The socio-ecological system of razor clams and the Quinault Indian Nation: modeling the potential impacts of ocean change on a steadfast fishery

Presentation Abstract

On the outer coast of Washington state, cultural values and traditional lifestyles are closely entwined with the marine resources affected by ocean change. Our research explores how ongoing ocean change may challenge the social-ecological system surrounding the Quinault Indian Nation’s razor clam harvest. We conducted semi-structured interviews with Quinault tribal members, scientists, and resource managers to generate a conceptual model of the social-ecological system, which we use to 1) understand the emergent effects of changes in availability of razor clams and 2) explore how the tribal community might prepare for or adapt to these impacts. We find that razor clams are a staple food and key income source for the Quinault people due to their high abundance, low cost to harvest, and long season of availability relative to other natural resources. Low-income families experience disproportionate economic impacts during razor clam harvest closures, but less tangible social and cultural impacts are felt broadly throughout the community. Although razor clams have been abundant and safe for harvest in many recent years, the Quinault perceive many threats to the resource, including climate change, harmful algal blooms, pollution, and habitat damage. We will extend our initial conceptual model using formal analysis of interview responses, supplemented with expert interviews of western scientists, to craft a Bayesian belief network of the Quinault-razor clam system. This will enable the exploration of qualitative connections between ocean change, razor clam availability and community-level variables such as indigenous health and well-being, income, and social network composition. Uncertainty around human responses will be incorporated to the extent possible. This work is an ongoing effort from graduate students in natural resource policy and fisheries science as part of the IGERT Program on Ocean Change at the University of Washington.

Session Title

Climate Change and Culturally Important Foods, Resources, and Places in the Salish Ecosystem

Conference Track

Climate Change and Ocean Acidification

Conference Name

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2016 : Vancouver, B.C.)

Document Type

Event

Start Date

2016 12:00 AM

End Date

2016 12:00 AM

Location

2016SSEC

Type of Presentation

Oral

Genre/Form

conference proceedings; presentations (communicative events)

Contributing Repository

Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.

Subjects – Topical (LCSH)

Razor clams--Effect of habitat modification on--Washington (State); Quinault Indian Nation--Economic conditions--21st century; Marine ecosystem health--Washington (State)

Geographic Coverage

Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Washington (State)

Comments

Please note that all coauthors are listed in alphabetical order.

Rights

This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.

Type

Text

Language

English

Format

application/pdf

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The socio-ecological system of razor clams and the Quinault Indian Nation: modeling the potential impacts of ocean change on a steadfast fishery

2016SSEC

On the outer coast of Washington state, cultural values and traditional lifestyles are closely entwined with the marine resources affected by ocean change. Our research explores how ongoing ocean change may challenge the social-ecological system surrounding the Quinault Indian Nation’s razor clam harvest. We conducted semi-structured interviews with Quinault tribal members, scientists, and resource managers to generate a conceptual model of the social-ecological system, which we use to 1) understand the emergent effects of changes in availability of razor clams and 2) explore how the tribal community might prepare for or adapt to these impacts. We find that razor clams are a staple food and key income source for the Quinault people due to their high abundance, low cost to harvest, and long season of availability relative to other natural resources. Low-income families experience disproportionate economic impacts during razor clam harvest closures, but less tangible social and cultural impacts are felt broadly throughout the community. Although razor clams have been abundant and safe for harvest in many recent years, the Quinault perceive many threats to the resource, including climate change, harmful algal blooms, pollution, and habitat damage. We will extend our initial conceptual model using formal analysis of interview responses, supplemented with expert interviews of western scientists, to craft a Bayesian belief network of the Quinault-razor clam system. This will enable the exploration of qualitative connections between ocean change, razor clam availability and community-level variables such as indigenous health and well-being, income, and social network composition. Uncertainty around human responses will be incorporated to the extent possible. This work is an ongoing effort from graduate students in natural resource policy and fisheries science as part of the IGERT Program on Ocean Change at the University of Washington.