Maps: Shellfish: Subsistence and Commercial Use

Shellfish subsistence map

NOTES:

Crab areas shown south of Nunivak Island were noted as areas where crab has been caught, sometimes while halibut fishing.

Cultural Practices

Top: Commercial crab fishing through the winter ice in Norton Sound. Photo credit: Tim Akimoff; Middle: Red king crab. Photo credit: Braxton Dew, NOAA; Bottom: Sea peaches (like these found in the Aleutian Islands), also locally called “seafood,” wash up on the beach and are collected by St. Lawrence Islanders. Photo credit: Robert Stone, NOAA

Shellfish

Clams and mussels
Crab (red king, blue king, snow)
Shrimp

Invertebrates
Sea peach

Fish and shellfish are harvested for subsistence in coastal and marine waters, through the ice and in rivers. Provided is a list of species as they were named in interviews with elders and active fishermen.

Halibut, herring, salmon and crab are also harvested in small-scale commercial fisheries and are an important contribution to the mixed subsistence and cash economy.

Tom cod fishing through the ice. Photo credit: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Last Updated:

Tue, 04/12/2016