Assessing the sustainability and equity of Alaska salmon fisheries through a well-being framework

Abstract

Salmon are intrinsic to health and well-being in Alaska, and sit at the center of myriad social, cultural, and spiritual practices, norms, and values. These practices and values are essential to living and being well in many communities in Alaska, but often remain invisible and unaccounted for in management contexts. This paper stems from the collective efforts of a cross-disciplinary, crosscultural project team brought together as part of the State of Alaska's Salmon and People (SASAP) knowledge synthesis project. In this paper, we assess the sustainability and equity of Alaska salmon systems through a well-being framework. Key objectives include (1) defining and conceptualizing well-being in the context of Alaska salmon systems; (2) developing and assessing well-being indicators for Alaska salmon systems; and (3) evaluating how well-being concepts are currently incorporated into Alaska salmon management and suggesting improvements. We draw on specific examples to evaluate the application of well-being indicators as a tool to more effectively measure and evaluate social considerations, and discuss how to better integrate well-being concepts into governance and management to improve data collection and decision making. As part of this effort, we discuss trends and inequities in Alaska fisheries and communities that impact well-being, and tensions between equality and equity in the context of Alaska salmon management.

Indigenous Environmental Justice within Marine Ecosystems: A Systematic Review of the Literature on Indigenous Peoples’ Involvement in Marine Governance and Management

“…The papers included in our review and other literature showed inequities in access to fisheries, which were partly a consequence of equality-based policies directed at who can use and access biota (as well as water, minerals and so forth) in particular local, state, and national contexts. Many coastal and marine governance and management regimes, including those of Alaska and Hawai'i (USA), are underpinned by the guiding principle of equality, with equality-based laws and regulations treating all as the same [163][164][165][166]. Nevertheless, individuals and groups of people are not all the same [163,166].…”

“…Many coastal and marine governance and management regimes, including those of Alaska and Hawai'i (USA), are underpinned by the guiding principle of equality, with equality-based laws and regulations treating all as the same [163][164][165][166]. Nevertheless, individuals and groups of people are not all the same [163,166]. As Donkersloot et al aptly summarise (writing in regard to Alaskan Native communities' access to salmon fisheries):…”

“…"Not all people begin with common positions of power or shared capacities to equally enjoy the benefits of public resources, goods, and services; nor do they all have equal needs." [163].…”

“…Equality is sometimes confused with equity, but the two terms are different [163,164]. On the one hand, equality assumes a level playing field and a homogeneity across all actors so that every person or group possesses the same and equal rights and opportunities (such as the right to harvest shellfish and catch fish from a coastline).…”

“…Equitybased policies, therefore, consider the justness of how environmental goods and threats are distributed within and between different groups of people (distributive justice) and the capacities of people to participate in environmental governance and management across generations (procedural justice). When examining the consequences of equality-based policies on Indigenous peoples, Donkersloot et al demonstrated that the equal treatment of people under the law could be a significant barrier to Indigenous peoples' ability to exercise their rights and maintain their ways of life [163,164].…”