Exploring the cultural, historical, and nutritional roles of black seaweed in Southeast Alaska: Implications for community wellbeing and food security

The annual harvest, preservation, use, and distribution of black seaweed is a common practice across Southeast Alaska. Black seaweed is regarded as a highly valued food source and plays a critical role in the cultures of many communities in Southeast Alaska. The distribution and relative abundance of black seaweed are being impacted by rapid environmental change, with implications for community wellbeing and food security. In addition, the aggregation of Licmophora diatoms on the seaweed, which affects its color, texture, and taste threaten the cultural and nutritional uses. These changes may have adverse effects on local communities who rely on black seaweed as a food source and cultural resource. The goals of this award are to document the salient values and practices of black seaweed harvest for coastal communities from local perspectives, document ongoing changes, and to test the hypothesis that black seaweed is a cultural keystone species for Southeast Alaska communities. This research project seeks to understand the traditional food harvest of black seaweed as it informs and shapes cultural and food practices, testing the concept of cultural keystone species and using theoretical and empirical approaches from human behavioral ecology and habitat quality modeling. The research team will collect data by conducting ethnographic fieldwork including community meetings, field observations, and face-to-face semi-structured interviews with local traditional food experts and community members across coastal Southeast Alaska. Specific variables will include descriptions and measurements of harvesting, processing, using, and distributing black seaweed. The team intends to apply a co-production of knowledge methodology, with active engagement and a collaborative approach involving community-based participatory research. The scientific findings and research outcomes may help inform coastal resource management and socioeconomic development in the Southeast Alaska region; and data products will be disseminated through the Sealaska Heritage Institute’s lectures and Box of Knowledge book series, a dedicated YouTube channel, and peer-reviewed publications. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.