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Fishing for community and culture: the value of fisheries in rural Alaska

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 May 2014

Davin Holen
Davin Holen*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 303 Tanana Loop, PO Box 757720, Fairbanks, AK 99775-7720, USA ([email protected])
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Abstract

In Alaska, fishing provides important economic and socio-cultural benefits for rural communities. This paper presents some of the findings from a research project that investigated the role of commercial and subsistence fishing in the maintenance of economic and social viability, and the ways in which residents of rural communities in Alaska value fishing. Three rural fishing communities in Alaska served as case studies for this project: Chenega Bay in Prince William Sound, Kokhanok in Bristol Bay, and Tyonek in Cook Inlet. In all three communities, both old and young residents note that younger people are not participating in fishing as much as they did in the past, and there is concern that fishing traditions will not continue. However, research findings show how important fishing is as a social, cultural, and community activity for families. Residents noted fishing provided for a quality of life that included values associated with family, community, culture, and freedom.

Type
Northern fisheries
Information
Polar Record , Volume 50 , Issue 4: Northern Fisheries , October 2014 , pp. 403 - 413
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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