Marine Protected Areas Improve Alaskan Fisheries
Ocean Reserves Help Preserve Sustainable Fishing
Sep 25, 2008
Sustainable groundfish production off Alaska has been maintained in the 3 to 5 billion pound range over the last 30 years, with all groundfish, salmon, and scallop stocks, and most crab stocks, considered above established minimum size thresholds.
This sustainability is credited in part to fishery managers using an increasingly precautionary and ecosystem-oriented approach. The approach involves strict catch quotas for all managed target and non-target species, real-time shipboard monitoring, gear limitations, rights-based programs, and protected resource considerations. In addition, the Alaska management approach also use Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)—a progenitor of the more restrictive, “no take” marine reserve.
MPAs in Alaska
Alaskan fishery managers began using MPAs in the 1990’s, to protect sensitive seafloor habitats from the effects of trawls and dredges. In addition, MPAs were established to begin addressing potential competition concerns between fishermen and Steller sea lions.
Since then, over 40 MPAs have been established in Federal waters off Alaska. Taken in combination with various state protected waters, the MPAs help to:
- control exploitation rates of target species;
- protect spawning and nursery areas;
- improve sustainable yields;
- reduce bycatch of nontarget species;
- protect benthic habitat from disturbances due to fishing gear;
- protect biodiversity.
Current MPAs Collectively Inefficient
However, while the MPAs off Alaska were each established for the aforementioned purposes over time, they were not set up as part of a deliberate, comprehensive strategy to develop a marine reserve network. Consequently the degree to which they produce the benefits seen by planned reserve networks—improved conservation of widely distributed species of varying life histories, biodiversity conservation, and protection of important ecological processes—is unclear. It is likely they provide these benefits to some degree, though less so than if it had been their main intention.
Future Sustainability
The challenge facing the North Pacific—and the world—is to ensure the oceans remain a sustainable source of food and materials for human use, while simultaneously preserving the rich legacy of biodiversity, and ecological services, healthy marine ecosystems provide. In the case of Alaskan waters, this managerial balancing act appears relatively successful. Most Alaskan fisheries and their supporting ecosystems appear fairly healthy.
It is worth remembering, however, that the only certainty in life is change. Even untouched, pristine ecosystems display a combination of stability and instability. All too often there are unexpected behavioral shifts resulting from both internal and external causes. These shifts are especially likely in ecosystems managed for the production of food, such as the North Pacific. Sometimes data is inadequate, the understanding of ecosystem processes incomplete—and the very act of managing a system alters it. Changes, perhaps even surprises, are inevitable.
It is hoped that Alaska fishery managers will continue to study how the region’s MPAs can be improved. While they are not by themselves a conservation panacea, well-planned MPAs used in combination with more traditional tools will play a key role in preserving Alaskan seas in the face of inevitable change.
References
Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans. 2007. The Science of Marine Reserves (2nd Edition, United States Version.) www.piscoweb.org. 22 pages.
Witherell, D., D. Woodby. 2005. Application of marine protected areas for sustainable production and marine biodiversity off Alaska. Marine Fisheries Review, Winter Issue.
