Saving Seafood

Heather Brandon to Lead Alaska Sea Grant

August 15, 2018 — The University of Alaska Fairbanks has chosen Heather Brandon as Alaska Sea Grant’s new director.

Brandon is an environmental policy leader with experience in fisheries issues on a broad geographic scale, ranging from Alaska to the Arctic and Russian Far East. The Juneau resident was selected after a competitive national search.

“I am very pleased that Heather will take the helm at Alaska Sea Grant,” said Bradley Moran, dean of the UAF College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences. “Heather has a solid working knowledge of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s programs, including Sea Grant, and brings a wealth of experience that will be an asset to the Alaska Sea Grant program.”

Before joining Alaska Sea Grant, Brandon was a foreign affairs specialist for NOAA’s Office of International Affairs and Seafood Inspection. Brandon has also worked for World Wildlife Fund, Juneau Economic Development Council, Pacific Fishery Management Council, and Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and served on the U.S. Department of Commerce Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee. She has a master’s degree in marine affairs from the University of Washington and a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Oregon.

Read the full story at Alaska Business Monthly

Researchers try to understand why Pacific cod stocks are crashing in Gulf of Alaska

May 31, 2018 — On an island about 4 miles off of Kodiak, marine scientists working with the University of Alaska are trying to figure out why Pacific cod stocks are crashing in the Gulf of Alaska.

And, how climate change may be affecting the fish when they’re young.

Mike Litzow and, his wife, Alisa Abookire, try to pull in a beach seine on a soggy gray day on Long Island. But, they catch more seaweed than fish as they slowly sink deeper into the shore’s mud.

“We have to get some kelp out, Liz,” Litzow said. “Oh no, it’s the freaking motherload. This will be our day right here if we aren’t careful.”

This isn’t a normal fishing trip.

The marine scientists are collaborating on a study for the University of Alaska Fairbanks to figure out why Pacific cod stocks are declining in the Gulf of Alaska and how warming waters may be affecting the species when they’re young.

Read the full story at KTOO 

 

Why are Pacific Cod Stocks Crashing?

February 13, 2018 — “The status of Pacific cod is probably the biggest fishery issue facing Kodiak right now, with the quota cut 80 percent for 2018,” said Mike Litzow, a University of Alaska Fairbanks associate professor at the Kodiak Seafood and Marine Science Center.

Pacific cod stocks have collapsed, possibly because recruitment (production of young fish to enter the population) has been very low during a recent string of incredibly warm years in the Gulf of Alaska, he said.

Scientists don’t know why cod stocks are shrinking. The leading hypothesis is that warmer temperatures increase the metabolic rates of young cod, and their food sources don’t supply enough energy.

There’s a sticking point—there’s not enough data to test the theory. Studies of fish ecology and population dynamics in Alaska are overwhelmingly conducted in the summer. Almost nothing is known about wintertime ecology of juvenile Pacific cod.

To help provide answers, Litzow and fisheries oceanographer Alisa Abookire embarked on a pilot study this month to collect information about habitat use, diet and energetics of juvenile cod.

They are sampling the fish with a beach seine and taking ocean water data aboard a semi-enclosed 22 foot skiff. To stay warm they wear insulated paddling suits.

Litzow and Abookire are collaborating with scientists at the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, Ore., who have been studying juvenile cod in Kodiak over the last 12 years. The pilot study is funded by the Ocean Phoenix Fund through the University of Alaska Foundation.

Read the full story at Alaska Native News

 

Network seeks to bring together data on harmful algal blooms

February 6, 2018 — A group of scientists is coming together to share information related to harmful algal blooms in Alaska.

Under the umbrella of the Alaska Ocean Observation System, part of the national ocean observation system network, a partnership of state agencies, Alaska Native organizations and the University of Alaska has launched the Alaska Harmful Algal Bloom Network. The intent is to stitch together a statewide approach to researching, monitoring, responding to and spreading information about harmful algal blooms in the state.

Algal blooms are natural processes in the ocean and occur when the population of algae in a certain area increases dramatically. However, they can turn toxic when certain types of algae proliferate and produce chemicals that can be harmful to other plants, animals and people, or consume all the oxygen in the water as they decay. The events, called harmful algal blooms, occur all over the planet, in both freshwater and the ocean, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“Over the last 10 years, we’ve been seeing more and more of these bloom events happening,” said Ginny Eckert, a professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks in Juneau and co-chair of the Alaska Harmful Algal Bloom Network’s executive committee. “It’s always a question: Are we seeing more because we’re paying attention more? But … the more information we can get out to people, (the better).”

Harmful algal blooms can have devastating consequences. In 2014, nearly 500,000 Ohio residents had to go without clean drinking water because of harmful algal blooms near a water treatment plant in Lake Erie. A harmful algal bloom in a lake that flowed into the ocean near Monterey Bay, California in 2007 is thought to have killed 11 sea otters with infections of microcystin, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Every year in Alaska, a number of alerts go out to shellfish gatherers to be careful because some of the clams, oysters and mussels may have high levels of a toxin that causes paralytic shellfish poisoning, a fatal condition in humans.

