Background Articles

As big fish crop up in unexpected places, experts say that they're relocating to new environments as waters warm.

A new outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza is spreading among wild birds in North America. While there are only a few confirmed cases in Western Alaska, the scope of the outbreak still has…

NOAA Fisheries working with partners to determine the causes of death, and assess impacts.

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…

A new plant in Iceland will capture 36,000 tons of carbon dioxide directly out of the atmosphere, increasing the direct air carbon capture at Hellisheiði Power Station tenfold. Named Mammoth, the new facility adds to the existing 4,000 tons captured by the plant Orca, which commenced operations at the same location in 2021.

A newly published study shows the presence of chemical pollutants in marine mammals and reindeer hunted by St. Lawrence Island villagers.

Kvikksølv finnes naturlig i naturen, men store mengder kvikksølv kommer også fra menneskelige utslipp. Metylkvikksølv, den giftige formen av kvikksølv…

As of June 16, 48 cases of highly pathogenic avian flu were detected across the state of Alaska, according to the Department of Environmental Conservation. None of these confirmed cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza are in the northernmost regions of Alaska.

Birds that USFWS sent in from the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) for testing for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) have tested positive. Sabines gulls, glaucous gulls, and black brant all tested positive for HPAI.

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.

A study by the University of Alaska Southeast found larger butter clams in Alaska contain higher concentrations of toxins causing paralytic shellfish poisoning, posing risks to harvesters.

Alaska's Department of Environmental Conservation seeks a waiver to exclude 2022-2023 wildfire smoke from EPA air quality assessments, citing these as "exceptional events."

The temperature on the delar of Svalbard has risen to twice as fast as the time period known. No can forecast at the Norwegian Meteorological Institute document the greatest warming in the world.

Warmer winters and thicker layers of insulating snow are spurring creation of more taliks, sections of ground that doesn’t freeze even in winter.

It's become the norm in recent years — the closure of the once-popular recreational salmon fishery on the Yukon River. And it's happening again this summer, for both chinook and chum salmon.

The City of St. Mary’s and its two tribes, the Yupiit of Andreakfsiy and the Algaaciq Tribe, held a community meeting on June 9. There, resident Geraldine Beans said that community leaders chose an optional evacuation for elders and people who are considered vulnerable. Other residents will have to wait. The fire is the largest in the history of the Lower Yukon valley. It’s been burning for a week and a half, since May 31, and has grown to about 50,000 acres.

While mining giant Nornickel has said the local ecosystem is "satisfactory," environmentalists paint a different picture.

By Megan Gannon

It is egg hunting season in many rural Alaska communities, and harvesters want to know if they should be concerned about eating eggs from wild birds. According to guidance from the State of Alaska and USFWS, the risk from avian flu for people is very low.

Cases are being detected all over the state, from the Aleutians to Mat-Su to Haines and the Interior.“What we’re seeing this year is an unprecedented level of highly pathogenic avian influenza in wild birds,” said Andy Ramey of USGS.