Frozen in their footprints

North Pacific Fishery Management Council protects seafloor habitat areas in Bering Sea

Posted by Andrew Sharpless (Guest Contributor) at 3:13 PM on 15 Jun 2007

Read more about: habitat loss | fishing | biodiversity | oceans

It's official -- and unanimous. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council voted to ban bottom trawling of some 180,000 square miles of previously unexploited ocean floor in the Bering Sea, particularly in the North.

The area is home to 26 species of marine mammals, including whales and walruses, as well as 450 species of fish and million of seabirds that flock to the region from all seven continents.

This is a great victory for the oceans and Oceana, too, since the Council opted for Alternative 2 -- advocated by Oceana and others -- to essentially "freeze the footprint" on bottom trawling, allowing trawlers to continue operations in areas where trawling currently occurs and establishing a boundary so they cannot cause further damage to the ocean-floor habitats.

The victory comes roughly two years after Oceana's campaigning in North America helped lead to a vote by the Council to protect vibrant coral gardens in the Aleutian Islands. Protecting the Bering Sea means protecting essential and vibrant habitat.

For story: Frozen in their footprints
4 Comments | Post a Comment

Awesome, but

Do they have any power or funding to enforce the ban?

After all, we have laws (i.e., immigration, pollution) that merely give the appearance that we are in control.

a liberal in redsville

by birdboy at 5:48 PM on 15 Jun 2007

Hey,

it's a good start.

In the end, it all comes down to biodiversity. Poison Darts--Protecting the biodiversity of our world

by biodiversivist at 7:33 PM on 15 Jun 2007

Enforcement is technically feasible

We just need a more creative executive branch.

In the end, it all comes down to biodiversity. Poison Darts--Protecting the biodiversity of our world

by biodiversivist at 10:00 AM on 16 Jun 2007

enforcement indeed

Ha! Terrific solution, BioD. To paraphrase Madeleine Albright: We have the greatest military in the world, we ought to be able to use it for something worthwhile sometimes.

One of the most unforgettable scenes in all of Star Trek is in the fourth movie, "The Voyage Home," when James T. Kirk, captaining a borrowed Klingon bird of prey, interposes it between a harpoon and a couple of humpback whales whom they have befriended, then decloaks, to the horror of the whalers.

For all we know, some part of our contributions to Greenpeace goes into a fund intended for the purchase of one of those Klingon birds of prey. On the other hand, the Greenpeace crowd are probably more squeamish regarding nuclear submarines.

Chickens deserve our true friendship! So do fish! So do other sentient beings! Let us learn to be kind.

by caniscandida at 11:48 AM on 16 Jun 2007

ADVERTISING POLICY

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