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Arctic Fisheries A Lure, But Care Will Be Needed

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By DAVID BENTON

Published: November 14, 2007

In the thousands of years man has depended on seafood, most of the world's fishing grounds have been discovered and exploited.

As the fishing industry grew, steps were taken in some regions to manage fish stocks and protect their habitat, and they remain a plentiful and sustainable source of healthy food. Regions that failed to do so suffered the consequences of overfishing, and a precious sustainable resource was squandered.

That's why a new fishing area - one that is only opening because of climate change - should not be developed until sound management practices and catch limits are put in place. The region is the Arctic Ocean, and Alaska fishermen who have much to gain from this potential new fishing ground are leading the call for a precautionary approach to developing the region.

Oceanographers have witnessed a remarkable change in the Arctic in recent years. The previously impenetrable ice pack is receding, opening vast new areas along the Arctic coast during the summer months.

Warming ocean water temperatures, meanwhile, are affecting the distribution of fish, causing them to migrate north in search of new cold water habitats. The result is more favorable fishing conditions in the Arctic, but what the thawing of an ice-locked frontier means for the fish or the Arctic habitat is still largely unknown.

Scientists do not know how many fish are already in these waters, what new species are migrating there or what impacts fishing activity might have on the broader ecosystem.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council, the federally mandated council that manages Alaska's marine fisheries, has called for closure of the Arctic to fishing until scientists better understand the region and its fish stocks and a management plan is developed to ensure their sustainability.

Alaskans speak with some authority as they are acknowledged as world leaders in managing fish stocks for commercial, recreational and subsistence purposes. One of only three well-managed fisheries in the world, according to National Geographic (the others being Iceland and New Zealand), Alaska produces over 50 percent of the nation's seafood, and none of its fish stocks is considered overfished.

The North Pacific council's action is a good start, but the United States' waters north of Alaska are just a thin slice of the Arctic Ocean. Effective management of these waters will require an international agreement between all nations bordering the Arctic: the U.S., Canada, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Russia and the European Union.

A bipartisan resolution sponsored by Sens. Ted Stevens, R-AK, and Daniel Inouye, D-HI, calls for a halt to any commercial fishing activity in the Arctic until such an agreement can be reached on managing migratory, trans-boundary and straddling stocks. The resolution has passed the Senate and is now awaiting action in the House.

Fisheries provide billions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of jobs to the global economy, and the demand for healthy seafood to feed the world is growing. The "Alaska Model" of fishery management is a worthy guide for future Arctic efforts.

With sound science as our foundation, we must work with other countries to assure the sustainability of this critical resource. As we move into a new frontier, it's vital that we balance industry with conservation and understand the two practices go hand in hand.

David Benton, former chairman of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, is executive director of the Marine Conservation Alliance, comprised of harvesters, processors, and coastal communities in Alaska.

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