Arctic Fisheries: Opportunities and Policy Issues

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1 Arctic Fisheries: Opportunities and Policy Issues Gunnar Knapp Director and Professor of Economics Institute of Social and Economic Research University of Alaska Anchorage Arctic Ambitions Girdwood Alaska February 27,

2 Outline Significance of U.S. Arctic fisheries resources Fisheries policy issues in an Arctic context U.S. Arctic fisheries policy International Arctic fisheries policy Future Arctic fisheries policy issues 2

3 How significant are Arctic fishery resources? We don t know very much! There have been only limited surveys and future abundance may change. Biomass estimates for the Chukchi & Beaufort regions (based on limited survey data) suggest that the most significant resources in the U.S. Arctic are: Arctic cod Snow crab

4 Report of Interagency Working Group on Coordination of Domestic Energy Development and permitting in Alaska March

5 ... from Managing for the Future in a Rapidly Changing Arctic There is not yet a concentration of fish species of commercial interest in the Arctic Ocean, salmon and other fish may move northward as the Arctic warms. Diminishing sea ice may lead to the loss of ice-dependent species such as Arctic cod from large portions of their range in the next few decades, but it will lead to a reduction in the level of plankton on the ocean floor, favoring pelagic species of fish over bottom-feeders. Some salmon species (e.g., pink, chum) and cold-tolerant snow crab may increase in abundance in U.S. Arctic waters. Local fishers report occasional catches of other salmon species (chinook, sockeye, and coho), but colonization will depend on their ability to successfully reproduce in the perennial small spring habitats found in the rivers and streams that drain from the Brooks Range and the ability of juvenile fish to survive cold marine waters. No northward migration of the current ground fish fishery in the Bering Sea is expected in the next few decades, as seasonal ice cover and cold bottom waters on the Bering Sea shelf still form a barrier to a northerly migration by pollock and cod. 5

6 Fisheries policy issues in an Arctic context... Fisheries everywhere raise a set of common challenges and associated policy issues How to prevent overfishing How to maximize economic benefits How to allocate fishing opportunities How to fund management, research, safety, etc. These challenges derive from fundamental characteristics of fishery resources: Public resources Mobility of fish Complexity of fishery ecosystems 6

7 Three kinds of limits to commercial fisheries which can prevent overfishing Physical limits Ice Economic limits High costs Low prices Low abundance Regulatory limits Quotas Other government restrictions Historically, Arctic overfishing has been prevented by physical and economic limits rather than by regulatory limits 7

8 ... although physical and economic limits have not always sufficed to prevent Arctic overfishing... 8

9 As physical and economic limits to Arctic fisheries decline, there is an increased need for regulatory limits to prevent Arctic overfishing Physical limits Ice Economic limits High costs Low prices Low abundance Declining physical and economic limits Regulatory limits Quotas Other government restrictions Increasing need for regulatory limits 9

10 Imposing regulatory limits on Arctic fisheries raises both national issues (in national waters) and international issues (in international waters, and with migratory stocks)

11 U.S. Arctic fisheries policy for U.S. national waters was established in the August 2009 Fishery Management Plan for Fish Resources of the Arctic Management Area

12 Arctic Management Area

13 Fishery Management Plan for the Fish Resources of the Arctic Management Area Recommended by North Pacific Fishery Management Council and approved by Secretary of Commerce in 2009 Establishes a framework for sustainably managing Arctic marine resources Covers the Arctic waters of the United States in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas. Initially prohibits commercial fishing in the Arctic waters of the region until more information is available to support sustainable fisheries management. 13

14 Area and species covered... All marine waters in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone of the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas from 3 nautical miles offshore the coast of Alaska or its baseline to 200 nautical miles offshore... Governs commercial fishing for all finfish, shellfish, or other marine living resources except commercial fishing for Pacific salmon and Pacific halibut 14

15 Arctic fishery management policy... to proactively apply judicious and responsible fisheries management practices, based on sound scientific research and analysis, to: ensure the sustainability of fishery resources prevent unregulated fishing protect associated ecosystems for the benefit of current users and future generations.... forward-looking conservation measures that address differing levels of uncertainty.... this management policy has in recent years been labeled the precautionary approach 15

16 Industry priorities: Coast Guard presence Scientific research International agreements Ports Onshore processing facilities Consultation with coastal communities State of Alaska Coastal Management Plan

17 A meeting in Greenland this week is discussing the management of fisheries in Arctic international waters

18 February 22, 2014 U.S. officials are heading to Greenland for a three-day meeting to persuade other Arctic nations to place a moratorium on high-seas fishing in the Arctic Ocean, where climate change is melting the permanent ice cap and allowing trawlers in for the first time in human history. The United States is proposing an agreement that would close the international waters of the Arctic Ocean to commercial fishing until there is a good scientific foundation on which to base management of any potential fishing, said David Benton, a member of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission... The first step toward protecting the Arctic Ocean and its fish population... is for the five nations bordering the body of water to reach an agreement on a moratorium. To date, the United States, Canada and Greenland are on board, but Russia and Norway have not joined in.

19 February 25, 2014 International delegations from five Arctic coastal nations are meeting in Greenland this week to discuss Arctic fishing. Huge sections of international waters in the Arctic, once locked almost permanently in ice, are now opening up in the summer. As the ice melts even faster, there are concerns over the fact there are no rules to control commercial fishing in this delicate ecosystem. The five Arctic nations -- Canada, Russia, Denmark, Norway and the United States -- have been discussing the issue. Last year, the U.S., Canada and Denmark agreed to a preliminary deal to prevent commercial fishing until more is known about the ecosystem. They hope to convince Russia and Norway to join the agreement this week. 19

20 Fisheries everywhere raise a set of common challenges and associated policy issues How to prevent overfishing How to maximize economic benefits How to allocate fishing opportunities How to fund management, research, safety, etc. These will be the future policy issues as Arctic fisheries develop 20

21 Future policy issues When can we begin taking advantages of the economic opportunities offered by Arctic fisheries? How precautionary is precautionary enough? How will we fund the research needed to understand the resources? Potential for learning from experimental and developmental fisheries Who will get to fish in the Arctic? To what extent and how will Arctic fisheries offer economic opportunities for Arctic residents? 21

22 With imaginative management, commercial fisheries can provide major economic opportunities for indigenous coastal peoples

23 The CDQ program is not without conflicts and challenges but it has brought very large economic benefits to western Alaska communities.