Indigenous Knowledge and Co-Stewardship Webinar

Description

Advancing Inclusion of Indigenous Knowledge and Co-Stewardship of Kuskokwim River Salmon in Federal Marine Fishery Management

Date & Time: Jan 21, 2025 03:00 PM EST

This webinar will be focused on the ongoing collaboration between the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (KRITFC), the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) Tamamta Program, and Ocean Conservancy (OC), to convene a series of in-person workshops and interviews that facilitate critical dialogue about Kuskokwim salmon, Salmon People, and salmon management. The 700-mile-long Kuskokwim River has historically supported some of the largest subsistence salmon harvest levels in Alaska. Since 2009, however, subsistence-dependent communities in the Kuskokwim River drainage have experienced precipitous declines in salmon populations. While Indigenous communities in the Kuskokwim watershed are among those most impacted by salmon declines, they lack equity to access and engage in the development and implementation of marine fisheries management policies that directly impact their well-being and way of life. These workshops are positioned to identify, document, and share: (a) IK and modern science of Kuskokwim River salmon life cycles and potential causes driving salmon population declines, (b) perceived strengths of the role of Indigenous communities in regional, in-river salmon co-stewardship, and (c) recommendations for enhancing equity in federal marine fishery management systems. Recommendations stemming from these workshop conversations will be synthesized, mapped, and shared (with permission) with Kuskokwim and western Alaska Tribes and communities, fishery managers and agencies, and researchers, and others in order to advance more equitable federal fishery management systems and practice. 

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