Division of Subsistence, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Anchorage, Alaska, United States of America.
Division of Wildlife Conservation, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Anchorage, Alaska, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2024 Jul 25;19(7):e0307135. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0307135. eCollection 2024.
We estimated the annual harvest of waterfowl and Sandhill Crane Grus canadensis and their eggs by Alaska's rural residents and described seasonal and geographic patterns. Subsistence in Alaska refers to patterns of resource use typical of rural, remote regions where Indigenous people are a high proportion of the population. Rural communities in Alaska rely on the legally-allowed spring-summer harvest of migratory birds for food and socio-cultural wellbeing, in addition to harvests in the fall-winter general hunting season. We based harvest estimates on a large dataset (637 community-years) composed from multiple sources. The estimated annual average harvest of waterfowl and Sandhill Crane by rural residents was 270,641 birds/year (68% in spring-summer, 32% in fall-winter) and 36,692 eggs/year in the 2004-2015 reference period. Harvest estimates for ducks, swans, and Sandhill Crane were lower than in the 1980s-1990s. Harvest amounts, seasonality, and species composition distinguished regional patterns for the Pacific-Aleutian mainland and islands, Bering Sea mainland, St. Lawrence-Diomede islands, North Slope, and Interior Alaska-Upper Copper River. Rural residents accounted for 79% of the total waterfowl harvest in Alaska and high proportions of the total Pacific Flyway harvest for several species of sea ducks, geese, swans, and Sandhill Crane. Alaska's Indigenous people are important partners in harvest management and conservation of migratory birds. Harvest data are needed to inform efficient and appropriate decisions to achieve management goals. This study can facilitate collaboration for harvest management and conservation across Alaska and the flyways by helping diverse users to understand their contributions to the total harvest.
我们估算了阿拉斯加农村居民每年对水禽和沙丘鹤（Grus canadensis）及其卵的捕获量，并描述了季节性和地理模式。阿拉斯加的生计是指在农村和偏远地区典型的资源利用模式，这些地区的人口中土著居民比例较高。除了秋季-冬季的一般狩猎季节外，阿拉斯加的农村社区还依靠合法允许的春季-夏季候鸟收获来获取食物和社会文化福利。我们的捕获量估计基于一个由多个来源组成的大型数据集（637 个社区年）。在 2004-2015 年的参考期内，农村居民每年平均捕获的水禽和沙丘鹤数量估计为 270641 只（68%在春季-夏季，32%在秋季-冬季）和 36692 枚卵。与 20 世纪 80 年代至 90 年代相比，鸭、天鹅和沙丘鹤的捕获量有所下降。收获量、季节性和物种组成区分了太平洋-阿留申大陆和岛屿、白令海大陆、圣劳伦斯-迪奥梅德群岛、北坡和阿拉斯加内陆-上铜河的区域模式。农村居民占阿拉斯加水禽总捕获量的 79%，并且在几种海鸭、鹅、天鹅和沙丘鹤的太平洋飞行路线总捕获量中占很高比例。阿拉斯加的土著居民是候鸟收获管理和保护的重要合作伙伴。收获数据对于实现管理目标的高效和适当决策是必要的。本研究可以通过帮助不同的用户了解他们对总捕获量的贡献，促进阿拉斯加和飞行路线上的收获管理和保护合作。
