Judge rules on excessive fishing in Alaska

Back to Map Page July, 1999 Seattle, Washington On July 9 a Seattle judge ruled that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has allowed excessive fishing of pollock in Alaskan waters, thereby threatening the survival of the endangered Steller's sea lion. The Steller's sea lion, listed as endangered in 1997, has plummeted by 90% in some areas of the Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska, with overall populations falling from 120,000 just twenty years ago to less than 20,000 today. Pollock provide an important food source for this sea lion and other marine species. Stellar's sea lions are threatened by excessive fishing, according to a Seattle judge. Pollock also support a fishing industry worth from $600 million to $1 billion a year. Representatives of the fishing industry say that the ruling against the NMFS will not affect this year's fishing season, which opened August 1 and will continue until November 1 or until 500,00 tons of fish are caught. The pollock fishery is the largest in North America. Pollock make up most of the fish patties, fish sticks, immitation crab meat, and frozen fish fillets sold in the United States. Like all other fisheries in US waters, the pollock fishery is monitored by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), which is charged with keeping fishing levels within sustainable limits. The Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund and Trustees for Alaska, working on behalf of Greenpeace, the Sierra Club, and the American Oceans Campaign, filed suit against the NMFS in April 1998, charging that the agency has knucked under to industry pressure and been too liberal with the pollock fishery. As a consequence, the suit argued, the NMFS was damaging both the sea lion and its ecosystem. The July 9 ruling determined that the fishery service had indeed been too liberal with the industry, and the NMFS in Alaska is working to set new pollock fishing limits. (Pollock are involved in the disappearance of sea otters in other parts of Alaska: where other, more oil-rich species have already been seriously reduced by fishing pollock have moved in. Pollock are a relatively poor food source compared to other fish, though. In ecosystems dependent on salmon, herring, and cod, large numbers of pollock can occur as the system deteriorates. Stellar's sea lions could be dependent on pollock in part because of a dearth of more energy-rich fish. See related story on Sea Otters. To read more, see Environmental Science, A Global Concern, Cunningham and Saigo, 5th ed. Endangered species: p. 283 Endangered Species Act: p. 283-84 Overharvesting of fish: p. 278 Environmental Science, a Study of Interrelationships, Enger and Smith, 7th ed. Trends in world fish harvests: p. 199 Managing marine ecosystems (fisheries): p. 197-99 For further information, see these related web sites: Report from the Seattle Post Intelligencer Report from the Christian Science Monitor Report from the Portland Oregonian General news from the National Marine Fisheries Service Information on the Steller's sea lion Back to Map Page feedback form | permissions | international | locate your campus rep | request a review copy digital solutions | publish with us | customer service | mhhe home Copyright ©2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies. Any use is subject to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. McGraw-Hill Higher Education is one of the many fine businesses of the The McGraw-Hill Companies.