February 13, 2024 — Several tribal governments in Alaska, as well as the Center for Biological Diversity, plan to sue NOAA Fisheries and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to stop the government from conducting an experimental bottom-trawl study in the northern Bering Sea.
“In light of the rapid and dramatic environmental and human-caused changes that are threatening our iconic marine environments in Alaska, we expect our federal government to act responsibly and follow their own regulations and guidance to protect these vulnerable areas,” Tribal Council President for the Aleut Community of St. Paul Island John Wayne Melovidov said. “This proposed study is a crowbar into the northern Bering Sea for commercial exploitation.”