By

Judith Marek Morris

Excerpted from Alaska Department of Fish and Game Technical Paper No. 151, August 1987

Egegik

Late spring and early summer (May and mid-June)

In the early 1980's preparation for the Egegik salmon season signaled a change in activity patterns from those of the late winter and early spring months. As gear and supplies were readied for commercial activities, resource harvesting for home use continued.

Digging for clams which began earlier in the spring, continued into May. Butter clams were conveniently available near the village. Small fixed-winged aircraft were used to reach beaches on the Pacific side of the peninsula where razor clams were gathered. Sometimes one or two plane loads of young men traveled to the Pacific beaches, returning with clams to be distributed among friends and relatives. Sea urchins were also gathered during this season.

Waterfowl hunting was a traditional spring activity. Partially due to international regulations prohibiting spring waterfowl hunting, the practice had diminished though not ceased. Species of ducks available during this period included mallards, canvasbacks, teals, and goldeneye. Geese, too, were present for a short time as they headed to their breeding grounds further north.

During the months of May and June, egg gathering, mostly gull eggs, was a popular activity. Eggs were gathered on Egg Island located in the Egegik River or on spits near Bristol Bay. Historically, egg gathering occurred in greater amounts when there was no other source of fresh eggs. As commercial supplies of domesticated eggs became available fewer wild eggs were collected, particularly in the large quantities which were stored and used throughout the year. Many of those collecting gull eggs gathered just enough to have a "taste" each spring of a favorite food.

Summer (Mid-June-August)

The first of the five species of Pacific salmon returning to Egegik River each year was the king (chinook). As early as May, but generally more into June, king salmon were caught in gill nets or with rod and reel.

As most households were dependent on commercial salmon fishing for their yearly cash income, during the sockeye salmon run, which began in June, local residents directed their energy toward the commercial harvest. Therefore, during the peak of the sockeye run, subsistence fishing was of secondary concern though a number of households put up subsistence salmon when commercial fishing was closed. Others brought fish home from their commercial catches to process for family use during slack commercial periods.

Simultaneously with commercial fishing, harbor seals, considered a menace to the commercial fishery, were occasionally killed and taken home. The liver and oil were considered the most desirable parts of the seal.

Concentrated effort continued on commercial salmon through July, though by the latter part of the month the run had peaked. Silver (coho) salmon arrived during the month of August. Home use of silvers was second only to that of sockeyes. As commercial fishing slacked off more effort was directed to processing foods for home use. In addition to putting up silvers, July and August were important berry picking months. Salmonberries, a popular berry for making agutak, were the first of year's supply. They were found in boggy areas of the tundra. Snipe and porcupines were occasionally taken in late summer near Egegik.

No rod and reel fishing for freshwater species occurred during the salmon season. This activity resumed in late summer. Skiffs were used to run up the Egegik or King Salmon rivers where grayling, rainbow trout, and silver salmon were targeted.

The opening of caribou season in mid-August marked an important harvesting period. In the early season skiffs provided transportation on local waterways to hunting areas such as around Becharof Lake. Incidental harvests of other species, such ptarmigan or waterfowl, also occurred during these trips.

Fall (September-October)

Moose hunting around Egegik began in early September. Traveling up to Becharof Lake or along the King Salmon and Egegik rivers, moose hunters exerted considerable effort during the short (10 day) season. Also, caribou hunting continued through September and October, but harvesting bulls during the peak of the rut was not popular. Indeed, many local residents preferred tow wait and harvest caribou later in the year. During late September and early October some local residents traveled up the Egegik River near the outlet of Becharof Lake and harvested small quantities of spawned-out sockeyes.

Other fall harvest activities by village residents included waterfowl hunting. The Egegik area is situated in productive waterfowl staging habitat. Ducks and geese were successfully hunted near Egegik and further south in the Pilot Point area. Also, berry picking continued through September and into October. Cranberries, blackberries, and blueberries were harvested locally. Skiffs, fishing boats, and airplanes were used for traveling to more remote locations.

