By Brian McKenna, Project Lead
Tanana Chiefs Conference is collaborating with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) on a project that combines traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and biological sampling to enhance our knowledge base and understanding of Humpback Whitefish in the Upper Koyukuk River region. This project is funded through OSM’s FRMP. It is a two-year study, which began in 2023, and will be culminating in early 2025. Project objectives include the following:
- Identify critical Humpback whitefish habitats.
- Identify changes in Humpback whitefish populations, habitat usage, and traditional uses.
- Describe the demographic composition (age, sex, length, gonadosomatic index) of Humpback whitefish populations in the Alatna and South Fork Koyukuk rivers.
ADF&G’s Subsistence Division is leading the TEK portion of this study, and has conducted interviews with knowledge holders in the nearby communities to address the first two objectives. Ethnographic data is currently being processed and analyzed, and community data reviews will occur in the spring of 2025.
TCC’s Fisheries Program is leading the biological component of this study to address the third objective. The sample size goal for both rivers was 200 fish. Only 39 samples were collected in the South Fork Koyukuk River due to high water. The sample size goal was reached in the Alatna River (n = 203). Preliminary results for the Alatna River are provided below. Results for the South Fork Koyukuk River will be updated and provided in spring of 2025. If you have any questions regarding this project, please reach out to TCC’s Tribal Resources Stewardship Division.
