Background Articles

There’s an old saying that captures the essence of subsistence harvesting: “When the tide is out, the table is set.” Clams, mussels and other food are available for the person. Climate change has impacted subsistence in the ocean and on the land. Community members share observations on changes.

In coming decades, the ocean conditions that triggered the snow crab crash and harvest closure are expected to be common.

Harmful algal blooms will become a more common feature of a warming Arctic. Last summer, a massive bloom was detected off the coast of Western Alaska, almost by chance, when scientists sailing through the Bering Strait and Chukchi Sea found worryingly high levels of Alexandrium catenella.

The decision caps a decades-long battle over a region that is home to both the world’s largest wild salmon run and one of the world’s largest deposits of copper and gold.

A UAF graduate student has found microplastics in the stomachs of spotted seals harvested in the Bering Strait region.

Local farms help provide eggs with statewide shortage during avian flu outbreak.

Federal officials denied an emergency request to close crucial habitat for Bristol Bay red king crab to all commercial fishing.

Avian flu outbreak in Washington prompts cull of over 1 million eggs. This has led to a shortage of eggs in urbans areas such as Anchorage and rural communities in Alaska. The egg-shortage adds to the Covid-19 supply chain issues.

Warming soils beneath Utqiagvik are triggering erosion that threatens homes, infrastructure and cultural resources. The North Slope has seen some of the fastest changes in coastal erosion in the nation.

For the first time in decades, Yukon's Finlayson caribou herd appears to be growing in number. That's according to recent population survey data from the territorial government.

Alaska’s Western Arctic Caribou Herd population is lower than at any time in over four decades. Climate change is the leading cause of the decline in the herd.

The Arctic Sounder - Serving the Northwest Arctic and the North Slope

There are new signs that killer whales, which are swimming farther north and staying for longer periods of the year in Arctic waters, are increasingly preying on Alaska’s bowhead whales. A newly published study found that 2019, an especially warm year in the region, also seems to have been an especially dangerous year for bowheads.

Iñupiat communities have been looking for alternatives to traditional ice cellars. Some households switched to using manmade freezers, which can be effective but they affect the taste and the quality of the food, Nelson said. Additionally, power outages, frequent in the villages, can make this storage method unreliable. So the search is on for creative ideas to preserve traditional ice cellars.

Golovin was hurt worse than other places in the Norton Sound region by the remnants of typhoon Merbok as it swirled up through Bering Sea last weekend. Repairing the damage is going to take time — and the clock is ticking on winter’s arrival.

Yukon River chinook salmon runs have been steadily declining, with 2022 the smallest run on record. As the fish disappear, Yukon First Nations fear the cultures and traditions built around the salmon over countless generations will too.

A six-inch butter clam harvested on August 28 three miles north of Savoonga tested positive for saxitoxins, or paralytic shellfish poison, Norton Sound Health Corporation Environmental Coordinator Emma Pate said.The clam itself showed high levels of saxitoxin present: it had 450 micrograms of toxin per 100 gram of body tissue. The Food and Drug Administration’s safety limit is at 80 micrograms/100 g. Pate, via the SEATOR lab, on Sept. 23 issued a paralytic shellfish toxin advisory to Savoonga and Gambell.

Researchers have found a high level of potentially harmful algae in the waters near Teller, Brevig Mission, Wales, Little Diomede and Shishmaref. They are now advising that residents of those areas…

King crab legs for $199 a pound? There’s a reason for that.

As chum and chinook salmon numbers dwindle in Western Alaska, salmon bycatch in the pollock industry was a main concern addressed by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, or NPFMC, from Jun…