Many people around Bristol Bay depend on moose for food. Now, there are two more weeks to hunt for that meat around Togiak. The hunt has been extended through Feb. 3, at the request of the Togiak Traditional Council.
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced the extension of the hunt in unit 17A on Wednesday. The month-long hunt was originally scheduled to end today.
Peter Lockuk Sr., with Togiak Traditional Council, said deaths in the community and bad weather hampered residents’ ability to go hunting. He said this winter’s severe weather began in November with a cold snap.
“It was cold for a while and then we had a warm splash," he said. "And everything was turning into slushy type going on to the first days of openers for moose season, and condition wasn’t safe to travel due to slushy ice and many open waters.”
Those conditions improved as the hunt continued. But then, he said, several people in the community died.
“We experienced our relatives passing on. And most of the folks had to honor that relative when they pass on," he said. "This COVID-19 epidemic stuff – our family members you know, they couldn't go because their relatives had to be, you know, buried and stuff, like the ceremonial type.”
Just over 30 moose have been harvested so far, according to Fish and Game. Lockuk said he’s waiting on a few snow machine parts to arrive before he goes hunting. But other people have shared their harvest.
“One of my relatives got a moose," he said. "The most recent one yesterday, and they gave me some moose meat and I got to eat fresh moose meat.”
The conditions have improved this week, and Lockuk said he’s hopeful that more people will be successful when they go hunt.
“Starting on Monday, the weather was really good, good traveling condition out there," he said. "That high wind and stuff had made it fairly smooth quite a long distance, and blowing away that soft snow that was settling on top of the harder snow, and it made the traveling easier now. And I know that the folks will be catching more moose if they go hunting.”
Chris Brockman is the acting Fish and Game area management biologist for Dillingham, based in Palmer. He said the department’s harvest quota hasn’t been met yet, either.
“The current harvest was at 21 female moose and 11 male moose, and the quota that we were looking to harvest was 30 females, so we have a little bit of additional quota that was available to harvest,” he said.
Biologists conducted the most recent aerial survey of moose in the Togiak area in 2017, which showed that the population was more than 2,000 moose – almost twice what managers are aiming for. Additional surveys from 2019 showed that the moose numbers around Togiak are still robust.
The bag limit for the hunt is two – an antlered bull and an antlerless moose. Hunters who have already taken an animal this season can still participate, but they can only bag one additional moose.
Here’s Lockuk with the announcement for the extension in Yup’ik:
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Registration permits are available at the Togiak Traditional Council office and the Fish and Game office in Dillingham.
Successful hunters must report to the Dillingham office at 907-842-2334 or to the Togiak Traditional Council at 907-493-5003 within three days of killing a moose. All permit reports should be returned to the department within 15 days of the season's Feb. 3 closure. Hunters are required to file a report whether or not they were successful.
Contact the author at izzy@kdlg.org or 907-842-2200.