In 2012, ABR worked with key fishery
stakeholders in Nuiqsut, Alaska, to continue
long-term monitoring of the Colville River
subsistence fishery, which is conducted each fall
after freeze-up in the Niġliq Channel of the
Colville River. The 2012 subsistence fishery
monitoring program is a continuation of long-term
studies that have taken place annually since 1985
(no data were collected in 1999). Monitoring has
been conducted by several contractors over that
time period (MJM Research [1985–2005], LGL
Alaska Research Associates [2006]), and ABR
[2007–present]) on behalf of ConocoPhillips
Alaska, Inc. (CPAI) and its predecessors (see
Daigneault and Reiser 2007 and Moulton et al.
2006). The monitoring program has historically
focused primarily on the fall harvest of arctic cisco
(Coregonus autumnalis; Qaaktaq, in Iñupiaq),
which are a staple in the diet of Nuiqsut residents
and traded widely with other northern Alaska
communities. However, the program also attempts
to quantify harvest of other subsistence species
captured in the Qaaktaq fishery. The primary
impetus for the monitoring program is concern that
oil and gas exploration and development in the
nearshore marine environment and, more recently,
on the Colville River delta (henceforth the Colville
delta) could adversely affect these anadromous or
amphidromous fish. Furthermore, in recent years
this monitoring program has continued as
mandated under stipulations defined by the CD-4
development permit issued by the North Slope
Borough (NSB04-117, 2004). The main goals of
the monitoring program have been to obtain
estimates of the total fishing effort and catch and
more recently to monitor other environmental
components of the fishery.
ABR continues to implement the arctic cisco
fall fishery monitoring program as conceived
during a series of community meetings with fishery
stakeholders in 2007 (Seigle et al. 2008a). The
result of those stakeholder meetings was that 1)
ABR worked with the community of Nuiqsut to
formulate a plan for continuing long-term fishery
monitoring each fall and, 2) ABR made a
commitment to continue working with the
community via interactions with a Qaaktaq Panel
of expert fishers to ensure that community
concerns are continually incorporated into the
monitoring plan. This process has been successful
to date, and subsequently the monitoring program
has been working closely with fishers and other
stakeholders to keep all parties abreast of
developments in the fishery. As an integral part of
the monitoring program, ABR has conducted
numerous meetings with community members and
a Qaaktaq Panel (composed of expert participants
in the fishery) before, during, and after the fishing
season, and has offered assistance to fishers on the
ice whenever seeking interviews. The objectives of
the monitoring program in 2012 were to:
• Continue working with key stakeholders as
per agreements made in 2007 (Seigle et al.
2008a, Appendix 1).
• Monitor the harvest of arctic cisco
throughout the fishing effort, using interviews
of fishery participants.
• Record the number of nets fishing at any
given time and net dimensions and locations
during the season.
• Document the subsistence fishery harvest.
• Collect age, length and weight information
for a subsample of arctic cisco harvested.
• Measure water salinity and quality (i.e.,
testing for metals and petroleum-based
organic compounds) in primary fishing
areas.
• Compare the 2011 results with those of
previous years for this program and other
historical data.
• Continue to raise awareness for, and maintain
a high level of participation in, the
Qaaktaq Panel meetings.
