Berry picking is an important subsistence activity, especially for Sakha people living in central Yakutia in east Siberia, whose predominant source of livelihood is pastoralism and fishing. The purpose of this study is to clarify an actual situation of the berry picking activity of Sakha people. It also analyzes the amount of berries picked in a specific time period by means of a field survey in Magaras village in the Gorny District of Sakha Republic. The field survey recorded 11 species of wild berries which local residents use as a food resource. The local people who gathered the wild berry used two areas for berry picking; the region near the village was accessed by foot and that which was further away, was accessed by car. From the results of the survey on berry picking for two days, the amounts of berries gathered per unit time of one gatherer, varied from 0.47 kg/h to 1.26 kg/h. This implies that there is a difference of nearly 1.5 times in the produce which is picked at different instants of time, although the gatherers picked berries in the same area, and in the same time duration. Moreover, it was observed that there existed a difference of 2.1 times in the amount picked between the first and second days, for different gatherers in different places. Three out of four people sold berries to merchants of agricultural companies from Yakutsk, and to local residents. Although some residents received income from picking berries, many of them used the berries for self-consumption.
