Alaska glacier. Photo by Britt Constantine, mother and lifelong Alaskan.

Posted by Rachel James

In continuation of our circumpolar work focusing on the impacts of the petroleum industry to the Alaska’s Arctic people and wildlife, I traveled with George Edwardson, president of the Inupiat Community of the Arctic Slope, to Norway, to work with fishermen and to connect with Norwegian media on Arctic issues.

Hosted by the World Wildlife Fund, Norway, we participated in a conference attended by fishermen and local advocates in Svolvaer, Lofoten, which is located in northern Norway above the Arctic Circle in the Barents Sea.  The fishermen are concerned about impacts of seismic testing in their fishing grounds.

While in Oslo, we met with many members of the media, including the indigenous Saami media, to raise the issue of the presence of the Norwegian StatoilHydro’s newly purchased leases in Alaska’s high Arctic Sea, the Chukchi. This area is critical to Inupiat subsistence communities and is critical habitat for bowhead whales, polar bears, ice seals, and walrus. StatoiHydro does not allow petroleum activity in areas of the Barents Sea that are ice-covered due to lack of oil spill clean up technology.  However, in February they purchased leases in the Chukchi, which is covered in ice over 9 months of the year.

The Norwegian National media had a great interest in the issue. The Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) covered the issue and ran several stories. This included a top story on their main evening news, focusing on Norwegian double standards regarding petroleum activity in high Arctic waters.