Posted July 25, 2024
Fisheries management in the North Pacific is complicated. Multiple layers of state, regional, federal and international regulations impact Alaska’s fisheries. Navigating these processes can be vexing. Yet, despite the complexities, some concepts are just simple, like healthy habitat is essential for healthy fisheries.
Throughout AMCC’s history, a key objective has been to protect essential fish habitat, especially from industrial-scale bottom trawling which makes up a substantial percentage of the fishing footprint in the waters surrounding Alaska. But what exactly is Essential Fish Habitat? EFH is a fishery management term for the habitat where a species can access the food and shelter essential to their survival - think crab hiding in corals and seaweed. It also encompasses other sea floor dwellers, like sand dollars and mollusks. These organisms play vital roles as ecosystem engineers, shaping fish habitat, stabilizing sediment and more.
The Challenges: Just as FY2023 was beginning, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) announced an emergency closure of the Bristol Bay Red King Crab (RKC) fishery for the second consecutive year, citing ongoing declines despite rebuilding efforts. Around the same time, AMCC realized a critical gap in RKC rebuilding plans: habitat damage caused by pelagic trawlers while harvesting massive amounts of species like pollock. Despite regulations prohibiting contact with the ocean floor, research presented to the NPFMC revealed that during crucial molting and mating seasons, nets from these “midwater” trawlers were operating on the seafloor up to 70% to 90% of the time.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Alaska’s pollock fishery is the largest fishery in the US by volume. Most pollock is processed into imitation crab and fast food fish sandwiches. The industry claims it’s sustainably harvested... what do you think?
This revelation was alarming on multiple fronts. Massive nets dragging along the seafloor are destroying habitat critical for the survival of crab and many other species, and can also crush them outright. Especially problematic is that pelagic trawlers are allowed to fish in the protected waters of the RKC “Savings Area'' historically closed to bottom trawling due to these very concerns. Additionally, preserving undisturbed seafloor habitat, similar to leaving old-growth forests intact, is critical to mitigating climate change.
The Solutions: AMCC has been working in earnest to raise the flag about these issues. We published a white paper The "Myth" of Midwater outlining our concerns and distributed it to stakeholders, decisionmakers and the science community, even presenting at the World Fisheries Congress in March 2024. We’ve taken and will continue to take every opportunity at NPFMC and Alaska Bycatch Task Force meetings to submit comments and testify in defense of EFH.
Despite regulatory complexities and industry pressures, our commitment to defending EFH remains resolute. We've made important inroads in the past couple of years raising awareness, rallying support and advocating for change with our members, partners and allies. While the NPFMC's response hasn't yet addressed our concerns, we persist to make waves, knowing each swell brings us closer to our goal of building the resilience of Alaska’s oceans, wild fisheries and fishing livelihoods.
AMCC provides updates on NPFMC activities bimonthly on our blog, offering insights and analysis on key fisheries management decisions and conservation efforts. Read more at akmarine.org/blog.
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