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THE
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7
ECOSYSTEM
Committee on the Bering Sea Ecosystem
Polar Research Board
Commission on Geosciences, Environment,
and Resources
National Research Council
NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
Washington, D.C. 1996
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NOTICE: The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished
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1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical
~ ~ 1 · · . - ~ ~ · · . . .- . , . ~ _ ~
matters. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National
Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration
and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for
advising the federal government. The National Academv of Engineering awn snon.cor.s ~.n~in~.rinss nrr,ornmc
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aimed at meeting nanona~ needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements
of engineers. Dr. Harold Leibowitz is president of the National Academy of Engineering.
The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the
services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the
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The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to
associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge
and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the
Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and
the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and
engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine.
Dr. Bruce M. Alberts and Dr. Harold Leibowitz are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National
Research Council.
The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National
Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the
National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible
for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a
Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy
of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.
Support for this project was provided by the U.S. Department of State under Grant No. 1758-200303
and the United States Coast Guard under Grant No. DTCG23-93-P-HNF037.
Cover: This image was produced by WorldSat International and Jim Knighton for the Alaska Department of
Commerce and Economic Development. The image is derived from a cloud free mosaic of satellite images
taken from the NOAA weather satellites that orbit the Earth at an altitude of approximately 800km (520 miles).
The image is based on one infrared channel and one visible channel of NOAA data from which ROB bands of
data are generated. When displayed, they produce a natural color image covering the entire earth.
Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 95-71100
International Standard Book No. 0-309-05345-5
Copies of the report are available from: National Academy Press, 2101 Constitution Avenue, NW,
Washington, DC, 20055, 800-624-6242, 202-334-3313 (In the Washington Metropolitan Area) B-677.
Copyright 1996 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America
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COMMITTEE ON THE BERING SEA ECOSYSTEM
ROBERT C. FRANCIS, Chair, University of Washington, Seattle
LEE G. ANDERSON, University of Delaware, Newark
W.D. BOWEN, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia,
Canada
STEVEN K. DAVIS, EGL Alaska Research Associates, Anchorage
JACQUELINE M. GREBMElER, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
LLOYD F. LOWRY, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Fairbanks
ILARIAN MERCULlEFF, City of St. Paul, St. Paul Island, Alaska (through
12/2/93)
NATALIA S. MIROVITSKAYA, Russia Academy of Sciences, Moscow
CHARLES H. PETERSON, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill,
Morehead City
CALEB PUNGOWlYT, Inuit Circumpolar Conference, Anchorage
THOMAS C. ROYER, University of Alaska, Fairbanks
ALAN M. SPRINGER, University of Alaska, Fairbanks
WARREN S. WOOSTER, University of Washington, Seattle
NRC Staff
CHRIS ELFRING, PRB Director
LOREN W. SETLOW, PRB Director (through 1~0/95)
DAVID I. POLICANSKY, Study Director
KELLY NORSINGLE, Senior Project Assistant
· . .
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POLAR RESEARCH BOARD
DAVID L. CLARK, Chair, University of Wisconsin, Madison
KNUT AAGAARD, University of Washington, Seattle
JOHN B. ANDERSON, Rice University, Houston, Texas
DAVID R. BAINES, St. Maries Clinic, St. Maries, Idaho
ERNEST S. BURCH, Ir., Consultant, Camp Hill, Pennsylvania
GORDON F.N. COX, Amoco Production Company, Houston, Texas
ROBERT L. DEZAFRA, State University of New York, Stony Brook
BERNARD MALLET, University of Washington, Seattle
DOYAL A. HARPER, Yerkes Observatory, Williams Bay, Wisconsin
DAVID M. MITE, Consultant, Anchorage, Alaska
JUNE LINDSTEDT-SIVA, ARCO, Los Angeles, California
DIANNE M. MCKNIGHT, U.S. Geological Survey, Boulder, Colorado
DONAL T. MANAHAN, University of Southern California, Los Angeles
WALTER C. OECHEL, San Diego State University, San Diego, California
IRENE C. PEDEN, University of Washington, Seattle
GLENN E. SHAW, University of Alaska, Fairbanks
DONALD B. SINIFF, University of Minnesota, St. Paul
ROBERT M. WALKER, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri
Ex-Officio Members
CHARLES R. BENTLEY, University of Wisconsin, Madison
ELLEN S. MOSLEY-THOMPSON, Ohio State University, Columbus
ROBERT H. RUTFORD, University of Texas, Dallas
ORAN R. YOUNG, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire
NRC Staff
CHRIS ELFRING, Director
LOREN W. SETLOW, Director (through 10/95)
TONI GREENLEAF, Senior Project Assistant/Financial Assistant
KELLY NORSINGLE, Senior Project Assistant
IV
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COMMISSION ON GEOSCIENCES, ENVIRON1\lENT,
AND RESOURCES
M. GORDON WOLMAN, Chainnan, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
PATRICK R. ATKINS, Aluminum Company of America, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
JAMES P. BRUCE, Canadian Climate Program Board, Ottawa
WILLIAM L. FISHER, University of Texas at Austin
JERRY F. FRANKLIN, University of Washington, Seattle
GEORGE M. HORNBERGER, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
DEBRA KNOPMAN, Progressive Foundation, Washington, D.C.
