Nunivak Island Subsistence Cod, Red Salmon and Grayling Fisheries - past and present

Title: Nunivak Island Subsistence Cod, Red Salmon and Grayling Fisheries - past and present.
Geographic Area : Kuskokwim
Information Type: Harvest Monitoring and Traditional Ecological Knowledge (HM/TEK)

Principal Investigators: Robert M. Drozda
Consultant
1125 Powellite Drive
Fairbanks , Alaska 99712
(907)457-2773; email: fnrmd1@uaf.edu

Co-Investigator: Howard T. Amos
Executive Director, Nuniwarmiut Piciryarata Tamaryalkuti, Inc.
P.O. Box 26 , Mekoryuk , AK 99630
(907)827-8823; email: pantungan@yahoo.com

Issue
Information on the traditional and customary use of Pacific cod, red salmon and Arctic grayling by Nunivak Islanders as well as availability and locations of these subsistence resources is poorly documented. The Yukon-Kuskokwim Regional Advisory Council has identified long term trends and sources of variation of important subsistence species as an information need. This project addresses these concerns and will provide baseline data for comparative future studies. 

Objectives
1. Accurately record and map 11 traditional cod fishing areas.
2. Survey fish campers regarding codfish catch at various locations.
3. Survey commercial halibut fishers who use the Mekoryuk fish plant regarding cod by-catch.
4. Conduct literature/internet search relevant to Nunivak Pacific cod, red salmon and grayling.
5. Review Nunivak oral history records, develop context for cod, grayling and red salmon.
6. Identify archives and museums with holdings relevant to Nunivak Island.
7. Conduct interviews and/or surveys with key informants on the historic and contemporary use of the Pacific cod, red salmon and grayling subsistence economy of Nunivak Island.
8. Write a narrative report including a comprehensive bibliography.
9. Publish results and report project design and progress on NPT, Inc website (www.nunivakisland.org).
10. Prepare draft text for local school natural/cultural resource curriculum. 

Methods
Conduct background research using standard library, archival and internet search procedures. Develop survey questionnaire in consultation with subsistence specialists and fisheries biologists. Survey fishers at fish camps and Mekoryuk processing plant. Travel by boat to fishing locations and document sites with GPS and depthfinder. We will partner with the UAF Kuskokwim Campus, NIMA Corporation and USFWS Yukon Delta Refuge at the Ellikarrmiut ( Nash Harbor ) Science camp in developing research that is useful to students and scientists is successive years. 

Products
-Oral history tapes and/or survey results and research findings for deposit in the University of Alaska , Fairbanks Archives and local NPT repository.
- Narrative report that summarizes methods and study findings with an interpretation of the results.
-Draft text for Nuniwarmiut School natural resource curriculum.
-Web based progress reports and results at www.nunivakisland.org.
- Maps of Nunivak Island showing cod, red salmon, and graying fishing areas and major fish camps.

Experience of Investigators
Robert Drozda has 18 years of experience working with the residents of Nunivak Island on matters of historic preservation, cultural heritage and Native language continuance. He has conducted research into historical places and cemetery sites, assisted in the documentation of geographic place names, and developed and maintains the nunivakisland.org website.
Howard Amos is a Native Nunivak Islander (Cup'ig Eskimo). He is an advocate and practitioner of the traditional knowledge, skills, and values of his elders, as well as a subsistence user and commercial fisher in the Bering Sea . Currently the Director of NPT Inc., the village cultural heritage programs office, Amos serves on several boards in the community and region including the Nuniwarmiut School Board, IRA Council and Coastal Villages Region Fund Board of Directors.

Partnerships/Collaboration
This project will proceed with the endorsement of the Native Village Mekoryuk IRA Council. Interviews and/or surveys will be conducted by local residents and shared with community members. Results of the study will be distributed to the University of Alaska Rasmuson Library for public access and via the world wide web. Work will be conducted in conjunction with ongoing village based cultural, natural history and Native language preservation projects and will partner with University of Alaska Kuskokwim Campus , Lower Kuskokwim School District , NIMA Village Corporation, and commercial fishery corporations operating in the Bering Sea .