Alaska’s Leading Role in Reducing Marine Habitat Loss

Commercial fishing is a major threat to the world’s marine habitats—at least when such operations are allowed to have free reign over the tract of ocean where they prowl, completely unchecked by state, national or international control mechanisms. Unfortunately, a significant proportion of the world’s fisheries fall under that model…but not all, thanks to the stark contrast offered by the Alaskan fisheries. In fact, habitat damage in the Pacific marine environments under the effective control of the Alaskan is much less significant than in practically any other part of the planet’s exploited seas, and considering the vastness of the Alaskan fishing area is proportionally insignificant compared to such places.

Of course, the fact that Alaska has fared so well in terms of habitat protection is not a matter of mere coincidence. No sir: the Alaskan state government—in tandem with the federal government and a handful of interested, outstanding international NGOs and lobbies—has put real teeth into sustainability enforcement regulations. Beyond the fact that Alaska is the only state in the country to have environmental legislation inserted directly into the main text of its constitution, as the years have gone by more and more visionary and effective measures and policies have been adopted—many of which have reversed previous habitat damage and prevented it from happening in the future.

Evidence of this can be had by simply taking a look at the maps depicting essential fish habitat conservation sites—the formal way of describing areas of the ocean where fishing activities have either been banned outright or based on certain criteria (for example, bottom contact gear is particularly associated with habitat damage as it tears up large stretches of ocean floor). A quick web search will turn up such a map, and in reviewing it two things will draw your attention undoubtedly: 1) that the expanse of protected area is incredibly large, and 2) that compared to such protections in other state waters, Alaska is really ahead of the pack in this regard.

In fact, independent scientific observers that are commissioned by the state government in many cases (depending on the species and moment of the year) have the power to suspend commercial fishing activities pertinent to a particular species for the rest of the season if they detect that habitat damage or stock levels are at risk. In few other places on the planet will you find such circumstances in place—just another reaffirmation that Alaska holds a unique position within the world of major fishing areas.

Alaska's fishing industry leads the world in environmental protection measures. From efforts to improve traceability to strict enforcement procedures, Alaska continually shows how committed it is to preserving the ocean for the next generation.