"Alaska Marine Science Symposium"

For those who wonder what the Bering Sea will be like decades from now, last year may have been a glimpse of the future. It brought something many did not expect: the disappearance of the undersea “cold pool,” which is the nursery for Alaska’s pollock fishery.

For those who study climate change — or communicate about it — it was not a reassuring first week of the new presidential administration.

The dead birds are still a mystery, but the huge area where they’re being found and the prolonged die-off indicates it might be the result of a change in the food web caused by “the Blob.”

Reducing bycatch has been a hot topic in the pollock trawl industry.