The answer there is that within 200 nautical miles from shore, we obviously have exclusive jurisdiction. There is the issue of the disputed sector in the Beaufort Sea, 6,250 square nautical miles, but the legal dispute essentially means there's a de facto moratorium in place in that area. Within 200 nautical miles from shore, it’s not an issue.
The challenge is that as the sea ice melts, access to waters further north becomes possible. Indeed, there's an area beyond 200 nautical miles—north of the Bering Strait, north of Alaska and the far east of Russia—that has become ice-free in summer already. It's closer to South Korea, to Japan and China, than some of their fishing areas off Antarctica. You can expect that long-distance fishing trawlers will go into the Arctic Ocean relatively soon.
This poses a real challenge for Arctic coastal countries because we have straddling stock issues, just as we've had off the east coast of Canada. We might want to develop a responsible fishery within 200 nautical miles in the Beaufort Sea, but if the South Koreans or the Chinese are syphoning up fish just outside of 200 nautical miles, there goes our fishery.
The United States has taken the lead on this, starting with a Congressional resolution put forward by the two senators from Alaska, signed by President Bush, that has been taken up by President Obama. They are pushing for a regional fisheries organization for the central Arctic Ocean.