The Bering Sea, which lies between the United States and Russia, is one of the most productive ecosystems in the world and has prolific fishing grounds. Yet there have been significant unexplained population fluctuations in marine mammals and birds in the region. The book examines the Bering Sea ecosystem's dynamics and the relationship between man and the ecosystem, in order to identify potential reasons for the population fluctuations as well as identify ways the Sea's living resources can be better managed by government.
The Bering Sea, which lies between the United States and Russia, is one of the most productive ecosystems in the world and has prolific fishing grounds. Yet there have been significant unexplained population fluctuations in marine mammals and birds in the region. The book examines the Bering Sea ecosystem's dynamics and the relationship between man and the ecosystem, in order to identify potential reasons for the population fluctuations as well as identify ways the Sea's living resources can be better managed by government.
Fluctuations and declines in marine fish populations have caused growing concern among marine scientists, fisheries managers, commercial and recreational fishers, and the public. Sustaining Marine Fisheries explores the nature of marine ecosystems and the complex interacting factors that shape their productivity. The book documents the condition of marine fisheries today, highlighting species and geographic areas that are under particular stress. Challenges to achieving sustainability are discussed, and shortcomings of existing fisheries management and regulation are examined. The volume calls for fisheries management to adopt a broader ecosystem perspective that encompasses all relevant environmental and human influences. Sustaining Marine Fisheries offers new approaches to building workable fisheries management institutions, improving scientific data, and developing management tools. The book recommends ways to change current practices that encourage overexploitation of fish resources. It will be of special interest to marine policymakers and ecologists, fisheries regulators and managers, fisheries scientists and marine ecologists, fishers, and concerned individuals.
The North Pacific Research Board (NPRB) was established by Congress in 1997 to recommend marine research activities to the Secretary of Commerce on or relating to the fisheries or marine ecosystem in the North Pacific Ocean, Bering Sea, Arctic Ocean, and related bodies of water. NPRB called on the National Academies to develop a comprehensive long range science plan pertaining to its research activities. This assistance has been provided in two phases. In phase one, beginning in early 2003, a National Academies committee worked to understand the purpose of the NPRB, gather information to help identify research needs, and provide advice on the components of a sound science plan. The committee's assessment is contained in a report released in early 2004, Elements of a Science Plan for the North Pacific Research Board. With this guidance as a tool, the NPRB staff, Science Panel, and Advisory Panel worked together to write a draft science plan to steer the program in the coming decade. During the second phase, the same committee reviewed the NPRB's draft science plan and provided final feedback to the NPRB. It is a focused review, generally following the organization of the NPRB document. This report is intended primarily as a direct communication from the committee to those planning the NPRB's programs, to help them improve the science plan and ensure successful implementation.
The North Pacific Research Board (NPRB) was established in 1997 as custodian to a pool of funds intended for the study of the North Pacific Ocean, Bering Sea, and Arctic Ocean. The success of the NRPB is the development of a high quality, long-range science plan that provides a better understanding of ecosystems and their fisheries in the region. This report provides a framework to help the NPRB identify appropriate science themes and mechanisms for administering and distributing the funds. It contains extensive input from residents of Alaskan communities, to help scientists understand and address issues of importance to the local communities. The book makes specific recommendations on long-term research priorities, the NPRB management structure and the development of future programs.
For an unknown reason, the Steller sea lion population in Alaska has declined by 80% over the past three decades. In 2001, the National Research Council began a study to assess the many hypotheses proposed to explain the sea lion decline including insufficient food due to fishing or the late 1970s climate/regime shift, a disease epidemic, pollution, illegal shooting, subsistence harvest, and predation by killer whales or sharks. The report's analysis indicates that the population decline cannot be explained only by a decreased availability of food; hence other factors, such as predation and illegal shooting, deserve further study. The report recommends a management strategy that could help determine the impact of fisheries on sea lion survival-establishing open and closed fishing areas around sea lion rookeries. This strategy would allow researchers to study sea lions in relatively controlled, contrasting environments. Experimental area closures will help fill some short-term data gaps, but long-term monitoring will be required to understand why sea lions are at a fraction of their former abundance.
For an unknown reason, the Steller sea lion population in Alaska has declined by 80% over the past three decades. In 2001, the National Research Council began a study to assess the many hypotheses proposed to explain the sea lion decline including insufficient food due to fishing or the late 1970s climate/regime shift, a disease epidemic, pollution, illegal shooting, subsistence harvest, and predation by killer whales or sharks. The report's analysis indicates that the population decline cannot be explained only by a decreased availability of food; hence other factors, such as predation and illegal shooting, deserve further study. The report recommends a management strategy that could help determine the impact of fisheries on sea lion survival-establishing open and closed fishing areas around sea lion rookeries. This strategy would allow researchers to study sea lions in relatively controlled, contrasting environments. Experimental area closures will help fill some short-term data gaps, but long-term monitoring will be required to understand why sea lions are at a fraction of their former abundance.
