NOAA Arctic Surveys 2019 (Preliminary Findings)

NOAA Fisheries recently released preliminary findings from its 2019 surveys in the Arctic.

The surveys include:

• Ice Seal and Polar Bear Aerial Survey Test
• Groundfish, Crab, Bottom-Dwelling Species Survey in Southeastern Bering Sea
• Arctic Larval Fish and Plankton Community Survey
• Aerial Survey of Bowhead Abundance
• Groundfish, Crab, Bottom-Dwelling Species Survey in Northern Bering Sea
• Arctic Ecosystem Assessment
• Aerial Survey of Arctic Marine Mammals
• Surface/Mid-water Column Community Survey
• Ecosystem Surveys in Bering Sea
• Passive Acoustic Whale Monitoring

The entire Alaska Fisheries Science Center Surveys in the Arctic: 2019 Preliminary Findings report is available here:

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/alaska/science-data/alaska-fisheries-science-center-surveys-arctic-2019-preliminary-findings

source: Alaska Fisheries Science Center

Salmon Ocean Ecology Meeting 2016

Salmon Ocean Ecology Meeting 2016
March 29-31, 2016
Baranof Westmark Hotel & Conference Center, Juneau, AK
phone: 1-800-544-0970
 www.westmarkhotels.com/destinations/juneau-hotel/
 
The Salmon Ocean Ecology Meeting brings together salmon researchers from the coasts of Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and California.

source: Alaska Fisheries Science Center

Gulf of Alaska Whale Deaths

NOAA is declaring the recent deaths of 30 large whales in the western Gulf of Alaska an "unusual mortality event," triggering a focused, expert investigation into the cause.

The agency defines an unusual mortality event as a stranding event that is unexpected, involves a significant die-off of a marine mammal population, and demands immediate response.

Since May 2015, 11 fin whales, 14 humpback whales, one gray whale, and four unidentified cetaceans have stranded around the islands of the western Gulf of Alaska and the southern shoreline of the Alaska Peninsula. To date, this brings the large whale strandings for this region to almost three times the historical average.

The declaration of an unusual mortality event will allow NOAA and federal, state, and tribal partners to develop a response plan and conduct a rigorous scientific investigation into the cause of death for the stranded whales.

Members of the public can assist in the investigation by immediately contacting the Alaska Marine Mammal Stranding Network hotline at 877-9-AKR-PRD (877-925-7773) if they see a stranded or dead marine mammal. Only specially trained marine mammal experts are authorized to respond to marine mammals in distress. The public should not touch stranded or floating whales.

source: NOAA Fisheries

2013 Lowell Wakefield Fisheries Symposium

Sea Ice covering the Arctic Ocean melted away to a record low in 2012, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center.

Alaska Sea Grant will convene Responses of Arctic Marine Ecosystems to Climate Change, the 28th Lowell Wakefield Fisheries Symposium, in Anchorage, Alaska, March 26–29, 2013.

The event will bring scientists from around the world to share their research on how arctic marine ecosystems are responding to climate change.

Symposium topics will include:
* Observed and anticipated environmental changes in the Arctic.

* Lower trophic level productivity of arctic waters in a changing climate.

* Marine fish resources of the Arctic in a changing climate.

* Observed and anticipated responses of arctic birds and marine mammals to environmental changes in the Arctic.

* Effects of changing arctic marine ecosystems on humans.

* Understanding and managing arctic marine ecosystems in a time of change.

A complete description and agenda of the symposium can be found online at www.alaskaseagrant.org

The symposium is organized by Alaska Sea Grant, guided by steering committee members from NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center, UAF School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, Pew Environment Group, U.S. Arctic Research Commission, Canada Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, North Pacific Fishery Management Council, North Pacific Research Board, and the Institute of Marine Research in Norway.

source: Alaska Sea Grant

Alaska UME Seals

In March, 2012, marine mammal scientists received reports of a nearly bald, sick seal beached near Yakutat, Alaska. The seal was eventually captured and transferred to Anchorage for examination by a pathologist and wildlife veterinarians from the Alaska SeaLife Center, Bridge Veterinary Services, UAF Marine Advisory Program and ringed seal experts from the North Slope Borough Department of Wildlife Management.

When the seal pup arrived in Anchorage, it was found to be so ill it had to be euthanized. An examination of the body revealed that the seal exhibited similar symptoms to those in the declared 2011 Northern Pinniped Unusual Mortality Event (UME). The phenomenon has been affecting ice seals and walruses in the Arctic and Bering Strait regions of Alaska since the summer of 2011.

More than 60 dead and 75 diseased seals, most of them ringed seals, have been reported in Alaska. Scientists with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have also discovered the disease in walruses at the Point Lay haul-out.

Mariners that find a marine mammal which appears diseased or distressed can call NOAA Fisheries Stranding Hotline at 1-877-925-7773. 

