"This week, researchers and representatives from the United States and Japan met at the University of Alaska Fairbanks to talk broadly about Arctic science collaboration.

There has never been commercial fishing in the central Arctic Ocean — the part that surrounds the North Pole and is beyond any country’s jurisdiction. But with ice-free conditions projected within this century, countries are already preparing for how to deal with that possibility in the future.

The first legally-binding agreement to prevent commercial fishing in the region was signed last October by a number of countries, including the United States and Japan."

Ravenna Koenig reports for Alaska's Energy Desk March 5, 2019. [2]