Alaska fisheries and the road to marine reserves: preserving Alaska seas and their bounty for future generations.

• Author: Pohl, John
• Position: FISHING

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Oceans all over the world are undergoing a rapid and radical deterioration. A wide range of land- and ocean-based human activities, exacerbated by human population growth, is causing complex and previously unseen changes in the biology and ecological functioning of oceans around the world.

Fortunately, worldwide recognition of the value and vulnerability of marine ecosystems and the ecological services they provide appears to have finally dawned on people and governments alike. There is an urgent search afoot for effective means to prevent or reverse widespread decline, and if possible protect, maintain and restore ocean health.

One such tool under scrutiny is the idea of establishing marine reserves in combination with more traditional management tools. And one group that has been using reserve-like tools already--somewhat inadvertently--is Alaska fishery managers.

THE NORTH PACIFIC FISHERIES MANAGEMENT COUNCIL

The North Pacific Fisheries Management Council's program is generally considered the standard for U.S. waters. Sustainable groundfish production off Alaska has been maintained in the 3 billion 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 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.

The Alaska management approach also uses marine protected areas (MPAs)--a progenitor of marine reserves.

LEVELS OF PROTECTION

MPAs are defined as areas of the ocean designated to enhance conservation of marine resources. The actual level of protection within MPAs varies depending on its mission. Generally speaking, MPAs provide some conservation benefits, but they are different than those provided by a stricter protectorate: the marine reserve.

Marine reserves, also known as "ecological" reserves or "no-take" reserves, are a special class of MPA. They are areas of the ocean completely protected from all activities that remove animals and plants or alter habitats in any way, except as needed for scientific monitoring.

Marine reserves may in turn be organized in networks. A marine reserve network is a set of marine reserves spread across...