Alaska Geographic Vol. 26, No. 3, 1999: THE BERING SEA
Changes in Bering Sea Draw Scientists' Scrutiny
What is in store for the vast, life-sustaining body of water we call the Bering Sea? From the decline of salmon runs to the listing of some marine mammals as endangered, scientists and Native people tell of a Bering Sea ecosystem that is undergoing change. What that change might be - and how scientists are documenting it - is the focus of THE BERING SEA.
Among the world's most productive ecosystems, the Bering Sea is a realm of superlatives: Half the commercial fish harvested in the United States are caught here; Some marine mammals and seabirds are found nowhere else in the world; and Native people have relied on the Bering Sea for millennia. With engrossing text and photos, readers explore the region's physical environment, its people and its fish, whales, sea lions, fur seals, walrus and seabirds.
Science writer Richard P. Emanuel describes the Bering Sea's physical environment as well as the importance of whale baleen and what it reveals to scientists about changes in marine productivity. Aleut leader Larry Merculieff takes readers halibut fishing, as he tells how the traditions of his people mesh with the sea's natural rhythms. Kris Capps discusses the marine mammal mysteries that surround the Bering Sea. Nationally recognized writer Downs Matthews explores Siberia's Whale Alley, where marine mammal bones haunt the homeland of a vanished culture.
These authors join others to examine the natural history and science that will enhance understanding of an evolving environment where people and animals have long shared the wealth.