Is the abundance of insects unusual? Updates from around the state with picking and weather impacts.

Amid severely restricted fishing on the Kuskokwim River, one bright spot has been abundant sockeye salmon runs at 30,000 fish daily near Bethel.

Several thousand pink salmon were caught in one net in connection with the extraction of the blacklisted fish. Too many Pink Salmon in the oceans and rivers threaten other species of salmon in Norway.

Heavy rain, lightning and thunder are causing trouble in several places in southern Norway on Monday. But for farmer Sveinar Vadla, these are long-awaited drops.

While many Bering Sea crab populations find themselves in freefall, Dungeness crab is breaking records in regions that used to hardly see them.

Blue mussels collected on 6/15/2023, were way above the FDA limit for safe consumption of 80 μg/100g.

High levels of PSP toxins have been found in razor clams in Chignik Lagoon and blue mussels in Sand Point, Alaska, making them unsafe to eat and potentially causing paralytic shellfish poisoning, with no known cure.

A total of 94 brown bears, five black bears and five wolves were killed in the program that began May 10 and ended June 4, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game said this week. That’s more than four times the number biologists predicted would be taken. State biologists also say disease and changing food supplies might be a bigger factor overall.

A moose that was killed in Teller last week had been infected with rabies, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game confirmed.

King and summer chum runs are forecasted to be poor, with little to no harvestable surplus available.

Kuujjuaq, Quebec experienced record-breaking temperatures this week. Locals say hunting practices and the ability to travel on the land are being significantly reduced by the thaw.

About a year ago, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation tested Cold Bay’s water wells for PFAS, and the results came back well above the levels recommended for human consumption. Cold Bay closed the wells for drinking when the test results came back, and the Eastern Aleutian community has relied on state-provided bottled water ever since.

A previously underestimated risk lurks in the frozen soil of the Arctic. When the ground thaws and becomes unstable in response to climate change, it can lead to the collapse of industrial infrastructure, and in turn to the increased release of pollutants. Moreover, contaminations already present will be able to more easily spread throughout ecosystems. According to new findings, there are at least 13,000 to 20,000 contaminated sites in the Arctic that could pose a serious risk in the future.

Safeway on Mill Bay Road is the only large grocery store on the island. And store management expected the barge to bypass Kodiak after its last visit, with a resupply stop scheduled ahead of this past weekend. But snowstorms and gusty weather, including hurricane-force winds, scuttled those plans. “In my entire career, I’ve never seen two successive bypasses,” said Mike Murray, the store director of Kodiak’s Safeway.

An image of a swollen leg on this caribou raises questions that it may be a case of brucellosis.

Nearly half of Canada's honeybee colonies didn't survive the winter, the largest rate of colony loss in the country in the last 20 years, according to preliminary data. The president of the Canadian Association of Professional Apiculturists calls the finding "pretty disturbing."

A rare sighting is possible indicator of prey abundance.

December should have sea ice development in Norton Sound. But no sign of ice yet this year. Several storms have moved northward across the western Bering Sea and brought strong winds and bouts of above freezing weather to the Teller area and all of the Bering Strait region.

More than 1,000 domestic poultry and hundreds of wild birds have died or needed to be euthanized in the state since early spring. Since the first case of a deadly strain of avian flu was detected in Alaska in May, more than 1,000 domestic poultry and hundreds of wild birds have died or needed to be euthanized.

In early October Vancouver Island reached a drought Level 4 which impacted wildlife across the coast. After a mass salmon die off in Bella Bella, concern grew regarding drought and a delayed salmon spawning season. Currently east Vancouver Island is at a drought level of 3, which means adverse impacts are possible, while west Vancouver Island is at a drought level of 2 with less likely impacts. Dave Rolson, Tseshaht First Nation’s fisheries manager, said, “Timing is everything, really, when it comes to fish and when it comes to environmental conditions.”