Local weather change threatens seal looking by indigenous Alaskans – is that clear?

Peer-reviewed publication

UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA FAIRBANKS

PICTURE: IN KOTZEBUE SOUND, A BEARDED SEAL SITS ON THE ICE EDGE. See More CREDIT: PHOTO BY JESSIE LINDSAY, NMFS MMPA PERMIT NO. 19309.

Climate change has greatly reduced the length of time it takes to hunt seals in a rural Alaskan village, potentially threatening an important feature of the community’s indigenous way of life.

The Iñupiaq of Kotzebue people have been dependent on bearded seals, called ugruk in Iñupiaq, for food and clothing for generations. A new study led by indigenous hunters, the indigenous village of Kotzebue, and scientists from the University of Alaska Fairbanks shows that the seal hunting season has shrunk by about one day per year over the past 17 years. The decline in sea ice is a major contributor to the shrinking season.

Both Ugruk and Hunter are closely tied to certain sea ice conditions. In spring, Ugruk follow the melting ice edge of the Chukchi Sea as they break up to the north and penetrate into the Kotzebue Sound. Inside the sound, Ugruk rest on stubborn chunks of floating ice called plaice while they feed on abundant fish, shrimp and mussels.

“Kotzebue Sound provides an important spring habitat for bearded seals, with ice floes serving as platforms for seals to rest on between foraging,” said Donna Hauser, marine mammal biologist at UAF International Arctic Research Center and co-director of research. “We learned from our Kotzebue research partners that hunting Ugruk is actually like hunting the right kind of ice.”

Hunters in the past found Ugruk safe and predictable on these resting platforms. The study combined the hunters’ knowledge of the ice conditions required for Ugruk hunting with data from satellite imagery. The results showed that the necessary ice floes from the Kotzebue Sound are now melting around 22 days earlier than in 2003, the first year of the study.

“When I was growing up in the 1950s, we hunted Ugruk until July,” said Bobby Schaeffer, a Kotzebue elder, hunter and co-author of the new newspaper. “People were outside during the July 4th celebrations because there was so much ice cream. Now we’re sometimes done before June arrives. “

While the hunting season ends an average of 26 days earlier than in the past, hunters may not necessarily be able to start earlier. The start time of the season is determined by the arrival of seals and a hunter’s ability to launch boats through a channel in the ice that opens off Kotzebue.

Shortening the hunting season to a shorter time window means less flexibility for hunters.

“Some years only have a good weekend or two, and if people want to maximize their chance they need to prepare before the season even starts,” said Alex Whiting, director of the Native Village of Kotzebue environmental program and co-director the research.

Whiting’s weekly observations of local weather, Ugruk activity, and the hunting activities of Kotzebue residents helped quantify the shrinking Ugruk hunting season.

Whiting said he was inspired to start a diary in 2002 after reading records on Alaska from the early 1900s.

“When you’re living in the present, the daily activities don’t seem particularly remarkable or noteworthy,” explains Whiting. “But I understood that over time they would be useful and that things change quickly, and it would be great to have a record of them.”

Despite the shrinking season, Whiting tribal records show that crop success has not changed much. Instead, the nature of the hunting experience has changed. Earlier ice floes were large and complex, and hunters had to search long and far to find Ugruk. Now, with less ice, hunters typically make shorter, more frequent trips.

Hunters noticed that Ugruk apparently changed their behavior as well. They often gather in large groups on the scarce ice floes. The spring of 2019 caught the eye of hunters and scientists because the Kotzebue Sound was almost ice-free. Hundreds of Ugruk gathered on a few clods near Kotzebue. The hunting success was high and the effort low.

Hunters fear that the Ugruk and ice floes could be further away from Kotzebue over wide open water areas in the coming years, increasing the risk for boaters and reducing their chance of a successful hunt.

This research was part of a larger collaborative project called Ikaaġvik Sikukun that also included researchers from Columbia University, the University of Washington, and Farthest North Films. Other co-authors are Andy Mahoney, John Goodwin, Cyrus Harris, Ross Schaeffer Sr., Nathan Laxague, Ajit Subramaniam, Carson Witte, Sarah Betcher, Jessica Lindsay and Chris Zappa.

DIARY

Environmental research letters

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac1a36

RESEARCH SUBJECT

Inapplicable

ITEM HEADING

The co-production of knowledge shows the loss of indigenous hunting opportunities in the face of accelerating climate change in the Arctic

ITEM RELEASE DATE

August 24, 2021

From EurekAlert!

2.3
3
voices

Item rating

Like this:

To like Loading…

Comments are closed.