Saving Seafood

ALASKA: AOOS: Home of Alaska ocean data

September 3, 2026 — Bordered by the Pacific and Arctic oceans and the Bering Sea, Alaska is home to the richest fisheries in the world, and the source of half the wild fisheries harvest in the U.S.

Managing the fisheries of the 900,000 square mile EEZ, or exclusive economic zone, surrounding the state effectively requires massive amounts of data that are often collected by different entities, public and private, using different methods. Harvesting the bounty safely and economically also relies on information about weather, waves, ice conditions, stock migration patterns, and more.

To gather and share the data being collected to support Alaska’s marine economic and subsistence activities, the Alaska Ocean Observing System (AOOS) was founded in 2003 and started operating in 2004 as one of the regional hubs under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) national Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS). IOOS was formally established in 2007 and continues to expand in its role as an information portal on many fronts.

“It’s a lot to manage,” says AOOS’ executive director, Sheyna Wisdom. “If you look at California, for example, they have two regional hubs, and they’re both on the Pacific. Ours are very spread out, and if you look at the Arctic, it doesn’t have the same information needs as Southeast.”

Besides marine traffic, water quality, and other projects, much of the AOOS budget of over $4 million goes into funding research that supports fisheries and coastal communities that depend on fisheries.

“What we do is collect information and make sure it is available to the people who need it,” says Wisdom. “With the Alaska Sea Grant, we co-host the bi-monthly Alaska Marine Policy Forum where the public gets updates on marine policy issues. We also facilitate several collaboration networks to connect people across Alaska, such as the Alaska Harmful Algal Bloom Network or the Alaska Ocean Acidification Network. We take our role as a connector very seriously.”

Read the full article at National Fisherman

Trump administration ends NOAA support for annual Arctic Report Card

August 13, 2026 — The Trump administration has pulled federal support from the Arctic Report Card, an annual, peer-reviewed report that has been published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration since 2006.

NOAA will no longer provide administrative support for the report, though NOAA scientists and programs will continue to collect climate data, said a statement released by the agency on Tuesday.

“Coordination of the 2026 Arctic Report Card will not be facilitated through NOAA,” the statement said. “All data historically contributed by NOAA to the product will continue to be collected and will remain publicly available.”

Read the full article at the Alaska Beacon

Trump administration reportedly ending support for Arctic climate reports

August 12, 2026 — The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is ending support for NOAA’s annual report on the state of the Arctic.

NOAA Spokesperson Kim Doster told CNN that the 2026 Arctic Report Card will not be facilitated through the agency. However, Doster added that the data that historically contributed to the product “will continue to be collected and will remain publicly available.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

5 signs the Arctic endured a record-hot summer

December 13, 2023 — This past summer was the hottest on record in the Arctic, which is warming nearly four times faster than any location on the planet. And the symptoms of that warming laid bare a rapidly changing region that in many ways barely resembles what it once was.

Key data points show that the Arctic continues to become less icy, wetter and greener, according to a report card released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Tuesday. The trends, all linked to a warming climate, have been observed for decades.

And they played out in dramatic ways this summer: Out-of-control wildfires forced entire communities to evacuate. A river surged from its banks and into homes because of dramatic glacial thinning. Near the peak of Greenland’s ice sheet, more than 10,000 feet above sea level, temperatures soared above freezing for only the fifth time on record.

Even amid rapid change, variability of weather patterns meant a few parts of the Arctic still exhibited some of the frigid norms of the past. For example, sea ice persisted for much of the summer in the East Siberian Sea, and a colder-than-normal spring slowed the melt of sea ice and snow cover in Alaska.

But the broader picture makes clear that the Arctic continues to change, with the past 17 years accounting for the 17 smallest annual minimum sea ice covers in the 45-year satellite record. This year, sea ice cover ranked sixth smallest, amid summer temperatures that were the Arctic’s hottest on record and a year that ranks sixth warmest.

Read the full story at the Seattle Times

Opinion: What lessons can Alaska learn – and share – on Arctic fisheries?

March 15, 2022 — Although focus is increasingly placed on sustainability policies and blue economy models among Arctic nations, the systematization of structured transnational collaboration in the circumpolar north has been underdeveloped. Over the past three years, as one of its objectives, the AlaskaNor project has aimed to identify the economic and social effects of the fisheries and aquaculture sectors in Alaska and North Norway in a comparative context and make this knowledge available for relevant stakeholders and decision-makers.

Through a comprehensive quantitative assessment of the status quo, challenges and opportunities of the fisheries and aquaculture sectors in both Arctic regions, the project demonstrated that both Alaska and North Norway are strong frontiers in fisheries and aquaculture production, with outstanding economic performance on the global market. The project’s assessment aimed at helping both regions to develop platforms and networks for further interaction while achieving sustainable and diversified economies.

Knowledge exchange

With salmon production being an invaluable source of income and employment in both regions, there is potential for Alaska and North Norway to learn from each other’s practices, despite salmon industries being carried out in a fundamentally different manner. While finfish farming is forbidden by Alaska law, Alaska’s successful development of hatcheries and the management of salmon stocks could offer sustainability lessons to Norwegian businesses. In turn, North Norway’s highly profitable aquaculture could offer successful strategies for reaching and maintaining new markets. Groundfish fisheries management could also benefit from knowledge and best practice exchange, given that both regions are currently exposed to the impacts of climate change, including diminishing Arctic sea ice, ocean acidification and higher sea surface temperatures, all of which affect groundfish habitation, nutrition and migration patterns.

