Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Contemporary Subsistence Harvest of Non-Salmon Fish in the Koyukuk River Drainage, Alaska by David B. Andersen1, Caroline L. Brown2, Robert J. Walker2 and Kimberly Elkin3 Technical Paper No. 282 1Research North° 2Alaska Department of Fish and Game 3Tanana Chiefs Conference Fairbanks, Alaska Division of Subsistence Fairbanks, Alaska May 2004 TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS................................................................................................................. i ABSTRACT.................................................................................................................................... v INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 OBJECTIVES................................................................................................................................. 7 METHODS ..................................................................................................................................... 8 Collection of TEK ........................................................................................................................ 8 Collection of Harvest Data........................................................................................................ 13 Sampling Goals ...................................................................................................................... 14 Pre-fieldwork Training Session.............................................................................................. 15 Data Collection Phase ............................................................................................................ 15 RESULTS OF THE TEK COMPONENT.................................................................................... 16 Regional Overview of Koyukuk River Fishing Methods and Gear ........................................... 16 The Use of Fish Traps ............................................................................................................ 17 The Use of Nets...................................................................................................................... 25 The Use of Hook and Line ..................................................................................................... 31 Native Names and Taxonomy of Non-Salmon Fish................................................................... 32 Species Summaries .................................................................................................................... 35 Alaska Blackfish (Oonyeeyh)................................................................................................. 36 Arctic Grayling (Tleghelbaaye) ............................................................................................. 45 Burbot (Tl’eghes or Ts’oneye)................................................................................................ 52 Longnose Sucker (Toonts’ode) .............................................................................................. 63 Northern Pike (K’oolkkoye) ................................................................................................... 69 Sheefish (Ledlaaghe or Nedlaaghe)....................................................................................... 82 Whitefish (Ts’oł) .................................................................................................................... 89 Miscellaneous Other Fish..................................................................................................... 107 RESULTS OF THE 2002 HARVEST SURVEY....................................................................... 112 Overview of Current State and Federal Fishing Regulations ................................................. 113 Drainage-wide Harvest Overview........................................................................................... 114 Non-Salmon Harvests by Residents of Koyukuk...................................................................... 115 Non-Salmon Harvests by Residents of Huslia ......................................................................... 117 Non-Salmon Harvests by Residents of Hughes........................................................................ 118 Non-Salmon Harvests by Residents of Allakaket..................................................................... 120 Non-Salmon Harvests by Residents of Alatna ......................................................................... 121 Non-Salmon Harvests by Residents of Bettles/Evansville ....................................................... 122 DISCUSSION............................................................................................................................. 137 Implications for Fisheries Management.................................................................................. 142 CONCLUSIONS......................................................................................................................... 144 RECOMMENDATIONS............................................................................................................ 146 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS........................................................................................................ 149 LITERATURE CITED ............................................................................................................... 151 i LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Map of Koyukuk River Drainage……………………………………………………..2 LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Name and Age of Respondents by Community................................................................ 9 Table 2. Community Sampling and Participation Rates............................................................... 14 Table 3. Native language terms for various non-salmon fish species in the Koyukuk River drainage .................................................................................................................................. 34 Table 4. Estimated Pounds of Non-salmon fish Harvested in Koyukuk River Communities, 2002...................................................................................................................................... 124 Table 5. Estimated Harvest and Use of Fish, Koyukuk, 2002.................................................... 125 Table 6. Estimated Harvest of Non-salmon Fish by Month, Koyukuk, 2002. ........................... 126 Table 7. Estimated Harvest and Use of Fish, Huslia, 2002. ....................................................... 127 Table 8. Estimated Harvest of Non-salmon Fish by Month, Huslia, 2002................................. 128 Table 9. Estimated Harvest and Use of Fish, Hughes, 2002....................................................... 129 Table 10. Estimated Harvest of Non-salmon Fish by Month, Hughes, 2002. ............................ 130 Table 11. Estimated Harvest and Use of Fish, Allakaket, 2002. ................................................ 131 Table 12. Estimated Harvest of Non-salmon Fish by Month, Allakaket, 2002.......................... 132 Table 13. Estimated Harvest and Use of Fish, Alatna, 2002. ..................................................... 133 Table 14. Estimated Harvest of Non-salmon Fish by Month, Alatna, 2002............................... 134 Table 15. Estimated Harvest and Use of Fish, Bettles/Evansville, 2002.................................... 135 Table 16. Estimated Harvest of Non-salmon Fish by Month, Bettles/Evansville 2002. ............ 136 LIST OF PLATES Plate 1. Koyukuk fisherman Benedict Jones (center) maps fishing areas with researchers Dave Andersen (left) and Stanley Ned (right). Photo by Caroline Brown...................................... 11 Plate 2. Koyukuk River elder Celia Beetus, interviewed at her home in Hughes, January 2002. Photo by Dave Andersen........................................................................................................ 13 Plate 3. Traditional Koyukon fishtraps consisted of a tapered basket approximately 10 feet in length with a funnel-shaped entrance cone. An unidentified man constructs a fishtrap at Nulato in 1914. Drawing (archival image 502.6) and photo (archival image 510.10) by Jules Jetté and used with the permission of the Jesuit Oregon Province Archives, Gonzaga University............................................................................................................................... 18 ii Plate 4. Koyukuk elder Andrew Edwin (left) explains the setting of a wire-mesh blackfish trap to researcher Dave Andersen. Photo by Caroline Brown........................................................... 22 Plate 5. Sketch of an under-ice burbot trap (above) and entrance funnel detail (below). From interview notes with Steven Attla of Huslia and Henry Beatus of Hughes. .......................... 24 Plate 6. A fisherman pulls pike from his gillnet set in an ice-free channel of the Koyukuk River. Photo by Dave Andersen........................................................................................................ 25 Plate 7. A seine net is retrieved on an Alatna River gravel bar, October 2003. Photo by Dave Andersen................................................................................................................................. 29 Plate 8. Sketch of a traditional Koyukon dipnet or 'etl. From interview notes with Benedict and Eliza Jones of Koyukuk.........................................................................................................