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April 2011

Vol. 16, No. 15 Week of April 10, 2011

Leasing ban sought for N. Aleutian basin

An organization called the Fish Basket Coalition is pushing for a permanent ban on oil and gas drilling in Alaska’s Bristol Bay.

The organization said fishermen and tribal members were to go to Washington, D.C., at the end of March to urge that the bay, also known as the North Aleutian basin, be removed from federal offshore leasing plans.

Bristol Bay is well-known for its tremendous runs of sockeye salmon. It also supports rich commercial harvests of king crab and other fish such as pollock and cod.

Presidential withdrawal

The federal government had proposed two lease sales in the North Aleutian basin, one this year and another in 2014.

Those plans were nixed when President Obama withdrew Bristol Bay from leasing through June of 2017.

“This withdrawal prevents consideration of Bristol Bay for leasing for any oil or gas development in the Outer Continental Shelf, whether for exploratory or production purposes,” a March 31, 2010, memo from the White House said.

Now organizations such as the Fish Basket Coalition are pursuing permanent protection for the bay.

Sale 92 in 1986 resulted in issuance of 23 leases in the North Aleutian basin, but the government bought back the leases in the wake of the Exxon Valdez oil spill.

The basin is regarded as more prospective for natural gas than for oil.

One company, Shell, has expressed considerable interest in the basin, going so far as to lay out a plan for producing liquefied natural gas from the region.

The Fish Basket Coalition involves Alaska commercial fishing and conservation groups, as well as the World Wildlife Fund and the Pew Environment Group.

The organization’s website is www.fishbasket.org.

—Wesley Loy






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