Winter (November-February)

As the weather conditions became consistently colder and rivers impossible to negotiate with skills, harvest activities depended on the use of land vehicles or airplanes. Hunting land mammals continued. If conditions permitted, people began to fish through the ice for smelt or freshwater fish. When weather conditions permitted, moose were hunted during December. The December moose season can fall between periods of safe travel; it is too late to use skiffs but too early for the ice to be safe for land travel. Small game, such as hare, ptarmigan, and porcupine, were hunted. Often taken opportunistically by hunters targeting on big game animals, small game were sometimes also the focus of hunting trips.

Trapping furbearers commenced in November and continued through March. Three-wheelers were commonly used for transport to nearby locations. Airplanes provided access to more remote trapping areas. Trappers generally lived at home and checked their trap lines in a single day. Among the furbearers taken, beavers provided not only pelts but meat for human consumption.

As ice conditions improved, usually between late December and mid-February, fishing for smelt began. Jigging through the ice for whitefish and smelt was popular. In general, winter activities, such as trapping and caribou hunting, continued as long as favorable weather conditions permitted. As daylight hours lengthened in February and March harvesting activities increased.

Early spring (March-April)

Break-up near Egegik can occur from February to May but generally falls between late March and late April. It was a slack period for resource harvesting due to difficult traveling conditions and lack of readily available resources. Trapping season was over, moose and caribou were not near, birds had not returned, and plants or berries were unavailable. When skiff travel was possible, freshwater fishing up the King Salmon River began. Clams were harvested when sufficient daylight and low tides coincided. But in general, Egegik residents spent the time preparing for the return of the salmon, which signaled the beginning of a new resource harvesting cycle.

Pacific Coast Communities

The seasonal round on the Pacific side of the Alaska Peninsula reflects the presence of year-round open water. As with Egegik, the narrative description begins with the return of the salmon in May.

Late spring and early summer (May and mid-June)

During the study period in the 1980's, the sockeye salmon season began earlier for residents on the Pacific coast than for those living on the Bristol Bay side. By mid-May, many of the families from Perryville, Chignik Lake, and Ivanof Bay had begun moving to summer quarters in the Chignik area. Men often readied fishing gear and housing before women and children arrived. Preceding the opening of commercial salmon fishing (June 9th), the first of the year's salmon were put up for home use. These were taken either with commercial seines or set gill net hear. Several households maintained smokehouses at the fishing grounds. Half-smoked and baked salmon was popular during the early season.

As greens such as eshtunguk and wild spinach appeared in May and June, they were picked and added to soups and casseroles. Other subsistence activities included gathering firewood and gull eggs. In Perryville, dipnetting for candlefish (eulachon) in a local creek was an annual occurrence. Sea lions and seals were taken year round, but especially during late spring and early summer. As brown bear emerged from their dens they were hunted by Chignik Lake, Ivanof Bay, and Perryville residents. Spring bears were said by local residents to have very tender meat. Ducks and geese were harvested as they passed through on their way to nesting grounds further north.

Once the commercial fishing season was in full swing, resource harvesting strictly for home use was curtailed. Species such as halibut, crab, sculpin, steelhead, or cod taken incidentally to the commercial catch were frequently kept for home use. Salmon taken immediately preceding the commercial fishery continued to be processed by non-fishing members of the family, which meant keeping the smokehouse going until the fish was properly cured.

Summer (Mid-June-August)

The sockeye salmon run was divided into two separate runs which continued into the fall. Subsistence activities, at least for permit holders and crews, continued to be shaped by commercial fishing activities.

When caribou season opened in August, hunting parties went out during commercial fishing closures. The fresh caribou meat was a welcomed change from the predominantly fish diet which had prevailed for the previous two months.

Berry season began when salmonberries ripened, usually in July. The season continued through August with blackberries available soon after salmonberries. Usually gathered by the women and children, berries were preserved in a number ways including jams and jellies.

Fall (September-October)

As the temperatures cooled, commercial fishing slowed down, school, resumed, and there was a shift to a balanced effort between commercial and subsistence harvesting activities. In 1984, moose season opened on September 10th for ten days. Hunting parties often traveled in commercial fishing vessels along the coastal areas looking for signs of moose or caribou. Once a potential site was selected, hunters traveled inland by foot or with three-wheelers, which had been carried aboard the boats, to continue the hunting effort.

