CORALS OF THE ALEUTIAN ISLANDS

In a landmark victory, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council unanimously voted to adopt the Oceana Approach to protect some of the deep sea corals of the Aleutian Islands. Click here to read the newspaper stories. This precautionary trawl closure of over 370,000 square miles freezes the existing bottom trawl footprint, protects some areas within the footprint that have high concentrations of corals and sponges, such as coral gardens, requires Vessel Monitoring Systems for all fishing vessels in the Aleutians, and calls for development of a research plan. This leadership by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council sets a precedent for deep sea coral conservation efforts worldwide. Thanks to everyone who added to the 33,000 public comments that helped make this victory possible!

“ In several locations the density and diversity were exceptional, comparable to that of coral reefs in the tropics.”-Dr. Phil Rigby (NMFS) commenting on the July 2002 discovery of dense coral gardens in the Aleutian Islands. (Visit NOAA's website to watch video of this underwater journey.)

Bottom trawl gear is by far the greatest threat to Aleutian corals. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) estimates over half a million pounds of corals and sponges are hauled aboard trawling vessels as bycatch every year in the Aleutians. In addition, many more corals remain crushed and destroyed on the seabed in the wake of massive bottom trawl gear. Trawling activity is somewhat patchy in the Aleutians and the majority of coral and sponge destruction occurs in specific known locations.

Rockfish in coral habitat. Adak Canyon, AK. Rebecca Reuter, NMFS.

Major trawl fisheries seek Atka mackerel, Pacific cod, and rockfish, all of which are known to associate, breed, hide, and feed in coral habitat. These fisheries produce roughly $50 million per year in gross product value.

Oceana pushed hard for coral protection in the Aleutians. By gathering all known information about coral habitat and the trawl fisheries in this region, we developed a comprehensive coral protection policy that maintained the vibrant fisheries of the Aleutians. The policy included:

• Allowing trawling only in designated open areas where there are high catch rates of target fish and low bycatch rates of corals and sponges.
• Enforcing bycatch limits for corals and sponges in areas remaining open.
• Improving observer coverage, vessel monitoring systems, and electronic logbooks.
• Initiating a comprehensive research, mapping, and monitoring program to improve future management.

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