Works Cited Page

Works Cited Page

11.     Tansley (1934); Molles (1999), p. 482; Chapinet al. (2002), p. 380; Schulze et al. (2005); p. 400; Gurevitch et al. (2006), p. 522; Smith & Smith 2012, p. G-5

            -I used this source to find a proper definition for the word “Ecosystem”

22.     NOAA.org

-I used this source to look up information on Large Marine Ecosystems

33.     Aquarone, M. C., and S. Adams. "Large Marine Ecosystems of the World." Large Marine Ecosystems of the World. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.

-I used this source to do further research on the Alaskan Gulf Coast LME

44.     Hogan, Michael C. "Gulf of Alaska." Gulf of Alaska. N.p., 15 Oct. 2009. Web. 26 Nov. 2013.

-I used this source to research climate data for my ecosystem

55.      Allaby, Michael, ed. (2006) [1994]. A Dictionary of Ecology (Third ed.). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.ISBN 978-0-19-860905-6. 

-I used this source to find a proper ecological definition for the word “productivity”

6.     Brodeur, R.D., Frost, B.W., Hare, S., Francis, R. and Ingraham, W.J. (1999). Interannual variations in zooplankton biomass in the Gulf of Alaska, and covariation with California Current zooplankton biomass, p 106-138 in: Sherman, K. and Tang, Q. (eds), Large Marine Ecosystems of the Pacific Rim: Assessment, Sustainability and Management. Blackwell Science, Malden, U.S.

-I used this source to conduct my research on the production of the Alaskan Gulf Coast.

77.     "Oceana | Protecting the World's Oceans." Gulf of Alaska. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Nov. 2013.

-I used this source to find out more information on the formation of the Alaskan Gyre and how it manipulates the climate of the region.

-I also used this source to read about the plate tectonics that drive the Alaskan Gyre.

88.     Our Living Oceans—Report on the Status of U.S. Living Marine Resources, 1999. NOAA. 301 pages. 

-I used this source to conduct my research on Alaska’s Fishing and Landings.

99.     Sea Around Us (2007). A Global Database on Marine Fisheries and Ecosystems. Fisheries Centre, University British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. www.seaaroundus.org/lme/SummaryInfo.aspx?LME=2

-I used this source to acquire data on Alaska’s fisheries and Landings.

110.  "Gulf of Alaska Large Marine Ecosystem: Gulf of Alaska Large Marine Ecosystem."Gulf of Alaska Large Marine Ecosystem. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Nov. 2013.

-I used this source in order to obtain knowledge on the socioeconomics that revolve around the Gulf of Alaska’s capital production.

-I also used this source to find research done on overfishing and pollution to the Gulf.

111.  Brian C. Hosmer, American Indians in the Marketplace: Persistence and Innovation among the Menominees and Metlakatlans, 1870–1920 (Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas, 1999), pp. 129–131, 200.

-I used this source to conduct research on the indigenous natives that rely on the Gulf’s productivity.

112.  www.goac3.org

-I used this source to conduct research on the legal decisions that have been made over the protection of the Gulf’s ecosystem.

113.  NMFS (2009). Our living oceans. Draft report on the status of U.S. living marine resources, 6th edition.

-I used this source to learn more about the Pollock protection that is applied in order to preserve certain species of the LME.

114.  http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=protectedareas.main

-I used this source in order to learn more about Alaska’s policies regarding their protection of certain areas of their state, including the Gulf.

115.  http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=protectedareas.marineprotected

116.   http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/sf/SARR/AWC/

-I used both of these sources to conduct additional research on Alaska’s Game and Fish divisions.

117.  Witherell, D., Pautzke, C. and Fluharty, D. (2000) An ecosystem-based approach for Alaska

groundfish fisheries. ICES Journal of Marine Science 57:771-777. 

-I used this source in order to research additional information on the dangers of overfishing and collapsing certain fish colonies.

ALL PICTURES USED IN THIS BLOG HAVE THEIR SOURCES INCLUDED AT THE BOTTOM OF THEM.

About Me

About Me

Photo of me...taken by yours truly, Mr. Robbie Abbasi

My name is Robbie Abbasi. I'm currently a fourth-year Political Science Major here at the lovely UCLA. I'm sure many people wonder why a politics major would be sitting in a Geography class. The answer is simple: I'm absolutely amazed at the world we live in. Nature, Plants, Animals, and Humans, the interworking dynamic between all of them never ceases to blow my mind. The reason that I chose to study the Alaskan Gulf Coast because at first glance it is absolutely beautiful. When I was younger, I saw the movie Snow Dogs and I remember how much I absolutely fell in love with the Alaskan terrain. To this day, I'm still yearning to visit the state one day and really tap into my inner-"out doors man."

What To Make of All This

So. Now that we've seen a bunch of photos, read a bunch of facts, and seen some charts, what's to be made of all this??

1. How have people impacted this ecosystem?

• I know you're getting nervous. I would say that in terms of human impact, it's OKAY. Commercial fishing has threatened local animal life that feeds on certain fish and as long as Alaska's oil reserves remain active, big businesses will have their foot in the door and crises such as the '89 Exxon oil spill and invasion by logging companies becomes more apparent. 

2. What is the status of the protected areas?

• Alaska has strived to protect it's rich resources and unique wildlife. Aside from the earlier mentioned laws and regulations that Alaska and the US government has implemented, protected areas are only as safe as people choose to make them. Unfortunately, certain sectors of the industrial world don't always choose to stick to quotas or limitations. 

3. What is likely to happen in the future to this ecosystem?

• It depends...

SOURCE: Witherell, D., Pautzke, C. and Fluharty, D. (2000) An ecosystem-based approach for Alaska

groundfish fisheries. ICES Journal of Marine Science 57:771-777. 

