— — OCS Study MMS 86-0037 U.S. Department of the Interior Technical Report — Number In — — — Social and Economic Studies Program Sponsor: Minerals Management Service Alaska Outer Continental Shelf Region — — — Effects of Renewable Resource Harvest Disruptions on Community Socioeconomic and Sociocultural Systems: King Cove Final Technical Report EFFECTS OF RENEWABLE RESOURCE HARVEST DISRUPTIONS ON COMMUNITY SOCIOECONOMIC AND SOCIOCULTURAL SYSTEMS: KING COVE for U.S. Department of the Interior Minerals Management Service Anchorage, Alaska (Contract 14-12-0001-30172) Prepared By Stephen R. Braund & Associates P.o, Box 1480 Anchorage, Alaska 99510 With LZH Associates — May 1986 NOTICE This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service, Alaska Outer Continental Shelf Region, in the interest of information exchange. The United States Government assumes no liability for its content or use thereof. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The study team wishes to gratefully acknowledge the residents of King Cove for their support and cooperation in this research endeavor. In addition, management personnel for the City of King Cove and Peter Pan Seafoods, Inc. cooperated extensively with this study, as did the staff of numerous other agencies and organizations supplying secondary data. Princi~al Authors: Stephen R. Braund David C. Burnham Lisa Moorehead Lynne Hale With assistance from Randall H. Hagenstein Timothy Holmes James Mahlum Monica Glen ABSTRACT — The goals of this research effort were twofold: first, to develop a thorough ethnographic baseline of the Alaska Peninsula community of King Cove; and second, to evaluate the impacts upon King Cove of two hypothetical harvest disruptions based on trends identified in the ethnographic baseline, analysis of past responses to harvest disruptions, and assumptions about future conditions and values upon which the disruption would be imposed. This report consists of the study team’s research findings following several months of fieldwork in King Cove and associated data analysis. The major conclusions are briefly summarized as follows: o King Cove is essentially a commercial fishing town. The majority of households depend on commercial fishing or cannery work for their income. The city government derives a significant portion of its revenues from taxes on the commercial fisheries and other fishing related sources. Without commercial fishing, King Cove’s cash economy would be virtually non-existent. “ o The commercial fishing industry in King Cove consists of a successful and interdependent fishing fleet and processing facility. King Cove fishermen skipper boats ranging from skiff size up to 58 foot limit seiners. Peter Pan Seafoods, Inc. owns the large, modern, and versatile processing facility located in the town. The contemporary fishing industry in King Cove is competitive and highly capitalized relative to other salmon fisheries in Alaska. o Salmon is the mainstay of the local commercial fisheries, with Tanner crab currently of secondary importance. Most King Cove fishermen received salmon permits under the limited entry program in 1975. Purse seining and drift gillnetting are the dominant gear types; few residents set gillnet. Salmon permits for this area have become among the most valuable in Alaska. Some fishermen have sold one permit (either their set or drift gillnet) to finance the gear for fishing another permit (e.g., purse seine permit). Among community members and relatives, a common permit transfer . 111 pattern is for a father to transfer his drift permit to his son so that his son has access to the fisheries while he, the father, purse seines. o Subsistence harvests by King Cove residents constitute approximately 60 percent of residents’ total meat, fish, and fowl consumption and 25 percent of their total diet. Caribou and salmon constitute approximately 65 percent of the subsistence harvest, while other marine fish and waterfowl are the third and fourth most important species in terms of quantities harvested. Caribou, waterfowl, and salmon are the three most preferred resources among King Cove residents. Incidental harvests of marine species during the commercial salmon and crab seasons supplement subsistence harvest activities that are concentrated during the fall but also occur throughout the year. Commercial fishing boats are used for many of the subsistence outings conducted by King Cove residents. o The study team identified five main values that are held in common by King Cove residents. These values express: the importance of commercial fishing as a livelihood; the importance of subsistence; the importance of the family; the importance of being progressive rather than regressive toward the goal of protecting and enhancing the local lifestyle; and the importance of local control over resources. o Under one harvest