PERRY L. MCCARTY, Stanford University, California
JUDITH E. MCDOWELL, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Massachusetts
S. GEORGE PHILANDER, Princeton University, New Jersey
RAYMOND A. PRICE, Queen's University at Kingston, Ontario
THOMAS C. SCHELLING, University of Maryland, College Park
ELLEN SILBERGEL~D, University of Maryland Medical School, Baltimore
STEVEN M. STANLEY, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
VICTORIA, I. TSCHINKEL, Landers and Parsons, Tallahassee, Florida
NRC Staff
STEPHEN RATTIEN, Executive Director
STEPHEN D. PARKER, Associate Executive Director
MORGAN GOPNIK, Assistant Executive Director
GREGORY SYMMES, Reports Officer
NAMES E. MALLORY, Administrative Officer
SANDRA S. FITZPATRICK, Administrative Associate
SUSAN SHERWIN, Project Assistant
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Preface
.
The plentiful fish and game of the Bering Sea have supported the lives and livelihood of
people on both the Asian and the North American continents since prehistoric times. The Bering
Sea is a subarctic, semi-enclosed northern extension of the North Pacific Ocean; its southern
boundary is marked by the Aleutian Islands and its northern boundary by Bering Strait. Its wide
variety of fish, shellfish, birds, and mammals both in coastal areas and offshore provided an
incentive for small population centers to be established in what is now Russia and the United
States. As the world's demand for furs and whale oil grew in the eighteenth and nineteenth
centuries, exploitation of the Bering Sea's bountiful living resources began on a commercial
scale. During the twentieth century, international markets turned to the Bering Sea for its
seafood resources. Legal protections for marine mammals were developed in recent decades,
and the taking of them declined significantly. Today, approximately 25 species of fish,
crustaceans, and mollusks of the Bering Sea are considered important commercially.
Despite the protection for marine mammals, birds, and fish resources afforded by laws
of the United States and Russia, and joint treaties between these two nations, some species of
the Bering Sea and adjacent regions have undergone large and sometimes sudden population
fluctuations. For example, Steller sea lions have declined by 50 to 80 percent and northern Fir
seal pups on the Pribilof Islands (the major Bering Sea rookeries) declined by 50 percent
between the 1950s and 1980s. In parts of the Gulf of Alaska, harbor seal numbers have dropped
by as much as 90 percent since the 1970s. Populations of seabirds such as common murres,
thick-billed murres, and red-legged and black-legged kittiwakes have also declined significantly
in some areas such as the Pribilof Islands and the eastern Aleutians. These changes have raised
concerns about how living resources in the area have been and should be managed. Although
many suggestions have been put forward as to the factors responsible for these wildlife
population fluctuations there have been no definitive answers.
Concerned about the future of the Bering Sea ecosystem, the U.S. Department of State
asked the National Research Council (NRC) to study the available scientific and technical
information on the Bering Sea ecosystem, focusing, in particular, on environmental factors that
influence natural variability in populations of marine mammals' seabirds' and fish. The U.S.
Vl
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Preface
· ~
V11
Coast Guard joined in supporting this project because of its role in scientific research, rescue,
and law enforcement in U.S. waters, particularly the Bering Sea. To respond to the charge, the
National Research Council's Polar Research Board established the Committee on the Bering Sea
Ecosystem.
The charge to the study committee was to review and evaluate the following:
· Environmental factors and ecological relationships that control the Bering Sea
ecosystem, including atmospheric and ocean circulation patterns, biological production pathways,
and energy transfer within the food web.
