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/