The Aleutians template

Habitat conservation and commercial fishing opportunities were brilliantly combined to protect 370,000 square miles of seafloor in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska.

The conservation-management template is deceptively simple: Follow the law, develop the science and do what is practicable to save habitat and maintain livelihoods. So much of the work in the nation's fisheries is remedial, belated attempts to bring back stocks that have crashed from overfishing. This makes the Alaskan success story all the more encouraging.

The goal was to regulate and confine bottom trawling, whose equipment and techniques are especially destructive to vast coral gardens that serve as breeding grounds, nurseries and sanctuaries for a bounty of fish species and marine mammals.

The plan, developed with expertise and leadership from environmental groups, particularly Oceana, was vetted and endorsed by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, subject to public and industry scrutiny, and adopted last week by NOAA Fisheries.

Basically, the footprint of existing bottom fishing for mackerel, cod and rock fish is frozen in place, covering 40 percent of the region. As its testimony noted, industry knows where the fish are. The rest of the ocean floor is closed to expanded fishing or exploration.

This is a triumph for acknowledging and managing the link between habitat and a healthy, productive commercial fishing industry.