Regulators Vote to Close Arctic to Commercial Fishing

A federal advisory board voted last week to ban commercial fishing north of the Bering Strait off Alaska’s coast. 

The decision by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council was made in an effort to reduce the harm to marine ecosystems that are opening to further exploitation as global warming reduces polar ice.

The council voted unanimously to prohibit industrial fishing in nearly 200,000 square miles of U.S. waters in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas. 

Environmental and industry representatives hailed the council’s decision, saying summertime melting of sea ice has outpaced regulators’ ability to manage Arctic Ocean waters.

Read the Associate Press full coverage at the link below.