The Pribilof Islands community of St. Paul is now the homeport for a research vessel. The 50-foot Eventide arrived in St. Paul late last month, marking a major milestone for the community.
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John Wayne Melovidov is president of the Aleut Community of St. Paul Island Tribal Government. He said St. Paul is working to build a research economy after declines in the local fishing industry. The island’s Trident Seafood plant closed after the Bering Sea crab fishery crashed in 2022. Melovidov said monitoring the area’s crab, halibut and fur seal populations will be especially important.
“If anybody should be doing the research on what’s going on with our species out in our backyard, it should be us,” he said. “So we set up a lab to do that research ourselves, but also to invite other scientists to do whatever research they want to do.”
In 2024, the tribe opened the Bering Sea Research Center. It provides local and visiting researchers access to laboratory space and equipment and offers opportunities for collaboration. Use of the facilities will also be offered to businesses for a fee.
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The tribe plans to use the Eventide for community-led research as well as assisting research partners with their work. They purchased the boat earlier this year and converted it from a personal pleasure craft to a research vessel. Since its arrival from Port Townsend, Washington, Melovidov said the ship and its crew have been putting in 12-hour days.
“The projects were waiting for the boat,” he said. “So once the boat showed up, we put her to work right away.”
According to Melovidov, they’ve already received grants for projects that include deploying and recovering drones and locating crab pots around the island with sonar.
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