Resource Ecology and Ecosystems Modeling Program
Laboratory analysis was performed on 4,872 groundfish stomachs from the
eastern Bering Sea, 404 from the Gulf of Alaska, and 541 from the Washington-Oregon-California
region. No observers returned stomach samples during the quarter.
Development and Extension of Food Web Modeling Techniques
REFM scientists, in collaboration with NMML scientists and the National
Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (see contribution by Sarah
Gaichas is this section) continue to develop and improve ecosystem modeling
techniques. The development and critical review of food web models culminated
in a REFM-sponsored workshop held at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center
on 29 March 2002 titled Towards understanding Ecopath with Ecosims potential
role in fisheries management. The meeting was attended by over 20 participants
with presentations from researchers from REFM, NMML, NOAAs Pacific Marine
Environmental Laboratory, University of Washington, University of British
Columbia, and University of Cape Town, South Africa. The aim of the workshop
was to discuss appropriate uses of the popular food web modeling tools,
with focus on developing versions of these tools that may aid in future
ecosystem management efforts. The discussion covered model methodology
and data requirements, preliminary results, and possible uses in investigating
trophic interactions with respect to fisheries management. The creation
of an extended version of these models with improved statistical capabilities
is under way by REFM staff.
By Pat Livingston.
Economic and Social Sciences Research Program: Measuring Capacity, Utilization,
and Economic Performance
The American Fisheries Act (AFA) of 1998 significantly altered the Bering
Sea and Aleutian Islands walleye pollock fishery by allowing the formation
of harvesting and processing cooperatives and defining exclusive fishing
rights. REFM economists have used data envelopment analysis and stochastic
production frontier models to examine effects of the AFA on the fishing
capacity, technical harvesting efficiency (TE), and capacity utilization
(CU) of pollock catcher/processors. The results indicate that fishing
capacity fell by more than 30% and that harvesting TE and CU measures increased
relative to past years. The REFM study provides examples of how existing
data, which is currently devoid of operator costs and provides only general
indicators of earnings, may be used to analyze changes in elements of fleet
and vessel performance in response to management actions. Results of this
research are summarized in a paper titled, Effects of the American Fisheries
Act on Capacity, Utilization, and Technical Efficiency in Alaskan Pollock
Fisheries by Ron Felthoven. The paper has been accepted for publication
in the journal Marine Resource Economics.
Subsistence Harvests and Cultural Rights
Treaty Rights and the Right to Culture: Native American Subsistence Issues
in U.S. Law by Jennifer Sepez examines the history and framework of several
conflicts over subsistence harvest of wildlife and the interplay of treaty
rights with an inchoate concept of cultural rights. Where allocation and
regulation of shared natural resources fail to account for cultural considerations,
the ensuing conflict can be detrimental to effective resource management.
The paper discusses three examples involving such conflict: waterfowl
hunting in Alaska, Northwest treaty salmon fishing, and Inuit and Makah
whaling.
Each case study demonstrates that treaty rights are a more powerful force
than cultural rights in the courtroom, but that both play important roles
in actual policy outcomes. Policy decisions based on biological considerations
alone (migration patterns, reproductive seasons, etc.) at best can overlook
the legitimate concerns of minority cultural groups, and at worst can be
employed intentionally as cover for inequitable distribution schemes.
Examples discussed in the paper include the 80-year history of conflict
in Alaska over the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which by banning waterfowl
hunting during nesting season effectively banned all Inuit harvests of
these birds yet permitted hunting in the lower 48 states. Also examined
are examples from pre-Boldt Decision conflicts over Native American salmon
fishing in which gear-type and escapement restrictions were deployed as
covert allocation measures, until the Supreme Court noted that, even though
the regulations appeared facially neutral, they were invalid because their
effect was to discriminate. An examination of conflict over Inuit and
Makah whaling indicates how the insertion of needs-based criteria into
a framework of cultural rights shifts the benefits of presumption away
from indigenous groups. This shift is a key factor in the legal standing
of a right to culture, as those without presumption carry the burden of
proof. Thus, in the needs-based framework, the onus is on minority cultural
groups to prove need, while in a rights-based framework, the regulatory
agency must prove why a right should be curtailed.
Considering the substantial
changes to Native American cultures under the processes of colonization,
any contemporary discussion of a right to culture must also include issues
of cultural revival. The paper uses Makah whaling to explore the issues
involved in cultural revival, indicating how conflicting notions of tradition,
authenticity, morality, and self-determination complicate the process of
producing resource policies that effectively manage biodiversity while
recognizing and accommodating cultural diversity. The paper will be published
in a special issue of the journal Cultural Dynamics devoted to emerging
concepts of a right to culture.
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Jan-March 2002
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