Last week, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Regional Director Givey Kochanowski and Public Affairs Officer John Callahan met with dozens of lawmakers in Juneau.
Oceans
Study tracks calls used by endangered Alaska belugas — and human-made noise in their habitat
The animals contend with sustained noise from commercial shipping, raising questions about future regulation.
Scientists investigate paralytic shellfish poisoning as possible factor in large marine die offs
Recent data shows detectable levels of paralytic shellfish toxin in many species of predatory fish, including cod and salmon.
Microplastics found in body tissues of walruses harvested by Alaska hunters
Discovery of tiny bits of plastic in the muscles, blubber and livers of Pacific walruses adds to evidence of pollution’s spread through the world’s oceans.
Paralytic shellfish poisoning toxin is high in some subsistence harvests, according to Knik Tribe’s data
Shellfish harvests even a quarter-mile away from each other might have very different levels of the PSP toxin.
Scientists and townspeople rescued 2 orcas trapped in a Southeast Alaska lake
The killer whales were in danger of starving, and they couldn’t get out on their own. It took a team of scientists and nearly half of Coffman Cove to save them.
Ecosystem reports show continuing effects of warming in Alaska’s marine waters
Annual reports for the Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska reveal mixed signs for fish stocks in changing conditions.
Report details 37 known killer whale entanglements in Alaska over three decades
The report does not include this year’s unusually high number of cases, in which 10 killer whales were found ensnared in fishing gear.
Rare fin whale found dead near Kodiak
It’s unclear how it died, but the whale was in remarkably poor health.
Bottom-trawl gear to blame for most of this year’s fishery-related killer whale deaths, NOAA says
An investigation found that some whales were dead before becoming ensnared, but critics of bottom trawling have more questions about this year’s large death toll.