22nd Alaska State Legislature
News from Representative Peggy Wilson (R)
District 2 - Wrangell, Petersburg, and Sitka
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Session: State Capitol, Room 409 Juneau, AK 99801-1182 Toll Free: (800) 686-3824 Phone: (907) 465-3824 Fax: (907) 465-3175 Interim: PO Box 109 Wrangell, AK 99929 Toll Free: (800) 686-3824 Phone: (907) 874-3088 Fax: (907) 874-3055 Petersburg Phone: (907) 772-3829 Sitka Phone: (907) 747-4665 |
Sea Lion-Pollock Expert to Testify at Fisheries Committee
For Immediate Release: January 29, 2001
Contact: Representative Peggy Wilson at (907) 465-3824
(JUNEAU) -- A leading Canadian expert on marine mammal populations will testify on the state of research on Steller sea lion and pollock population interactions at today's meeting of the House Special Committee on Fisheries.
Andrew W. Trites, Ph.D., research director for the North Pacific Universities Marine Mammal Research Consortium at Vancouver, will discuss his organization's research that may call into question the scientific basis for pressure to protect sea lions by limiting pollock trawl fishing in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska.
"This is a critical issue for the future of Alaska's most lucrative fishery," said Rep. Peggy Wilson (R-Wrangell), co-chair of the Fisheries Committee. "If we are going to have scientific management of our fisheries, we have to make sure that the science is sound.
The Consortium is a joint program of the University of Alaska, the University of British Columbia, the University of Washington, and Oregon of State University. Funded largely with grants originating from U.S. and Canadian government fisheries management agencies, the Consortium engaged in field studies addressing sea lion diet, forage base, and body sizes; captive studies of sea lion diet, body size and metabolism; and laboratory studies of sea lion energy requirements and dietary preferences.
The question of whether declines in sea lion populations justify cutbacks in the pollock trawl fleet is being fiercely debated in the fisheries management and scientific communities.
The committee hearing starts at 5 p.m. at the House Resources Committee Room, Room 124 of the Capitol. The meeting will be teleconferenced to Legislative Information Offices statewide.
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