March 7, 2024 — NOAA postponed the Northern Bering Sea Effects of Trawling Study (NETS), a controversial bottom trawling experiment. Tribal and environmental groups, determined to sue to block the project’s progress, accepted the decision to postpone the study this year.
NETS was set to be an experiment to examine the impacts of commercial bottom trawling in a banned area in the Bering Sea. According to the official study, shifts in fish populations due to climate change may increase the need for bottom trawling in the future. Bottom trawling, also known as dragging on the seafloor, produces about one-half as much food as global beef production, according to a 2022 NF article.
The study was designed to be a multi-year project conducted by the Alaska Fisheries Science Center, part of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). The decision to postpone came in a letter from the director of NOAA Fisheries, Janet Coit, who directly emailed tribal organizations that opposed the study.
The letter sent on Feb. 23 said, “To provide more space for continued dialogue, NOAA Fisheries has decided not to move forward with the NETS research project this year. We value our responsibilities to and partnerships with Alaska Native communities and want to ensure NOAA is creating space for respectful dialogue and trust building.”