The Pollock Conservation Cooperative, a fishing consortium comprised of companies that operate catchers/processors in the Bering Sea pollock fishery, is donating $255,500 to the University of Alaska Fairbanks this week to establish a new research center. Cooperative members will continue to contribute $1 million annually beginning this year for the PCC Research Center, a collaborative program for marine research and education in Alaska.

The initial donation will be presented to UAF Chancellor Marshall Lind during a noon luncheon Friday, April 14 at the Anchorage Hilton Hotel. The PCC Research Center will provide grants for UAF graduate students and faculty to research the fisheries, ecosystems and species of the North Pacific and Bering Sea. The center will be administered from the Fairbanks campus and also fund marine resource economic research, marine education, technical training and support research aboard university-owned marine research vessels.

"The center will enable scientists to carry out research benefiting current fishery management issues within an ecosystem context," according to UAF School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences Dean Vera Alexander. "It will strengthen the curriculum for fisheries education, incorporating policy development and business concerns with a strong scientific and mathematical grounding."

PCC members include Alaska Ocean Seafood Inc., American Seafoods Co., Arctic Storm Inc., Glacier Fish Co., Highland Light Seafoods, Starbound Limited Partnership and Trident Seafoods.

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