Alaska could see its first emperor goose hunt in decades

Alaskans could hunt emperor geese for the first time in decades this spring.

The last legal hunt for the migratory birds was held in 1986. That's when the population hit a low, and hunting was closed from 1987 onward. But now, the Alaska Migratory Bird Co-Management Council has come up with a plan that could allow hunting this year.

The emperor goose, also called beach goose, primarily nests in the Yukon-Kuskokwim region, but is also found farther north, and in other western coastal areas including Bristol Bay, the Aleutian Islands and Kodiak. Most spend their entire life migrating exclusively within Alaska.

Those areas will all share in the future harvest, under a management plan that was developed last year and is currently out for comment.

If all goes as planned, a spring subsistence hunt will open this spring for qualified rural residents in Bristol Bay, the Aleutians and other parts of the state, including much of the western Alaska coast. Then in the fall, the rules will change, and the hunt will be managed by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, said Gayla Hoseth, who is on the AMBCC and works in the natural resources department at Bristol Bay Native Association.

"So how it is for everybody that lives out here, who're rural residents, the Alaskans who traditionally harvest emperor geese become sport hunters in the fall," Hoseth said. "And then we have to abide by a different set of rules. Even though you're getting subsistence food (for) your freezer, you're limited to bag limits."

Hoseth said that closure has been a sacrifice for area residents.

"I'm so proud we came as far as we came, but it didn't come easy," Hoseth said.

The cause of the decline was unknown. But in recent years, villages started to notice more birds, and the migratory bird council worked with Fish and Game and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to survey the population again, said AMBCC Executive Director Patty Schwalenberg.

The population estimate is based on a spring aerial survey, a nest count and other methods.

The latest management plan calls for reviewing the population again in three years to see how it is doing, Schwalenberg said.

In the meantime, Hoseth said the harvest will be an exciting one, and give residents a chance to pass along traditions that might have otherwise been lost.

"My dad knows how to hunt them, but he hasn't been able to teach his grandchildren, because we haven't been able to hunt them," Hoseth said. "Actually being able to go out and harvest them will be really exciting."

The AMBCC recommended allocations to the state's Board of Game, which agreed to them. In total there are thought to be about 1,000 birds available for the fall harvest. That's broken down by area, with 150 allocated in Bristol Bay, 125 in the Northwest Arctic, 175 in the Aleutians, and between 125 to 175 in each of the other eligible regions.

The fall hunts will be managed by ADFG, with a limit of one bird per hunter, and individuals must report taking a bird within three days of doing so in the northern regions, and 24 hours in Bristol Bay, Schwalenberg said.

This article was originally published in The Bristol Bay Times-Dutch Harbor Fisherman and is reprinted here with permission.