Perspectives on Business and Economics, Vol. 40

99 councils and analytic research organizations differ for both state and federal waters. State water is within three nautical miles from the coast, and generally federal waters extend from where state waters end out to about 200 nautical miles from the coastline. Federal waters are also known as economic exclusive zones (EEZs) by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. In these zones, management and resource utilization are reserved for the respective country. Foreign vessels may be prohibited or allowed access typically by financial compensation, where in recent years the US has permitted foreign vessels into its EEZs only for transshipment of US fishermen’s catch. For state waters, policies and management decisions are made by the Alaska Board of Fisheries, which obtains evidence-based suggestions of current ecosystem conditions from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG). Beyond Alaskan state waters, a similar system functions for federal waters. Federal management planning is conducted by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) via data-driven suggestions of the National Marine Fisheries Services, which is a subset of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). While the agency pairing differs for each zone, both levels of management aim to prevent overfishing, rebuild overfished species, maintain and enhance recreational and subsistence fishing opportunities, increase long-term economic and social benefits of fisheries, and fulfill a sustainable food supply. According to the Resource Development Council for Alaska (2022), Alaskan fisheries are among the best in the world in terms of such measures. Nonetheless, incorporation of climate-related challenges increases management complexity, with species migration patterns, reproductive habits, and ocean acidification adding variables that must be monitored and considered in management decisions. Current evidence suggests that the negative impacts on fisheries from climate change and ocean acidification will accelerate in the coming years. Hence, there remains opportunity for research and management policy to be adapted to better prepare the industry. At the state level, ADFG most recently published a climate change strategy in 2010, broadly defining anticipated consequences and providing guidance to Alaskan communities on how to better prepare, together with information regarding Alaska’s participation in regional and national efforts addressing the causes and effects of climate change. The strategy document introduced key initial actions, including increased monitoring of highly fished species and corresponding updates to management plans through cooperation with the Alaskan Board of Fisheries and other federal management bodies (ADFG, 2010). The most notable demonstration of an action has been management updates to both crab and salmon harvesting seasons. For example, molt timing data for crab and utilization of preseason salmon run forecasts alone have been found to be incomplete indicators for decisions, such as duration of a fishing season and catch limits, allowing the state to make more holistic decisions through balance of sustainability and economic concern (Johnson, 2016). In terms of federal involvement, NOAA Fisheries provide a large quantity of evidence-based data of climate change–induced effects to the various regional management councils across the US, specifically the NPFMC, which is solely responsible for managing fishery resources in the EEZ off Alaska. In 2016, NOAA published the Alaska Regional Action Plan for the southeastern Bering Sea, which outlines climate science strategy for these federal waters. The regional action plan outlines the various research efforts that are needed and under way to help aid the NPFMC toward making “climate-ready” decisions so that management can more easily respond to changing environmental conditions (Sigler et al., 2016). The NPFMC has added environmental variables to stock assessments, as inclusion of such climate-induced variables is needed for more holistic sustainability practices. Dynamic management adaptation based on data from NOAA studies has been seen. For example, the NPFMC lowered the total allowable catch (TAC) limits of Bering Sea pollock by 19% for the 2022 season per researchers’ recommendations. This type of recommendation may limit specific fishery economic value in the near term, but such action is necessary for longterm sustainability in light of climate change. Because changing ocean variables have variable consequences for differing species,

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