Background Articles

The Western Arctic Caribou Herd continues to decline, now at about a third of its 2003 population, with hunting restrictions likely as part of conservation efforts.

Climate change is worsening the planet’s biodiversity crises, making environments more deadly for thousands of species and accelerating the precipitous decline…

In the much-higher water temperatures that lingered in the 2014-19 period, juvenile chum salmon metabolism was super-charged, meaning they needed more food, said the study, by scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. But the food that was available was of low quality — things like jellyfish instead of the fatpacked krill and other prey they normally eat, the study said.

Steller sea lions are the most affected by human activities in Alaska, leading to hundreds of deaths, primarily due to entanglement in fishing gear.

Due to declining salmon returns, Russia may halt commercial salmon fisheries next year to protect the species. This drastic reduction has raised concerns about the sustainability of the fisheries and the need for conservation measures. The situation is so dire that the salmon catch in 2021 was the lowest in the last 16 years, and projections for the 2024-2026 period suggest a continued downward trend.

Residents in Western Alaska are experiencing a salmon crisis that is not only affecting their physical health due to the lack of exercise from salmon harvesting, but also their mental health and cultural well-being, as salmon harvesting is seen as a vital part of their way of life and recovery from substance abuse.

An extreme outbreak of salmon lice in Iceland has resulted in an average of 96 lice found on each salmon, causing outrage and protests against Norwegian fish farming companies.

Wildlife surveys in southwest Yukon have shown a 'concerning' decline in the number of Dall sheep — and biologists say recent snowy winters may be to blame.

The EPA plans to limit or eliminate a chemical commonly used in car tires, known as 6PPD, after it was found to be fatal to salmon in preliminary Alaska sampling, in response to a petition from Native Tribes and several states, but the rulemaking process is expected to take years.

Over 5,000 Peruvian sea lions, approximately 5% of Peru's population, succumbed to a mass mortality event linked to the avian influenza A(H5N1) virus, signaling an urgent need for research and conservation efforts to prevent further declines. The rapid spread of the virus among these colonially breeding mammals highlights potential risks of cross-species transmission and the necessity for heightened monitoring to avert new pandemics.

A minimum of 42,500 chinook are supposed to get to their Canadian spawning waters to meet conservation goals. Only 15,300 of those fish made it to Eagle, near the Yukon border.

The Kenai borough Assembly has passed a resolution asking the governor to declare an economic disaster for set-netters on the east side of Cook Inlet in Alaska, due to the closure of the fishery this year resulting in significant economic losses.

The Western Arctic Caribou Herd in Alaska has continued to decline, with a 7% decrease in population from the previous year, prompting concerns about the need for harvest reduction to preserve the herd.

A UK study has found that some species of seabirds are developing immunity to avian influenza, which has caused significant mortalities in wild bird populations and poses a threat to human health.

If puffin hunting is banned, that population is expected to decrease by over 10% over the next decade. If hunting continues to be permitted, however, the population is expected to decrease by 30% or even as much as 50% within that same period.

Amid declining salmon runs, Coastal Villages Region Fund has shifted away from subsidizing village-based seafood processing. Coastal Villages used to pursue that mission in large part by operating smaller commercial fisheries for salmon and halibut. Each year, the fishing season was an opportunity to earn wages at the group’s processing facilities or for local fishermen to earn cash selling their catch — an economic lifeline for many families in one of the state’s poorest regions.

Several bird species in the forest in Stord, Vestland, Norway are experiencing a significant decline, as indicated by the Raudlista 2021 report. Since 1980, 600 million birds in Europe have disappeared..

Nearly 1,000 migrating birds died after crashing into a building in Chicago due to a confluence of specific conditions, including unfavorable weather and lights being left on in the building.

The Department for Fisheries and Hunting in Greenland is responding to reports of sick and dead birds along the country's west coast and east coast, with concerns that it may be due to avian influenza, but the risk of transmission to humans is low.

More than 100 dolphins have died in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest in the past week as the region grapples with a severe drought, and many more could die soon if water temperatures remain high, experts say.