Subsistence and commercial fisheries through the lenses of culture and economy in three coastal Alaskan communities

• Main Author: Holen, Davin L.
• Other Authors: Schweitzer, Peter, Carothers, Courtney, Koester, David, Morrow, Phyllis, Shannon, Kerrie-Ann
• Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 2017
• Subjects: Fairbanks; Kodiak; Alaska
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11122/7609

Dissertation (Ph.D.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2017 Commercial and subsistence fisheries in Alaska are complex social-ecological systems constituting interdependent components which include economics and culture at the local and regional levels. Each fishery has unique challenges and benefits; however, a commonality that can be found in coastal communities in Alaska is that salmon fisheries are for many a way of life that serve to link commercial and subsistence practices to family and traditions. This research investigated whether and how culture is a key component of subsistence and commercial fisheries in three core study communities in different parts of coastal Alaska; Chenega Bay in Prince William Sound, Kokhanok in Bristol Bay, and Tyonek in Cook Inlet, and includes summary research findings from 12 comparative communities on the south side of the Alaska Peninsula, Kodiak Island, and Southeast Alaska. The research sought to understand 1) how people in different areas of Alaska articulate the role of subsistence fisheries in their communities, 2) what factors are impacting participation in commercial fisheries, and 3) what methods could be used to assess the resilience and vulnerability of such diverse coastal communities in Alaska. Among the factors investigated in each community were the role of local level politics and how local knowledge is passed down through participation in subsistence salmon fishing activities. To examine methodologies for assessing community vulnerability and resilience within a larger system, quantitative data gathered through household surveys was used to provide a basic statistical assessment of the economic and subsistence landscape of coastal communities in Alaska. But it was through in-depth semistructured interviews, during which residents shared their own personal stories, that a broader, more accurate assessment of resilience and the complexity of community-based fisheries was achieved. During household harvest surveys administered in the core study and ...