Board: Bering Sea Fishery Advisory Board
Board identification number: 130
Department: FISH & GAME
Authority: PL 100-629
Status: Active
Sunset date:
Requirements: No Legislative Confirmation or Financial Disclosure required
Prohibitions: The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App. 1 et seq.) shall not apply to this advisory body.
Term: No defined term
Chair: No provision.
Description: The 12 member advisory body consists of: the Director of the Department of Fisheries of the State of Washington; the Commissioner of the Department of Fish and Game of the State of Alaska; 5 members appointed by the Secretary of State from among persons nominated by the Governor of Alaska; and 5 members appointed by the Secretary of State from among persons nominated by the Governor of Washington. These members shall be appointed on the basis of their knowledge and experience in commercial harvesting, processing, or marketing of fishery resources.
Function: The advisory body on the fisheries of the North Pacific and the Bering Sea shall advise the United States representative to the International Consultative Committee created in accordance with Article XIV of the governing international fishery agreement entered into between the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, as contained in the message to Congress from the President of the United States dated June 22, 1988.
Intergovernmental Consultative Committee
The United States and the Russian Federation hold regular consultations on fisheries and marine conservation issues through a bilateral Intergovernmental Consultative Committee (ICC). This forum was originally established under a comprehensive fisheries agreement the United States concluded with the Soviet Union on May 31, 1988, and has continued under the U.S.-Russia agreement that took its place. The ICC is responsible for maintaining a mutually beneficial and equitable fisheries relationship through (1) cooperative scientific research and exchanges; (2) reciprocal allocation of surplus fish resources in the respective national 200-mile zones, consistent with each nation’s laws and regulations; (3) cooperation in the establishment of fishery joint ventures; (4) general consultations on fisheries matters of mutual concern; and, (5) cooperation to address illegal or unregulated fishing activities on the high seas of the North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea. The agreement is periodically reviewed and renewed.
The current U.S. Representative to the ICC is Ambassador David Balton, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and Fisheries Affairs. In addition, there is a 12-member ‘North Pacific and Bering Sea Fisheries Advisory Body’ to advise the U.S. Representative to the ICC. This body includes representatives from the State of Washington, the State of Alaska, and ten other individuals nominated by the governors of those states.
In recent years, the ICC also has served as the forum for the United States and Russia to negotiate a bilateral fisheries management agreement for the Northern Bering Sea, which would enter into force upon entry into force of the 1990 U.S.-Russia maritime boundary agreement.
Special facts: The Governor of Alaska and the Governor of Washington shall each nominate 10 persons from whom the Secretary of State shall appoint.
Compensation: Members receive no compensation.
Meetings: 4-5 times per year.
For further information and to reach individual members, contact:
Bill Templin
Chief Fisheries Scientist
Dept. of Fish and Game
333 Raspberry Road
Anchorage, AK 99518-1599
Phone: (907) 267-2234
Fax: 907-267-2111
