DEC collecting Chukchi data

The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation in partnership with the University of Alaska School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences is collecting environmental data from the Chukchi Sea along the near-shore from Point Hope to Wainwright, DEC said Aug. 19. The $2.15-million study, part of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency assessment of the coastal waters of the entire United States, is taking place between Aug. 22 and Sept. 9 and will be completed in the summer of 2011, with the timing of the work intended to avoid conflicts with subsistence hunting and to avoid encounters with sea ice, DEC said.

Depending on funding, DEC may conduct similar studies in the Beaufort Sea and Bristol Bay in subsequent years.

“This year and next we are focused on the Chukchi Sea,” said Doug Dasher, DEC’s lead scientist for the survey. “The survey includes a comprehensive assessment of water quality, sediment and biological conditions for 50 statistically selected sites.”

This year a team of 12 researchers will operate in the Chukchi, using the 115-foot Norseman II vessel as a work platform to gather information to support water quality evaluation, permitting actions, environmental baseline assessments, and to act as a basis for tracking environmental changes over time.

“The bottom line is this survey will provide resource managers with the high-quality scientific information they need to manage Alaska’s resources,” Dasher said.

—Alan Bailey