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The LEO Network is a worldwide network of observers and experts that share their observations of environmental change.
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Observations

Benn asks fishermen to report jellyfish: “Terrible to see the fish suffer!”
A salmon farm manager in Finnmark urges fishermen to report pearl necklace siphonophore (jellyfish) sightings after blooms caused skin and eye injuries and breathing problems in farmed salmon near Øksfjord/Hammerfest.
Øksfjord, Troms og Finnmark, Norway
iFinnmark

Whales flock to the herring
The vessel Beitir NK landed 700 tons of herring in Neskaupstaður, as skippers report many whales—especially orcas—converging on herring grounds and following the net to the ship. Recent catches suggest the herring has shifted north toward Bakkaflói.
Neskaupstaður, Austurland, Iceland
mbl.is

Salmon wait for more rain as river levels remain low
Low river levels on Vancouver Island are delaying pink salmon migration in the Tsolum River and Millard Creek, leading to stranded fish and an estimated 4,000 mortalities. Salmon groups say sustained fall rains are needed; limited Wolf Lake releases are temporarily boosting Tsolum flows.
Courtenay, British Columbia, Canada
CHEK

Farmed Salmon Caught in Iceland’s Blanda River
An angler caught a farmed Atlantic salmon in the Blanda River, North Iceland, renewing concerns about escapes and hybridization with wild stocks. Local monitors report over 7% hybrids among juveniles in a key fishing zone following earlier sea-pen damage.
Blanda River, Northwestern Region, Iceland
Iceland Review

State issues alert for toxic shellfish found in Kachemak Bay
Alaska health officials issued an alert after wild shellfish from Kachemak Bay’s inner bay tested above regulatory limits for paralytic shellfish poisoning toxins. Residents are warned not to harvest or eat untested wild shellfish; monitoring and test results are being posted by the Alaska Harmful Algal Bloom Network.
Homer, Alaska, United States
Homer News

Wondering where the fish have gone
With a bleak salmon return this year in Northwest Alaska, a lifelong fisherman reflects on a season marked by empty nets and big questions.
Kotzebue, Alaska, United States
Anchorage Daily News

How Alaska wildlife officials saved a humpback whale found 'hogtied' to a 300-pound crab pot
Alaska wildlife officials collaborated with whale experts to successfully rescue a humpback whale that was entangled in crabbing gear off the coast of Gustavus, Alaska, preventing it from dying.
Gustavus, Alaska, United States
Alaska Public Media

Sea Lice Outbreak Claims At Least 1 Million Salmon in Tálknafjörður
An unprecedented outbreak of sea lice in Tálknafjörður has led to the loss, or the need to dispose of, at least one million salmon. “Nobody has seen anything like this before. There is a Norwegian veterinarian who has been working in Iceland because of this and he has never seen anything like this in his 30-year career,” Karl Steinar observed.
Talknafjordur, Westfjords, Iceland
Iceland Review

Invasive Elodea in Piledriver Slough
Invasive Elodea has been observed since 2020.
Moose Creek, Alaska, United States

Invasive Elodea in 28 Mile Pit
Elodea found on and near Eielson Airforce Base
Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, United States

Invasive Elodea in Chena Slough
Invasive elodea decade history in the Chena slough with mitigation and persistent infestation.
North Pole, Alaska, United States

Alaska cancels snow crab harvest again due to population concerns
The snow crab harvest in Alaska has been canceled for the second year in a row due to concerns about population sustainability, but red king crab and Tanner crab will be available for commercial fishermen this season. Last year was the first time in history the U.S. snow crab fishery was closed. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game said the harvests were closed over concerns about long-term conservation and the sustainability of crab stocks.
Kodiak, Alaska, United States

Late Alaska Winter
October flew by leaving us with a couple of light snowfalls. November came around with something slightly more impressive, but it wasn't the same. Mid December decided to make up for all of the snowfalls that we missed all at once, it seems like.
Anchorage, Alaska, United States
Richard L Thoman Jr, Mike Brook, Mackenzie Lord

