Arctic Region Human Use of Fish and Wildlife

635 Pages·2011·7.99 MB·English

Habitat Guide
Alas~a Man~ement
Arctic
ge~ion
Volume II:
D~Uibution,Abundance,and
Human Use of and Wildlife
F~h
Produced by
State of Alaslul Department of Fish and Game
Division of Habitat
•
Juneau, AJaslla
1986
©t986BYTHE
ALASKA DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME
Contents
DISTRIBUTION AND ABUNDANCE OF SELECTED
FISH AND WILDLIFE
Wildlife
Marine Manmals
Belukha whale 3
Regionwide 3
Beaufort Sea 3
Chukchi and Bering seas 4
Bowhead whale 11
Regi onwi de 11
Pacific walrus 19
Regionwide 19
Polar bear 27
Regionwide 27
Northern Alaska subpopulation 31
Western Alaska subpopulation 32
Ringed seal 35
Regionwide 35
Terrestrial Mammals
Brown bear 41
Regionwide 41
Caribou 49
Regionwide 49
Porcupine Herd (PH) 91
Central Arctic Herd (CAH) 93
Western Arctic Herd (WAH) 95
Teshepuk Herd (TH) 97
Da 11 sheep
Regionwide 107
GMU 23 110
GMU 24 112
GMU 25A 113
GMU 26C 114
GMU 26B 115
GMU 26A 115
Moose
Regi onwi de 119
GMU 22 122
GMU 23 123
GMU 26 124
iii

