Environmental impacts threaten the Suquamish way of life

For millennia, the Suquamish Tribe has depended on fish, shellfish, game, and plants supplied by a variety of ecosystems in Puget Sound. The fruits of these Pacific Northwest ecosystems provide for the Tribe’s economic, nutritional, and cultural needs. Knowledge of these ecosystems enabled the Tribe to overcome various challenges through two centuries of conflict and cooperation with European traders, American settlers, and modern developers.

Today, seafood, game, and traditional plants remain essential to the Suquamish culture and diet. Around 20 percent of the Tribe’s members help support their families by earning income from the harvest of fish and shellfish, and proceeds from geoduck clam harvests support elders’ programs. However, decades of development have significantly degraded these species’ habitats, which reduces their ability to withstand predicted impacts of climate change. For example, salmon must swim through long stretches of unshaded streams (the result of development), which increases their vulnerability to higher stream temperatures and lower stream volumes.

Now, a new stressor threatens the ecosystems on which the Tribe depends: ocean acidification. Many people understand that burning coal, oil, and gas to power modern development produces carbon dioxide, and as the abundance of this heat-trapping gas increases in the atmosphere, Earth’s climate warms. Fewer people understand that as increasing amounts of carbon dioxide are absorbed by the ocean, the pH level of its waters decreases, making the ocean more acidic. This phenomenon, called ocean acidification, gives the water a corrosive quality that interferes with the ability of key species of shellfish to grow their shells.

The combined, ongoing impacts of development, climate change,  and ocean acidification threaten to radically change the availability of natural resources on which the Suquamish have always depended. In the face of these threats, the Suquamish are employing innovative ideas to improve their resilience.

Changes in the sea

Research shows that the ocean has absorbed almost a third of the carbon dioxide released by human activity since 1750, and this absorption has already lowered the pH level of the ocean by 30 percent. The ocean has also absorbed 93 percent of the heat energy trapped by increased carbon dioxide since 1970. By absorbing heat and carbon dioxide, the ocean has buffered the impact of climate change on land and air, but at the cost of altering fundamental aspects of the ocean. Ocean impacts from the one-two punch of increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and in the ocean include reduced pH (trending from a base toward an acid), higher temperatures, rising sea level, decreased oxygen content, changes to fish behavior, shifts in species ranges, and a potential increase in harmful toxic algal blooms. As increased acidity makes it harder for shellfish that form the base of the marine food web to form their shells, ocean acidification may reduce the capacity of the ocean to support the Suquamish and hundreds of millions of other people who depend on ocean resources.

Chief Kitsap Academy students Alijah Sipai (left) and Jerald Delafuent (in yellow) fishing for chum salmon in the fall. Back on shore, they learned how to catch, clean, smoke, and preserve salmon, continuing a centuries-old way of life. They then shared their delicious catch with their families, friends, and a few very lucky fisheries staff members.

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Paul Williams, US Climate Resilience Toolkit, 10 May 2024. Article.

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