Mayor Fighting for Seals in Alaska
2021-07-18
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1Fifty years ago, Patrick Pletnikoff spent his summers cutting fat off dead seals during Alaska's yearly harvest.
2He competed with other young men to show who had the fastest knife.
3Today, he is fighting to protect the small remaining population of seals.
4He is hoping to create Alaska's first marine sanctuary in the nearby waters.
5The creation of a protected area would give native people the power to limit fishing of the seals' prey - the fish the seals eat.
6Commercial seal hunting was once the economic driver of St. George, a small island far from the Alaskan mainland.
7But the native Unangan community has struggled to find a new trade in the years since hunting seals was banned.
8There are now less than 60 people left on the island.
9Pletnikoff is 73 years old. He is the island's long-serving mayor.
10He has spent years pushing the federal government to add St. George as a U.S. marine sanctuary.
11He hopes such an act would start a new "conservation economy" on the island, one that is based on environmental tourism, scientific research and responsible fishing.
12"It could be a new beginning," Pletnikoff said of his plan for the island.
13St. George and nearby St. Paul are sometimes called the "Galapagos of the north" for their rich wildlife in the northern Pacific.
14Pletnikoff said he has a responsibility "to our environment and the animal kingdom as well."
15Generations of Unangan people worked in hard conditions in the seal trade.
16The trade was first run Russian explorers and then the U.S. government.
17But now the U.S. government is aiming to give local people more power over their land and water - including powers to control fishing.
18U.S. President Joe Biden has promised to expand ocean protections as part of his efforts to fight climate change.
19The National Marine Sanctuaries program is run by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
20In April, Biden proposed a record $6.9 billion budget for NOAA.
21Money was promised for other water sanctuaries, such as Chumash Heritage sanctuary off California and Pennsylvania's Lake Erie Quadrangle.
22Biden is working to keep native people in control over their own land.
23He is hoping to protect 30 percent of U.S. land and sea by 2030.
24"More and more, federal officials are recognizing that tribes need to be more in the driving seat when it comes to land or environmental issues," said Raina Thiele.
25She heads Biden's Native American Policy Committee.
26But the Bering Sea that surrounds St. George is one of the most successful fisheries in the world.
27The fishing industry says the area is already well controlled.
28Gavin Gibbons is a spokesman for the National Fisheries Institute industry group.
29Taking fishing "away in an area with no scientifically based challenges is a solution in search of a problem," he said.
30Since seal hunting has dropped, St. George's population has fallen by about 75 percent from its peak of 250 in the early 1960s.
31The northern fur seal population has also dropped, says NOAA.
32On St. George and St. Paul, numbers have fallen to about 459,000 from 2.1 million in the 1950s.
33But on the Bogoslof Island to the south, the numbers have increased from almost no seals 30 years ago to about 161,000 today.
34In December, Frontiers in Marine Science released a study about what and how much fur seals eat. Researchers found that fur seals likely eat large amounts of walleye pollock.
35The walleye pollock is a valuable fish for fishing companies.
36Scientists do not know exactly how big of an effect fishing has on the seal population.
37But Pletnikoff saw the study as confirming his belief: large fishing boats are competing with seals to catch the animal's prey.
38Creating a sanctuary through NOAA could take many years.
39And St. George's proposal has few supporters in Alaska's state government or among its congressional members.
40There is no guarantee the plan will move forward any time soon.
41But Pletnikoff hopes the sanctuary could mix modern science with native knowledge to find ways to protect seals and other wildlife from future problems.
42"Generations of Unangan people ... grew up with knowing nothing more than fur seals and seabirds - and knowing our environment," he said. "We don't want to see that destroyed."
43I'm Dan Novak.
1Fifty years ago, Patrick Pletnikoff spent his summers cutting fat off dead seals during Alaska's yearly harvest. He competed with other young men to show who had the fastest knife. 2Today, he is fighting to protect the small remaining population of seals. He is hoping to create Alaska's first marine sanctuary in the nearby waters. The creation of a protected area would give native people the power to limit fishing of the seals' prey - the fish the seals eat. 3Commercial seal hunting was once the economic driver of St. George, a small island far from the Alaskan mainland. But the native Unangan community has struggled to find a new trade in the years since hunting seals was banned. There are now less than 60 people left on the island. 4Pletnikoff is 73 years old. He is the island's long-serving mayor. He has spent years pushing the federal government to add St. George as a U.S. marine sanctuary. He hopes such an act would start a new "conservation economy" on the island, one that is based on environmental tourism, scientific research and responsible fishing. 5"It could be a new beginning," Pletnikoff said of his plan for the island. St. George and nearby St. Paul are sometimes called the "Galapagos of the north" for their rich wildlife in the northern Pacific. 6Pletnikoff said he has a responsibility "to our environment and the animal kingdom as well." 7Generations of Unangan people worked in hard conditions in the seal trade. The trade was first run Russian explorers and then the U.S. government. But now the U.S. government is aiming to give local people more power over their land and water - including powers to control fishing. 8U.S. President Joe Biden has promised to expand ocean protections as part of his efforts to fight climate change. 9The National Marine Sanctuaries program is run by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). In April, Biden proposed a record $6.9 billion budget for NOAA. Money was promised for other water sanctuaries, such as Chumash Heritage sanctuary off California and Pennsylvania's Lake Erie Quadrangle. 10Biden is working to keep native people in control over their own land. He is hoping to protect 30 percent of U.S. land and sea by 2030. 11"More and more, federal officials are recognizing that tribes need to be more in the driving seat when it comes to land or environmental issues," said Raina Thiele. She heads Biden's Native American Policy Committee. 12But the Bering Sea that surrounds St. George is one of the most successful fisheries in the world. The fishing industry says the area is already well controlled. 13Gavin Gibbons is a spokesman for the National Fisheries Institute industry group. Taking fishing "away in an area with no scientifically based challenges is a solution in search of a problem," he said. 14Since seal hunting has dropped, St. George's population has fallen by about 75 percent from its peak of 250 in the early 1960s. 15The northern fur seal population has also dropped, says NOAA. On St. George and St. Paul, numbers have fallen to about 459,000 from 2.1 million in the 1950s. But on the Bogoslof Island to the south, the numbers have increased from almost no seals 30 years ago to about 161,000 today. 16In December, Frontiers in Marine Science released a study about what and how much fur seals eat. Researchers found that fur seals likely eat large amounts of walleye pollock. The walleye pollock is a valuable fish for fishing companies. 17Scientists do not know exactly how big of an effect fishing has on the seal population. But Pletnikoff saw the study as confirming his belief: large fishing boats are competing with seals to catch the animal's prey. 18Creating a sanctuary through NOAA could take many years. And St. George's proposal has few supporters in Alaska's state government or among its congressional members. There is no guarantee the plan will move forward any time soon. 19But Pletnikoff hopes the sanctuary could mix modern science with native knowledge to find ways to protect seals and other wildlife from future problems. 20"Generations of Unangan people ... grew up with knowing nothing more than fur seals and seabirds - and knowing our environment," he said. "We don't want to see that destroyed." 21I'm Dan Novak. 22Matthew Green and Nathan Howard reported this story for Reuters. Dan Novak adapted it for VOA Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor. _______________________________________ 23Words in This Story 24sanctuary - n. a place where someone or something is protected or given shelter 25conservation - n. the protection of animals, plants, and natural resources 26tourism - n. the activity of traveling to a place for pleasure 27challenge - n. a difficult task or problem : something that is hard to do 28in the driving seat / in the driver's seat - idiom. in a position in which one is able to control what happens