According to the information released by the press a congressional panel has challenged the fishing restrictions that federal regulators say are necessary to the survival of Steller sea lions in western Alaska. The U.S. House Natural Resources Committee is led by U.S. Rep. Doc Hastings of Washington State and includes U.S. Rep. Don Young of Alaska.
Hastings urged NOAA to look into the matter and reexamine the research that led the National Marine Fisheries Service to impose more fishing restrictions in January. He informed that the current restriction has drastically cut commercial fishing of mackerel and cod in the western Aleutians to reduce the competition sea lions face for food. Hastings estimated a loss to the fishing industry of at least $44 million a year and 250 jobs.
Hastings said that after going the research of the scientists NOAA is still not able to answer the questions regarding whether the commercial fishing industry is limiting the food available for Steller sea lions. But it is clear that the restrictions will have devastating effects on the fishermen and fishing communities. The Steller sea lion has been under federal protection since 1990. In 1997, the population was reclassified into two population segments, with the western population considered endangered and the eastern Stellers of southeast Alaska listed as threatened.
After the new restrictions were imposed in January, the state of Alaska and two fishing industry groups sued. They argued that restricted fishing was not needed because the population of western Steller sea lions was growing between 1 percent and 1.5 percent a year.
