Excerpted From Alaska Department of Fish and Game Technical Paper No. 142, November 1990

THE HOONAH ECONOMY: SUBSISTENCE SECTOR

Seasonal Round of Resource Harvests

. . . Halibut and king salmon are available and harvested to some extent year-round. However, relatively little fishing for these species takes place from December through February when days are short, and seas are usually rough. The majority of both halibut and king salmon are caught from June through September. While the seasonal round does show strong seasonality of harvest for most of the fish species harvested, it also shows that at least some species are available for harvest in every month of the year for the subsistence fisher. Halibut, cod, rockfish, and other bottom fish can be harvested even in mid winter. The salmon harvest seasons are likewise much longer than in more northern parts of Alaska.

As with fish species, marine invertebrate and intertidal species are harvested throughout the year. Clams are not harvested as frequently in summer months because of the abundance of other subsistence resources during that time because of decline in quality and increased risk of paralytic shellfish poisoning. Dungeness and tanner crab harvests are lower in winter months when these species of crab are deeper ,and boat handling is more difficult. King crab species are too deep for most subsistence fishers, except in the summer months when they move to shallower waters. Octopus harvesting is most productive in warmer months when octopus moves into shallow waters and can be caught at low tide.

Most deer hunting takes place during the regulated hunting season, currently August 1 through January 31. Some hunting for bucks traditionally took place in spring with warming weather; some spring hunting may continue to occur. Most deer are taken later in the hunting season after cold weather and snow at high elevations have forced deer down to more accessible lowland locations. More active hunters harvest deer from alpine areas early in the season in August and September. Other land mammals are hunted in regulated hunting seasons. Although seals may be taken opportunistically at any time during the year, hunting effort is concentrated in late fall and early spring.

Hunters usually do not harvest seals in late spring and early summer when fetuses are well developed in females.

Hunters hunt ducks and geese when their migrations take them through Hoonah territory. Most hunting takes place during fall seasons, although traditional spring waterfowl hunting continues to occur. Some duck and geese populations over winter in the Hoonah territory. Most plants and berries are harvested during their relatively short periods of availability. . . .

Participation in Harvest and Use of Fish and Wildlife Resources by Hoonah Residents.

. . . Highest rates of participation in harvest are for deer, clams, and berries with 52.1 percent, 57.7 percent, and 64.2 percent of Hoonah households, respectively, reporting harvest of these resources. Participation in subsistence use of resources was over 50 percent for 10 resource categories. Participation in use of deer, seal, king salmon, halibut, clams, and berries was notably high with 85.3 percent, 53.5 percent, 60.6 percent, and 67.6 percent, respectively, reporting use of these resources. Every sampled household reported both harvesting at least one resource and using at least one resource during the baseline year. The high levels of participation in subsistence harvest and use of fish and game indicates the active involvement of virtually all Hoonah households in these activities.

The difference between participation rates of harvests and use underscore an integral feature of subsistence harvest and use of fish and wildlife. In Hoonah, as in other rural communities where subsistence continues to be important, active harvesting households distribute a large portion of their harvest to others. The giving households are typically ones with a number of active adults with a wage earning pattern that gives household members both the time needed to harvest natural resources and the cash income to provide them with the skiffs, motors, rifles, nets, and other tools needed for subsistence production. Receiving households are typically households with few active adults available for subsistence harvesting and with limited financial resources. These include the elderly and young families with only small children. Work conflicts may also put households in this category. . . .