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News and Updates
Obama Protects Alaska’s Bristol Bay from Oil and Gas Drilling
Read more here: www.adn.com/2014/01/15/3275657/epa-concludes-pebble-mine-poses.html#storylink=cpy
In a boon to commercial fishermen, conservationists and Native Alaskans, President Obama on Tuesday, December 16th withdrew the waters of Alaska’s Bristol Bay from oil and gas development, vowing to protect the world’s biggest sockeye salmon fishery.
Calling the region “one of America’s greatest natural resources and a massive economic engine, not only for Alaska but for America,” Obama said he was taking it “off the bidder’s block” and would “make sure that it is preserved into the future.”
This is an issue that AIFMA has been working on for a decade.
2015 Bristol Bay Sockeye Prediction Released
2015 Forecast
2014 ADF&G Bristol Bay Summary
Summary
Federal Judge Sides with Pebble to Halt EPA Mine Action for Now
A federal judge on Monday ruled in favor of the Pebble mine project and put a temporary halt on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s efforts to protect Bristol Bay.
The ruling is a “procedural victory,” but it doesn’t settle Pebble’s claims that EPA overstepped the law, Tom Collier, Pebble Ltd. Partnership CEO, said Monday afternoon in a written statement. It will take months more to resolve the lawsuit at issue, Pebble said.
Activists fighting the mine noted that U.S. District Judge Russel Holland rejected two of Pebble’s three arguments to halt EPA over a theory that it colluded with anti-mine activists and scientists. Rather, the judge determined that Pebble had a chance of winning on one claim, that EPA improperly turned to an anti-mine team as it worked on its study of how a big mine would affect the Bristol Bay watershed.
The EPA in July announced that it intended to take extraordinary steps to protect Bristol Bay’s world-class salmon runs and proposed restrictions that would prevent the mega-mine from being advanced by the Pebble Partnership. While it stopped short of an outright veto of the project, the EPA said it would place caps on how many miles of streams and acres of wetlands could be lost if the mine were developed.
Pebble responded with three lawsuits.
EPA’s Bristol Bay Watershed Assessment
EPA’s final assessment of the potential impacts of large-scale mining development on Bristol Bay fisheries and wildlife, and on Alaska Native cultures of the region.
EPA’s Proposed Determination Published
EPA Region 10’s proposed determination to restrict the use of certain waters in the Bristol Bay watershed for disposal of dredged or fill material associated with mining the Pebble deposit, a large ore body in southwest Alaska.
Clean Our Oceans: The Impact of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
Marine debris and polution consisting mostly of plastic trash is accumulating in oceans around the world. From the surface of the ocean, you might not even realize that a vast garbage patch swirls under the water. With ever-changing content and borders, scientists have difficulty estimating the size of these garbage patches. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch exists in the northern Pacific Ocean, stretching between Japan and the United States.
Bristol Bay: World’s Largest Sockeye Salmon Run
Bristol Bay is home to the largest sockeye salmon run in the world. Over the last 20 years the sockeye salmon run has averaged an impressive 35 million fish each year. The sockeye harvest value in 2014 was $195 million to fishermen who harvested nearly 29 million sockeye. Wild sockeye salmon from Bristol Bay is enjoyed by consumers worldwide. Its firm, red flesh and delicate flavor make it one of the finest fresh, frozen and canned salmon on the market today.
Bristol Bay is located in the Southeast corner of the Bering Sea in Alaska. Bristol Bay sockeye salmon begin their lives in the pristine tributaries and lakes of the region. Here the fingerling salmon spend the first year of their five-year life cycle before migrating out to sea. The sockeye salmon spend four years in the cold and clean waters of the Bering Sea and North Pacific. The sockeye salmon thrive on a plankton diet, and attain one of the highest levels of health-promoting omega-3 fatty acids found in any seafood. Completing their life cycle, the sockeye salmon migrate back to the rivers of their origin.