· The life history, distribution, and population dynamics of commercially important
species, with special emphasis on species that migrate through international waters or into the
United States or Russian exclusive economic zones; and the probable causes and effects of their
population fluctuations.
· Estumates of historical population dynamics of marine mammals, seabirds, and
commercially Important species of the Bering Sea, their interrelationships, their current status,
and the factors contributing to their population fluctuations.
· The historical records of the commercial fisheries of the Bering Sea.
· The relationship between the biological resources of the Bering Sea and (a)
subsistence cultures and economies of indigenous peoples, (b) commercial fisheries and other
users, and (c) the assemblage of organisms that constitute the biological component of the Bering
Sea ecosystem.
To execute this charge, the committee met five fumes to gather information and deliberate
on issues. We read many reports, published papers, and other documents. At its meetings in
Anchorage and Seattle, the committee was briefed by the National Marine Fisheries Service,
environmental organizations, the U.S. North Pacific fishing industry, Native American
organizations, the Japanese Ministry of Fisheries, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Norm Pacific
Fishery Management Council, the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Smithsonian Institution,
and other organizations and individuals. The committee is most grateful to these people and
organizations (see Appendix B).
The committee members approached their task with many varying views but with open
minds. None of us foresaw the conclusions we reached and unanimously agreed to, and we all
learned a great deal from each other and from this study. I am pleased that our conclusions
agree with some aspects of U.S. arctic policy as reflected in recent policy statements, in
particular the importance of sustainable resource management and economic development, the
need to strengthen institutional cooperation among arctic nations, the Importance of an integrated
research program, and the Importance of involving indigenous peoples in decisions concerning
them. My experience on this committee in particular brought home to me the need to develop
ways to overcome the difficulties of meaningfully bridging the deep differences between
indigenous and western cultures.
This report is the result of the committee's hard work and deliberations and the PRO
staff's valuable support. Thanks are due to both for the tremendous effort they put forth to
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V111
The Bering Sea Ecosystem
bring this work to conclusion. The diversity of backgrounds and intellectual focus brought to
the issue at hand made this an enjoyable and edifying experience as well.
Finally, I wish to thank two outstanding individuals who have helped make my task much
easier. Kelly Norsingle took care of most of the logistics, facilitation, and report preparation,
and-more importantly-she was always there with an effervescent and helping attitude to the
task at hand. To me, she defines the term "service excellence. " And last but certainly not least,
David Policansky has not only supported my efforts to make this report a quality one, he has
patiently and persistently guided me along the path of this long and difficult journey.
Robert C. Francis, Chair,
Committee on the Bering Sea Ecosystem
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Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1 INTRODUCTION
The Problem, 8
The Study, 9
MARINE ECOSYSTEMS: A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
Conceptual Framework, 11
Oceanic and Terrestrial Ecosystems, 16
Environmental and Anthropogenic Forcing, 17
The Condition of an Ecosystem, 20
Ecosystem Management, 20
The Bering Sea Ecosystem and its Analogs, 24
The Delineation of Bering Sea Ecosystem, 25
3 THE BERING SEA ECOSYSTEM: GEOLOGY, PHYSICS,
CHEMISTY, BIOLOGY
Marine Geology, 28
Physical Oceanographic Structure, 35
Primary and Secondary Production, 54
Biology of Lower Trophic Levels, 60
BIOLOGY OF HIGHER TROPHIC LEVELS
Invertebrates, 72
Finfish, 79
Birds, 110
Marine Mammals, 126
Discussion of Population Declines, 139
ax
7
11
28
72
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x
5
6
7
The Bering Sea Ecosystem
HUMAN USE FISHERIES
Fish and Invertebrates, 156
Marine Mammals (and Birds), 180
Interactions of Indigenous Populations with Marine Ecosystems, 183
CAUSES AND EFFECTS IN THE BERING SEA
ECOSYSTEM
Environmental Variability, 197
Human Effects, 207
The "Cascade Hypothesis" and the Bering Sea Ecosystem, 218
Discussion, 232
Conclusions, 234
IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGEMENT POLICY &
INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS
The Bering Sea Ecosystem As An Asset, 239
Implications for Management, 242
GAPS IN KNOWLEDGE AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Recommendations, 255
The Future, 259
REFERENCES
APPENDIXES
A. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS
B. CONTRIBUTORS
156
196
238
250
260
304
306
