SUBSISTENCE HERRING FISHING, 1992

Nelson Island District

Patterns of harvest and production of herring for subsistence use by area residents have been described in detail; gear used, areas fished, and processing methods have remained similar to those reported earlier (Pete and Kreher 1986; Pete et al. 1987; Pete 1991a, 1991b). Briefly, boats used were locally made wooden or imported aluminum skiffs 14 to 28 feet in length; gill nets with 2 to 2-3/4-inch mesh and 60 to 300 feet long were set; and areas fished were customarily productive sites located near communities. Fishing and processing activities were organized and managed usually by a married couple in charge of an extended-family-cooperative work group or production unit involving members of more than one household and many individuals with a wide age range. Generally, men oversaw and engaged in fishing; women took charge of processing and storing.

In Tununak, gill nets were usually set as soon as the adjacent shoreline was ice-free, and herring were present in appreciable numbers in traditionally used fishing areas, a time span from mid May to early June. At Newtok and Nightmute, fishermen and women waited until rivers were clear of ice; while at Toksook Bay, people waited until subsequent runs of herring, noted for lower oil content, arrived. Thus, subsistence fishing for herring generally occurred from mid May through mid June around Nelson Island.

The 1990 and 1991 subsistence herring seasons were unusual, in part, because there were higher than usual catches of "fatty" herring, those with very high oil content. In 1990, herring were relatively plentiful early in the season and then decreased dramatically in mid June. Herring were consistently few throughout the 1991 season, especially along the northern shore of Nelson Island resulting in more labor-intensive harvesting activities. It was a very difficult season in 1991 for Tununak and Newtok fishing families, who fished longer than usual for a catch that yielded the lowest recorded harvests (Pete 1991c). Further, some families in all communities ran out of dried herring in late winter, with the majority of families eating up their stores by April--unusually early. A few shared small supplies of fermented, partially dried, oily herring; generally, only elders eat this product. Many people said they "craved herring."

Although herring were still not as abundant in 1992 as they had been in the mid-1980s. The season was considered a favorable contrast to the poor 1991 season. Sea ice persisted through the first week of June delaying fishing activities. Herring were relatively plentiful throughout the entire season, but families were determined to avoid quality problems common in 1990 and 1991 caused by large catches of fatty herring. Subsistence fishing activities started earliest in Tununak (June 7) continued for nearly one week followed by a 4-day break, and resumed on June 17 for another week. Tununak families tested their catches for oil content, and many ceased fishing by June 12 because fatty herring were prevalent. The second wave of fishing occurred with the second run of herring when catches of fatty herring decreased. Once herring catches in Tununak included more lean herring, fishing in all communities commenced in earnest through all of June. In 1992, subsistence fishing in all communities, except Newtok occurred intermittently until June 5, about two weeks later than usual. This is the first time surveyors observed community-wide selective "pulse" fishing by Tununak families to avoid fatty herring, patterns witnessed primarily in Toksook Bay and Umkumiut, the fish camp used by Toksook Bay and Nightmute families. Respondents in Tununak were fairly confident that later runs with less fat would appear because of the large early showing and reports from Chefornak that herring were moving from the south toward Nelson Island.

Each year subsistence processors note the oil content of herring because fatty herring is susceptible to weather-induced spoilage. This is particularly problematic in late June and early July when generally sunny and windless weather is interspersed with drizzling rain. Fatty herring requires more labor-intensive processing to dry properly. In 1991, the survey was administered later than previous years enabling the surveyor to observe and note spoilage rates. That year's study found that 40 to 60 percent of the Toksook Bay processed catch had to be thrown out, and large percentages (up to 90 percent in one case) of some Newtok families' processed catches were unsuitable as human food (Pete 1991c). These proportions of fatty herring in the catch and rates of spoilage are uncharacteristically high.

The 1992 survey was administered at the same time as the 1991 survey with intentions to observe spoilage rates. Fortunately, due to the increased abundance and quality of herring and concerted efforts to harvest leaner herring, the proportion of fatty herring in the subsistence catch was much less than it had been in 1991. Although the 1992 ratio of fatty to lean herring in the catch remained higher than the averages in the mid-1980s (Pete 1991c) no spoiled herring were observed or reported in 1992 because of innovative and more-specialized processing of fatty herring and better drying weather throughout the season. In addition to braiding, fatty herring as ullipengayiit, plural; ullipengayaq, singular; means "those that are filleted and exposed to the air," large numbers of fatty herring were cut and hung like individual salmon (cegat, fish cut for drying"). Lean herring are gutted and braided into strings immediately (called Tamalkuryat, "those that are whole"). Fatty herring processed as cegat were filleted, ventral and dorsal fins and bellies removed, and hung on drying racks by their tails. Special drying racks of 1x4 milled lumber or long, thin pieces of driftwood were constructed to hang cegat. When partially dried, these herring were individually transferred to the smokehouse and smoked to prevent the oil-infused flesh from turning rancid. Racks in smokehouses also had to be made to accommodate cegat. Many families throughout the area adopted this innovation, begun in 1991, by one family in Toksook Bay, because more of the fatty herring processed in this manner dried more thoroughly. The family shared samples of the dried and smoked herring with many area residents through community feasts for offered them to families who had run out of herring in late winter. Although it was distinctively different from traditionally produced ullipengayiit. This alternative drying process was extremely labor intensive, was considered to be worth the added effort to preserve their main winter food--herring. . . .

