The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has decided not to move forward with a bottom-trawling survey for Alaska's northern Bering Sea following threats from a powerful NGO and three tribal governments' to sue over the endeavor.
NOAA officials agreed to postpone such studies until the agency receives input from Alaska Natives, the Association of Village Council Presidents (AVCP), said Feb. 29.
"Tribes across Alaska continue to insist on being a part of fisheries research," the group said, lauding the move.
On Feb. 8, the Center for Biological Diversity along with three tribal governments in Alaska filed notice of intent to sue the agency over the survey. In their notice, the groups said the survey "would cause significant and long-term damage to the undisturbed and highly sensitive benthic habitat" in the area and have "wide-ranging impacts on marine species" that are critical subsistence resources for Alaska Native people.
In 2022, the Center for Biological Diversity won a suit against the federal government that found regulations intended to reduce the risk of the Maine lobster fishery to right whales do not meet the legal requirements of the US Marine Mammal Protection Act and Endangered Species Act.
In 2016, former US President Barack Obama issued an executive order creating the “Northern Bering Sea Climate Resilience Area.” The president’s order reaffirmed an existing ban in the area on bottom-trawl fishing.
The groups pointed in part to NOAA's data showing Alaska trawl net entanglements comprised the majority of reported killer whale entanglements in Alaska since 1991.
Commercial flatfish trawls in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) were responsible for 13 entanglements.
Commercial pollock trawls in the Bering Sea Aleutian Islands were responsible for seven entanglements. However, all of the documented trawl-related deaths and entanglements dating back to 2012 were linked to the Alaska Bering Sea Aleutian Islands (BSAI) flatfish trawl, according to NOAA.
In announcing its decision to not move forward, NOAA Fisheries committed to work with the Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC), the Alaska Regional Office (AKRO), and tribal leaders on best practices for future consultations and other engagements, the AVCP said.