In addition to hunting for moose and caribou in September and October, residents harvested waterfowl, picked berries, gathered marine invertebrates, and continued salmon fishing. Ducks and geese, including mallards, pintails, goldeneyes, and canvasbacks, as well as brants and emperor geese, were taken as they passed through the area on their return to southern wintering grounds. Some waterfowl species wintered over, particularly in the Ivanof Bay area, and continued to be harvested for several months. Cockles and other intertidal resources were harvested when low tides and sufficient daylight allowed.

Blackberries and blueberries were generally available through the end of September. Lowbush cranberries ripened after the first frost, usually sometime in August, and were gathered into October.

September and October were important subsistence salmon fishing months in Ivanof Bay and Perryville. Men began to return home from commercial fishing and helped with the harvest. All salmon species, except sockeyes, were available locally. The salmon, generally taken with gill nets, were smoked and salted. Silver salmon were also canned and dried.

In Chignik Lake, residents of Chignik Lake, Chignik Lagoon, and Chignik used small beach seines to harvest spawned out salmon during October. The fish were dried or smoked. Work groups for the harvesting and processing of spawned-out fish were generally composed of related men. Rod and reel fishing in the Chignik River for silver salmon was a popular fall time activity.

In addition to caribou and moose, other land mammals were harvested. Residents of Perryville, Ivanof Bay, and Chignik Lake considered October a good month to harvest brown bear. The fat, particularly desired to use with dried fish, was best at this time of the year. The bears were often found along streams feeding on spawning salmon. Fox and wolverine were occasionally taken when the fall season opened in November. Sporadic harvest of seals and snowshoe hare continued.

Winter (November-February)

Throughout the winter months, water resources continued to be important for Pacific coast residents. Due to presence of year-round open water, saltwater and intertidal harvesting activities were possible. Commercial fishing, specifically crabbing, afforded opportunity to acquire marine resources on an incidental basis. Freshwater streams, lakes, and rivers provided fishing in open water or through the ice depending on weather conditions.

Most of the crab consumed locally originated in commercial crab fishery. Households directly involved in the commercial crab fishery derived the most direct benefit form the harvest. However, many households reported receiving fresh crab from commercial boats. Other varieties of fish, such as cod or halibut, were occasionally taken incidental to commercial catches.

Where conditions permitted, such as at Chignik Lake, Dolly Vardens were fished through the ice. Rainbow trout, too, were harvested with hook and line through the ice. In open freshwater salmon were taken as late as December or January.

Caribou harvesting continued throughout the winter months. Moose were hunted during the December season which ran from the first through the fifteenth of the month. Access to productive caribou areas was most convenient for Chignik Lake, Perryville, and Ivanof Bay residents. More caribou hunting and harvest was reported for these communities than for Chignik Lagoon and Chignik Bay.

While hunting for bigger game, men harvested small game and birds, such as ptarmigan, porcupine, and hare. Occasionally, these small game species were the primarily goal of a hunting trip. Fresh and saltwater ducks and geese which wintered in the local area were harvested also. Some households set out crab pots. During trapping season a limited number of furbearers were trapped.

Early spring (March-April)

Longer periods of daylight combined with good minus tides made March and April favorite months for digging clams. Butter clams and cockles were available in Mud Bay and near Old Village in Chignik Lagoon, and sometimes on beaches fronting Ivanof Bay Perryville. Razor clams were mainly harvested at Humpback Bay, Long Beach, and Mitrofina Bay.

According to Perryville and Ivanof Bay residents, spring was the best time to hunt sea lions found in the waters adjacent to their villages. Also, Dolly Varden were harvested with hook and line or small beach seines. Because seining often produced sizable harvests, fish were usually distributed among a number of households. In April, gill nets set at Perryville and Ivanof Bay began catching an occasional king salmon. Some households were involved in commercial herring and a limited amount of herring was brought home. Other activities, such as caribou hunting, continued as weather and travel conditions permitted until thoughts turned to salmon. With preparations for salmon fishing, another seasonal round began.