Commercial Fishermen and Local People Join Together in Pribilof Collaborative

The Bering Sea faces a host of serious issues regarding its fish and wildlife, and the people and economies that depend on them. Over the past several years, declines in the halibut catch for local Pribilof Islands fishermen and decreases in the populations of various crab species, northern fur seal and bird populations of the Pribilof Islands area have generated increased concern among local residents, the commercial fishing industry, and conservation organizations.

In hopes of developing a collaborative – rather than a confrontational – approach to address these resource depletions and related ecological changes, fishing industry leaders, local fishermen, CDQ groups, local entities (Native corporation, city government, tribe) from St. Paul and St. George, conservation interests, and federal resource managers have been meeting to lay the foundation for a new approach to resolving issues in fisheries management and wildlife declines. This Pribilof collaborative project will result in a set of consensus-based recommendations addressing declines in halibut catch per unit effort (CPUE), crab harvests, northern fur seals, and sea birds. The recommendations will be brought to appropriate decision-making bodies for deliberation and action (e.g., North Pacific Fishery Management Council, International Pacific Halibut Commission, North Pacific Research Board). In the face of declines in northern fur seals, the collaborative hopes to develop a more effective, less polarizing approach to issues than witnessed in the past with suchspecies as the Steller sea lion and the associated ESA listing and litigation.