Contents (continued)
Birds
Ducks and geese 131
Regionwide 131
Arctic slope area 136
Seward Peninsula/Kotzebue Sound 143
Fish
Freshwater/Anadromous Fish
Arctic char/Dolly Varden 153
Regionwide 153
Seward Peninsula-Norton Sound Area 157
Northwest Alaska Area 157
North Slope Brooks Range Area 159
Arctic grayling
Regionwide 173
Seward Peninsula-Norton Sound Area 176
Northwest Alaska Area 176
North Slope Brooks Range Area 177
Broad whitefish 181
Regionwide 181
Seward Peninsula-Norton Sound Area 187
Northwest Alaska Area 187
North Slope Brooks Range Area 187
Lake trout 193
Regionwide 193
Seward Peninsula-Norton Sound Area 195
Northwest Alaska Area 195
North Slope Brooks Range Area 196
Least cisco 199
Regionwide 199
Sheefish 203
Regionwide 203
Salmon 207
Regionwide 207
Norton Sound District 209
Port Clarence District 214
Kotzebue District 215
Northern District 217
Marine Fish
Arctic cod 225
Regionwide 225
Capelin 229
Regionwide 229
Pacific herring 233
Regionwide 233
Norton Sound District 234
Port Clarence-Kotzebue District 236
iv
Contents (continued)
Saffron cod 239
Regionwide 239
Starry flounder 243
Regionwide 243
Shellfish
King crab 247
Regionwide 247
Norton Sound Section 248
St. Matthew and St. Lawrence islands sections 249
Tanner crab 253
Regional overview 253
Distribution and abundance 253
Management history and reported use 255
HUMAN USE OF SELECTED FISH AND WILDLIFE
Hunti~
Brown bear 261
Regionwide 261
GMU 22 261
GMU 23 265
GMU 26 267
Caribou 271
Central Arctic Herd 271
Western Arctic Herd 274
Porcupine Herd 282
Dall Sheep 289
GMU 23 291
GMU 26A 294
GMU 268 297
GMU 26C 299
Moose 303
GMU 22 303
GMU 23 308
GMU 26 311
Commercial Fishinq
Capelin 317
Regionwide 317
Pacific herring 319
Regionwide 319
Norton Sound District 320
Kotzebue and Port Clarence districts 326
t7
Contents (continued)
';.i
Salmon 329
Norton Sound District 332
Kotzebue District 350
Port Clarence District 356
King crab 363
Management history 363
Norton Sound Section 368
St. Matthew and St. Lawrence islands sections 371
Tanner crab
Regional overview 253
Sportfish~
Management history 377
Alaska statewide sport fish harvest program 378
Regional harvest summary 380
Harvest survey areas 381
Seward Peninsula-Norton Sound Area 381
Northwest Alaska Area 384
North Slope Brooks Range Area 385
Subsistence and Other Local Use of Resources
Subregional Narratives
Bering Strait/Norton Sound 415
Kotzebue Sound 471
North Slope 535
Appendices
A. Directory of Reviewers and Contributors 591
B. Abbreviations 593
C. Wildlife Management Goals and Objectives 595
D. Sea Ice 601
Volume I contains narratives on the life histories and habitat requirements of selected
species of fish and wildlife.
vi
Maps
Wildlife Distribution and Abundance
Marine Manmals
Bowhead whale
1. General pattern of seasonal movements of the western arctic
population of bowhead whales 14
Polar bear
1. Average seasonal range of polar bears 28
Terrestrial Mammals
Brown bear
1. Game management units in the Arctic Region 42
Caribou
1. Approximate ranges of arctic caribou herds 50
2. Calving grounds of the Porcupine Herd, 1972 52
3. Calving grounds of the Porcupine Herd, 1973 53
4. Calving grounds of the Porcupine Herd, 1974 54
5. Calving grounds of the Porcupine Herd, 1975 55
6. Calving grounds of the Porcupine Herd, 1976 56
7. Calving grounds of the Porcupine Herd, 1977 57
8. Calving grounds of the Porcupine Herd, 1978 58
9. Calving grounds of the Porcupine Herd, 1979 59
10. Calving grounds of the Porcupine Herd, 1980 60
11. Calving grounds of the Porcupine Herd, 1981 61
12. Calving grounds of the Porcupine Herd, 1982 62
13. Calving grounds of the Porcupine Herd, 1983 63
14. Calving grounds of the Porcupine Herd, 1984 64
15. Primary winter range of the Porcupine Herd south of the
Brooks Range in Alaska 65
16. Principal Canadian wintering areas for the Porcupine Caribou
Herd (1972-1980) 66
17. Calving areas of the Western Arctic Herd, 1975 73
18. Calving areas of the Western Arctic Herd, 1976 74
19. Calving areas of the Western Arctic Herd, 1977 75
20. Calving areas of the Western Arctic Herd, June, 1978 76
21. Distribution of calving of the Western Arctic Herd, 1979 77
22. Distribution of calving of the Western Arctic Herd, 1980 78
23. Distribution of calving of the Western Arctic Herd, 1981 79
24. Spring migration routes from the primary wintering areas in
Canada for the Porcupine Herd 84
25. Spring migration route for Porcupine caribou wintering south
of the Brooks Range 85
Dall sheep
1. GMUs in the Arctic Region 108
2. GMU 23 sheep aerial survey areas 111
Moose
1. GMUs in the Arctic Region 120
vii
Maps (continued)
Birds
Ducks and geese
1. The USFWS Alaska waterfowl breeding population survey strata
132
Fish Distribution and Abundance
Freshwater/Anadromous Fish
Arctic char/Dolly Varden
1. Arctic Region sport fish survey areas 154
Arctic grayling
1. Arctic Region sport fish survey areas 174
Broad whitefish
1. Arctic, Western, and Interior regions sport fish survey areas
182
Lake trout
1. Arctic Region sport fish survey areas 194
Marine Fish
Tanner crab
1. Tanner crab fishing subdistricts and sections of the Bering
Sea District in Statistical Area J 254
Hunt in~
Brown bear
1. Game management units in the Arctic Region 262
Caribou
1. Game management units in the Arctic Region 272
Dall sheep
1. Game management units in the Arctic Region 290
Moose
1. Game management units in the Arctic Region 304
Commercial Fishin~
Herring
1. Herring commercial fishing subdistricts of the Norton Sound
District 321
Salmon
1. Commercial salmon fisheries management areas and districts of
the Arctic Region 330
2. Commercial salmon fishing districts and subdistricts of the
Norton Sound-Port Clarence Management Area 333
3. Commercial salmon fishing subdistricts of the Kotzebue
District 351
viii
Maps (continued)
4. Statistical areas of commercial salmon fishing, Subdistrict 1
of the Kotzebue District 352
King crab
1. King crab fishing districts and sections of Statistical
Area Q 364
Tanner crab
1. Tanner crab fishing subdistricts and sections of the Bering
Sea District in Statistical Area J 254
Sportfishill\l
1. Arctic Region sport fish survey areas 379
Subsistence and Other Local Use of Resources
Subregions
Bering Strait/Norton Sound
1. The Arctic Region and its three subregions 416
2. The Bering Strait/Norton Sound subregion and the communities
discussed in this narrative 417
Kotzebue Sound
1. The Arctic Region and its three subregions 472
2. Locations of northwest Alaskan Eskimo societies 473
3. Location of Eskimo societies in the Kotzebue Sound subregion
ca. 1816-1842 482
North Slope
1. The Arctic Region and its three subregions 537
2. The North Slope subregion and the communities discussed in
this narrative 538
3. North Slope eskimo society territories, ca. 1840 540
4. Subsistence use areas for North Slope communities 583
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