In sessions sponsored by the Department of the Interior and NOAA, academic experts, scientists and Washington level executives plan to discuss how and why the most productive large marine ecosystem in the United States, and perhaps the world, is showing signs of stress. They will present information about marine mammals, seabirds, climate changes, the northern migration of sea ice and more.
"I think this is an excellent opportunity for the various experts to get together to review what we know, what we do not know, how we can fill critical knowledge gaps, and how we can work cooperatively to protect this crucial ecosystem," Deborah Williams, Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitts special assistant for Alaska said. "We need to establish priorities and coordinate research efforts."
The Bering Sea ecosystem supports more than 450 species of fish, crustaceans and mollusks, more than 50 species of seabirds and at least 25 species of marine mammals. It provides 56 percent of the countries fishery production and much more.
Recently scientists have learned that populations of seabirds such as thick billed murres, red-legged and black-legged kittiwakes and common murres have declined as much as 50 percent in some regions of the Bering Sea. Steller Sea Lion abundance has declined by more than 80 percent in the past 30 years in the southeastern Bering Sea, and fur seal populations have declined by 50 percent since the 1950s.
"We all want the Bering Sea to thrive, but given some of the warning signals, we must act now to pool scientific information to identify gaps and ultimately, to seek to fill those gaps," Williams said.
-FWS-
