| Summary: | From the original 1998 abstract for the project: The Restoration Plan identifies four services as lost or reduced by the oil spill -- subsistence, commercial fishing, recreation/tourism, and passive use. In preparation for the 10 Years After symposium, the recovery status of each of these services will be updated. Most of the work will take place in FY 99. However, providing startup costs for the subsistence component in FY 98 will allow a planning workshop to be held, the survey instrument to be finalized, and community approvals for the survey to be obtained this summer. This schedule will allow the survey itself to begin in October 1998. A final report will be prepared in February 1999; results will also be presented at the 10 Years After symposium in March 1999. [NOTE: This project was approved by the Trustee Council June 8, 1998. In the court request, these funds are shown as an addition to 98052A rather than as the separate project 98471]. From the Restoration Project Final Report produced in 2004: The project updated information about subsistence harvests in 15 communities in order to evaluate the status of this injured natural resource service. In total, 544 households were interviewed. Subsistence harvests in 2003 averaged about 350 pounds per person and included a diverse range of species. Most households used, harvested, and shared wild foods. While overall community harvests approximated pre-spill estimates, about half the households reported lower total subsistence uses than before the spill and 39 percent blamed spill effects for continuing lower uses of at least one resource. Many respondents reported increased effort to harvest resources due to scarcities and competition. Confidence in eating clams is very low or eroding in eight study communities due to concerns about paralytic shellfish poisoning and spill effects. There were ambiguous findings regarding the role of elders and whether youth are learning subsistence skills. Respondents were often uncertain about the link between changes in their communities and the oil spill. Overall, 72 percent of respondents said that the traditional way of life has not recovered from the spill. The spill is an example of a technological disaster that is prolonged, difficult to interpret, and changes both the natural and social environments. Notes from David Koster in June 2013: While the raw data is protected as confidential under AS16.05.815, publicly available data on subsistence use can be found on the Alaska Department of Fish and Game's Community Subsistence Information System (CSIS) at http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/sb/CSIS/. Specific data requests from the EVOSTC-funded project can be placed with David Koster on a case-by-case basis. Data agreements would require that the data be reported only in aggregate format, the division have the opportunity to participate, and the data must be returned to the division upon completion of the specific research project covered under the agreement. Some aggregated data could also be gleaned from the final report.
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