An agreement has been reached between the Aleut Community of St. Paul Island (ACSPI) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) for joint management of federal waters off the Pribilof Islands fishing community.
The economy of Saint Paul Island is dependent primarily on commercial fisheries.
The memorandum of agreement was signed Jan. 16 by ACSPI President John Wayne Melovidov and Janet L. Coit, NMFS’ assistant administrator for fisheries.
The MOA establishes a government-to-government relationship that recognizes each party’s roles in stewarding the marine waters surrounding the Pribilof Islands. It also notes the link of the Aleut people to the marine ecosystem surrounding their ancestral home, as well as NMFS’s responsibility for stewardship of the nation’s ocean resources and their habitat.
The MOA also recognizes that residents of the Pribilof Islands are experiencing dynamic changes in the marine ecosystem caused by climate change and other factors, with real costs to human and ecosystem health, local economies and culture.
The joint management represents a small measure of restorative justice by NMFS as a federal government agency for past injustices with respect to ACSPI, the MOA said.
The agreement calls for ACSPI and the agency to work together on sustainable management and stewardship of marine resources under NMFS’s jurisdiction surrounding St. Paul Island, recognizing that some topics of mutual interest may be the responsibility of, or require coordination with, other entities. They include the North Pacific Fishery Management Council and the state of Alaska.
The agreement calls for future cooperation involving science, traditional and indigenous knowledge, co-management and co-stewardship within the waters and the sharing of information on relevant funding opportunities for projects that can support shared goals and mutual interests.
The agreement also calls for a review at least once every five years to determine whether it should be revised or terminated.