Community Sampling for Ocean Acidification in Southcentral Alaska

Abstract

The Chugach Regional Resources Commission (CRRC) is a Tribal non-profit fish and wildlife commission established in 1984 by the Tribes of Prince William Sound and Lower Cook Inlet. TheAlutiiq Pride Marine Institute (APMI), a division of CRRC, is a mariculture technical center located in Seward, Alaska focused on providing subsistence resource harvest opportunity to Tribal members. The ocean acidification (OA) program, conducted by the APMI and CRRC, has been bridging the gap between western science and residents of coastal communities in Southcentral Alaska. Continuous OA monitoring by APMI and discrete OA samples and exposure studies provide climate data for researchers to utilize in studying trends and high-level science. The discrete OA sampling program is conducted by Natural Resource Specialists in Alaska Native communities in Southcentral Alaska. Continuing OA work is critical to understanding the effects of OA effects on important food resources for the Tribes in the Southcentral region.