This project was developed and will be carried out collaboratively by ADF & G division of subsistence and the bristol BAY native association (BBNA)

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game was awarded a $179,540 cooperative agreement from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the Alaska Subsistence Management program (CFDA 15.636) to document contemporary salmon harvest and use patterns in Manokotak, Alaska. Over the three-year period from April 2022 to December 2025, ADF&G will collaborate with the Bristol Bay Native Association and Manokotak Nunaniq School to administer a comprehensive household harvest survey, conduct key respondent interviews, and facilitate a community-based research effort with students. Deliverables will include a final technical report, project summary reports for residents, and a student-authored manuscript about Manokotak's past and present subsistence practices. The funding will support improved estimates of subsistence harvest and use of salmon and other wild resources in the context of environmental change observations.

This study seeks to document contemporary salmon harvest and use patterns in addition to gathering data that will provide a broader understanding of the subsistence way of life in manokotak. This will be accomplished through administration of a comprehensive household harvest survey for calendar year 2022 and by conducting key respondent interviews to contextualize those harvest data. This project was designed to respond to two information needs identified in the 2022 fisheries resource monitoring program call for proposals by providing "reliable estimates of subsistence harvest and uses" for the community of manokotak, and by documenting the "impacts of climate change on salmon and the environment." this collaborative research project will collect subsistence harvest data for salmon and other important wild resources by residents of manokotak; document traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) regarding local salmon populations and environmental changes; and partner with the manokotak nunaniq school to facilitate a community-based, participatory research effort by including students in research efforts and incorporating subsistence activities and knowledge into the classroom. This project is designed to obtain several different types of information about the effect of climate change on salmon populations, the local environment, and subsistence activities, while also providing more reliable estimates of the harvest and use of salmon and other wild resources by manokotak residents. The documentation of TEK will produce detailed and specific place-based observations providing contextual explanations for subsistence harvest estimates and observed changes in salmon populations by area residents. This research will increase the understanding of salmon harvest patterns in the togiak national wildlife refuge and assist federal, tribal, and state resource managers to ensure adequate subsistence opportunities are available. Additionally, this research will be available to regulatory boards, residents of manokotak, and other alaskans who are engaged in the regulatory process. The overarching goal of this research is to provide improved harvest estimates and increase understanding of subsistence harvest and use patterns, especially of salmon, by residents of manokotak within the context of environmental change. This project has the following objectives: 1.document the perceived effects of climate change on salmon populations, the local environment, and subsistence activities utilizing traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and local ecological observations; 2. Document reliable estimates of the harvest and use of salmon and other wild resources used for subsistence by manokotak residents during the 2022 calendar year; 3. Facilitate a community-based participatory research effort to produce a student-authored manuscript about manokotak's past and present subsistence practices through a partnership with the manokotak nunaniq school. This research project will integrate three social science data gathering methods to document TEK related to observed effects of climate change on salmon populations, the local environment, and subsistence activities and to estimate the harvest and use of salmon and other wild resources used for subsistence by manokotak residents. These methods are: 1) key respondent interviews (KRIS), 2) comprehensive household harvest surveys, and 3) harvest and use area mapping. Deliverables/products:upon completion of the project, ADF & G will provide printed copies of the final technical report to the funding agency, the manokotak school, BBNA, and the manokotak village council. Four-page project result summaries will be sent to each PO box holder in manokotak.