A new tool can help protect Arctic marine mammals in a changing world

What do you see when you think of the Bering Strait? Many of us envision freezing polar waters, dotted with ice floes. But what you might not know is that the Bering Strait (Strait) is an incredibly important corridor, feeding and breeding ground for Arctic marine mammals. The Strait is home to species like Pacific walrus, polar bears, whales and ice-dependent seals. Its waters abound with the plankton, fish, sea birds and crustaceans that support the Arctic’s most iconic wildlife.

This corridor is also the front yard to dozens of communities on both the U.S. and Russian coastline. Many of these communities were established thousands of years ago. Native communities have a unique relationship with their environment, with extensive local and traditional knowledge of sea ice, animal habitat use and animal behavior. Through cultural and subsistence practices, the knowledge of ocean patterns and life cycles as well as the timing of each season is passed on to younger generations. The landscape and its wildlife contain key food resources for many who live along the coast.

The Bering Strait ecosystem is vital to both people and wildlife. But it needs protection in a changing world.

Warming Arctic: Our Changing Climate Brings New Threats

Climate change is throwing new challenges into the mix, which individuals in the region have witnessed firsthand including changing sea ice patterns, shorter winters, and coastal area permafrost thawing at a more rapid rate. Changing sea ice conditions affect subsistence because it alters the behavior patterns of ice dependent species. For example, Pacific walrus are increasingly hauling out along the coastline instead of on sea ice, which can lead to deadly stampedes.

One growing risk is an increase in vessel traffic, which is caused by less sea ice in the Strait. As the Northwest Passage (Passage) opens, increasing numbers of vessels including large cruise ships with thousands of tourists eager to view the glory of the Arctic are churning through these waters for the first time. Businesses also see the monetary appeal in traveling shorter distances to and from Asia and Europe by using this Passage through the Arctic. The increase in vessel traffic brings greater risk to this sensitive ecosystem, the people who live here and its marine mammals in the form of vessel strikes, increased ocean noise, and – worst of all – hazardous spills.

This region, though rich in community, knowledge, and culture, has limited infrastructure and unpredictable weather. Ports are hundreds of miles apart and many cannot accommodate large numbers of big ships, and many airstrips are limited in the size of the aircraft that can land on them. If a spill of national significance did happen in the Bering Strait, much of the response equipment and certified personnel would have to come from Anchorage and Kodiak, located 1,000 miles away.

Empowering Communities on the Front Lines

Speed, communication and knowledge of the wildlife and habitat of the area are critical factors in responding to an oil spill effectively. But the local residents who have extensive first-hand knowledge of their surroundings are often under-represented in spill preparedness and response. In fact, the biggest gap reported by expert spill responders is meaningful dialogue and engagement between community members and spill responders. This represents a serious lapse in communication, especially considering that frequently, local communities are the first to notice unusual animal behavior or changes in the landscape. We believe that the best way to defend Arctic wildlife in the event of an oil spill is to partner with Alaska Native community members, who are eager to engage, know the natural patterns of the landscape and want to better understand the effects increased vessel traffic will have on marine wildlife.

Knowing seasonal migration routes for the species in the area that might be most at risk or which communities could be most instrumental in helping respond to a spill is vital. Knowing where hazardous spill response equipment is stored and who to contact is also extremely important when responding to remote areas in Alaska. And that’s where our new tool can help.

The Bering Strait Response Training Tool

To increase community engagement in spill preparedness and response planning, the Alaska Program has developed a new online interactive tool that combines layers of critical data from the experts both locally and beyond. We call it the Bering Strait Response Teaching Tool (BSRTT).

In a web-based format, viewers can see Arctic marine species and their habitats on a map, superimposed on the paths of vessel traffic and the locations of communities and spill response equipment. Having all this information in one place – customized for the Bering Strait – is incredibly valuable as we reach out to Native communities in that region to increase their engagement in hazardous spill response planning and response. We can work with communities to identify hotspots nearby where the landscape or wildlife are most at risk. We can clarify which agencies are in charge of the local hazardous spill response, and ensure communities are part of creating the best plan for action, including putting them in touch with agencies to take part in upcoming trainings and drills.

Check out our short video to learn more about the BSRTT, what it’s for and why it’s needed.

We’re looking forward to presenting this tool at community meetings and workshops to bring the risks of hazardous spill risk to life. The BSRTT can show each community what a hazardous spill in their region might look like, how to locate spill response equipment and who to contact in an emergency. The BSRTT is going to be a game-changer for forging these relationships between expert spill responders and local communities.

For those of you who do not live or work on the coast of Alaska, it still has a lot to offer. You can use it to fly the coast and explore this complex and vulnerable habitat. Look at where your favorite species live or migrate, and in some cases, see how frighteningly close an oil spill could come to vital habitat. We at Defenders are hoping that for you too, this tool can bring home the reality of this incredible landscape that we work so hard to protect.