Co-production of knowledge reveals loss of Indigenous hunting opportunities in the face of accelerating Arctic climate change

Abstract

Profound sea ice loss is rapidly transforming coupled social-ecological Arctic marine systems. However, explicit impacts to harvesting of traditional resources for coastal Indigenous communities remain largely unquantified, particularly where the primary research questions are posed by the Indigenous community as a result of emerging approaches such as knowledge co-production. Here, we directly link reduced sea ice coverage to decreasing harvesting opportunities for ugruk (bearded seal, Erignathus barbatus) as a component of a partnership among a multidisciplinary team of scientists, Indigenous Elder Advisory Council, and sovereign Indigenous tribe in northwest Alaska, USA. We collaboratively established research questions, coordinated data collection, and interpreted results to understand the causes and consequences of changing ugruk harvests for the community of Qikiqtaġruk (Kotzebue). The duration of spring ugruk hunts by the Qikiqtaġruŋmiut declined significantly during 2003–2019 due to a shift (∼3 weeks earlier) in the timing of regional sea ice breakup. Harvests now cease ∼26 d earlier than in the past decade. Using historical sea ice records, we further demonstrate that ice coverage in May now resembles conditions that were common in July during the mid-20th century. Overall, we show that climate change is constraining hunting opportunities for this traditional marine resource, although Qikiqtaġruŋmiut hunters have so far been able to offset a shortened season with changes in effort. Notwithstanding recent hunting success in unprecedentedly sparse ice conditions, accessibility to traditional resources remains a prominent concern for many Arctic communities. Management and policy decisions related to Arctic marine mammal resources, such as ugruk, are therefore also interwoven with food security, well-being, and culture of Indigenous communities. Hence, research that originates with Indigenous sovereignty over the entire research process, such as demonstrated here, has the potential to also lead to more inclusive, sustainable, and equitable outcomes in the face of rapid and accelerating Arctic change.

Climate Change Impacts on Polar Marine Ecosystems: Toward Robust Approaches for Managing Risks and Uncertainties

“…Indigenous Knowledge of Arctic marine social and ecological systems is spatially and temporally broad, especially with respect to climate impacts on Arctic social-ecological systems and effectiveness of adaptation responses. For the Arctic, ITK can provide important insights needed for understanding current climate change impacts, efficacy of adaptation measures, and future conditions and risks (Petzold et al, 2020;Van Bavel et al, 2020;Eerkes-Medrano and Huntington, 2021;Hauser et al, 2021). While the IPCC's 5th assessment report identified the need to consider information from multiple knowledge sources -and SROCC made progress in this regard for polar regionsinclusion of ITK has been hindered by inconsistent methods for participation and inclusion, and where included is often general in scope and lacks a robust and nuanced treatment of the inter-complexities of climate change impacts and colonialism (Ford et al, 2016(Ford et al, , 2020Petzold et al, 2020).…”

The Winter Heat Budget of Sea Ice in Kotzebue Sound: Residual Ocean Heat and the Seasonal Roles of River Outflow

“…Ugruk are of particular importance due to their enormous size, and are primarily hunted from boats after the ice has started to break up, a time of year when the seals spend hours hauled out on ice edges (Huntington, Quakenbush, et al, 2016). For the community of Kotzebue, the onset of ugruk hunting season is determined by the breakup of the river channel, which has trended slightly earlier over the past 17 years (Hauser et al, 2021). However, the loss of ice in the Sound has led to a dramatic reduction in the overall length of the hunting season, as the window of time when it is possible to launch a boat from Kotzebue while there is still ice in the Sound shrinks (Hauser et al, 2021;Huntington, Quakenbush, & Nelson, 2016).…”

“…For the community of Kotzebue, the onset of ugruk hunting season is determined by the breakup of the river channel, which has trended slightly earlier over the past 17 years (Hauser et al, 2021). However, the loss of ice in the Sound has led to a dramatic reduction in the overall length of the hunting season, as the window of time when it is possible to launch a boat from Kotzebue while there is still ice in the Sound shrinks (Hauser et al, 2021;Huntington, Quakenbush, & Nelson, 2016). Real-time monitoring of upstream river temperatures would help give hunters in Kotzebue advance warning of the onset of ugruk hunting season, facilitating the community's continued access to this important subsistence resource as the window for a successful harvest narrows.…”

“…Real-time monitoring of upstream river temperatures would help give hunters in Kotzebue advance warning of the onset of ugruk hunting season, facilitating the community's continued access to this important subsistence resource as the window for a successful harvest narrows. Thus far, hunters have been able to modify their efforts, maintaining successful harvests despite rapidly changing ice conditions and shortened harvest periods, but it remains unclear if future conditions will continue to provide access for hunters (Hauser et al, 2021).…”

Multi-Dimensional Remote Sensing Analysis Documents Beaver-Induced Permafrost Degradation, Seward Peninsula, Alaska

“…Changes in vegetation [9][10][11][12], hydrology [13,14], fire regimes [15,16], and an increase in thermokarst and other thaw-related activity [17][18][19] have been widely observed in Arctic and Boreal regions during the last two decades. Recent and widespread environmental change in the Arctic is affecting ecosystems [13,[20][21][22], the carbon cycle [23][24][25], infrastructure [26][27][28], socioecological systems that subsist on the numerous resources provided by Arctic lands and waters [29][30][31][32], and leading to a host of permafrost-region hazards [33]. However, feedbacks associated with the cumulative effects of changes occurring in physical, ecological, and social systems are difficult to quantify and remain an active field of study [34][35][36].…”