According to the information Arctic Fisheries Plan would ban industrial fishing in nearly 200,000 square miles of U.S. waters in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas until researchers can gather sufficient information on fish and the Arctic marine environment. The plan states that species like Arctic cod, saffron cod and snow crab would be likely targeted by commercial fishermen.
This plan is said to have 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.
As per Locke’s statement the main purpose is to come up with a sustainable fishing plan that will not harm the overall health of the fragile Arctic ecosystem. He also said that this takes a precautionary approach to any development of commercial fishing in an area where there has been none in the past.
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 has been hailed by environmentalists and industry representatives alike. Dave Benton, executive director of the Marine Conservation Alliance, opined that 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.
Chris Krenz, arctic project manager for the conservation group Oceana, said this is the first time a management plan has been put in place before fishing has been allowed in an area. The approach comes, he said, with the realization that fisheries have an impact.
