Showing a distinct lack of American patriotism, Alaskan pollock are reacting to climate-changed warmer waters by swimming northward into Russian territory — potentially endangering both the U.S.’s billion-dollar pollock industry and U.S.-Russia relations. Climate-related pollock migration “will be a food security issue and has an enormous potential for political upheaval,” warns Andrew Rosenberg, former deputy director of the National Marine Fisheries Service. Salmon, squid, and mackerel are also moving northward, but the certified-sustainable pollock fishery is arguably of most concern. Estimates hold that anywhere between 10 and 30 percent of Alaskan pollock now rear their heads in Russian territory. If Russians schlep up 20 percent of the available catch, “do we eat it and reduce our catches to manage conservatively?” frets marine-policy professor Keith Criddle. “If we get to the position where Russians are taking 50 percent of the catch, what are we going to do?”