Information on the UME assessment progress and findings can be found at:

http://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/protectedresources/seals/ice/diseased/default.htm (seals)
http://alaska.fws.gov/fisheries/mmm/walrus/disease_investigation.htm (walruses)

Source:  NOAA

Ocean Acidification - Climate Change Research

Alaska Sea Grant recently announced the availability of new climate change-related publications.

"Ocean Acidification and Fisheries: Alaska's Challenge and Response" was authored by Marine Advisory agent Torie Baker. In the article the author describes how ocean acidification impacts Alaska’s seas and explores ocean acidification topics that Alaska researchers focus on and why.

Commercially important shellfish are a top research priority because of their economic value and because they are likely to suffer direct effects of reduced calcium carbonate availability.

Terry Johnson added three new climate adaptation fact sheets to the website Adapting to Climate Change in Coastal Alaska: Fisheries Effects, Harmful Algal Blooms, and Species Shifts.

The Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program project brings a marine-dependent community perspective to climate change adaptation issues by supplying adaption tools, fact sheets, and videos. The project is supported by the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy (ACCAP).

Each of the documents can be obtained at the Alaska Sea Grant bookstore.

source: Alaska Sea Grant

2012 Sea Grant Week - Alaska

Alaska Sea Grant will host the next biennial Sea Grant Week for nationwide Sea Grant programs. The meeting is scheduled for September 15-21, 2012, at the Hotel Alyeska in Girdwood, Alaska.

Every two years Sea Grant Week provides a forum for exchanging information on issues of importance to state Sea Grant programs.

Sea Grant directors, extension leaders, financial officers, educators, and communications specialists will share progress, strategies, and projects in their regions.

About 200 directors, faculty, and staff from all 32 Sea Grant programs are expected to attend Sea Grant Week 2012, the first to be held in Alaska.

Sea Grant Week is organized by the Sea Grant Association.

Fishing People of the North Symposium

An international symposium coming to Anchorage this month will bring together fishery and social scientists, indigenous people, fishermen, community activists, and others to discuss how these changes are affecting fishing-dependent coastal communities, and explore ways fisheries managers can incorporate social and environmental change in resource management decisions.

Fishing People of the North: Cultures, Economies, and Management Responding to Change will explore the human and environmental dimensions of fishery management in a rapidly changing world.

The symposium will be held at the Hilton Downtown Anchorage Hotel, in Anchorage, Alaska, September 14-17, 2011.

source: Alaska Sea Grant

2011 Ocean Literacy Award Given

Homer resident and noted marine science educator Beth Trowbridge received the 2011 Ocean Literacy Award, given for the second year by the Alaska Center for Ocean Science Education Excellence (COSEE) to an Alaskan marine educator who has made significant contributions to awareness and sustainability of the state’s marine resources.

The award was presented January 16 at the Alaska Marine Gala at the Dena’ina Center in Anchorage. COSEE Alaska is a partnership of science and education groups who receive funding from the National Science Foundation to promote outreach by marine scientists and collaborations between scientist and marine educators.

Partners include the Alaska Sea Grant College Program, the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) School of Fisheries and Ocean Science, the UAF Center for Cross-cultural Studies, the Alaska SeaLife Center, and the Alaska Ocean Observing System.

Trowbridge is the program director of the Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies (CACS) in Homer where she directs CACS program development and implementation.

Since 2000, Trowbridge has developed more than 35 outstanding CACS programs and curricula that have been used by some 80,000 people since 2000.

Her online oil spill curriculum, the first of its kind in Alaska, is housed by the Prince William Sound Regional Citizens Advisory Council and was used during the recent Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Another breakthrough is her expansion of the Kachemak Bay CoastWalk program of marine debris removal and beach stewardship to coastal communities statewide.

For more information, visit: http://www.coseealaska.net/

source: Alaska Center for Ocean Science Education Excellence

Copper River Delta Science Symposium

The Copper River Delta Science Symposium is scheduled for March 22-24, 2011, in Cordova, Alaska.

Presenters at the conference will discuss the delta as a system, covering topics from hydrology and geomorphology to avian nesting ecology and trophic relationships. The goal is to identify research needs to help manage and conserve this ecologically significant area.

The Copper River delta is the largest contiguous wetland on the Pacific Coast of North America. It provides vital salmon habitat, serves as a key shorebird stopover and breeding site, and is the primary nesting area for the dusky Canada goose.

source: Alaska Sea Grant

14th Alaska Tsunami Ocean Sciences Bowl

High school students from 14 Alaska coastal communities will converge on the Seward Marine Science Center this weekend to showcase their knowledge of marine science in the 14th annual Alaska Tsunami Ocean Sciences Bowl.

