Vol.:(0123456789)
1 3
Polar Biology (2018) 41:1217–1236
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-018-2279-4
ORIGINAL PAPER
Geographic and seasonal patterns of seabird subsistence harvest
in Alaska
Liliana C. Naves
1
Received: 14 July 2017 / Revised: 27 January 2018 / Accepted: 2 February 2018 / Published online: 9 February 2018
© Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2018
Abstract
Assessing seabird harvest sustainability is difficult because of limited information on harvest and on harvest impacts on
seabird populations. This study quantified seasonal harvest of seabirds and their eggs in all Alaska regions, addressed man-
agement and conservation questions, and identified topics where collaboration among stakeholders can support sustainable
harvest opportunities and promote seabird conservation. In 2002–2015, the estimated subsistence harvest of seabirds was
24,315 birds/year. Murres (33%), auklets (28%), gulls (16%), and cormorants (14%) represented most of the harvest. Alaska-
wide harvest patterns largely reflected harvest at the St. Lawrence–Diomede Islands, which represented 78% of the total
seabird harvest. The Alaska-wide seasonal distribution of harvest was 56% in spring, 20% summer, and 24% fall-winter.
The estimated egg harvest was 150,781 eggs/year and was largely composed of murres (51%) and gulls (45%) eggs. Harvest
of most species, including species of conservation concern, was low relative to population sizes. However, harvest of eggs
of terns may be significant compared to coastal egg productivity. A better understanding of threats to populations of terns
is needed to clarify conservation priorities and to engage subsistence users in conservation efforts. Despite indications of
reduced subsistence uses, harvesting of seabirds and their eggs remains culturally important and is a food security component
in remote communities in Alaska.
Keywords Seabird harvest · Seabird egg harvest · Subsistence · Harvest surveys · Harvest management · Seabird
conservation
Introduction
Seabirds and their eggs are harvested throughout the Arc-
tic and Subarctic. Harvest traditions include indigenous
and non-indigenous subsistence, sport (recreational), and
commercial harvest. Providing opportunities for subsist-
ence harvest is a seabird management goal in Alaska, and
harvest sustainability is a circumpolar conservation pri-
ority (Delinger and Wohl 2001; Merkel and Barry 2008;
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 2009). Seabird population
declines have been occurring due to competition for food
with commercial fisheries, mortality from fishing gear, envi-
ronmental and food web changes, pollution, and invasive
predators. Consequently, reduced harvest sustainability can
have further negative impacts on both seabird populations
and the harvesting communities (Croxall et al. 2012; Ege-
van et al. 2018). Mortality and indirect effects of harvest
imply survival and reproductive losses, but harvest impacts
on healthy seabird populations may be partially offset by
density-dependent processes (Moller 2006). Ultimately,
assessing harvest sustainability is challenging because of
limited information on harvest and on its impacts on seabird
populations.
Alaska Native (indigenous) peoples have used seabirds
and their eggs as subsistence and cultural resources for
thousands of years. Until the mid-1900s, seabirds provided
skins for clothing, bones for tools, and food for people and
sled dogs (Hughes 1984; Pratt 1990; Moss 2007; Corbett
2016). Currently, Alaska indigenous peoples use seabirds
mostly as human food and cultural resources and these uses
do not involve commercial trade. There are no sport and
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this
article (https ://doi.org/10.1007/s0030 0-018-2279-4) contains
supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
* Liliana C. Naves
liliana.naves@alaska.gov
1
Division of Subsistence, Alaska Department of Fish
and Game, 333 Raspberry Road, Anchorage, AK 99518,
USA
@Phil_Robichaud
@deepthiw
@JoseServera