The Colville River fall harvest of arctic cisco
(Coregonus autumnalis), or qaaktaq in Iñupiaq, is
one of the most important subsistence events
annually for residents of Nuiqsut. Increasing oil
and gas development in the 1970s along the
northern arctic coastal plain and, in particular, the
construction of offshore causeways near Prudhoe
Bay, led to concerns that the migrations and
feeding behavior of arctic cisco would be
negatively affected. As a result, monitoring of
harvest on the Colville River has been conducted
since the mid-1980s.
The 2009 fishery monitoring team
participated in a community meeting with residents
of Nuiqsut on 13 October to present the results of
the 2008 program. This meeting is part of an
ongoing attempt by fishery monitors to engage
stakeholders (including Nuiqsut residents,
subsistence fishers, the North Slope Borough
[NSB] and ConocoPhillips Alaska, Inc. [CPAI])
in discussions on the present and future of the
Colville River fall fishery monitoring program. A
postseason meeting with the Qaaktaq Panel was
held in late October 2010 to present the results of
the 2009 program and to discuss concerns or ideas
for enhancements to the monitoring program.
Monitors also continued the program of daily
on-ice harvest interviews, as in previous years.
Although the 2009 fishery began around 6
October, unseasonably warm weather and a great
deal of overflow due to melting in the second week
of October created dangerous river conditions, and
most fishers waited to begin fishing until the third
week of October. The fishery monitoring team
observed or recorded from interviews the harvest
of 11,700 fish (all species and mesh sizes
combined). arctic cisco (85%) and least cisco
(Coregonus sardinella; 9%) comprised the vast
majority of the recorded harvest. Fishing effort
decreased 15 % compared to 2008, and the
observed catch rate for arctic cisco in the Nibliq
Channel (~19 fish/adjusted net day) was slightly
above the 1986–2007 average (15 fish/adjusted net
day). The observed catch rate for least cisco was
consistent with the average since 1986. Of the 3
main fishing areas on the Nibliq Channel used in
2009, the Upper Nibliq area (0.0 fish/adjusted net
day) saw the lowest observed harvest rate for arctic
cisco caught in 7.6-cm nets, though it should be
noted that just two 7.6-cm nets were deployed in
this area for a total of 7 adjusted net days.
Observed harvest rates were highest in the Nibliq
Delta (21 fish/adjusted net day) and Nanuk areas
(12 fish/adjusted net day). Based on observed
catch rates and known adjusted fishing times in the
Nibliq by each fisher we estimate a total harvest of
nearly 23,000 arctic cisco in 2009.
As in 2008, 4, 5, and 6 years were the
dominant age classes of arctic cisco harvested in
7.6-cm mesh gill nets; however, arctic cisco
harvested in 2009 were larger than those harvested
in 2008. It has been reported by USGS in 2009 that
recent years have brought increased annual growth
to arctic cisco in the Nibliq Delta which may
explain why younger fish are bigger on the whole
than in 2008. In general fishers appeared to be
pleased with the size of the arctic cisco caught in
2009 as well as the size of their overall harvests,
despite having a delayed start to the fishery. We
expect harvests to increase or remain steady in the
coming years due to continuing high densities of
young-of-the-year arctic cisco caught in the
summer at Prudhoe Bay. These fish should recruit
to the fishery in 3 to 4 years.
