scholarly journals Pacific Salmon in the Rapidly Changing Arctic: Exploring Local Knowledge and Emerging Fisheries in Utqiaġvik and Nuiqsut, Alaska

ARCTIC ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 72 (3) ◽  
pp. 273-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Courtney Carothers ◽  
Todd L. Sformo ◽  
Shelley Cotton ◽  
John C. George ◽  
Peter A.H. Westley
Keyword(s):  
Local Knowledge ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Pacific Salmon ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
Current Data ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Oil And Gas Development ◽  
Salmon Fisheries ◽  
Over Time

One of the most pervasive signals of global climate change is altered patterns of distribution with trends towards poleward shifts of species. While habitat loss and destruction has severed connections between people and salmon in many locales, salmon fisheries in the high Arctic are just beginning to develop. To explore these emergent connections, we gathered local knowledge about Pacific salmon and emerging subsistence salmon fisheries in the Beaufort Sea region through ethnographic research in Utqiaġvik (formerly Barrow) and Nuiqsut, Alaska. Between 2010 and 2013, we interviewed 41 active fishermen and Elders who generally agreed that harvests of Pacific salmon species have been increasing in recent years, beginning in the 1990s and early 2000s. About 46% of active fishermen and Elders who discussed salmon abundance perceived an increasing trend over time. Another 43% characterized salmon abundance as cyclical or perceived no directional trend over time. The remaining fishermen (all from Nuiqsut) expressed their perception of decreasing salmon and fish abundance overall related to oil and gas development impacts to their local lands and waters. Given these mixed perceptions and harvests being an imperfect proxy for abundance, it remains unclear whether salmon populations are expanding in Arctic river systems. However, research participants have identified new stream systems not currently documented in the scientific literature where salmon are present and thought to be spawning. In both communities, we found that many fishermen and Elders often do not differentiate Pacific salmon species. Fishermen in both communities are developing new knowledge of salmon and increasing their use of salmon as a subsistence resource, yet uncertainties in the current data and local knowledge combine to generate equivocal evidence that salmon abundance is increasing. This lack of a clear increase in salmon abundance provides nuance to a simple story that warming has led to the increases of salmon in the Arctic. Despite the uncertainty regarding abundance, it is clear we are witnessing an emergence of new salmon fisheries in the high Arctic, perceived to be one among a suite of environmental and social changes currently being experienced in this region.

Consideration of Geopolitical Challenges within the Analysis of Geoenvironmental Risks for Oil and Gas Development of the Russian Arctic

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 50-59
Author(s):  
O. P. Trubitsina ◽  
V. N. Bashkin
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Optimal Operation ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Stage Model ◽  
Oil And Gas Development ◽  
Gas Industry ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Further Development ◽  
Geopolitical Risks

The article is devoted to the consideration of geopolitical challenges for the analysis of geoenvironmental risks (GERs) in the hydrocarbon development of the Arctic territory. Geopolitical risks (GPRs), like GERs, can be transformed into opposite external environment factors of oil and gas industry facilities in the form of additional opportunities or threats, which the authors identify in detail for each type of risk. This is necessary for further development of methodological base of expert methods for GER management in the context of the implementational proposed two-stage model of the GER analysis taking to account GPR for the improvement of effectiveness making decisions to ensure optimal operation of the facility oil and gas industry and minimize the impact on the environment in the geopolitical conditions of the Arctic.The authors declare no conflict of interest

The influence of chick production on territory retention in Arctic-breeding Pacific and Yellow-billed loons

