Sounding Board: Critical Habitat Questions

Sounding Board is over this week, and what a show it was.

Thank you to our guests, Brandon Ahmosuk, Gay Sheffield, and NOAA’s Assistant Regional Manager for Protected Resources, Jon Kurland, for sharing your knowledge with us.

Also, a big thank you to our callers: Lew in Nome, Roger in White Mountain, Dan in Nome, Frank in Wales, Eric in Little Diomede, and Albert in Nome. They offered thoughtful questions, observations, and concerns. And, of course, thank you to all the listeners who tuned in for this extra-length episode.

You can listen to the show above, or continue the conversation by submitting a comment at the bottom of this page.

If you would like to submit a comment to NOAA on the proposed ringed seal habitat, you can use this electronic form or mail your comments to:

ATTN: Jon Kurland

Assistant Regional Administrator for Protected Resources

Alaska Region NMFS

P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802-1668


This week on Sounding Board, we’re answering your questions.

NOAA Fisheries has proposed a critical habitat for ringed seal in Alaska. That habitat would stretch from the northern Beaufort and Chukchi seas, south into the Bering Strait. Between now and March 31st, NOAA has opened the habitat proposal to public comment.

On Thursday, we’ll have Kawerak Subsistence director Brandon Ahmosuk in the studio, along with Gay Sheffield of the Alaska Marine Advisory program, to answer questions. We’ll also be talking to NOAA about what a critical habitat designation could mean for subsistence and commercial fishing in our region.

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