By

James A. Fall, Molly B. Chythlook, Janet C. Schichnes, and Judith M. Morris

Excerpted from Alaska Department of Fish and Game Technical Paper No. 166, July 1996

GENERAL OVERVIEW

REGIONAL CHARACTERISTICS

GENERAL PATTERNS OF SUBSISTENCE USE

Levels of Participation and Seasonal Round

Everywhere in the Bristol Bay region, the harvest of fish, game, and wild plants for local use plays a major role in the economy and way of life (Wright et al. 1985). Fish and wildlife harvests are substantial, contributing a large portion of the diets of local residents. Furthermore, hunting and fishing take place within a patterned seasonal round of harvest activities. Most people participate in these activities as hunters, fishermen, gatherers, or processors of fish, wildlife, and wild plant harvests. Hunting, fishing, and gathering occur, for the most part, in traditional harvest areas near each community.

Generally, the seasonal cycle of resource harvesting activities begins with the break-up of river and lake ice in the spring. Harvests of freshwater fish such as whitefish and pike with nets occur in sloughs and lake outlets. Harvests of migratory birds take place in the Togiak and Alaska Peninsula subregions. Residents of some Togiak River and Nushagak Bay communities harvest marine mammals in spring as well. In May, preparations begin for commercial and subsistence salmon fishing, and these activities dominate until August or September. King, sockeye, chum, and silver salmon are the major species taken for local use. Activities which take place in the fall include moose and caribou hunting, waterfowl hunting, berry gathering, and fishing for spawning sockeye salmon and for Dolly Varden, char, and other freshwater fish. After freeze-up, fish such as smelt, whitefish, and pike are taken through the ice. Hunting for moose and caribou continues into the winter months, and furbearer trapping is important in many communities (Wright et al. 1985).

This basic pattern of subsistence harvests centered around salmon fishing and big game hunting prevails throughout Bristol Bay, but there are some notable differences between subregions. Harvests of fish other than salmon vary between subregions. Moose are a major component of big game harvests in the Nushagak and Kvichak drainages, but play a lesser role at Togiak and on the Alaska Peninsula.