			ADF&G > Subsistence

DIVISION OF SUBSISTENCE

Mission Statement

To scientifically, quantify, evaluate and report information about customary and traditional uses of Alaska's Fish and wildlife resources.

Core Services

Research, quantify, and provide the resulting information to the public about customary and traditional uses by Alaskans of fish and wildlife resources.
Provide scientifically-based information for fisheries and wildlife management programs; and to Board of Fisheries and BOard of Game for their use in evaluating reasonable opportunities for customary and traditional uses.

Background

In 1978, the Alaska Legislature passed the Alaska subsistence law requiring that subsistence uses of fish and game be authorized and protected, and established the legal basis for the Division of Subsistence within the Department of Fish and Game. The division's main duty lies in the area of human dimensions research which focuses on understanding human systems, that is, people and their ways of living, using systematic methods of gathering and analyzing information developed for the social sciences, including interviews, mapping, surveys, direct observation, and participant observation. We maintain the public's trust by adhering to high ethical standards in carrying out our research, obtaining community approval before beginning research, including local residents directly in the research process, providing proper confidentiality, and presenting study results to community representatives before publication. The division's professional staff is a combination of social scientists, biologists, and local subsistence experts who study and report on:

wild resource harvests and uses,
seasonality of fishing, hunting, and gathering,
methods of harvesting and processing,
harvest levels,
sharing and trading subsistence foods,
geographic areas used,
cultural and economic values attached to subsistence,
types of groups that work and share together,
trends in resource use patterns, and
resource issues that need resolution.

ALASKA STATUTE DEFINING THE WORK OF THE DIVISION OF SUBSISTENCE:

Sec. 16.05.094. Duties of the section of subsistence hunting and fishing. The section of subsistence hunting and fishing shall:
(1) compile existing data and conduct studies to gather information, including data from subsistence users, on all aspects of the role of subsistence hunting and fishing in the lives of the residents of the state;
(2) quantify the amount, nutritional value, and extent of dependency on food acquired through subsistence hunting and fishing;
(3) make information gathered available to the public, appropriate agencies, and other organized bodies;
(4) assist the department, the Board of Fisheries, and the Board of Game in determining what uses of fish and game, as well as which users and methods, should be termed subsistence uses, users, and methods;
(5) evaluate the impact of state and federal laws and regulations on subsistence hunting and fishing and, when corrective action is indicated, make recommendations to the department;
(6) make recommendations to the Board of Game and the Board of Fisheries regarding adoption, amendment, and repeal of regulations affecting subsistence hunting and fishing;
(7) participate with other division in the preparation of statewide and regional management plans so that those plans recognize and incorporate the need of subsistence users of fish and game.

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