Details

Capability: Environmental Planning and Impact Assessment

 Sociocultural / Socioecomic Organization of Bristol Bay

The social, cultural and economic evolution of the Bristol Bay region is seen to be dominated by tie cycle of resource availability, and focussed primarily on the red salmon runs of summer. The non-summer cycle is seen to vary by subregion and by differential reliance on mastal (small sea mammals) or lacustrine/riverine (carilmu and mcose) adaptat ions. While these patterns mntinue to exert a mntrolling influence on the socioeconomic and sociocultural relations of the study rqion, signif imnt changes have occurred as a result of four factors; first, from increased time devoted to commercial fishing, second, an increased level of ~sh income has altered the mntext of subsistence ~suits, third, state and federal regulations (e.g., Limited Entry) whidh have created new structural li mitat ions to resource ut ilizat ion and, fourth, the intrcduct ion of capital-intensive, highly efficient technology that has served to maintain the traditional distribution of returns between resident and non-resident fishermen.

The population of the region reflects a mmmon pattern in rural Native regions of Alaska. Males represent 53% of the Poplation, while the age distribution of the region is roughly hi-modal with more than half the population under the age of 24. The ethnic distribution of the regions’s population has remained relatively amstant (76.3% Native in 1970 versus 75.6% in 1980). Most Bristol Bay villages experienced stable or declining ppulation between 1960 and 1980. Population change was found to be tied more to patterns of immigration and intra-regional movement than to patterns of natal ity and mortality. The bulk of the increase in non-Native population was centered in Dillingham. The Bristol Bay economy is kased primarily cm tie annual red salmon harvests and, as a result, has been subject to corresponding surges and declines in that resource. The late 1970s and early 1980s, however, have seen several record harvests and, where price per pound was high, in record earning levels. Earnings in other sectors of the economy have been relatively stable with two except ions; first, in the recreation industry where gradually increasing incomes have been the rule and, second, in civilian government activi~ whidh has grown from 7% of total income in 1970 to 15% in 1980.

Non-residents are seen to derive approximately 57% of the total earnings generated by the Bristol Bay fishery. This income leakage is compounded by the fact that fuel, major commercial products, and a major prtion of locally consumed food are purdhased from outside the region. The processing sector of the economy has diversified in response to increased competition from smaller processors and fish buyers. Most canneries now commit a prtion of their fish to fresh, fresh frozen and special-pack products. The growth of the market for fresh salmon is seen to supprt the mntinued viability of the fishery and the higher levels of income attain~ in the last few years. The potent ial effects of longer-term price contracts between the processors and fishermen will also contribute toward higher earnings and investment security for the fishermen and processors alike. The role of foreign capital investment in the fishery, in response to greater exclusionaq efforts on the part of the U.S. in its domestic fisheries, is seen as a significant and growing concern of both fishermen and remaining domestically-controlled pr-

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