Arctic Observation Network Social Indicators Project: Subsistence
The Arctic Observation Network (AON) Social Indicators Project (OPP0638408) is intended to contribute to the development of the Arctic Observation Network and to the science goals of the Study of Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH) in two ways: (1) develop and make available to the science community relevant datasets; and (2) identify gaps in the existing observation system and recommend appropriate actions to fill those gaps. The SEARCH Implementation Plan identified the following arenas of human activity likely to involve climate-human interactions: (1) subsistence hunting; (2) tourism; (3) resource development and marine transportation; and (4) commercial fishing. This paper seeks to develop and assess subsistence datasets in arctic North America.
The project's Alaska-Northern Canada subsistence database consists of 1,521 place/year records of which 631 records include estimates of harvest of all resources as well as harvests of specific resources. Separate harvest reports are available for 131 species and seven resource categories (e.g., large land mammals, salmon) as well as total harvest. Harvests are expressed as kilograms of edible harvest per capita. There is no existing network of comprehensive harvest studies in arctic North America. Analysis of 631 comprehensive community harvest surveys shows that measuring harvests of top ten species in each community accounts for a mean of 90 percent of total harvest. This finding has major implications for the feasibility of conducting economical, targeted harvest surveys in communities participating in the AON network. The paper recommends international pilot testing of targeted harvest surveys in collaboration with participating communities. This approach can be part of a community-based observation network.
