arctic oil and fisheries - alaska sea...

Arctic Oil and Fisheries

Michael LeVine Christopher Krenz

March 29, 2013

Divergent Approaches to Management in Light of Scientific Uncertainty

LAW

PUBLIC

SCIENCE

• Habitat Protection • Food Web Protection • Sustainable Fishing

• Pollution Reduction and Prevention • Controlled Development

Sustainable Living

Ecosystem-Based Management Nicolai Konyukhov

Ice is a supporter of life. It brings the sea animals from the north into our area and in the fall it also becomes an extension of our land. When it freezes along the shore, we go out on the ice to fish, to hunt marine mammals, and to travel… When it starts disintegrating and disappearing faster, it affects our lives dramatically.

-- Caleb Pungowiyi

Growing Industrial Activity in the Arctic

Ocean

Climate Change

2 0 1 3

2 0 5 3

The Planning Challenge

Response Remoteness

Kodiak to Point Barrow is 940 miles across three mountain ranges—about the same distance as LA to Seattle

arcticresponsetechnology.org

Challenges to Management

Lack of Basic Scientific Information

“The Arctic Ocean is the least well known ocean on the planet. We know more about the topography of the planets Venus and Mars than we do about the bathymetry of the Arctic Ocean.”

Challenges to Management

•  The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Management and Conservation Act (MSA)

•  The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA)

State Waters Exclusive Economic

Zone (EEZ)

Federal Statutory Framework

The Starting Point: Fisheries

“establish federal fisheries management . . . before an unregulated commercial fishery emerges and causes adverse impacts to the marine resources and ecosystem”

Proactive Management

Optimum Yield (OY)

Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY)

Stock F MSY B MSY MSY Snow crab 0.36 1,268 mt 453 mt Arctic cod 0.70 8,298 mt 5,758 mt Saffron cod 0.62 953 mt 589 mt

Fishery Uncertainty Non-consumptive Value

Costs Ecosystem

Snow crab 36% ~0% ~100% ~0% Arctic cod 55% ~0% ~100% ~100% Saffron cod 61% ~0% ~100% ~100%

The Fishery

“initially prohibits commercial fishing in the Arctic waters of the region until more information is available to support sustainable fisheries management.”

“‘Fishermen want to avoid what happened in the mid-1980s when it was every nation for itself and the pollock stocks were overfished in the Bering Sea and collapsed,’” said Dave Benton, executive director of the Marine Conservation Alliance, an industry group that represents the seafood, groundfish and crab industries in Alaska. . . . ‘This time we want to get ahead of the curve,’” he said.

Community and Industry Support

The Starting Point: Oil and Gas

“[W]hile many items of incomplete, missing, or unavailable information were broadly relevant to the important issues at hand, none were essential.” There was: •  “sufficient information to support sound scientific judgments and

reasoned managerial decisions;”

•  a “presumption that adverse effects would certainly occur” in the event of an oil spill;

•  a “commonality of potential impacts amongst all action alternatives;”

•  protection from “other environmental laws and regulations;” and/or

•  a likelihood that better information will be available later.

Chukchi Sea Lease Sale 193

Controversy Litigation challenging:

2007-12 Five-Year Program

Beaufort Sea Lease Sale 202

Chukchi Sea Lease Sale 193

Shell Exploration Plans for 2007-09, 2010, and 2012-13

Air permits for exploration drilling

Oil Spill Response Plans

“Expanding safe and responsible oil and gas production from the OCS is a key component of our comprehensive energy strategy to grow America’s energy economy, and will help us continue to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and create jobs here at home.”

Understanding the Divergence

Fisheries Oil and Gas

Planning obligation

Proactive management allowed

Community involvement

Understanding the Divergence

Arctic FMP Oil and Gas

Community Involvement

Fisheries Oil and Gas

Planning obligation

Proactive management allowed

Community involvement

Congressional Leadership

Understanding the Divergence

Arctic FMP Oil and Gas

Congressional Leadership

Fisheries Oil and Gas

Planning obligation

Proactive management allowed

Community involvement

Congressional Leadership

Corporate stake in sustainable management

Understanding the Divergence

Fisheries Oil and Gas

Planning obligation

Proactive management allowed

Community involvement

Congressional Leadership

Corporate stake in sustainable management

Understanding the Divergence

Obtain and Synthesize Basic Science: Important Ecological Areas

Look Before We Leap

Transparent, Inclusive, and Comprehensive Planning

Preparedness and Accountability

Questions?

Juneau

Kotzebue

Portland

Monterey

Washington, D.C.

New York City

Belize City Santiago, Chile

Madrid

Brussels

•  Regional Fishery Management Councils

•  Fishery Management Plans •  Conservation and

Management Measures

“to take immediate action to conserve and manage the fishery resources found off the coasts of the United States”

NOAA

The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Management and Conservation Act

The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA)