Chukchi Sea Large Marine Ecosystem

The Chukchi Sea Large Marine Ecosystem is a sub-Arctic (high-latitude) marine region situated off the East Siberian coast of Russia and the Northwestern coast of Alaska (USA). Pacific waters enter this Arctic LME via the Bering Strait. The LME is relatively shallow with an extensive continental shelf. The coastline has many islands, shallow bays, gulfs and inlets. The ice-cover varies considerably during the year and inter-annually. The LME is characterized by its extreme environment, and by major seasonal and annual changes. The region is driven by climatic conditions and by the annual formation and melting of sea ice.

Photo:Subsistence hunters and their families are important in the Chukchi Sea as they supply the samples and traditional knowledge that are key to understanding change in the Bering-Chukchi Sea region.

The region is a global commons that requires international cooperation for sustainable use. Areas that need to be coordinated are resource extraction (mining, oil exploration and development), conservation strategies, legal issues, fisheries economics, and scientific monitoring. Under the US-Russia Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Environmental Protection, activities include:

• conservation and management of sea bird populations,
• conservation and study of polar bears,
• marine mammals, including instrument surveys of Pacific walrus,
• dynamics of Arctic marine ecosystems including Bering and Chukchi Seas, and
• ichthyology and aquaculture.