The Elson Lagoon fishery is an important subsistence resource adjacent to the community of Barrow. Residents deploy gillnets in the lagoon as soon as there is substantial open water and no risk of losing nets in ice flow. Fishers will continue to fish Elson Lagoon with gillnets until freeze-up. Ice fishing occurs on the lagoon shortly after the ice is safe to walk on. Fishers typically target saffron cod (uugaq) and arctic cod (iqalugaq) during the ice fishing season. Other fish that are harvested are pink salmon (amaqtuuq), chum salmon (iqalugruaq), least cisco (iqalusaaq), broad whitefish (aanaakłiq), and arctic char (paikłuk). The ice fishing has not been closely monitored but the harvest is captured in the general NSB harvest survey. In the summer of 2006 the NSB Department of Wildlife Management initiated a program to monitor the Elson Lagoon Fishery.
This study is designed to investigate the fishery in the Elson Lagoon, estimate the catch rates and effort, total harvest, identification of species harvested and analyze changes in the fishery. We maintain two fyke nets in Elson Lagoon for our own sampling effort as well as conduct daily net surveys of subsistence fishermen during July and August. We identify the species of the fish, take body length and weight measurements and collect genetic samples (fin clips). Catch rates and total catch are calculated for the season. Water temperature and salinity measurements are also noted.
Summer 2013 Update: Todd Sformo has been surveying fish species in North Salt Lagoon and Elson Lagoon using a fyke net for the last three summers. This survey will help us better understand the number of species present, size and age distribution, health status of the fish, and the water temperature and salinity. In 2013, over 5,000 fish were caught and released with 14 species identified, mostly least cisco and fourhorn sculpin. Few parasites were observed, and fish appeared to be healthy, which is comparable to previous years.
