Background Articles

The regionally endemic Galapagos Grouper, locally known as bacalao, is one of the most highly prized finfish species within the Galapagos Marine Reserve (GMR). Concerns of overfishing, coupled with a lack of fishing regulations aimed at this species raises concerns about the current population health. We assessed changes in population health over a 30-year period using three simple indicators: (1) percentage of fish below reproductive size (Lm); (2) percentage of fish within the optimum length interval (Lopt); and (3) percentage of mega-spawners in the catch. Over the assessed period, none of the indicators reached values associated with healthy populations, with all indicators declining over time. Furthermore, the most recent landings data show that the vast majority of the bacalao caught (95.7%,) were below Lm, the number of fish within the Lopt interval was extremely low (4.7%), and there were virtually no mega-spawners (0.2%). Bacalao fully recruit to the fishery 15 cm below the size at which 50% of the population matures. The Spawning Potential Ratio is currently 5% of potential unfished fecundity, strongly suggesting severe overfishing. Our results suggest the need for bacalao-specific management regulations that should include minimum (65 cm TL) and maximum (78 cm TL) landing sizes, slot limits (64–78 cm TL), as well as a closed season during spawning from October to January. It is recognized that these regulations are harsh and will certainly have negative impacts on the livelihoods of fishers in the short term, however, continued inaction will likely result in a collapse of this economically and culturally valuable species. Alternative sources of income should be developed in parallel with the establishment of fishing regulations to limit the socio-economic disruption to the fishing community during the transition to a more sustainable management regime.

A new study from USGS, ANTHC, and the Local Environmental Observer (LEO) Network, provides a view statewide trends in wild berry harvests. The authors conclude that monitoring and experimental studies are needed to understand how climate change may affect the species of wild berries that are important to Alaskans. They also recommended that methods by which rural communities can increase their resilience to declining or more variable berry harvests be explored.

A recent study shows that polar bears' mercury levels are declining as melting ice drives them onshore. But is it all good news? Read on.

The village is one of the biggest archaeological sites discovered in the Arctic. Local residents hope the research will tell them more about their ances

Ice skating on Goodacre Lake in Beacon Hill Park was a common winter pleasure in the past. Generations of Victorians glided under the Stone Bridge on natural ice and circled the islands in the moonlight.

At risk from surging storm waves and floods, Alaska's coastal villagers are dealing with the immediate consequences of climate change -- threats to their health, safety and even their ancestors' graves.

Demonstration of how easy ponderosa pine tree tops can be broken due to the effects of climate change.

Two hundred years ago, an English leader struggling to survive in the NWT was rescued by a Dene chief. Guess which one Yellowknife's main street is named after.

Ricky Wright points to the bank of a creek to show one way his hometown has been affected by climate change. Many banks have eroded or collapsed, and now some favorite fishing spots that were once on solid ground are reachable only by boat.

A heated and packed meeting of the Akranes Trade Union took place in the town last night. The municipality has strongly protested the decision of the Minister of Food to suspend this year's whaling licence.

There will be something noticeably different in Old Crow, Yukon in a few months. The hum of diesel engines will be gone, as the community's solar farm is now generating power. "The symbolism in shutting down those generators will be, we're becoming more sustainable and we're becoming more self-sufficient like our ancestors were," said Brandon Kyikavichik, the First Nation's heritage interpreter.

The Inuit are famous for their ability to survive extreme conditions, having inhabited the Arctic for millennia. But as the ice recedes, this hard-earned knowledge is being lost.

The need to diversify America's sources of graphite for electric vehicle batteries is driving the exploration of graphite mining projects in the United States, but concerns about the potential environmental impact and disruption to Indigenous communities remain.

When I asked my father a question about the flu, you can feel him withdraw into himself, see him dose his eyes, become very quiet, even start saying some names and block out (showing any emotions) when someone that was close to him dies. l have seen this in almost all the Elders who's parents died during the flu.

Fish traps have a long history around the world, and a vast network in a Vancouver Island estuary reveals generations of ecological wisdom.

Researchers say warmer waters themselves aren’t killing crabs, but they may be allowing predators to move in and disease to spread more easily.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced it was closing the 2023-24 Bering Sea snow crab season for the second season in a row.

Norway should dismantle two large wind farms that were stripped of their licenses for jeopardizing traditional reindeer husbandry, herders from the Indigenous Sámi community said on Friday. Reindeer herders say the sight and sound of giant wind turbines frighten their animals and thus disrupt age-old traditions.

Troopers said that they have suspended the active search for two men missing from Kwigillingok, one of the hardest-hit communities. The men are related to the storm’s lone confirmed fatality, a 67-year-old woman found Monday.

Federal regulators have approved a plan to demolish four Klamath River dams, a historic act that is intended to save imperiled salmon. “The Klamath salmon are coming home,” Yurok Tribe Chairman Joseph James said in a statement. “The people have earned this victory and with it, we carry on our sacred duty to the fish that have sustained our people since the beginning of time.”