Subsistence Use of Birds in the Bering Strait Region, Alaska
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Subsistence Use of Birds In the Bering Strait Region, Alaska Technical Paper No. 239 Amy W. Paige, Cheryl L. Scott, David B. Andersen, Susan Georgette, and Robert J. Wolfe Alaska Department of Fish and Game Division of Subsistence Juneau, Alaska July 1996 The Alaska Department of Fish and Game conducts all programs and activities free from discrimination on the basis of sex, color, race, religion, national origin, age, marital status, pregnancy, parenthood, or disability. For information on alternative formats available for this and other department publications, please contact the department ADA Coordinator at (voice) 9074654120, (TDD) l-800478-3648 or (FAX) 9075866595. Any person who believes s/he has been discriminated against should write to: ADF&G, P.O. Box 25526, Juneau, Alaska 99802- 5526; or O.E.O.. U.S. Department of the interior, Washington, D.C. 20240. ABSTRACT This report describes the subsistence use of birds and eggs in the Bering Strait region of Alaska, based on surveys of households and bird hunting experts in fifteen communities. The geographic area covered includes the coastal regions of Norton Sound, the Seward Peninsula, and St Lawrence, Diomede and Kings islands in notthwest Alaska. The report presents information on species harvested, timing of harvests, and numbers of birds and eggs harvested by community. The report also provides general information on subsistence use patterns for -each community, based on interviews with local bird experts. The report represents the first comprehensive description of subsistence bird patterns for communities in the Bering Strait region. Overall, about 1,203 households (52.2 percent) in the Bering Strait region harvested birds during the survey year. There were about 1,828 persons who hunted birds or about 1 in 5 residents hunted birds. A total of about 46,943 birds were reported harvested by households from the fifteen Bering Strait region commmunities. Seabirds represent the largest category of bird resources used (28.3 percent), followed by ducks (24.8 percent), upland game birds (21.4 percent), geese (20.5 percent), sandhill cranes (3.9 percent), tundra swans (1.0 percent), shorebirds (0.1 percent) and snowy owls (go.1 percent). An estimated 44,320 eggs were harvested by households from the region. Seabird eggs represented 84.9 percent of all eggs gathered. Eggs were harvested by some households in all fifteen surveyed communities. Eggs of murres and gulls were the principal species of eggs gathered. While the surveys were conducted on different years, the reported numbers are probably good estimates of the annual subsistence bird and egg harvest during the mid-1990s in the Bering Strait region. There were distinct differences in the types of birds harvested by island communities compared with mainland communities in the region. While seabirds comprised the overwhelming portion of the bird harvests on St. Lawrence and Diomede islands (93.5 percent), they comprised only a small portion of the mainland communities’ bird harvests (8.4 percent). For mainland Bering Strait communities, ducks comprised the most common category of birds harvested (30.9 percent), followed by almost equal proportions of geese (26.3 percent) and upland game birds, principally ptarmigan, (27.9 percent). The most wmmon species of ducks harvested, in terms of numbers, were pintails, common eiders, and mallards; the most numerous types of geese harvested were Canada geese, brant, and snow geese; the most numerous seabirds were arctic terns, loons, and grebes For migratory birds (not counting ptarmigan, grouse and owls), there are two major bird hunting seasons in the Bering Strait region - spring and fall. About 57 percent of all migratory birds were reported harvested during spring in the Bering Strait region, and about 32 percent of migratory birds were harvested during fall. These seasonal hunting periods are timed during the spring and fall migrations of ducks, geese, cranes, swans, and seabirds through the region. Sixty-four percent of upland game birds (ptarmigan, grouse, and snowy owl) are harvested in the winter months i ACKNCWLEDGMENTS The subsistence bird studies were successful due to the work of a number of people. We wish to thank Kawerak Inc. which worked cooperatively on the project, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which provided funding for the village surveys. Jake Olanna and Sandy lknokinok of Kawerak, inc. and Cynthia Wentworth with the U.S. Fish and Widllife Service and Elizabeth Andrews, the Division of Subsistence’s regional program manager for the Arctic region, were k8y to ensuring the projects’ succ8ss. Each played important roles throughout the life of the projects. Thanks to Clarence Alexander and Jim Magdanz, project