A government body that regulates Bering Sea fisheries has determined Oct. 9 that it will order further monitoring of deep sea corals in the 265-mile long Pribilof Canyon instead of closing it off to fishing, but at least one environmental group isn’t happy with the decision.
The North Pacific Fisheries Management Council (NPFMC) took into account a National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) study using drop cameras that determined there was a “low vulnerability of existing deep-sea corals” with the canyon, said Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers' Association (GAPP), in a press release.
NPFMC ruled that current uses of the fishery don’t threaten the canyon corals’ existence but asked to have NOAA monitor the issue in its annual review of the ecosystem.
Read the full story at Undercurrent News >>
Read more about Bering Sea >>