NOAA Fisheries News Releases
NEWS RELEASE
August 24, 2000
Carol Tocco, Public Affairs NMFS
(907) 586-7032
NOAA Fisheries Analyzes Pacific Cod Fishery
Draft Environmental Assessment Available for Public Review
NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service announced the release of a draft environmental assessment that examines interactions between the Pacific cod fishery and Steller sea lions in the Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands, and Gulf of Alaska. This assessment will be presented to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council on September 6, and is open for public comment until September 15. After consideration of this analysis, the Council will make recommendation for action to NOAA Fisheries.
"This is another step in our continuing efforts to protect Steller sea lions, while overseeing commercial fisheries of high economic value to the nation," said Jim Balsiger, Alaska Regional Administrator for NOAA Fisheries.
It is NOAA Fisheries' opinion that the endangered western population of Steller sea lions in Alaska are food limited and that competition for prey, especially in areas designated as critical habitat, could have a negative effect on the population. This environmental assessment explores a range of three alternatives to modify the Pacific cod fisheries in order to avoid competition with the Steller sea lions.
Alternative 1 describes fishing under the status quo. The analysis concluded the status quo fishery results in temporal and spatial concentration of Pacific cod catch in designated critical habitat, which could decrease the foraging success of Steller sea lions. Alternatives 2 and 3 are proposals to spatially and temporally disperse the Pacific cod fishery to avoid excessive removals of Pacific cod, especially during the winter months, within critical habitat. Some of the options considered to mitigate the impacts on Steller sea lions include prohibiting fishing around Steller sea lion rookery and haulout areas, creating multiple fishing seasons, and imposing harvest limits for Pacific cod inside critical habitat.
The environmental assessment can be found at www.fakr.noaa.gov or by contacting the Alaska Region at (907) 586-7235.
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