Yupik hunters face cultural conflict over proposed moose-hunting ban
Tradition says that moose will not continue to come around if not hunted
ANCHORAGE - Age-old Yupik tradition is running headlong into modern big-game management on the lower Kuskokwim River this winter as hunters grapple with a proposed cease-fire on moose.
Biologists and many hunters support the idea of a moose-hunting moratorium for the next several years, said Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologist Roger Seavoy.
They believe stopping the harvest temporarily will permit moose stocks to build up from Aniak to the river mouth, an area the big animals are moving into. Aerial surveys earlier this year found fewer than 100 moose from Aniak to Bethel.
Similar hunting bans to the north and south, in the lower Yukon River and around Togiak, have worked well, Seavoy said. In both areas, moose numbers have grown tenfold or more in the past decade.
The Lower Kuskokwim Fish and Game Advisory Committee generally supports the idea. But the committee in mid-November postponed the proposal in hopes of developing broader consensus.
A moratorium flies in the face of long-held Yupik tradition, Seavoy said. One persistent belief is that a hunter is obligated to shoot an animal that presents itself. Another is that the animals will stop coming around if people don't hunt them.
"Those are strong cultural traditions. They need to be respected," Seavoy said.
Committee members will discuss the moratorium with villagers this winter. If they can garner additional support, the committee will submit the idea to the Board of Game in the fall.
Even though the proposal was postponed, Seavoy said, "I feel like we made progress, just because we got some higher profile for this effort." Many villagers are aware of the moratorium idea, "but not everybody is behind it." He estimated support at about 50 percent.
James Charles, vice chairman of the committee and a lifelong resident of Tuntutuliak, on the lower Kuskokwim, expects Yupik residents will see the wisdom of the hunting ban despite traditional beliefs.
"People are cooperative. They really want to go get fish for subsistence, but they listen and wait till it's time to go fishing. And that's the way this other hunting is now, mostly. We change our ways, our life."