The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has concluded that the Arctic remains vulnerable to large oil spills.
"The Exxon Valdez (disaster) has been the best-studied oil spill in history and scientists have found that even 20 years later, the damage from the spill continues," explained Margaret Williams, managing director of WWF's Alaska programme. "Fishermen's livelihoods were destroyed, many wildlife and fish populations still haven't recovered and the Alaskan economy lost billions of dollars. We can't let that happen again in Alaska's productive waters."
 According to the organisation, Arctic governments and regional industries lack the appropriate resources to effectively manage a sizeable spill.
"While new regulations are in place regarding response to oil spill disasters in the last 20 years, the Arctic itself has changed considerably and is much more vulnerable today," said Bill Eichbaum, WWF's vice president for marine and arctic policy. "Sea ice is disappearing and open water seasons are lasting longer, creating a frenzy to stake claims on the Arctic's rich resources – especially oil and gas development. Oil spills can be devastating to Arctic marine environments given the current lack of oil spill response capabilities. We need a 'time-out' until protections are in place for this fragile, extraordinary place."
To avoid a repeat of the disastrous Valdez spill, the WWF recommended that vulnerable areas of the Arctic remain permanently off-limits to oil and gas development. Such "no-go zones" could be based on the "sensitivity and productivity" of certin priority areas, including Bristol Bay in the southeastern Alaskan Bering Sea - where more than 40 per cent of all wild seafood is caught in the United States.
"Fishermen's livelihoods are at stake," noted Keith Colburn, a Bristol Bay crab fisherman. "Loss of the Bristol Bay fisheries would put thousands of fishermen out of work and break down the engine of a fishery that brings in $2.2 billion to the economy each year. It's not worth the risk."
The WWF has also urged Arctic countries to conduct comprehensive risk assessments of industrial activities, including shipping and petroleum development, along with climate change-induced impacts on the marine environment. In addition, the organisation proposed that Arctic nations adopt a regional spill response agreement along with the formulation of comprehensive conservation plans.
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