The subsistence harvest of migratory birds in Alaska

This report describes the contemporary subsistence harvests of migratory birds in Alaska during the mid-to-late 198Os, based on harvest survey information primarily collected by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The report covers known harvest levels, total estimated harvest levels expanded to unsurveyed communities, seasonality of harvests, geographic distribution of harvests, and the role of migratory birds in the culture and economy of Alaska Native communities. Subsistence information derives from systematic random household harvest surveys conducted in 151 rural Alaska communities, representing a 59.0 percent sample of rural communities containing 69.7 percent of the rural population. In Alaska Native communities, surveys were conducted with the approval and assistance of regional tribal organizations and local governments. The report compares the subsistence harvest with migratory bird harvests by hunters from Alaska urban areas, based on state waterfowl stamp surveys administered by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Based on these data sources, the total estimated annual harvest of migratory birds in Alaska during the mid-to-late 1980s was about 363,364 birds: 84,608 geese (23.3 percent), 259,741 ducks (71.5 percent), 5,955 cranes (1.6 percent), 6,894 swans (1.9 percent), and 6,166 “other migratory birds” (primarily shore and sea birds) (1.7 percent). Bird harvests by hunters from ntral communities comprised 84.6 percent of the total Alaska harvest. Harvests by hunters from urban communities comprised 15.4 percent of the annual take. The annual rural subsistence harvestof migratory birds during the mid-to-late 1980s was about 307,242 birds: 79,655 geese (25.9 percent), 210,448 ducks (68.5 percent), 5,283 cranes (1.7 percent), 6,894 swans (2.2 percent), and 4,962 “other migratory birds” (1.6 percent). The annual estimated subsistence harvest of migratory bird eggs in Alaska was 83,603 eggs, of which the majority were gull eggs (68.6 percent) or “other sea bird” eggs (15.8 percent). The subsistence bird harvest provided about 762,000 lbs of food to rural areas annually (including about 13,000 lbs of eggs), or about 7 lbs of food per rural resident (2.8 birds per rural resident). Generally, migratory birds comprised from 1 to 4 percent of a rural community’s annual wild food harvests by weight. For most rural communities, bird harvests were found to occur during traditional seasons which are timed in accordance with the availability of birds in traditional harvest territories rather than current federal or state hunting seasons. Spring, late summer (August), fall, and winter hunting periods are all common, depending upon the community and region. Based on reporting areas, 51.4 percent of the rural subsistence migratory bird harvest was taken during a “spring” period, 4.4 percent during a “mid-summer” period, and 44.3 percent during a “late summer-fall-winter” period. Migratory birds were harvested in all rural areas, but total and mean harvest levels varied substantially between communities and areas. Mean per capita harvests of migratory birds were statistically .higlier in areas whose populations contained larger proportions of Alaska Natives. The three top ranked areas in terms of per capita bird harvests were the primarily Athabaskan Indian communities of the Yukon-Koyukuk-Lower Tanana area (19.1 lbs of birds per person, or 8.2 birds per person); the Inupiat-Yup’ik Eskimo communities of the Seward Peninsula-Norton Sound Area (18.1 lbs of birds per person, or 6.2 birds per person); and the Yup’ik Eskimo communities of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta (16.1 lbs of birds per person, or 5.3 birds per person). The largest subsistence migratory bird egg harvests occurred in the Alutiiq communities of the Alaska Peninsula (5.1 eggs per person). In predominantly Alaska Native communities, most households were found to harvest migratory birds. Participation rates in predominantly non-Native rural areas tended to be lower. The percent of community households using migratory birds was higher than those harvesting due to the non-commercial distribution of birds between households along kinship lines. A conservative estimate of about 12,000 hunters harvested migratory birds in rural Alaska areas annually during mid-to-late 198Os, if one assumes one hunter in each household that reported taking migratory birds in surveyed communities. However, systematic counts of bird hunters in rural areas have never been made, and the actual number of hunters is probably somewhat higher than this minimum estimate. At least 32 types of birds species were harvested by rural hunters. The types of birds harvested showed substantial variation across communities and areas. Harvests levels by species and seasons have been recorded for only a few communities and remain essentially undocumented. Based on reporting communities, the three top-ranked duck species were mallard, scoter, and pintail, and the three top-ranked geese species were large Canada geese, cackling Canada geese, and snow geese. The report’s tindings indicate that the largest use of birds in Alaska during the mid-tolate 1980s were subsistence uses by rural Alaska communities, the greatest proportion of which are taken in predominantly Alaska Native areas. Alaska’s subsistence bird harvest was five times larger than Alaska’s urban bird harvest. Currently, the traditional subsistence bird harvest remains outside international management regimes. To bring this traditional use into the migratory bird management system will require innovative restructuring of current management regimes. Amending the 1916 international treaty to recognize subsistence uses is a first step, but by itself, this probably will not result in the inclusion of indigenous northern groups into the international bird management system. Developing one or more Subsistence Migratory Bird Committees with representation from each subsistence region may be a useful step toward bringing Alaska subsistence users into the international bird management system.