Background Articles

A team of researchers has found that black-browed albatrosses living on the Falkland Islands see rising divorce rates during times when the sea surface temperatures rise. They point out that hunger could lead to one or the other partner abandoning an egg or hatchling—events that could lead to one of the birds ditching the other.

"We never know for sure how they died, but it does seem like a lot of the evidence points to killer whale predation," Steve Ferguson, a research scientist with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, said Thursday.

The king crab harvest survey could indicate a second bleak year for crabbers in Washington, Oregon and Alaska as warm water affects the number of adult crabs.

This year, that industry came to a drastic halt. In October, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game closed both the the Bristol Bay Red King Crab and Bering Sea Snow Crab seasons. Kelty said he is expecting between the lost revenue from the past two years, intertwined with the suspended season, he is expecting both the crabbing industry along with sector businesses to lose close to a billion dollars.

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.

More than 100 salmon trollers packed a Sitka meeting Wednesday night with sharp questions about the future of an iconic Southeast Alaska fishery, facing what could be an unprecedented full shutdown of this year’s chinook trolling season. State officials are scrambling to open the fishery after it was effectively closed by a federal judge — but damage has already been done.

As the climate warms and Arctic sea ice retreats and gets thinner, more light is getting through. “Since marine zooplankton respond to the available light, this is also changing their behaviour – especially how the tiny organisms rise and fall within the water column,” the AWI said in a news release on their website.

The Arctic Sounder - Serving the Northwest Arctic and the North Slope

North Pacific right whales, once numbering in the tens of thousands, swam throughout the Bering Sea until they were nearly wiped out by commercial hunters. Now the Eastern North Pacific right whale population is estimated to total about 30 individuals, and its habitat is believed to be concentrated in the southeastern corner of the Bering Sea.

Experts say a wasting disease epidemic has decimated about 95% of the sunflower sea star population from Alaska’s Aleutian Islands to Mexico’s Baja California peninsula. Without sea stars to keep them in check, sea urchins are causing a troubling decline in kelp forests that provide food and shelter.

“This is unprecedented in the United States for a mature, rationalized fishery to suffer a stock collapse, in part due to climate change,” the executive director of the Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers said.

Projections show rising sea levels could cause Canada’s beaches to retreat inland, in extreme cases by as much as half a kilometre. The best option may be to stand back and let it happen.

ICCT researcher Elise Georgeff has been investigating hydrogen as a potential replacement fuel. First, her team calculated how many ships could cross the Pacific Ocean using the existing hydrogen technology. "About 43% could be powered by using hydrogen fuel cells," Georgeff said.Unalaska and Adak islands in the Aleutians are in perfect locations to become pit stops in a trans-Pacific green corridor. Most of the international ships crossing from west to east follow the same path, and those two communities are right in the middle: about halfway through one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.

Alaska fishermen face challenges as the Bering Sea crab harvest resumes, with environmental and economic upheaval threatening the future of the industry. Scientists are questioning whether full recovery is possible in a warming world for these ailing crab populations that have supported some of the world’s most lucrative fisheries.

An executive order issued by President Biden extends the ban on Russian seafood imports to include products processed in other countries, closing a loophole from previous sanctions.

Since 2020, members of a small group of killer whales have rammed into at least 673 vessels off the coasts of Portugal, Spain and Morocco — causing some to sink. The Spanish and Portuguese governments responded by tasking a group of experts with determining what was causing the whales to strike rudders, which are used to steer ships, and how to stop it.

Rising temperatures and dwindling oxygen levels are decimating marine species. But humanity can avert mass die-offs by curbing fossil fuel use and other planet-warming activities.

The Minister of Food has temporarily suspended planned whaling until August 31. A new report stated that of the 148 whales killed, 36 were shot more than once. Five were shot three times, and four whales on four separate occasions. One whale with a harpoon in its flesh was chased for five hours without success.

The definition of farming has expanded over time from soil-only planting and harvesting to include farmers that harvest from the sea. Along the coast, kelp f...

Drifting icebergs can conflict with navigation routes and cause hazards for coastal communities and ships. Climate change is creating more ice shelf break-off than ever and scientists are keeping track of drifting patterns as a result.