Concerns over the potential ecological effects of fishing have increased with the expansion of fisheries throughout the marine waters of the United States. Effects of Trawling and Dredging on Seafloor Habitat describes how assessment of fishing impacts depends on gear type, number and location of bottom tows, and the physical and biological characteristics of seafloor habitats. Many experimental studies have documented acute, gear-specific effects of trawling and dredging on various types of habitat. These studies indicate that low mobility, long-lived species are more vulnerable to towed fishing gear than short-lived species in areas where the seabed is often disturbed by natural phenomena. Trawling and dredging may also change the composition and productivity of fish communities dependent on seafloor habitats for food and refuge. The scale of these impacts depends on the level of fishing effort. This volume presents color maps of fishing effort for all regions with significant bottom trawl or dredge fisheries-the first time that such data has been assembled and analyzed for the entire nation.
The Bering Sea, which lies between the United States and Russia, is one of the most productive ecosystems in the world and has prolific fishing grounds. Yet there have been significant unexplained population fluctuations in marine mammals and birds in the region. The book examines the Bering Sea ecosystem's dynamics and the relationship between man and the ecosystem, in order to identify potential reasons for the population fluctuations as well as identify ways the Sea's living resources can be better managed by government.
Assessment of the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf Environmental Studies Program reviews the ecological studies done by the Environmental Studies Program of the Minerals Management Service. This program, which has spent $10 million a year on ecological studies in recent years, is designed to provide information to predict and manage the environmental effects of outer continental shelf oil and gas activities. The book considers studies on marine mammals and endangered species, birds, benthic organisms, fisheries, and marine ecosystems and makes recommendations for future studies.
This book reviews the adequacy of information available for predicting and managing the environmental and human effects of oil and gas activities on Alaska's Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). It examines how the Alaskan OCS and adjacent onshore natural and human environments differ from those in more temperate waters and to what degree the information characterizes those differences. (It also recommends alternatives to further studies in some cases where more information would be helpful for decisionmaking.)
Declines in the abundance of salmon in the Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim (AYK) region of western Alaska in the late 1990s and early 2000s created hardships for the people and communities who depend on this resource. Based on recommendations from a 2004 National Academies report, the AYK Sustainable Salmon Initiative (SSI) developed a research and restoration plan to help understand the reasons for this decline and to help support sustainable management in the region. This report reviews the draft plan, recommending some clarification, shortening, and other improvements, with a better focus on the relationship between the underlying intellectual model and the research questions, and a clearer discussion of local and traditional knowledge and capacity building.
Recent declines in the abundance of salmon in the Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim (AYK) region of western Alaska have created hardships for the people and communities who depend on this resource. In 2002, the AYK Sustainable Salmon Initiative (SSI) was created to undertake research to understand the reasons for this decline and to help support sustainable management in the region. This report makes recommendations for developing the research that the AYK SSI science plan should be based on, and relates the development of a restoration plan to the results of that research.
U.S. Arctic waters north of the Bering Strait and west of the Canadian border encompass a vast area that is usually ice covered for much of the year, but is increasingly experiencing longer periods and larger areas of open water due to climate change. Sparsely inhabited with a wide variety of ecosystems found nowhere else, this region is vulnerable to damage from human activities. As oil and gas, shipping, and tourism activities increase, the possibilities of an oil spill also increase. How can we best prepare to respond to such an event in this challenging environment? Responding to Oil Spills in the U.S. Arctic Marine Environment reviews the current state of the science regarding oil spill response and environmental assessment in the Arctic region north of the Bering Strait, with emphasis on the potential impacts in U.S. waters. This report describes the unique ecosystems and environment of the Arctic and makes recommendations to provide an effective response effort in these challenging conditions. According to Responding to Oil Spills in the U.S. Arctic Marine Environment, a full range of proven oil spill response technologies is needed in order to minimize the impacts on people and sensitive ecosystems. This report identifies key oil spill research priorities, critical data and monitoring needs, mitigation strategies, and important operational and logistical issues. The Arctic acts as an integrating, regulating, and mediating component of the physical, atmospheric and cryospheric systems that govern life on Earth. Not only does the Arctic serve as regulator of many of the Earth's large-scale systems and processes, but it is also an area where choices made have substantial impact on life and choices everywhere on planet Earth. This report's recommendations will assist environmentalists, industry, state and local policymakers, and anyone interested in the future of this special region to preserve and protect it from damaging oil spills.
This is the third of four volumes from the Committee to Review the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Environmental Studies Program (ESP). The first two dealt with physical, oceanographic, and ecological aspects of the program. This book presents the findings of the panel's investigation of the social and economic relevance of OCS oil and gas activities and the social and economic aspects of the ESP. It describes the potential effects of OCS activities on the human environment, presents an ideal socioeconomic studies program, and comments on the current program in the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, Pacific, and Alaska regions.
Updated to reflect the most recent Graduate Management Admission Tests in the com-puter-adaptive format, the manual presents a diagnostic test and five full-length practice exams, all with questions answered and explained. Subject review sections concentrate on essay writing, reading comprehension, sentence correction, and critical reasoning in math. The optional CD-ROM simulates test-taking conditions, presenting a computer-adaptive exam and automatically scoring the test-taker's results.
Thank you for visiting our website. Would you like to provide feedback on how we could improve your experience?
This site does not use any third party cookies with one exception — it uses cookies from Google to deliver its services and to analyze traffic.Learn More.