Hook, Line, and Trawler:
Gear Impacts and International Cooperation in the Bering Sea

August 15th, 2005

Pacific Environment is pleased to announce the release of Hook, Line, and Trawler, a joint Russian-American report on fishing gear usage in the Bering Sea. Hook, Line and Trawler presents a compilation of materials and analyses gathered from both sides of the Bering, highlighting negative impacts associated with gear usage while calling for larger solutions to fisheries management issues. Narrative text was combined from three separate reports authored by Whit Sheard of Alaska, and Gennady Evsikov and Artur Maiss of Russia, with additions by Pacific Environment Program Director Jennifer Castner. Hook, Line and Trawler was made possible by support from the Alaska Conservation Foundation.

Given the Bering Sea’s ecological, cultural, and economic importance, it is imperative that this ecosystem be managed using a unified approach, toward the goal of sustainability.

Recommendations offered by the report include the following:

• An effective international agreement and commission to coordinate management of the Bering Sea;
• Increased scientific research and coordination;
• A transition to Ecosystem-Based Management across the entire Bering; and 
• Further restrictions on harmful gear, such as bottom trawling and large-scale driftnets.
  

Download PDF of Executive Summary (410 KB)

Download PDF of Complete Report (854 KB)