"We use elder's knowledge to hunt, fish, and survive. We use western knowledge to protect our subsistence way of life."

David O. David, Kwigillingok. Vice-Chair of the Bering Sea Elders Advisory Group.

In November of 2009, Elders from 22 tribes in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta gathered in Bethel to discuss the possibility of bottom trawling in the northern Bering Sea and to further develop their plans to work together to address this potential threat to our way of life.

In February of 2010, Native hunters and fishermen, including representatives of the Bering Sea Elders Advisory Group, as well as other concerned citizens and  organizations, met in Anchorage with representatives of the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council and the Alaska Fisheries Science Center to discuss the development of a northern Bering Sea research plan. This research plan (the details of which have yet to be worked out) will be the first step in determining if bottom trawl fleets will be allowed to move northwards.

At both meetings, hunters and Elders expressed concerns that bottom trawling, if allowed to move north, will threaten our  way of life and will negatively affect the subsistence species. Bycatch, habitat degradation, and population declines are all issues that members of the Elders Group are seriously concerned about.

 "...I would like to go back to the upcoming 2011 North Pacific plan summit for both sides to come to an understanding of those who trawl and those who depend on resources from the sea. When the 2011 summit is in session, I would like the white fishermen to understand that when there's a big bycatch, the species decline in great number...I would like for them to understand, to keep in mind for the species to be still available for our use as food. The trawlers are known to have thrown what they don't expect to catch in big numbers. Not only that, they also destroy the habitats where mammals and the fish feed. We all know that even a fish having no food will die out ...as well as the mammals that feed on clams. When I was fishing for herring in Bristol Bay, the trawlers used to leave a trail of clam shells in the wakes of the sea and on the shore. With this in mind, I would like both sides to come to an understanding to where the interpretation of subsistence is."

Paul John, Toksook Bay.

Translated from the original Yup'ik by Moses Chanar