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.

The sockeye salmon are coming back smaller for the Newhalen River and Iliamna Lake, plus not a thick as they once did when I was younger.

While subsistence salmon fishing, community members from Port Heiden found a skate in the net, which is unusual for them.

Over the last several weeks the algae bloom has ranged from significant covering the surface of the lake in many places to today seeing patches of the bloom here and there on the surface. It can also be observed below the surface near the shoreline.

Elodea was first observed in Harding Lake in 2020 growing in isolated patches and has since been assessed and managed by the Fairbanks Soil and Water Conservation District and its partners.

There are miles of dead fish washing up on the beach. That's not all. Just breathing the air can be harmful.

A rare sighting is possible indicator of prey abundance.

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.

There were alternatives for Trans Mountain Corporation to digging a trench in the river to lay pipe during the time the salmon were running.

No one in Grayling has seen this big a whitefish before. ADFG lists state record for broad whitefish as 11 lbs. This one weighed in at 15 lbs!

There were a plenty of what appeared to be juvenile dead stickle back fish on the top of the embankment of a few ponds.

No one in Togiak had ever seen a fish like this before. In the photo it looks like a cross between a tad pole and a piranha! With help from ADF&G it has been identified as the smooth lumpsucker fish, found at depths of up to 1000 meters.

"The ones caught in October were of larger size (usually seen in Kotzebue area) and the ones in November a smaller, more familiar cods that we use to get."

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.

This happened about 250 m from the shore of the Fraser River in a creek at Colony Farms.

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.

On a hiking trip, observer sees a lone pair of Flamingos at Sidi Boughaba Lake National Park. This was not expected from a sociable bird species that travel in large flocks.

"This year we had a lot more rain than other years, we used to be able to get on our ATVs and travel 10-12 miles upriver. I haven't seen or heard of anyone using ATVs to travel upriver this year. I think the breakthrough channel has a lot to do with us not being able to travel on ATVs. I see a lot of my favorite ATV fishing spots washed away from the highwater."

"My husband and I have been dipnetting on the Kasilof since 2014. This year we noticed more small fish than usual and all but ~5 of the 35 fish we caught had parasites."