St. Paul: a community reviewed.

AuthorRomano-Lax, Andromeda
PositionSt. Paul, Alaska

Every year, the coastline of Alaska is the staging area for many of the world's last great fisheries. The Bering Sea - where species like crab, pollock, cod and sole abound - is the granddaddy of all fisheries contributing more than one billion dollars to the industry.

This region represents more than 50 percent of the nation's commercial fisheries harvest, and most of it occurs within 65 miles of St. Paul in the Pribilof Islands. Since its harbor opened in 1990, St. Paul has become one of the most important processing and supply ports in Alaska. All this from a community that had a 60 percent government-dependent population base prior to the harbor opening.

St. Paul, a community of about 650, was once a Native sealing community. The people subsisted off the land and sea, and were content in doing so. However, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, passed by congress in 1972, limited the amount of seals they could harvest, thereby affecting the areas economy and the community food supply. The federal government, in realizing the impact, created jobs for the Natives, such as repairing roads, painting buildings, cleaning beaches and tending to basic utilities necessary to keep the Islanders on St. Paul. However, nothing impacted the community like the harbor, which allowed for the opening of three processing plants, and provided other industry-related jobs permitting St. Paul to grow and prosper.

Today, more than 60 percent of St. Paul's residents are employed in the private sector and are now giving back in a big way. For example, St. Paul has consistently been the second largest annual...

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