Glacier Bay commercial fishing disputed

Marine biologists are putting pressure on state and federal governments to protect Glacier Bay

May 6, 1998
Web posted at: 7:54 p.m. EDT (2354 GMT)

By Environmental News Network staff

(ENN) -- As the public comment period on the future of commercial fishing in Alaska's Glacier Bay National Park heats up, marine biologists are putting pressure on state and federal governments to protect the waters of the national park as a marine sanctuary.

Commercial salmon and halibut fishing has occurred in the waters that comprise Glacier Bay National Park for more than 100 years, and indigenous populations have fished the waters on a subsistence level for thousands of years.

Despite the historical record of commercial and subsistence fishing activities, National Park Service regulations have prohibited commercial fishing in the park since 1966, and the Wilderness Act has prohibited commercial fishing in the wilderness waters within Glacier Bay National Park since 1980.

However, commercial fishing has continued in both wilderness and non-wilderness areas of the park due to language in certain park service documents from the 1980s, including the 1984 General Management Plan which stated, "Traditional commercial fishing practices will continue to be allowed throughout most park and preserve waters. However, no new fishery will be allowed."

Sen. Frank Murkowski, R-Alaska, proposed legislation in January 1997 with the intent of preventing the park service from stopping commercial fishing in the park, and thus supporting what he views as a "scientifically sound continuation of an environmentally benign activity."

Humpback whale

Although the bill, S. 1064, has yet to arrive at the Senate floor, it has sparked public debate in light of the release of the National Park Service's Environmental Assessment on Glacier Bay Fishing, which proposes to phase out commercial fishing in the national park over a period of 15 years.

Also, a coalition of marine biologists is using the United Nations' designation of 1998 as the International Year of the Ocean to rally public support for increased marine protected areas.

Writing in support of the National Park Service's proposal, Elliott Norse, Ph.D., president of the Marine Conservation Biology Institute, says, "Alaska hosts no National Marine Sanctuaries and its premier marine protected area -- Glacier Bay National Park -- has allowed commercial fishing for salmon, halibut and crabs to continue, despite the clear mandate against commercial take in national parks."

Norse's letter has gone out to conservation biologists and marine scientists, asking them to sign a petition that argues for the establishment of more marine protected areas and ending commercial fishing in Glacier Bay National Park.

In conclusion, the petition reads: "Just as the (United States) does not allow extractive uses such as logging in Olympic National Park or buffalo hunting in Yellowstone National Park, our nation must not allow commercial fishing in Glacier Bay National Park or other national parks. As scientists who understand the importance of true protected areas for maintaining biological diversity, we call upon the Interior Department's National Park Service and the U.S. Congress to stop all commercial fishing in Glacier Bay National Park."

When Murkowski introduced S. 1064 he said, "Commercial fishermen and local villagers have continually fished in Glacier Bay since long before it became a park or a monument, and the fact that we value it so highly today is proof that they have not had an adverse impact on the species of the bay."

He went on to say that "there is no biological reason for restricting commercial fishing activity anywhere in the park. The fishery resources are healthy, diverse, closely monitored and carefully regulated."

The public comment period for the environmental assessment on Glacier Bay fishing ends June 1. During May public hearings are being held throughout Alaska and one in Seattle, Washington, on May 14.

Copyright 1998, Environmental News Network, All Rights Reserved

Related ENN stories:

• Scientists call for ocean protection

Related sites:

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

• Commercial Fishing in Glacier Bay
• Sen. Frank Murkowski, R-Alaska, S. 1064 Opening Statement
• Marine Conservation Biology Institute

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.

---

 

---

Sound off on our message boards & chat