Subsistence
When the tide is out, the table is set
Native saying
Subsistence, the customary, noncommercial use of wild plants, fish and game is the oldest human practice in Prince William Sound. It is essential to the Native culture and economy, and a means of passing along traditional ecological knowledge and cultural values from one generation to another. Gathering subsistence resources is also common among non-Native residents in the Sound. Traditional foods include berries, fish, shellfish, seals, goats and waterfowl; and, in more recent history, deer and moose.
Many factors can impact subsistence resources and lifestyles such as demographic changes in populations, disease and predators. Contemporary impacts on subsistence include the EVOS, increased tourism, increased sport hunting and fishing, and, loss of traditional knowledge due to demographic changes in villages and restricted or diminished resources.
Management of subsistence resources involves a complex array of state and federal agencies, land ownership, legislation, and international protections.