Salmon struggle to spawn amid record-setting drought
Record-setting drought conditions have left many of B.C’s streams and waterways too low for salmon to swim up to spawn. Heiltsuk First Nation leaders say hundreds of fish were found rotting in a creek in Bella Bella, B.C., usually teeming by fall with migrating pink and chum salmon.
CBC

Fish die off near Kotzebue
Ali Ralson was riding her 4 Wheeler towards Cape Blossom and came upon a beach full of fish. It appears that most of the fish are stickleback although there may be other species involved too. This would suggest an environmental issue that would impact multiple fish species rather than a pathogen. One potential cause could be harmful algal toxins.
Cape Blossom
Gay Sheffield, Carmen Daggett, Joanna Barton, Ted Meyers, Jacqualine Schaeffer, Jayde Ferguson, Dean Stockwell, Bruce Wright

11 endangered sturgeon deaths in a week send B.C. scientists looking for answers
Scientists from B.C.’s provincial government are investigating a spike in dead sturgeons after 11 adult fish were found dead on the Nechako River over the past week.
Prince George, British Columbia, Canada
Glacier Media

First Ever Cases of Infectious Salmon Anaemia in Iceland
The Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority (MAST) has found evidence of infectious salmon anaemia (ISA) in an open-net salmon farm in Reyðarfjörður fjord, East Iceland. ISA is a highly infectious viral disease that has no treatment and causes high mortality in farmed Atlantic salmon.
Reydarfjordur, East, Iceland
Iceland Review

Where are tomcods / Naugat Ceturr'nat (Eleginus gracilis)? Chefornak
Not a single catch was reported in the village of Chefornak. Meanwhile in Kivalina, dozens and dozens of tomcods are pictured and posted on "The Alaska Life" Facebook page.
Chefornak, Alaska, United States

Harmful algae colours the Oslo fjord green
Scientists now say that the harmful alga will survive the winter and that it will probably turn green in the Oslo fjord next year as well.
Oslofjord, Oslo, Norway
NRK
Lea Girolami Bråthen, Dag Aasdalen, Maren Nan Myrseth

Mysterious fish ended up in Vetle's boat - expert says it's extremely rare
Vetle Berntsen and the others on the trawler understood little when the black fish ended up on board. No wonder – the fish actually live in deep water around the equator. It turned out to be *Diretmichthys parini*, also known as ducat fish, one of three documented in Norway.
Barents Sea, norway
NRK

Oil spill reaches Laguna Beach, threatens Crystal Cove in Newport Beach as cleanup efforts intensify
The oil likely will continue to encroach on Orange County beaches for the next few days, officials said.
Los Angeles Times

Rare pink salmon spotted southeast of Iqaluit
Karen Dunmall, a biologist with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, said pink salmon normally prefer warmer waters than the Arctic has been able to provide. But with the Arctic warming at up to three times the rate of the rest of the world, its waters are becoming more approachable for newcomers like this species.
Nunatsiaq News

Mass stranding of pink salmon
It happened Thursday night and into Friday morning, when the Crown corporation reduced the spill release from the Daisy Lake Reservoir into the river, stranding fish who had moved closer to the banks.
Cheakamus River
Global News

Chinook salmon returning in surprising numbers to Cowichan River
In 2009, the numbers dropped down to just 500 pairs of Chinook returning. Yet, as of Tuesday, more than 8,000 Chinook had returned to their Cowichan River spawning grounds. The improvement is the result of years of conservation efforts by Cowichan Tribes, who have worked to restore the river to its course before logging operations changed the river.
Cowichan River
CHEK

Valuable crab populations are in a ‘very scary’ decline in warming Bering Sea
King and snow crab populations in the Bering Sea have plummeted ahead of the harvest season, some by 99% compared to previous years.
Bering Sea
The Seattle Times

