Federal Arctic shipping committee opens nine seats, including Alaska Native positions

Alaska Native tribes, coastal communities and maritime groups have until Sept. 22 to seek a seat on a new federal Arctic shipping panel. The federal Maritime Administration is taking nominations for nine seats on the Arctic Shipping Federal Advisory Committee, which will advise federal Arctic transportation policy.

The Federal Register notice was published Friday. Nominations for immediate consideration are due by 5 p.m. Sept. 22.

The committee is required under the 2021 defense authorization act. The Maritime Administration says the 17-member committee will advise the U.S. Department of Transportation on how the United States should respond to emerging Arctic maritime transportation opportunities.

The open seats include three Alaska Native tribal members, one representative of Alaska Native subsistence co-management groups affected by Arctic maritime transportation, one representative of affected coastal communities, one shipping industry representative, one marine safety representative, one Arctic business representative and one maritime labor representative.

The committee is directed to work on Arctic ports, navigation, maritime safety, environmental protection, maritime domain awareness and incident response.

The notice also says the committee may consider whether to recommend a congressionally chartered Arctic seaway development corporation modeled on the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation.

The committee is expected to meet twice a year. At least one meeting each year must be held in Alaska, according to the notice.

The Maritime Administration says the committee must engage with and seek feedback from coastal communities, Alaska Native subsistence co-management groups and Alaska Native tribes as it develops its report and recommendations.

Whether reserved seats and consultation add up to meaningful influence has been a live question for Alaska Native organizations. In formal comments on the Arctic Shipping Federal Advisory Committee Act, Kawerak, Inc., the regional Alaska Native nonprofit for the Bering Strait region, wrote that "the voice of Alaska Native tribes and the role of Traditional Knowledge in decision-making needs to include appropriate membership and representation by way of composition, and must incorporate guiding principles as to locations of meetings, public participation, how minority Tribal concerns will be resolved or, most importantly, the role of Tribal Consultation in the process." Kawerak also recommended that Arctic legislation "maintain and strengthen" existing fishing prohibitions in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area "and to better manage the fisheries that are allowed."