Background Articles

From the Koyukuk River, to the Kuskokwim, to Norton Sound, to Bristol Bay’s Igushik River, unusually warm temperatures across Alaska this summer led to die-offs of unspawned chum, sockeye and pink salmon. Warm waters also sometimes this summer acted as a “thermal block” — essentially a wall of heat salmon don’t swim past, delaying upriver migration.

An increasing number of marine researchers say the voracious eaters are thriving at the expense of higher-value sockeye salmon, seabirds and other species with whom their diet overlaps.

Average temperature for month amid Arctic heatwave was 58.1F (14.5C), nearly 1F above previous high set in July 2004

A total of 161 great white sharks have been spotted off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, since June. Experts say attacks on people are unlikely as the sharks are looking for seals.

Salmon have been found dead in rivers across Western Alaska this summer. The largest die-off reported comes from the Koyukuk River, a tributary of the Yukon.

While some parts of Bristol Bay have had record-breaking years, one South Peninsula village hasn't been as lucky. After a year and a half of bad runs, Chignik Bay is worried about the survival of the community.

Earth’s natural cycles can’t account for the recent warming seen over the past 100 years, new research suggests.

From California to Alaska, animals born during the infamous Blob are coming of age.

During a workshop in Nome this week, scientists and residents discussed algal toxins’ role in the changing Bering Sea ecosystem.

The odds of an attack are low, experts say, yet their advice today is not to go into the ocean above your waist. Are our carefree swimming days over?

The glowing algae is suffocating sea life.

DFO documents reveal treatment failures and inability to protect migrating salmon.

Environmentalists often decry the loss of species diversity in rivers that have been dammed. But while some species lose when we meddle with rivers, others win, sometimes in dramatic and ways.

From African waters to China and back again, over half the fish on Nigerian tables is imported

Two summers ago, federal scientists discovered something shocking: The Northern Bering Sea was teeming with cod and pollock. Those two commercially valuable species had never been found in such large huge numbers that far north.

King salmon fishing in Alaska is political — but for those who can’t do it this summer, it’s also personal.

Scientists have identified a spike in ‘vagrant’ species of fish including damselfish, wrasse and triggerfish

The Ranavirus virus has been found in a turtle in Hamilton's Cootes Paradise wetland. It generally leads to organ failure and death within four weeks.

March becomes the hundredth month in a row with temperatures above normal. "It is unique and shows how fast climate change is happening in the Arctic," says climate scientist Ketil Isaksen at the Meteorological Institute (MET).

Recent storms have destroyed the progress made in ice formation endangering coastal habitats and fishing practices.