The dipnet and fishwheel fisheries of the Copper River, 1982

This report describes the fishwheel and dipnet fisheries of the Copper River based on data collected from observation and interviews of a sample of permitholders during the 1982 season. The 1982 data corroborates 1979 Division of Subsistence research which found substantial differences between local and non-local participants. In general, Basin fishwheel users have a longer history of participation than non-Basin participants. Patterns of harvesting other resources also differed. While both segments of the sample tended to participate in hunting and fishing activities, Basin residents hunt, fish, trap, and gather berries almost exclusively within the Copper River Basin, while non-local fishwheel users engaged in these activites outside the Basin. Eighty-one fishwheel fishery participants were interviewed, primarily at their fishwheel sites at eleven different locations. The interview sample constituted 13.2 percent of the 615 fishwheel permitholders in 1982. Of those interviewed, 69.1 percent were residents of the Copper River Basin, and 30.9 percent lived outside the Basin. Of the dipnet fishery participants at Chitina, 93 were interviewed, representing a 1.5 percent sample of the 5,481 permitted dipnetters in 1982. Of these 93 interviewees, 78 (83.9 percent) resided outside the Copper River Basin and 15 (16.1 percent) were residents of the Basin. In 1982, 51.1 percent of the fishwheel permitholders were local residents and 48.9 percent were non-Basin residents. The local fishwheel sample was characterized by a long-established participation in the fishery; non-local permitholders generally had shorter histories of involvement in the fishery. Among the fishwheel participants hunting was the most commonly mentioned additional resource harvest activity. Non-local fishwheel operators were much more likely to participate in other salmon fisheries in addition to the Copper River fishery than the local residents. Copper River Basin residents were most likely to participate in fishing, hunting, trapping, and berry picking activities within the Basin, while non-local residents frequently reported using areas outside the Basin. Four areas with several fishwheel sites are described in detail. The Chitina Bridge and Slana clusters are included because of the predominately non-local residency of most of the fishermen. The Chitina Bridge cluster was also the cluster within the largest number of wheels and permits in the fishwheel fishery. The Copper Center cluster illustrated a mixture of mostly use patterns. The Gulkana cluster also is a local use fishery characterized by even less non-Basin participation than Copper Center, and an over-all longer history of involvement in the fishery. The dipnet fishery is characterized by a vast majority of non-local participants (98.5 percent). Forty-one percent of the interviewed dipnetters were first-year permitholders. Fourteen percent had a history of involvement greater than 10 years. Fishing for species other than salmon was the resource harvesting activity mentioned most frequently by dipnetters that were interviewed. Dipnetters normally fish and hunt outside the Copper River Basin. Basin dipnetters engage in resource harvesting activities within the Basin more often.