Oceana Pacific -- About

The Pacific Ocean is one of the most productive marine environment's in the world. The Pacific region provides over half of all US seafood and has the greatest concentrations of marine mammals, fish, and seabirds on the planet. Pollution, bycatch and habitat destruction threaten the long term health of this greatest of Oceans. Oceana's three major objectives are to:

1. Stop the destruction of ocean habitat and ecosystems while maintaining vibrant fisheries;
2. Stop the unregulated discharges of pollutants from cruise ships;
3. Halt the production and use of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) by forming and supporting coalitions that will push for Federal and International action.

Large-scale bottom trawling is devastating essential fish habitat that takes centuries to recover. Oceana's Pacific Office is working on several fronts, but is currently focused on working to protect ocean habitat by developing a science-based approach to ocean management.

To meet our habitat protection objective, Oceana is working with local communities, scientists, fishermen and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to develop a management approach for the Aleutian Islands that could be applied also to the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska.

The Aleutian Islands, Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska are some of the most spectacular and unique ecosystems on the planet. They must be protected. Bottom trawling is the major threat to Pacific Ocean habitat. This destructive fishing gear when used indiscriminately tears up and crushes vulnerable seafloor habitat that takes centuries to recover. Deep-sea sponges and corals are indicators of some of the most important, yet vulnerable benthic habitat in the Pacific and there are few management measures in place to protect them.

Oceana's Pacific Office has called on both the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and NMFS to consider our proposed approach and to take immediate action to protect this critical habitat. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC), responsible for fisheries management plans in North Pacific, has adopted and is analyzing Oceana's proposal for a management approach for the Aleutian Islands seafloor habitat. However, NPFMC and NMFS have not taken action to analyze or adopt a similar approach for Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska. We are pushing!

Oceana's proposal would:

• Prevent expansion of the bottom trawl fishery to new areas until those areas are mapped and the Essential Fish Habitat identified; Prohibit bottom trawling in areas of important sea floor habitat like high coral and sponge locations;
• Set hard limits on coral and sponge bycatch and close areas if exceeded; and
• Initiate comprehensive research, monitoring, and mapping of benthic habitat.

The Pacific office is now urging the National Marine Fisheries Service to mitigate the adverse impacts of bottom trawling in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska using a similar approach. But thus far NMFS has been reluctant to proceed with a conservation approach without industry approval.

Cruise ship pollution and farmed salmon are major pollution threats to the Pacific Ocean. Fortunately, these problems are 100 percent preventable. The Pacific Office is assisting a national effort to apply Alaska's stringent cruise ship regulations to all U.S. waters. The Pacific Office is also fighting to stop salmon farming in the marine environment where disease, pollutants, and escaped Atlantic salmon threaten the Pacific and ocean resources. Learn more about cruise ship pollution.

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are toxins that accumulate in Arctic regions of the marine environment and can have irreversible health consequences on humans and wildlife. These chemicals come from pesticides, plastics, waste incineration, and industrial processes throughout the globe. Once they enter the marine ecosystem, they accumulate up the food web and do not biodegrade. The Pacific Office is working to form coalitions to push the Bush Administration to ratify an international treaty banning known and future POPs. Learn more about POPs.

The Pacific Office is taking an interdisciplinary approach to conservation. By working with scientists, regulators, and responsible industry, we believe we can stop the major threats to the Pacific Ocean while maintaining viable fishing and other opportunities.

View U.S. government footage of Alaskan coral gardens, including damage by unidentified fishing gear. Courtesy NMFS. Click Here