The North Pacific Research Board in Anchorage has a new
biennial report out with the highlights of over $58 million spent funding some
350 research studies on topics ranging from physics to fish and habitat to
humans, conducted by more than 100 agencies and institutions. Copies of the
report –highlighting NPRB activities since 2002 - were made available during
the NPRB’s annual Alaska Marine Science Symposium in Anchorage, which attracts
hundreds of participants involved in Alaska fisheries and related scientific
studies.
The entity’s overall goal is to build a clear understanding
of the North Pacific, Bering Sea and Arctic ocean ecosystems that enables
effective management and sustainable use of marine resources.
Denby Lloyd, executive director of the NPRB, a former
commissioner of Fish and Game for the state of Alaska, describes the
organization’s work as a truly collaborative effort. “Our ability to shape
appropriate research programs relies upon … engaged scientists, affected
resource managers, various marine industry interests, and the North Pacific
public at large,” he wrote.
At present, Lloyd said, NPRB is posed to continue
contributing between $4 million and $5 million each year to what has become its
signature annual program. In addition, NPRB is in the final synthesis stages of
its innovative Bering Sea integrated Ecosystem Research Program, which brought
together over 100 scientists via collaborative funding from the NPRB, the
National Science Foundation and several other partners.
The NPRB’s budget has evolved over time, but now relies
almost solely upon a portion of the annual interest from the Environmental
Improvement and Restoration Fund. That’s the fund established by Congress in
1997, derived from half of the settlement monies from the Dinkum Sands dispute
over oil and gas leasing off the Arctic coast of Alaska. Each year, 20 percent
of the annual interest of the EIRF is provided to the Commerce Department, and
subsequently routed through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
and granted to NPRB.
More information about NPRB research projects is online at www.nprb.org