NEW MARINE RESEARCH CENTER ESTABLISHED AT UAF

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 14, 2000

Fairbanks, Alaska - The Pollock Conservation Cooperative, a fishing consortium comprised of companies that operate catcher/processors in the Bering Sea pollock fishery, laid the cornerstone for a new marine science research center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks today.

The initial $255,500 donation for the PCC Research Center was presented to UAF Chancellor Marshall Lind during a noon luncheon at the Anchorage Hilton Hotel on Friday, April 14. Beginning this year, PCC members will contribute $1 million annually to the center, which will provide grants to UAF graduate students and faculty to study fisheries, ecosystems and species of the North Pacific and Bering Sea.

Administered from the Fairbanks campus using existing facilities, the center will also fund marine resource economics research, marine education, technical training and research aboard university marine vessels.

"This partnership continues UAF's commitment to serving the Alaskan people and businesses who drive this state's economy," Lind said. "Working as a team, the center will also examine long-term resource sustainability."

Scientific research is the cornerstone of sound fisheries management in the Bering Sea, home of the nation's largest and most well-managed fishery, according to Trevor McCabe, executive director of the At-Sea Processors Association, the group that initiated the pollock cooperative.

"Therefore the pollock catcher/processor fleet is pleased to join with UAF in this expanded research partnership," McCabe said, "because the members take seriously their responsibility to help ensure the long-term health of the marine environment."

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

An advisory panel made up of university representatives, industry members and a government representative for fisheries management agencies will identify annual research priorities, review research proposals and make recommendations to the UAF's School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences dean for funding.

In addition to funding current research opportunities, at least 30 percent of the annual contributions from PCC members will be placed in an endowment for future marine research and education.

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

SFOS maintains facilities and personnel in 11 coastal locations across the state. Major units within the school include the Institute of Marine Science, the Fisheries Division, the Marine Advisory Program, Alaska Sea Grant College Program and the Fishery Industrial Technology Center. UAF is one of only a handful of land, sea and space grant institutions in the nation.

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CONTACT: Heather McCarty, Pollock Conservation Cooperative, at (907) 276-8252 or Jillian Swope, UAF University Relations, at (907) 474-7778.

JCS/4-14-00/00-069