Read the full opinion piece at the Anchorage Daily News

Researchers Study the Effects of Harmful Algal Blooms

December 1, 2021 — The sample bottle came back from the river, over the gunwale, and into the boat. The water sample was a dark reddish-brown, like strong, steeped tea that you are unable to see through. Literally tens of thousands of algal cells made up every drop of the water sample. Back at the laboratory, scientists at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) will analyze the sample to determine the type and density of algal species in the water. The samples, taken from the York River in the Southern Chesapeake Bay allow scientists to study harmful algal blooms, also called HABs. According to NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal and Ocean Science, almost every state in the nation now experiences some kind of HAB event. The number of hypoxic water bodies in the United States has increased 30 fold since the 1960s, with more than 300 coastal systems now impacted.

As you might guess from the name, the tiny microscopic organisms making up HABs are algae, which are a very diverse group of organisms. Phytoplankton are a type of algae usually responsible for creating blooms. Most often, these phytoplankton are made up of an equally diverse group of organisms known as dinoflagellates, which can be found in both fresh and marine waters.

Blooms Occur Worldwide

HABs are a growing concern worldwide, occurring in the Gulf of Mexico and surprising places such as the Alaskan Arctic. Globally warming water temperatures, a result of our changing climate, is one reason blooms are occurring more frequently and over a global scale.

Read the full story at NOAA Fisheries

Genetic Analysis Shows Beluga Whale in Puget Sound Likely Arrived from Arctic Waters

October 26, 2021 — Scientists have collected genetic material from the beluga whale that was first sighted in Puget Sound in early October. It indicates that the whale is likely from a large population of beluga whales in the Beaufort Sea, part of the Arctic Ocean north of Alaska.

The whale appears to have traveled thousands of miles south around Alaska through the Bering Sea and south to Puget Sound. It was last sighted on October 20 near Tacoma. The whale does not appear to be from the small and endangered Cook Inlet beluga population near Anchorage, Alaska.

The genetic analysis involved sequencing DNA extracted from a water sample collected near the beluga whale in Puget Sound earlier this month. This material is known as environmental DNA, or eDNA, because it comes from skin, fecal, or other cellular debris found in the environment near the animal.

Read the full story at NOAA Fisheries

 

Study Finds Growing Potential for Toxic Algal Blooms in the Alaskan Arctic

October 6, 2021 — Changes in the northern Alaskan Arctic ocean environment have reached a point at which a previously rare phenomenon—widespread blooms of toxic algae—could become more commonplace. These blooms potentially threaten a wide range of marine wildlife and the people who rely on local marine resources for food. That is the conclusion of a new study about harmful algal blooms of the toxic algae Alexandrium catenella published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. Microscopic algae in the ocean are most often beneficial and serve as the base of the marine food web. However, some species produce potent neurotoxins that can directly and indirectly affect humans and wildlife. 

Dormant Cysts Could Seed a Toxic Bloom

The study was led by scientists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in collaboration with colleagues from NOAA’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center and researchers in the United States, Japan, and China. It looked at samples from seafloor sediments and surface waters collected during 2018 and 2019. Samples were taken in the region extending from the Northern Bering Sea to the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas north of Alaska. The sediment samples allowed the researchers to count and map Alexandrium cysts. The cysts are a seed-like resting stage that lies dormant in the seafloor for much of the year, germinating or hatching only when conditions are suitable. The newly hatched cells swim to the surface and rapidly multiply using the sun’s energy. This produces a “bloom” that can be dangerous due to the family of potent neurotoxins, called saxitoxins, that the adult cells produce.

When the algae are consumed by some fish and all shellfish, those toxins can accumulate to levels that can be dangerous to humans and wildlife. In fish, toxin levels can be high in digestive and excretory organs (e.g., stomach, kidney, liver), but are very low in muscle and roe.  Although fish can be potential toxin vectors, the human poisoning syndrome is called paralytic shellfish poisoning. Symptoms range from tingling lips, to respiratory distress, to death. The toxin can also cause illness and death of marine wildlife such as larger fish, marine mammals, and seabirds. This is of particular concern for members of coastal communities, Alaskan Native Villages, and Tribes in northern and western Alaska who rely on a variety of marine resources for food.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

 

 

Landmark Arctic Fisheries Agreement Enters Into Force

August 30, 2021 — In June, the Central Arctic Ocean Fisheries Agreement entered into force, bringing to fruition a diplomatic effort that began more than a decade ago.

The agreement represents an unusual and farsighted effort to address a potentially serious environmental problem before it occurs. Too often, governments find themselves in the unenviable situation of dealing with issues only after they have arisen. This time, acting in advance will prevent unregulated commercial fishing in a wide swath of the Arctic Ocean that could have caused significant harm to the marine environment.

In another first, a formal agreement relating specifically to the Arctic region includes non-Arctic signatories, with parties to the agreement comprising Canada, China, Denmark (in respect of Greenland and the Faroe Islands), the European Union, Iceland, Japan, Norway, Russia, South Korea and the United States.

It demonstrates that nations can find ways to act in their mutual self-interest even in the face of serious geopolitical tensions. There were many sources of friction that might have derailed progress along the way – particularly during the Trump administration. But with key players in the United States, Russia and China signing and ratifying the agreement, the oceans have a new and groundbreaking multilateral instrument.

Read the full story at The Maritime Executive

As new agreement goes into effect, countries align to protect and study Arctic fisheries

August 6, 2021 — An international agreement to protect the fisheries of the central Arctic region, signed in 2018, went into effect 25 June.

The agreement was signed by nine countries and the European Union. Signatories include Arctic countries – the United States, Canada, Russia, Denmark, and Norway – and countries with fishing interests there, including China, Japan, South Korea, and Iceland.

Read the full story at Seafood Source