Just off Alaska’s coast, the east Bering Sea usually teems with snow crabs, their spindly legs scuttling across an almost frozen ocean realm. Those legs, prized by seafood lovers, underpin a crabbing industry in the state worth $160m (£143m) annually. But this year, federal fisheries managers have closed the Alaska snow crab season for the […]
Tag: fishery management council
Atlantic fisheries managers move to protect the little fish seabirds rely on.
Seabirds are often the first thing we see—and hear—on the coast. Flying above the waves, they make up the soundtrack of life on the water. These majestic creatures rely on tiny fish called forage fish for their survival, but they face stiff competition with the large, industrial fishing operators that also harvest these fish. Two […]
Removing Walls of Death: Saving Sea Turtles from Drift Nets
An endangered Pacific leatherback sea turtle swims through the cold, nutrient-rich waters off California where it has made an impressive journey from its nesting beaches in Indonesia to feed on jellyfish. But, it encounters an unwelcome surprise, a mile long drift net in which its flipper becomes entangled. Because this net sits overnight in the […]