No event better foreshadows the potential impact ofclimate change on the global seafood supply than the news in early 2009 thatthe North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC), the U.S. government bodyresponsible for managing fisheries in the U.S. 200-mile exclusive economiczone, voted to ban all commercial fishing in waters north of the Bering Straituntil a management plan for the area is completed.
The NPFMC’s action follows a nearly two-year study ofthe area, and closes roughly 150,000 square nautical miles to commercialfishing to provide an opportunity to assess the impacts of climate change onArctic ecosystems before any commercial fishing is allowed.
