A unanimous decision by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) has banned all future industrial fisheries in US waters north of the Bering Strait.
The move is preventive: there are currently no large-scale commercial fisheries operating in the area, covering nearly 200,000 square miles (518,000 square kilometres), but the diminishing Arctic icecap caused by climate change is increasingly raising the industry’s incentive to search those waters for future profits.
The decision, reported by the American Gristmill blog, follows years of works by conservation groups in the area. According to Gristmill, it is precedent-setting as one of the largest precautionary measures in fisheries history.
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC), with representatives for government, the fishing industry, recreational fisheries and the general public, has jurisdiction over the 900,000 square mile US Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) off Alaska.
The National Marine Fisheries Service, the responsible federal agency, is expected to approve the Council’s decision and issue final regulations later this year, Gristmill said.