Background Articles

The lawmakers discussed the challenges faced by Alaska’s fishermen in a remote address to Kodiak’s annual commercial fishing trade show.

With ice declining, bowhead whales of the Pacific Arctic choose to stay longer in the waters up north. A change in migration patterns could affect the bowheads' health and safety, as well as the hunters' access to the subsistence resource.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced preseason fishing limits and closures Thursday as chinook numbers continue to decline. The closure also triggers commercial setnet shutdowns.

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.

Research shows Beavers are relatively new to the Seward Peninsula and push farther north as climate change occurs.

A wildlife biologist at Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge presented his findings after studying the kill-rate of moose by wolves in the Yukon Flats.

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

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

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

The North Slope offers a marginal place for a moose because far fewer willow shrubs grow there than in the boreal forest. Moose are recent invaders of the North Slope due to climate warming and expanding willow growth.

Alaska’s longest and most popular hunting season ended early this year. The Delta Junction bison hunt usually extends from October to March, but the state limited this year’s season to just two weeks, and only 50 animals were taken, because last winter’s heavy snow and ice buildup wiped out nearly a third of the Delta bison herd.

Some Southeast fishermen skipping fall season entirely, other’s say season has been “hit or miss”

The recent closure of the Bering Sea snow crab and Bristol Bay red king crab fisheries has some Western Alaska towns taking a hard look at their futures, including St. Paul.

For the first time ever, the Bering Sea snow crab fishery will not open for the upcoming season. The Bristol Bay red king crab fishery will also be closed for a second year in a row.

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

The vast majority of callers at the North Pacific Fishery Management Council meeting last week called for a reduction in bycatch limits, which they said would help reverse a dramatic trend of salmon declines on the Yukon and Kuskokwim Rivers.