• The US National Marine Fisheries service (NMFS) includes “overfished” but not “collapsed” in its stock status categories. NMFS 2009 lists no overfished species. Several groundfish are presently underutilized and cannot be fully harvested without exceeding the bycatch limits for Pacific halibut. Gulf of Alaska groundfish stocks in the US are considered to be in a healthy condition as a result of ecosystem-based management actions by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, which include public participation, reliance on scientific assessments, conservative catch quotas built around annually determined overall fisheries biomass yield catch, and total allowable catch levels for key species with the objective of long term sustainability of fisheries stocks 

SOURCE: Witherell, D., Pautzke, C. and Fluharty, D. (2000) An ecosystem-based approach for Alaska

groundfish fisheries. ICES Journal of Marine Science 57:771-777. 

I know by know, you're probably happy to hear that the gulf is doing "okay"

...But the truth is, and to repeat the point, these numbers are stable so long as people CHOOSE to obey the laws. Not just for legal purposes, but in order to preserve the BEAUTIFUL Alaskan Gulf Coast.

So know the question becomes...HOW?

Well, what can be done to maintain balance between people and the ecosystem?

-The answer is simple: Become involved where you believe you can. One of the biggest lessons that i've learned in this class is that people have more power than they think they do. If research went into finding stable and renewable sources of energy, oil would become a thing of the past. Next, by taking into account the effects onto the ecosystem, we can choose to write our congress to enforce the strict adherence to overfishing laws, and therefore can help protect the animals that thrive in the area. Ultimately, I believe that knowledge and awareness would serve best as the first step. Basically...

Protection of the Gulf

Protection

SOURCE: http://www.terragalleria.com/images/np-alaska/kefj36775.jpeg

• The North Pacific Fishery Management Council, in conjunction with NOAA has produced a Gulf of Alaska Groundfish Fishery Management Plan . The transboundary management of Pacific salmon (sockeye, chum, pink, chinook, coho, and steelhead salmon) has created a problem between the USA and Canada. The Pacific Salmon Treaty (1985) was meant to facilitate the management of these salmon stocks by preventing overfishing and providing for optimum production, but there have been disagreements concerning the equitable sharing of the salmon catch. Quotas are difficult to establish, given the fluctuations of salmon from one year to the next.

SOURCES: ú  http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/153189/

ú  oceanlaw.net

SOURCE: https://www.ufz.de/export/data/1/27801_oil_spill.jpg

• In the aftermath of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, the US Congress crafted the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90). Under OPA 90, two Regional Citizen Advisory Councils were created, one for Prince William Sound, and one for Cook Inlet

SOURCE: ú  EPA (2004). National Coastal Condition Report 2. EPA-620/R-03-002. Office of Research and Development/Office of Water, Washington D.C., U.S.

Legal Decisions

In the US, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act extended federal fisheries management jurisdiction to 200 nautical miles and stimulated the growth of a domestic Alaskan groundfish fishery that rapidly replaced the foreign fisheries. Pacific ocean perch was intensively exploited by foreign fleets in the 1960s. Inshore groundfish resources are managed by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

SOURCE:  M.C. Aquarone and S. Adams

• In 2004, Amendment #66 to the Halibut and Sablefish program became a law that allowed eligible coastal communities in Alaska to purchase halibut and sablefish quota shares. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council, in conjunction with NOAA, produces a Gulf of Alaska Groundfish Fishery Management Plan for Alaska. The Gulf of Alaska Coastal Communities Coalition has identified 42 communities within Alaska eligible to participate in a program to form a CQE (Community Quota Entity), a non-profit corporation for the purchasing of quota shares.

SOURCE:  www.goac3.org

• Pollock are carefully managed due to concerns about the impact of fisheries on endangered Steller sea lions for which pollock is a major prey. Sea lion protection measures include closed areas and determinations of the acceptable biological catch. The western part of the Gulf (Kodiak Island and along the Alaska Peninsula) is a major area of operation for the shrimp fishery. Shrimp landings rose and are now declining. King crab catches peaked in the mid 1960s. Almost all Gulf of Alaska king crab fisheries have been closed since 1983.

SOURCE: ú  NMFS (2009). Our living oceans. Draft report on the status of U.S. living marine resources, 6th edition.

Protected Areas

SOURCE: http://www.pewenvironment.org/uploadedImages/PEG/Publications/Other_Resource/WLI_BLMMap2-Alaska-770.jpg

Alaska contains 365.5 million acres of land, 28.8 million acres of fresh water lakes, rivers and ponds; and 6,640 linear miles of coastline. About 88% of the state is in public ownership and many areas are set aside to protect their natural features including a wide variety of fish and wildlife habitats. These protected areas vary in their specific purposes and include state wildlife refuges, sanctuaries, and critical habitat areas, and waters important to anadromous fish; as well as other areas such as state parks; and national wildlife refuges, parks, and preserves. Many of these protected lands and waters also provide opportunities for hunting, trapping, fishing, gathering of wild resources, photography and wildlife viewing. They are also important for preserving Alaska’s lifestyles and economic opportunities.

SOURCE: http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=protectedareas.main

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game issued a report on July 18, 2002 with a set of recommendations for a public process for establishing marine protected areas (MPAs) in Alaska. These recommendations were developed by a ten-member task force of Department of Fish and Game personnel as guidance for development of an MPA policy by the Alaska Board of Fisheries.

SOURCE: http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=protectedareas.marineprotected

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) is now solely responsible for maintaining anadromous waters data as well as revision to and publication of the Catalog of Waters Important for the Spawning, Rearing or Migration of Anadromous Fishes and its associated Atlas.

SOURCE:  http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/sf/SARR/AWC/