Commerce secretary approves Arctic fisheries plan
ANCHORAGE -- The U.S. secretary of Commerce has approved a plan that would prohibit an expansion of commercial fishing in the Arctic, at least until more is known about the area.
Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke on Thursday approved the Arctic Fishery Management Plan, which was prompted by changes in the Arctic that have come with global warming and the loss of sea ice.
Locke said the goal now is to come up with a sustainable fishing plan that will not harm the overall health of the fragile Arctic ecosystem.
"As Arctic sea ice recedes due to climate change, there is increasing interest in commercial fishing in Arctic waters," Locke said in a statement. "This plan takes a precautionary approach to any development of commercial fishing in an area where there has been none in the past."
A report released in April predicted that within 30 years the area covered by summer sea ice will decline from about 2.8 million square miles (7.25 million square kilometers) to 620,000 square miles (1.6 square kilometers).
Locke's decision came a day before Obama administration officials are scheduled to conduct a public hearing in Anchorage on the nation's ocean policy. A task force is developing a recommendation for a policy that officials say ensures protection, maintenance and restoration of oceans, coasts and the Great Lakes.
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council, which oversees the management of fish in federal waters, adopted the Arctic Fishery Management Plan in February. The plan then underwent public review before Locke's approval.
The plan has been hailed by environmentalists and industry representatives alike.
Fishermen want to avoid what happened in the mid-1980s when it was every nation for itself and the pollock stocks were overfished in the Bering Sea and collapsed, said Dave Benton, executive director of the Marine Conservation Alliance, an industry group that represents the seafood, groundfish and crab industries in Alaska.
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