disruption scenario, a one year closure of the South Unimak June salmon fishery, local fishermen could lose up to one-third of their gross earnings. The cannery’s loss in revenues would result in an approximately 14 percent loss of city revenues. Additionally, local businesses would suffer from the depressed economy. This type of ● disruption would have multiple impacts upon those aspects of the community’s social and political organization that are linked to the fisheries and to the income generated from them. o Under a second harvest disruption scenario, resource harvests in an important harvest area would be curtailed indefinitely. This disruption, if geographically contained, would cause minor impacts upon the commercial fisheries with more major impacts upon residents’ subsistence practices - and the associated social and political aspects of these practices. iv — TABLE~CONTENTS EL&2 ABSTRACT. , . iii TABLE OF CONTENTS. ..v LISTOFTABLES. , . xi LISTOFFIGURES . xiii KEYTOACRONYMS . XV 1. INTRODUCTION . , . 1-1 PurposeoftheReport . 1-1 Community Selection. 1-1 Report Organization . , . 1-2 IL METHODOLOGY. ., . 2-1 Literature Review . , . 2-1 Other Secondary Data Sources . , . 2-2 FieldDataCollection . 2-5 Sampling Strategy . 2-5 Field Data Collection Methods . 2-7 Limitations to the Fieldwork . , . , . 2-10 111. STUDY AREA . .3-1 King Cove Physical Setting . .“. 3-1 Demography of King Cove... ...3-6 IV. HISTORY . .4-1 Pre-Contact Aleut Marine Orientation . 4-1 Russian Period .,...... .. 4-6 American Period . ...4-7 History of King Cove.... ...4-8 Commercial Fishing History . 4-13 Summary . ...4-19 v. OVERVIEW OF THE KING COVE ECONOMY. 5-1 Employment and Income in King Cove. , . 5-1 Dependency of the City’s Budget on the Commercial Fishing Industry . .. 5-4 Economic Profile Summary.. 5-7 VI. COMMERCIAL FISHING AND PROCESSING . 6-1 . The Contemporary Industry. .6-1 Interdependence of King Cove Fishermen and Peter Pan Seafoods, Inc. 6-.4 Major Issues Facing King Cove Fishermen . 6-7 Commercial Fishing Strategies . 6-11 Combinations of Permits Fished . I 1 n I 1 I 1 : 1 1 j I . 6-12 Trends . .. 6-15 Salmon Fishing . .6-16 Salmon Limited Entry . .. 6-16 Permit Transfers . .. 6-17 v Salmon Fishing Techniques and Strategies . , 6.-22 Fishing Grounds . .. 6-24 King Cove FIeet Salmon Catches and Earnings . 6-27 Species Composition . ..6-27 Geographic Location of the Catch . 6-31 Catch and Earnings by Gear Type . , . 6-31 Geographic Location of Salmon Catch by Gear Type and Species . 6-34 Catch and Earnings by lnclivid~als . 6-37 King Cove Fleet Performance Compared to Other Alaska Peninsula Fishermen . ..6-37 Summary, ...,..... ..6-40 Expenses . ...6-41 Capital Costs . ,6-42 Operating Expenses . ..6-42 Fixed Costs, . .. ,6-44 Markets . ..6-46 Fish Prices . ..+. ... - 6-48 Salmon Management . 6-49 Tanner Crab Fishing . ...6-49 Overview . ...”.... ..6-49 The1985Tanner Crab Season . ...6-50 Fishing Vessels and Gear . ...6.53 Fishing Grounds . .6..54 Earnings . .’ . .+ 6-54 (hew . .(j-fjj’ Other Expenses . .6-57 Factors Contributing to Relative Vessel Success in 1985 . 6-57 Tanner Crab Management . ...6-59 — Halibut . ..6-60 Herring . ..6-63 Fish Processing . ...6-65 Overview . ...6-65 Species Processed . .. 6-66 Employ meri t . ..6-70 Final Markets . ..6-74 Summary . ...6--74 VII. SUBSISTENCE ...,.... ..7-1 Local Dependence on Renewable Resources . 7-1 King Cove Residents’ Perceptions of LocaI Resource Use . , . 7-3 Level of Community Participation . 7-5 The Natural Environment.. ...7-5 The Maritime Influence . ..7-5 Seasonality . .7-6 Subsistence Economics . ...7-8 Linkages Between Commercial and Subsistence Harvest Activities . 7-8 Concurrent Commercial and Subsistence Harvest Efforts t . 7-9 The Economic Value of Shared Harvest Equipment . 7-10 Assessment of Subsistence Effort During Commercial Activities . 7-11 Direct Annual Costs of Some Subsistence Harvest Equipment . 7-11 Subsistence Harvest Areas . 7-14 Maximum Use Subsistence Harvest Area . 7-14 The Generally Used Subsistence Harvest Area for King Cove . 7-16 Concentrated Subsistence Harvest Areas . , . 7-17 vi — Locally Harvested Renewable Resources . 7-17 Marine . 7-20 Salmon . ,. 7-20 Other Marine Fish . 7-21 Crab . 7-25 Marine Mammals. , . 7-27 Coastal . 7-30 Waterfowl . 7-30 Mollusks . 7-33 Trout . 7-35 Terrestrial . , 7-36 Caribou . 7-36 Cattle, . 7-40 Berries and Plants . ~ . 7-40 Seasonal Round . , . 7-42 Local Consumption of Renewable Resources . 7-42 Harvest Quantities . , . 7-44 Species Preference . 7-47 Economic and Dietary Importance of Local Foods . 7-47 Valuation of Subsistence Harvests . 7-47 Total Diet . 7-55 Cultural Linkages in Subsistence Harvest Activities . 7-57 Preparation and Storage Methods . 7-59 The Division of Labor Related to Subsistence Food Pre~aration . 7-59 Kinship and Social Relations in Subsistence Harvest A~tivities . 7-59.