Erratic temperatures led to the absence of tomcods, severely affecting local fishing.
White cysts in the muscle of salmon could be caused by Henneguya salminicola also called "tapioca disease". It affects the texture of the meat but is not a health concerns for people. White cysts could also however, be from a tape worm. That is a human health concern. Guidance on how to check the cysts to confirm and how to prepare food so it is safe to eat, is provided.
There are miles of dead fish washing up on the beach. That's not all. Just breathing the air can be harmful.
An image of a swollen leg on this caribou raises questions that it may be a case of brucellosis.
Harbor seal looking sick with patches of fur missing.
"Since about May 25, crews have been seeing multiple species showing what we believe are signs of highly pathogenic avian influenza. The signs we are seeing widespread is a headshaking that we equate to "getting the cobwebs out", like a person may do when they first wake up. This behavior occurs regularly every couple minutes. This behavior has been observed in: black brant, cackling geese, bar-tailed godwits, dunlin, lapland longspurs, spectacled eiders, emperor geese, greater white-fronted geese, sabines gulls, glaucous gulls, and red-necked phalaropes."
Over the past five days there have been increasing reports of unusual behavior in a variety of bird species including brant goose, snow goose, white-fronted goose, and Canada goose.
This brant was seen at Mile 16 of the Nome-Council Road exhibiting spinning behavior.
The tomcod harvests in the Kongiganak, Cavuuneq and Ilkivik Rivers have been a failure. Also in other areas, based on observations from Chevak and Chefornak. Both the surface and bottom trawl results show a clear decline in tomcod biomass in the North Bering Sea.
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.
There is usually an abundance of this fish in the fall and early winter season. This is a usual harvest for most YK Delta coastal villages. Note: According to NOAA Bering Sea Bottom Trawl data, there has been an 88% decline reported in the biomass of saffron cod from 2020 to 2021 in the N. Bering Sea.
"The first wave of dead mussels washed ashore on July 14th, possibly earlier but this was the first report we received. I took the pictures included in my LEO observation on July 16th, and the temperatures were only just then beginning to climb into the upper 70s and lower 80s."
"Jakolof Creek is dry almost all the way up to the switchbacks and continues to recede. The early run of red salmon may have made it to the lake, but that is probably the only run that has."
During the summer of 2019, warm water temperatures lowered the amount of dissolved oxygen in rivers and caused salmon across the state, including Mountain Village, to die before they were able to spawn.
"Over 40 dead dog salmon, one shee fish, one lush fish, and two delmaga all dead along the river going towards the creek opening."
Salmon are dying along the Andreafsky River and Lower Yukon River before spawning out. Water surface temperatures have been unusually warm, at one point reaching 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
Dead salmon and whitefish found along the banks of the Yukon River.
"Our temperatures reached 83 degrees, and seem to be getting hotter! We think that maybe the warm water has something to do with the humpy die-off?"
All Topics
All Countries
Any Date
Apply