Household involvement in subsistence herring production increased from a low of 63 percent in 1991 to 71 percent in 1992 which more closely resembles participation rates of the 1980s (Pete 1991c). The few households and families who did not resume subsistence production activities included those who moved to Newtok and were not yet geared for subsistence herring harvesting and processing, or those who could not fish due to poor health. Some of them cooperated with other families or fished for other species, such as salmon, halibut and pike, that requires less coordination in production and is less sensitive to inclement weather during the drying process. In 1992, subsistence fishing for salmon and halibut was relatively early, nearly coinciding with herring fishing and highly productive compared to 1991. Many families fished for these species in addition to herring and reported that the abundance and productivity of these other species affected their herring fishing activities--they caught fewer herring than they had planned. Families were prepared to supplement their herring catches, as they had in 1990-91 and were pleased efforts were so productive. However, respondents still stated that herring is the preferred traditional winter food for Nelson Island families, as evidenced by the special efforts to increase the quantity and improve the quality of the catch and the changes for a good dried product. . . .

Nunivak Island District

Patterns of subsistence herring production by residents of Mekoryuk were described in detail in the 1990 survey report and summarized in the 1991 report (Pete 1991b, 1991c). Timing and processing methods of subsistence herring on Nunivak Island were similar to those reported for Nelson Island with fishing occurring from mid May to mid June. Gill nets were set, seined, or "drifted" for herring with skiffs similar in size to those described for Nelson Island. Other customary and continued methods of harvest included using dip nets, picking herring by hand from tidal pools, or throwing home-made "toss nets," approximately six feet in diameter, over spawning schools and pulling them closed and ashore with the "purse" full of herring. Fishing methods were dictated by tides, local environment, and personnel involved. For example, women and children were almost exclusively involved in hand picking herring from tidal pools at low tide, whereas lone men operated toss nets, and related adults, both men and women cooperated in drifting and seining for herring.

Set and drift net fishing areas commonly used extended east and south from Mekoryuk to Cape Corwin. . . . In 1992, sea ice was present along the northern and northeastern shore well into June hampering subsistence fishing and preventing spawn-on-kelp collecting activities. Sea ice prevented families from going across Etolin Strait to Nelson Island to fish for herring, as some that had missed the narrow window of opportunity around Nunivak Island had done in 1990 and 1991. Most herring caught for subsistence in 1992 were brought to Mekoryuk from commercial fish camps along the eastern shore in mid June. Several families were still fishing in late June in the Mekoryuk River, a reportedly unusual fishing site. A family had set nets for species such as flounder and saffron cod, but notice herring in their catches, and they and other families renewed efforts to get herring by changing to herring nets and seining. The presence of sea ice through most of June is blamed for the unusual occurrence of herring in the Mekoryuk River.

As on Nelson Island, production of herring for subsistence use was a kin-based operation in Mekoryuk, with members of extended families, generally a married couple and their adult children from separate households, working together. Five former Nunivak Island families residing in Bethel returned to the island to produce herring for subsistence, as they had in 1990 and 1991. Only one of the five families was successful at harvesting herring in 1992. Several others were promised portions of the processed catch later in the season.

Although herring has not assumed the same importance, nor is it harvested in the same amounts for subsistence as on Nelson Island, Mekoryuk respondents concurred with their neighbors on Nelson Island that herring numbers had been decreasing since the mid-1980s. Each season, it was reported, there had been a progressively shorter time span when herring stayed in waters off Nunivak Island, thereby decreasing the effective fishing time (Pete 1991b). The persistence of sea ice late into the fishing season in 1992 exacerbated this trend. As mentioned earlier, herring spawn-on-kelp was not collected in 1992. Once sea ice abated in late June, a few families checked the western end of the island for herring spawn-on-kelp, but much of it had matured beyond use for subsistence. These fluctuations in local herring stocks have made herring a less reliable food resource for Mekoryuk families than has been the case in previous years. . . .