leader for the Division’s woperative study in the communities of the Bering Land Bridge National Preserve Project, (Wales and Shishmaref), for their roles in guiding the survey work for that project, results of which are also included in this regional summary. We wish to thank the tribal councils and city councils of all communities in the Bering Strait region, for their assistance in facilitating the projects. Thanks also are given to the many elders and local bird experts who allowed us to interview them at length about bird ecology and subsistence patterns, and to the many hunters who volunteered to report their subsistence harvests to our staff and to locally hired community resource specialists. The National Geographic Society is thanked for permission to use color bird illustrations for the hunter survey, taken from the Field Guide to Birrfs of North America, 2nd Edition, 1987. The twenty- two local community resource specialists who conducted household interviews deserve to be recognized individually for their high level of interest and work. We look forward to working with many again in the future: Arthur Barr, Brevig Mission Otto Soolook, Diomede Stanton Nakarak, Elim Henry Stanislaus, King Island Native Community, Nome Dorcas Bloom, Nome Bryan Outwater, Nome John J. Rogers, Nome Shane Iknokinok, Nome William Walluk, Nome Ruby Nassuk, Koyuk William Takak, Shaktoolik Eddie Olanna, Shishmaref Perry Weyiounna, Shishmaref Perry Curtis Weyiounna, Shishmaref Cornelius Dan, Stebbins Ted Katcheak, Stebbins Lillian Weyanna, Teller Ruth Blatchford, Unalakleet Frank Oxereok, Wales Emma Weyapuk, Wales Robert Charles, White Mountain Don lone, White Mountain TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction . 1 Methodology . 3 Subsistence Bird Harvests in the Bering Strait Region . 5 Subsistence Egg Harvests in the Bering Strait Region . 11 Subsistence Users in the Bering Strait Region . 11 Birds Harvests by Season . ...*..... 17 Bird and Egg Harvests by Species . 27 Community Reports . 32 Bibliography ...................................................................................................... 33 Appendix ........................................................................................................ A-l Bird Harvests in Brevig Mission, 1995 ................................................... A-3 Bird Harvests in Diomede, 1995 ........................................................... A-13 Bird Harvests in Elim, 1994 ................................................................... A-17 Bird Harvests in Golovin, 1989 ............................................................. A - 29 Bird Harvests in Koyuk, 1995 ................................................................ A - 33 Bird Harvests King Island Community, 1995 ......................................... A - 45 Bird Harvests in Nome - Non-King Island Community, 1995.. ................ A -55 Bird Harvests in Shaktoolik, 1994 ......................................................... A - 59 Bird Harvests in Shishmaref, 1995 ....................................................... A - 73 Bird Harvests in Stebbins, 1994 ............................................................ A - 77 Bird Harvests in Teller, 1995 ................................................................. A - 95 Bird Harvests in Unalakleet, 1995 ....................................................... A-103 Bird Harvests in Wales, 1994 ............................................................. A- 113 Bird Harvests in White Mountain, 1995.. ............................................. A - 117 . III LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Communities and Households Surveyed, Bering Strait Region .................... 2 Table 2. Bird Hanrests by Community and Study Year, Bering Strait Region ............ .6 Table 3. Per Capita Bird Harvests, Bering Strait Region ............................................. 9 Table 4. Bird Harvests Per Household, Bering Strait Region .................................... 10 Table 5. Egg Harvests by Community and Study Year, Bering Strait Region.. ......... 12 Table 6. Per Capita Egg Harvests, Bering Strait Region.. ......................................... 13 Table 7. Egg Harvests Per Household, Bering Strait Region.. .................................. 14 Table 8. Households That Used, Hunted, Harvested, Gave, or Received Birds During Survey Year, Bering Strait Region ................................................... 15 Table 9. Estimated Number of Persons Who Hunted Birds During Survey Year, Bering Strait Region .................................................................................... 16 Table 10. Migratory Bird Harvests by Season and Year, Bering Strait Region ............ 22 Table 11. Bird Species Harvested, Bering Strait Region ............................................. 25