Concerned about rapidly disappearing Arctic sea ice and warming ocean waters, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council has voted to prohibit commercial fishing in a 200,000 square-mile area in the Arctic Ocean north of Alaska. The unanimous vote represents the first fisheries ban ever imposed because of the environmental effects of global warming. No industrial-scale fishing has yet taken place in the vast ocean territory, but with summer Arctic sea ice melting rapidly, the federal regulators voted to close the region — which stretches  from the Bering Sea east to the Canadian border — to fishing. The closure covers the so-called Exclusive Economic Zone, or EEZ, which extends 200 miles offshore and encompasses an area that contains stocks of cod, king crab, and other prized fish species. The ban is designed to halt fishing until biologists can study its potential impact.
Ban on Arctic FishingApproved by U.S. Fisheries Agency
More From E360
-
Food & Agriculture
In Uganda, Deadly Landslides Force an Agricultural Reckoning
-
Energy
Why U.S. Geothermal May Advance, Despite Political Headwinds
-
Food & Agriculture
In War Zones, a Race to Save Key Seeds Needed to Feed the World
-
Climate
Lightning Strikes the Arctic: What Will It Mean for the Far North?
-
RIVERS
A Win for Farmers and Tribes Brings New Hope to the Klamath
-
Solutions
Deconstructing Buildings: The Quest for New Life for Old Wood
-
NATURAL DEFENSES
How Restored Wetlands Can Protect Europe from Russian Invasion
-
Solutions
Birds vs. Wind Turbines: New Research Aims to Prevent Deaths
-
Biodiversity
Cambodian Forest Defenders at Risk for Exposing Illegal Logging
-
OPINION
The ‘Green’ Aviation Fuel That Would Increase Carbon Emissions
-
Solutions
Out of the Wild: How A.I. Is Transforming Conservation Science
-
Energy
China’s Mega Dam Project Poses Big Risks for Asia’s Grand Canyon