The Condor ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 121 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian D Uher-Koch ◽  
Kenneth G Wright ◽  
Joel A Schmutz
Keyword(s):  
Coastal Plain ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Breeding Habitat ◽  
Retention Rates ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Oil And Gas Development ◽  
Brood Rearing ◽  
Site Familiarity ◽  
Northern Alaska ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Adult birds may use the production of offspring as a measure of habitat quality when prospecting for territories, increasing competition for productive territories. We evaluated the impact of breeding success on territory retention of Pacific (Gavia pacifica) and Yellow-billed (G. adamsii) loons in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska on the Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska using mark–resight data and multi-state modeling. We also used behavioral observations of brood-rearing adult loons to quantify the frequency of visits by prospecting loons. We hypothesized that increased competition for productive territories would result in a decrease in territory retention rates. Territory retention rates the year following successful breeding attempts were only slightly lower (0.90) than after failed breeding attempts (0.93), and few territories were consistently successful across years. Overall territory retention rates were high (0.92) and similar for both species, suggesting that adults were able to defend their territories successfully. Males had higher territory retention rates than females, but we found no influence of mass (a possible proxy for fighting ability) on territory retention. These observations, coupled with the high frequency of visits by prospecting loons, provide additional evidence that site familiarity may provide advantages to territory holders. Quantifying territory retention behaviors may also inform land management decisions for oil and gas development in areas where loons are present. High territory retention rates, frequency of visits by prospectors, and limited habitat where new territories can be established suggest that breeding habitat in northern Alaska is saturated and may be limiting Yellow-billed Loon populations. In contrast, Pacific Loons attempting to acquire a territory may be able to form new territories on smaller, unoccupied lakes.

scholarly journals Knowledge Co-production in Contested Spaces: An Evaluation of the North Slope Borough – Shell Baseline Studies Program

ARCTIC ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan P. Kettle
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Steering Committee ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
North Slope ◽  
Oil And Gas Development ◽  
Boundary Organization ◽  
Contested Spaces ◽  
The North ◽  
Trade Offs

Supporting the development of trusted and usable science remains a key challenge in contested spaces. This paper evaluates a collaborative research agreement between the North Slope Borough of Alaska and Shell Exploration and Production Company—an agreement that was designed to improve collection of information and management of issues associated with the potential impacts of oil and gas development in the Arctic. The evaluation is based on six categories of knowledge co-production indicators: external factors, inputs, processes, outputs, outcomes, and impacts. Two sources of data were used to assess the indicators: interviews with steering committee members and external science managers (n = 16) and a review of steering committee minutes. Interpretation of the output and outcome indicators suggests that the Baseline Studies Program supported a broad range of research, though there were differences in how groups perceived the relevance and legitimacy of project outcomes. Several input, process, and external variables enabled the co-production of trusted science in an emergent boundary organization and contested space; these variables included governance arrangements, leveraged capacities, and the inclusion of traditional knowledge. Challenges to knowledge co-production on the North Slope include logistics, differences in cultures and decision contexts, and balancing trade-offs among perceived credibility, legitimacy, and relevance. Reinforced lessons learned included providing time to foster trust, developing adaptive governance approaches, and building capacity among scientists to translate community concerns into research questions.

scholarly journals Geoenvirоnmental risks on the background geopolitical challenges for the oil and gas industry in the Arctic

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 12-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. P. Trubitsina ◽  
V. N. Bashkin
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Arctic Region ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Environmental Safety ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Management Decision ◽  
Expert Assessment ◽  
Arctic Ecosystems ◽  
Oil And Gas Development ◽  
Projected Changes

The article is devoted to the issues of geoecology and geopolitics in the Arctic. The authors reveal the need to consider geopolitical challenges in the analysis of geoecological risks (GER) of oil and gas development of the Arctic region. This is due to the intersection here of the strategic interests of several States and their focus to prove the inability of Russia to ensure environmental safety in the development of Arctic fi elds. Th e subject of GER is used as a geopolitical tool against Russia due to the probability of it becoming a key player in the region. The authors propose a model for the analysis of GER, which is based on critical loads (CL) of acidity of pollutants and includes 2 stages: 1) the stage of quantitative assessment of GER, which allows to calculate not only the magnitude of the projected changes in the state of the Arctic ecosystems, but also the probability of their occurrence; 2) the stage of management of GER taking into account geopolitical factors, assuming a qualitative expert assessment, which is a procedure for making a management decision to achieve acceptable levels of the total GER.

scholarly journals Rachael Lorna Johnstone, Offshore Oil and Gas Development in the Arctic under International Law: Risk and Responsibility (Leiden: Brill, 2015)

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bjarni Már Magnússon
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Oil And Gas Development ◽  
Offshore Oil And Gas ◽  
Offshore Oil

Book review of: Rachael Lorna Johnstone, Offshore Oil and Gas Development in the Arctic under International Law: Risk and Responsibility (Leiden, Brill), 2015, ISBN 978-90-042693-30, hardbound.

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