Arctic Ocean Archives - Saving Seafood

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

JOHN P. HOLDREN: Climate change is rapidly transforming the Arctic: Why everybody should care

June 10, 2021 — The part of Earth’s surface lying north of the Arctic Circle encompasses an area of 7.7 million square miles, of which 70 percent is open or ice-covered ocean. Only eight nations possess territory or territorial waters in this region: the United States (because of Alaska), Canada, Russia, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Iceland and Denmark (because of Greenland). A mere 4 million people inhabit the Arctic. Indigenous people make up about 10 percent of the total, spread across two dozen ethnolinguistic groups (e.g., Inuit, Aleut, Saami).

Beyond its value to the people who live there, however, the Arctic has long been recognized as having considerable importance beyond the region. It is significant militarily, because of the Arctic’s location, linking all of the world’s northern land masses. It’s also significant economically for its oil, gas, strategic metals, and ocean fisheries; and it’s prized around the world, even by people who will never see it in person, for its spectacular landscapes and wildlife.

For the last couple of decades, though, climate change has been transforming practically everything about the Arctic that matters to people both inside and outside of the region. That’s because the Arctic as a whole has been warming two to three times faster than the rest of the world. The accumulating effects of this extreme warming are now manifesting themselves in a multiplicity of ways, some of them creating new economic opportunities, but practically all of them creating major physical, socioeconomic and management challenges for the region. And, of greatest importance for rest of the world, the rapid pace of climate change in the Arctic is influencing the pace and impacts of climate change elsewhere. It even threatens to undermine the ability of society’s emissions reductions to stop warming worldwide at a level that avoids wholly unmanageable consequences.

Read the full opinion piece at The Hill

Public Now Has 30 More Days to Comment on Proposed Ringed and Bearded Seal Critical Habitat

March 9, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries is extending the deadline for members of the public to submit comments on the proposed rule to designate critical habitat for the threatened Beringia distinct population segment of the Pacific bearded seal subspecies under the Endangered Species Act. We have also extended the comment period for the revised proposed rule to designate critical habitat for the threatened Arctic subspecies of ringed seal . The end of the public comment period is extended from March 9, 2021, to April 8, 2021.

Both proposed rules were published in the Federal Register on January 8, 2021.

Rep. Huffman to Introduce Bills to Protect Pacific & Arctic Oceans from Offshore Drilling

January 28, 2021 — The following was released by The Office of Congressman Jared Huffman (D-CA):

Today, Congressman Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) announced he will reintroduce this week the West Coast Ocean Protection Act and the Stop Arctic Ocean Drilling Act to permanently protect these places from the dangers of offshore oil drilling. This comes as President Biden continues to sign a series of executive orders focused on combatting climate change and moving the United States away from fossil fuels and expanding alternative, renewable energy, including suspension of new offshore leases under the next five-year plan.

“Offshore drilling poses unacceptable risks, and the science and public opinion are clear: we should not put our oceans and fisheries, coastal communities, economies, and planet at risk just to enrich the fossil fuel industry,” said Rep. Huffman. “It’s past time that we permanently ban new offshore drilling and show our united commitment to combating climate change and to give the Pacific Coast and the Arctic Ocean the protections their communities and ecosystems deserve.”

Rep. Huffman’s introduction of the West Coast Ocean Protection Act and the Stop Arctic Ocean Drilling Act comes alongside several other House members’ initiatives to protect coastlines from offshore drilling nationwide. Senator Feinstein also leads the West Coast Ocean Protection Act in the Senate, introduced today, with support from all West coast senators.

“California understands all too well the danger that offshore drilling poses to our oceans and coastal economies,” said Senator Feinstein. “President Biden is committed to reducing our carbon emissions, and I applaud his decision to enact a temporary moratorium. This bill takes that action a step further, codifying the proposal so future administrations can’t overturn it. It’s time to permanently ban new offshore oil and gas drilling along the West Coast. Doing so represents a giant step toward the vital goal of building a cleaner, more sustainable energy future.”

Read the full release here