Norton Sound silver run among lowest harvests in decades
The commercial Silver harvest in the Norton Sound yielded the lowest numbers since 2002.This trend follows suit from last year as well, which yielded far less than projected. The run was “very poor,” Menard said. The preliminary catch was 7,100 Silvers. That’s less than half caught in the commercial fishery last year.
Nome, Alaska, United States
KNOM Radio Mission

Large jellyfish threaten fisheries in the Sea of Japan
Swarms of giant jellyfish are floating along the coastline of the Sea of Japan, and the damage they may cause to fisheries is feared to be the worst in more than a decade.
Wakasa Bay, Japan
The Japan News

Decrease in Prawn Abundance of Desolation Sound
It is apparent that this area of coastline has experienced a sharp decline in its prawn populations. This may be due to increased fishing pressure from commercial prawn fishermen.
Powell River, British Columbia, Canada
David Oswald, Cody Thomas, Conlan Magel, Tom Okey

Sunken scallop boat off Kodiak remains pollution hazard decades later
The sunken scallop boat, Saint Patrick, remains a pollution hazard off the coast of Kodiak, Alaska, decades after sinking in 1989, bringing up memories of a devastating fishing disaster in 1981 that claimed nine lives.
Womens Bay, Alaska, United States
Alaska Public Media

In Southeast, this year's salmon harvest fell by more than half
Southeast’s total salmon harvest was 19 million fewer fish than last year. There was a drop in harvest for every species except chinook, which increased by a few thousand fish.
Wrangell, Alaska, United States
KTOO

Visible Damage to Cancún's Trees
Trees which normally obscure the view of the sea, have lost all of their leaves.
Cancún, Quintana Roo, Mexico

Dead giant octopuses washed ashore south from Kamchtka peninsula on the Kuril Islands
A mass die off of fish and invertebrates has been reported in the Sea of Okhotsk, west of Kamchatka. Dozens of surfers reported symptoms including including poor eyesight, fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, skin rashes and head and throat aches.
Severo-Kuril’sk, Sakhalin, Russia
Siberian Times

Eco disaster at Kamchatka peninsula with mass death of sea animals at precious Pacific beach
Khalaktyrsky Beach near Petropavlovsk is littered with hundreds of dead sea animals, from deep-sea Giant Pacific octopuses, to seals, sea urchins, stars, crabs and fish. Surfers were the first to raise alarm after problems with eyesight, fevers and throat aches.
Khalaktyrsky Beach
Siberian Times

Pink salmon catches in Nunavik are raising red flags for biologists
After learning about catches of pink salmon near Salluit, Quebec wildlife officials are urging any fishers who net the newcomers to report their catch. Two pink salmon were netted in Nunavik during the summer of 2019 in the Ungava Bay region, one near Kangirsuk.
Kangirsuk, Quebec, Canada
ArcticToday

88% Catch Decline of Jackass Morwong (Nemadactylus macropterus)
Southern Australia

An invasive algae is threatening the Strait of Gibraltar’s fishing grounds
Returning to port with tons of algae in their trammel nets, with hardly any fish, has become a common drama for the men fishing in Spain's Southern coast. The same “catastrophe” is also threatening the marine biodiversity of the area and piling up on beaches.
Spanish Mediterranean coast

Landslide destroys Starrigavan restoration projects
High rainfall this month is being blamed for a major landslide near Sitka. The US Forest Service reports that a 100-acre slide came down in the Starrigavan Valley, about ten miles from town. The slide, and water damage to an ATV trail in the valley and other hiking trails elsewhere in Sitka -- all add up to a tough month for the agency.
Sitka, Alaska, United States
KCAW

Central Welland River Fish Kill
Common carp (*Cyprinus carpio*) and channel catfish (*Ictalurus punctatus*) die from low dissolved oxygen and ammonia that are the result of an over-application of biosolids.
Welland, Ontario, Canada

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