressed by the Donlin Creek Subsistence Research Program were how many wild foods were harvested for subsistence, the harvest amounts, and how these foods were distributed within and between communities. Related questions addressed the role of wild foods in Alaska’s economy, the role of cash in subsistence economies, the lands and waters used for subsistence practices in the central Kuskokwim area, and the impacts of competition [...]
Summary
This report summarizes the results of research conducted in 2010 on the subsistence harvest and uses of wild foods in 8 Kuskokwim River communities: Aniak, Chuathbaluk, Crooked Creek, Lower Kalskag, Red Devil, Sleetmute, Stony River, and Upper Kalskag (estimated total population 1,450). The principal questions addressed by the Donlin Creek Subsistence Research Program were how many wild foods were harvested for subsistence, the harvest amounts, and how these foods were distributed within and between communities. Related questions addressed the role of wild foods in Alaska’s economy, the role of cash in subsistence economies, the lands and waters used for subsistence practices in the central Kuskokwim area, and the impacts of competition with other users. Between January and December 2009, residents of these communities were surveyed and reported harvesting an estimated total of 411,135 edible pounds of subsistence resources, with an average estimated harvest rate of 291.8 lb per capita. Estimated harvest rates for each community ranged from 186.7 lb per person in Lower Kalskag to 532.5 lb per person in Stony River. The harvest patterns of these mid river, boreal communities largely mirrored historical patterns of heavy reliance on salmon Oncorhynchus and mooseAlces alces. The importance of salmon was evident, in that four salmon species—Chinook O. tshawytscha, chum O. keta, coho O. kisutch, and sockeye O. nerka—comprised 65% of the annual subsistence harvest by weight (252,458 lb) for the region as a whole and 78.5% of the total fish harvest. Moose made up 11% of the total subsistence harvest by weight, and 4 nonsalmon fish species as well as beavers Castor canadensis made up the remaining top 10 resources harvested in 2009. The results of this 2009 survey are a significant step toward filling a major data gap regarding subsistence in western Alaska. Analyses of harvest levels of specific species, demographics, harvest areas, village economies, harvest assessments, food security, and wild food networks help to characterize contemporary subsistence economies in western Alaska and contribute to our knowledge of subsistence statewide.
