It's nearly guaranteed to be a monumental showdown, the kind Alaska seems to spawn regularly. On Wednesday, a handful of lawyers will volley before a federal judge over whether the U.S. government properly chose to shut down cod and mackerel fisheries in Southwest Alaska, giving the well-being of an endangered marine mammal preference over the livelihood of scores of fisherman.
Alaska joined forces with 23 fishing-related coalitions, companies and boats, all of which are headquartered Outside, most in Washington and one in Maine, in order to fight a 2010 decision to clamp down on fishing in areas frequented by a Western Alaska population of Steller sea lions, marine mammals listed since 1997 as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.
The state has argued the National Marine Fisheries Service data shows Alaska could lose as much as $83.2 million and as many as 750 fishing-related jobs from the decision. Adding to the tension is a racial argument that the closures disproportionately affect Aleuts, the Alaska Natives who live in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Island regions where the closures are to take effect.
Aleut Corp. and Aleut Enterprises have chimed in to express how the closures will financially harm the communities they represent. Speaking up for the Steller sea lion are at least two environmental groups, which will argue the federal decision had merit and should stand.
While the emotional arguments of loss of livelihood and economic hardships are compelling, the nuts and bolts of the lawsuit appear to hinge on whether correct procedures were followed for allowing the state of Alaska to have a say in the evaluation process; and further, whether federal regulators arrived at the correct scientific conclusion about the overall wellness or jeopardy of the Steller sea lion.
The Steller sea lion population that around 1960 sat near 140,000 plummeted in the following three decades to just 30,500, prompting a threatened listing. In later years, marine managers would separate two distinct groups of the sea lions living in the Aleutians and Alaska Peninsula -- a western species and an eastern one -- and declare the western population endangered. In recent years, however, the western population of Steller sea lions has seen steady growth.
Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell described the population as being 70,000 strong when he announced this lawsuit a year ago. And the state has argued it is wrong to associate cod and mackerel harvests with the slower-than-hoped-for rebound of the western sea lion population.
Both sides will each get about 45 minutes to argue their case. The Aleut Corp. and the environmental groups -- Oceana and Greenpeace, Inc. -- will get about 10 minutes each.
Contact Jill Burke at jill(at)alaskadispatch.com