Excerpted From Alaska Department of Fish and Game Technical Paper No. 96, February 1984

CONTEMPORARY USES OF COPPER RIVER SALMON

Patterns of Harvest and Use of Copper River Salmon by Copper Basin Residents

Gear Type

Copper Basin residents harvest salmon predominantly with fishwheels. In 1981, about 83 percent of the 409 Basin households, which held subsistence fishing permits, used fishwheels. In 1982, 79 percent, and in 1983, 83 percent, operated fishwheels. The remainder of the permit holders fished with dipnets. The number of Basin households harvesting salmon with fishwheels or dipnets has remained stable over the last three years, in contrast with the 135 percent increase in the overall number of Copper River subsistence fishing permits issued during the same period.

Division of Subsistence research has found a large portion of all households in Copper Basin communities participate in the fish-wheel fishery. For example, almost 60 percent of a random sample of Copper Center households harvested salmon with fishwheels during a study period spanning 12 months in 1982-83. Only 7 percent of the Copper Center sample took salmon with rod and reel, and none used dipnets. Most communities bordering the Copper River from Chitina to Slana displayed similar patterns. Conversely, residents of Basin communities more distant from the river, such as Lake Louise, Paxon/Sourdough, and Sheep Mountain, harvested most of their salmon with rod and reel under sport fishing regulations.

In part, the efficiency of fish wheels for harvesting salmon over other gear types explains the preference local residents exhibit for fishwheels. Building a fish wheel requires knowledge about construction techniques, and a relatively high initial investment of time and money in constructing the wheel and installing it at a fishing site. However, once operating, a fishwheel is capable of harvesting salmon rapidly in a fairly short time under favorable water-and-run conditions. Local residents, many of whom have lived in the area for years, are likely to know the best fishing sites and access routes through relatives and friends; they may also gain permission to place a wheel on privately-owned land or share the use of a fish wheel. Also, those fishermen living closest to the river are best able to maintain their wheels and care for their catch in contrast to those residing far from the river who cannot tend their wheels from their own homes. . . .

The few Basin residents who use dipnets do so because they lack the time to invest in building and maintaining a fish wheel; opt to harvest a few salmon quickly using inexpensive gear; or have temporarily lost their access for fishwheels they have used in the past (Stratton 1982b 54-55). . . .

Fishing Periods, Locations, and Processing Activities

By regulation, fishing with fishwheels and dipnets opens June 1 and closes September 30. Most sockeye and chinook salmon taken with fishwheels are caught in June and early July. Although sockeye salmon continue to be harvested in small numbers into September. The small harvest of coho salmon occurs in late August through September (Roberson 1982:120) Generally, owners of fishwheels operate them during the peak period of sockeye salmon availability; fishers who use a relatives' or friend's wheel often run it after the owners have completed their harvest (Stratton 1982b:17).

Fish-wheel owners normally place their wheels in the same general area each year. Many fishwheels are operated from private property. Other wheels are placed from sites that are recognized by long-term Basin residents as "belonging" to certain families. This right to use a particular site appears to be inherited through lines of kinship (Reckord 1983:102). In 1982, long-term Basin residents tended to operate their fishwheels from camps with permanent facilities for processing the salmon. Fishers using the "Old Village" subcluster of 10 wheels within the Copper Center cluster provide an example of this technique. Other Basin residents transported their catch to their permanent residences where processing and storage occurred. Among Basin residents, fishing groups tended to be composed of relatives. For example, of the sample 56 local fish wheel users, 73 percent reported fishing only with relatives, 16 percent fished only with friends, 4 percent fished with friends and relatives, and 7 percent fished alone (Stratton 1982b:20).

In 1982, most Basin fishwheel operators used a combination of methods to preserve their salmon catch including canning (63 percent) freezing (59 percent) smoking (52 percent) drying (45 percent) kippering (13 percent) and salting (11 percent). Basin residents were much more likely to dry their salmon than were non-local fish-wheel operators. Drying requires a great deal of time, special storage conditions, and knowledge of how to prepare the product. This preservation method was most common among those fish wheel users with the longest history of involvement in the fishery (Stratton 1982:68). About 30 percent of the sample of Basin fish wheel operators in 1982 used salmon roe and heads (Stratton 1982:24). . . .