Sustaining an Alaska Coastal Community: Integrating Place Based Well-Being Indicators and Fisheries Participation

Abstract

The incorporation of human dimensions into ecosystem-based fisheries management has largely focused on metrics of economic welfare. Yet researchers have demonstrated the variety of well-being that is derived from fisheries as well as the need for localized and collaborative scientific efforts that result in appropriately contextualized metrics. This article presents the results of a project intended to address these needs and inform the North Pacific fisheries management process with a set of indicators that are related to multiple dimensions of human well-being and links to fisheries participation. The article showcases a mechanism of applying a well-being framework and participatory methods to develop locally relevant quantitative indicators for one of the most highly engaged fishing communities in Alaska - Sitka. These indicators can be used to track how fishery shocks may reverberate through social systems and affect fishing communities. Furthermore, the discussion of the multifaceted well-being indicators presents information on local values and complex dynamics between community well-being and fisheries that are difficult to conceptualize and integrate into management decisions. Ultimately, this work can facilitate a more comprehensive incorporation of human dimensions into ecosystem-based frameworks in fisheries management, contextualizing that expansion within locally relevant narratives that engage stakeholders in resource management.

Keywords:

• Alaska
• fisheries management
• fishing community
• indicators
• well-being

Notes

1 Study participants noted that the estimates of personal use halibut retained on commercial fishing trips presented for this indicator were likely grossly underrepresenting the magnitude of this practice in the community, due to disincentives from the processor in terms of recording home-pack.

2 This was in response to evidence that some fishermen were purchasing multiple seven-day licenses rather than an annual license because the former was a cheaper option even for someone fishing for a whole season.

3 The HHI shows a similar upward trend over time when applied at the individual level but calculated with respect to the revenues by permit code. The actual values of the concentration index are higher for the HHI calculated for permits, however, due to intense reliance of the fleet on the salmon fisheries, which can be generally harvested using the same permit (provided there is no gear switching or moving to waters outside of Southeast Alaska).