It’s unclear how it died, but the whale was in remarkably poor health.
Oceans
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.
Only 51 of these U.S. whales remain. Little has been done to prevent their extinction
Rice’s whales are one of the world’s newly discovered whale species – and already one of the most endangered. Protections for the whales in the Gulf of Mexico are not coming fast.
Sitka workshop discusses the future of invasive crabs in Alaska
European green crabs first reached the Pacific coast in 1989, but it wasn’t until 2022 that they showed up in Alaska.
Post-mortem shows that a local humpback calf was killed by a large boat
The fatal injuries included deep lacerations on the calf’s body and pectoral fin, likely caused by a propeller.
Humpback whales increasingly sighted in Arctic Alaska waters better known as bowhead territory
A study, which points to climate change as a possible factor pushing humpbacks north, shows results that are both ‘fascinating’ and ‘a little terrifying,’ one author says.
EPA fines largest at-sea Alaska pollock processor nearly $1M for Clean Water Act violations
The company operates a fleet of seven vessels in the North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea.
Activists urge reforms after Bering Sea trawlers hauled up 9 dead orcas this year
NOAA reported just seven killer whale mortalities or serious injuries resulting from fishing gear entanglement between 2014 and 2020.
Ultra-rare whales swimming in Alaska waters could get bigger areas of protection
NOAA Fisheries has agreed to reevaluate right whale habitat in response to petition for more protected areas near the Aleutians and Alaska Peninsula.
An old friend returns to Icy Strait
There was a time when biologist Christine Gabriele wondered if she’d ever see one of her favorite creatures again.