2012 (Representative year)
Title: The harvest and use of wild resources in Haines, Hoonah, Angoon, Whale Pass, and Hydaburg, Alaska, 2012
Authors: Lauren A. Sill; David Koster (editors)
Summary: This report summarizes the results of research conducted on the 2012 harvests and uses of wild foods by 5 communities in Southeast Alaska. Between January and April 2013, eligible households in Haines, Hoonah, Angoon, Whale Pass, and Hydaburg answered questions about their harvest and use of fish, wildlife, and wild plants in 2012. During the 2012 study year, most households of the study communities relied on wild resources—obtained through sharing, hunting, fishing, or wild food gathering—for nutrition and to support their way of life. Total estimated harvests of wild foods for the 5 study communities were: 260,034 usable pounds (135 lb per capita) in Haines, 251,365 usable pounds (343 lb per capita) in Hoonah, 62,416 usable pounds (183 lb per capita) in Angoon, 13,656 usable pounds (247 lb per capita) in Whale Pass, and 176,310 usable pounds (531 lb per capita) in Hydaburg. Results indicate that the use, harvest, and sharing of wild resources remains important to these Southeast Alaska communities, despite changing demographics. Estimated harvests appear to have slightly decreased in Haines, Hoonah, and Angoon and slightly increased in Whale Pass and Hydaburg, but none of the differences are likely significant. Funding for the study was provided through the Alaska State Legislature as one component of an overall index community program, the purpose of which is to develop and implement a program to monitor subsistence harvests of fish and wildlife in all areas of the state through a system of index communities.