Teams from high schools in Juneau, Copper Center, Kotzebue, Petersburg, Unalaska, Cordova, Scammon Bay, Dillingham, Seward, Sitka, Ketchikan, Kodiak, Kotlik, and Wasilla will compete for prizes that include tuition at UAF, and the chance to represent Alaska at the National Ocean Sciences Bowl in later this spring in Galveston, Texas. A total of 20 teams will compete in the three-day event Feb. 4-6.

“The competition and related activities during the three-day event encourage students to continue to study fisheries and marine science during their postsecondary education, and to consider a career in a marine-related occupation,” said Phyllis Shoemaker, longtime Tsunami Bowl organizer.

The UAF School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, Seward Marine Center, has hosted the National Ocean Sciences Bowl Alaska regional competition, since 1998.

Learn more online at: http://seagrant.uaf.edu/nosb/index.html

Alaska Lawsuit to Overturn NMFS Decision on Western Steller Sea Lions

The State of Alaska has filed suit in the U.S. District Court for Alaska against the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) over the agency’s decision to significantly curtail fishing in the western Aleutian Islands out of concern for Steller sea lions.

The state argues that NMFS failed to make “a rational connection” between the facts it found and the conclusions it reached, given that western Steller sea lions had an average annual population growth between 1.0 and 1.5 percent between 2000 and 2008, and now number more than 70,000.

“The agency’s conclusion that additional fishing restrictions are necessary is not supported by the best available scientific information,” Governor Parnell said. “The drastic measures proposed by NMFS are simply not necessary given the overall health of the Steller sea lion population. This decision will have immediate and significant impacts on local communities and fishermen in the area.”

As many as 900 people are employed by fisheries fleets in the area facing restrictions. NMFS acknowledges that implementation of its decision would cost fishery losses of up to $66 million annually.

State officials also believe the federal agency committed numerous procedural violations, which had the effect of limiting the opportunity for public and expert comments.

“The state submitted extensive comments on both the process and the foundational science used to reach this decision,” said acting Fish and Game Commissioner Cora Campbell. “We are extremely disappointed that NMFS did not adequately consider these concerns and did not more fully incorporate the recommendations of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council in its action. We are also very disturbed about the lack of meaningful public process.”

A copy of the complaint is available at: http://gov.alaska.gov/parnell_media/resources_files/soavlubchenco.pdf

source: State of Alaska press release

Alaska King Crab Research Grants

Biologists developing the science and technology to raise wild red and blue king crab in hatcheries as a way to rebuild collapsed stocks in parts of Alaska have received $460,000 in grants and support to assess how the crab may fare in the wild.

Researchers at the Alaska King Crab Research, Rehabilitation and Biology (AKCRRAB) program will use the funds to study how juvenile king crab cope with predators, find food, and interact with other marine organisms, including other crab.

source: Alaska Sea Grant

Alaska Department of Fish and Game Climate Change Strategy

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) has released its Climate Change Strategy that describes expected impacts from our changing climate on fish and wildlife resources and their uses across Alaska. The document points to needed research, and identifies key strategies and initial actions the department intends to take in order to address anticipated impacts.

"The changing climate brings additional challenges to managing fish and wildlife and their uses. This strategy helps us define the challenges and identifies important steps we will be taking to prepare and adapt," said Doug Vincent-Lang, Special Assistant with the department.

source: Alaska Department of Fish and Game

Alaska Sea Grant Environmental Policy Workshops

Explaining how the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) works is the goal of a series of educational training workshops being organized by Izetta Chambers, the Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program agent based in Dillingham. Chambers said the training workshops aim to help Alaskans better understand how NEPA affects the policy-making process of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC).

The next NEPA training workshop is scheduled in the Southwest Alaska village of Togiak, November 12–14, at the Blue Building. The workshop will be taught over three days: Friday from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Participants are eligible to received one credit for the workshop through the University of Alaska Fairbanks Bristol Bay Campus.

Field Guide to Seaweeds of Alaska

Alaska Sea Grant has published a new Field Guide to Seaweeds of Alaska.

About 100 of those species are described with full-color photos and descriptions in the new field guide just published by the Alaska Sea Grant Program at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The new book is available at most local bookstores or directly from Alaska Sea Grant at www.alaskaseagrant.org.

The guide is the first of its kind for Alaska seaweeds, and it took the authors nearly 15 years to compile it. Co-author Mandy Lindeberg said she began working on the book because scientists and friends needed it—there just wasn’t a decent reference book available.

“That was the big complaint—people would grab a specimen and try to identify it, and the books had drawings that didn’t help much,” Lindeberg said. “So I wanted to be sure to have photos of what they look like in their natural habitat; that was the big priority for me.”

Besides seaweeds, the nearly 200-page water-resistant guide features sections on seagrasses and marine lichens. Lindeberg said she took about 80 percent of the photos during the course of two decades of fieldwork. Getting decent photos that could be used in a scientific guide proved difficult, she said.