Trails to the whale: reflections of change and choice on an Iñupiat icescape at Barrow, Alaska

Abstract

Shorefast ice, present along Alaska's Arctic coastline from late fall through early summer, provides a platform for subsistence hunting by coastal indigenous communities. At Barrow, Alaska, Iñupiat hunters build trails each spring across the shorefast ice to connect the community to the adjacent lead where they hunt migrating bowhead whales. Building on efforts initiated by Alaska's North Slope Borough and in collaboration with the Barrow Whaling Captains Association, a systematic ice trail mapping and surveying project was developed in spring 2008. Using electromagnetic induction sounding, ice thickness surveys were completed along trails just prior to whaling. Semi-directed interviews with hunters addressed the impact of ice conditions on the hunt, choice of trail and hunting locations, and safety concerns. Four years of results (2008–2011) have shown that (1) tracking of local ice conditions along ice trails reveals the interannual variability of the shorefast ice thickness distribution, (2) documenting trail building and hunting strategies provides a baseline for how the community copes with variability, and (3) developing information resources for the community facilitates interaction with hunters and maintains project relevance to environmental challenges facing the community.