Bering Sea

JUNEAU -- The Legislative Council has decided to push ahead with the state paying for a public relations effort to curb the Endangered Species Act and the listing of polar bears, despite lawmakers saying it could create a black eye for Alaska.

Beginning this year, Under Alaskan Seas Expeditions will launch three years of intensive research and deep ocean exploration from the Arctic's Barrow Canyon to the deepest chasm in Alaska, the Aleutian Trench, using submarines and unmanned robotic technology to explore, document, and collect new scientific data in Alaska's vast undersea universe.

"Dual management, being the state and the feds, I'm just wondering how's that working out?" Rep. Reggie Joule, D-Kotzebue, asked Fish and Game Commissioner Denby Lloyd.

The Alaska Board of Fisheries has sent a letter to state House and Senate leaders asking for a comprehensive legislative review of the state's permitting system in light of the proposed Pebble mine in Southwest Alaska.

Saturday, February 06, 2010 Letters on the missing 100 million lbs of halibut that were 'found.'