"Gulf Watch Alaska"

Some fish, like certain populations of herring, are rebounding more rapidly. But taken altogether, the data paints the picture of an ecosystem still reeling from a warming ocean.

Sea star wasting syndrome, or disease as it has become known, hit Kachemak Bay hard in 2016, killing about 90 percent of sunflower and true star populations. Researchers eagerly waited for spring to roll around in hopes their numbers would rebound.