Read the full at the Peninsula Clarion

 

Alaska Sea Grant awards over $1 million for research

January 24, 2018 — Alaska Sea Grant has selected six research projects for funding during 2018-2020, with the majority of the work getting underway next month.

The researchers will receive $1.3 million to study a diverse range of topics intended to help Alaskans understand, conserve and sustainably use the state’s rich marine and coastal resources. The research will advance knowledge in Sea Grant’s main focus areas: healthy coastal ecosystems, sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, and resilient communities and economies. Six graduate students are involved, contributing to the next generation of science professionals in Alaska.

“We received 47 pre-proposals and 18 full proposals. The six that we funded ranked highest in a rigorous peer-review process and will address critical needs for Alaska marine and coastal research,” said Ginny Eckert, Alaska Sea Grant’s associate director of research. “The investigators work within the University of Alaska system as well as Alaska agencies and nonprofits with expertise in marine and social sciences.”

Alaska Sea Grant is part of the College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the National Sea Grant Program, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Read the full story at the University of Alaska Fairbanks

 

As glaciers melt, scientists try to figure out how fish will respond

As climate change puts fisheries, ecosystems on the line, scientists work to understand how marine life will respond

September 11, 2017 — Glaciers in Southeast and around the world are melting. This much scientists know.

About half of the water in the Gulf of Alaska comes from glacial melt, current estimates hold. In Southeast, about 30 percent of all the water flowing from land to sea is glacier melt water.

That percentage is expected to increase due to climate change. But scientists don’t yet know how all that melt water might affect the animals swimming through it.

With the help of a net and a small crew, that’s a problem ecologists Anne Beaudreau and Carolyn Bergstrom have been trying to solve by continuing five years of research this summer. The professors — Bergstrom from the University of Alaska Southeast and Beaudreau from the University of Alaska Fairbanks — have been studying marine biodiversity at the mouths of the Mendenhall, Cowee and Eagle rivers.

Read the full story at the Juneau Empire

FRI trains the fishery managers of tomorrow

June 26, 2017 — Area management biologists in Bristol Bay are responsible for tracking and maintaining the escapement numbers of multiple salmon species in multiple river systems. Not only are they charged with preserving the health of the run’s biology, but they are often held, at least partly, accountable for the economic viability of the fishery as well. One of the inherent challenges of the job is that the sustainability of the salmon run is not always synonymous with the profit margins of industry entities, and the managers are often the first to be blamed when the catch and escapement don’t go as planned.

The University of Washington’s Fisheries Research Institute is taking on the tall task of training those who hope to one day be fishery managers. Seven grad students—two from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, three from the University of Washington and two from Kamchatka State Technical Institute in Russia—are taking the three week course at FRI’s cabin on Aleknagik Lake.

Professors Milo Adkinson and Ray Hilborn are teaching the course.  “We bring our graduate students in fisheries out to see a real fishery in action,” said Adkinson.

For the class’s main term project, the students will work directly with the three area management biologists in Bristol Bay as the salmon run is going on.

“They get to pretend that they’re managing the fisheries,” said Adkinson. “So I’ve got a group of students that are going be deciding whether to open and close the Naknek-Kvichak district every day.”

The students will simulate making announcements relevant to the current salmon run, allocating when and where sport and commercial fisherman are allowed to fish. They will then be given a math equation which will determine the catch and escapement numbers based on the management decisions they made. The students will receive feedback from the actual area managers as the course progresses.

“We had one year where the students let several million fish escape into the Egegik system. I think the managers got a kick out of that,” said Adkinson.

Tim Sands is the area management biologist for the Nushagak and Togiak districts. He gave a lecture at FRI this week, and is making himself available to answer any questions the students charged with simulating his job might have.

“So there’s rules like what time of the tide you have to open the set nets—it’s all specified in the management plan. They can ask me questions like that, or things about allocation,” said Sands. “That’s what I do. Tell them the rules of the district.”

Read the full story at KDLG

Professor receives award to study global oceans

February 27, 2017 — A University of Alaska Fairbanks assistant professor will study tiny animals and particles across the world’s oceans after receiving an award from the National Science Foundation.

Andrew McDonnell, with the UAF College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, received a five-year, 750,000 Faculty Early Career Development Award. The NSF program is designed to support teacher-scholars who effectively integrate research and education. McDonnell’s project will also aim to educate Alaskans about ocean sciences and what it means to be an oceanographer.

McDonnell will use underwater cameras to measure the sizes, concentrations and types of particles and zooplankton in ocean water. This research has implications for how carbon is transported to and stored in different parts of the ocean.

McDonnell has used underwater cameras since graduate school but has focused on particular regions. This project will allow him to apply what he has learned to oceans around the world and compare different regions.

“Looking at what is happening from a global perspective will help us better investigate the role of these particles and plankton in the global carbon cycle,” McDonnell said.

McDonnell will create a museum exhibit for the Alaska Sea Life Center focused on the important microscopic world of particles and plankton that are not always seen by aquaria curators and visitors alike. The exhibit will also include information about what ocean scientists do and how they collect samples and data at sea. It will display different sampling technology, as well as videos and photos that illustrate how oceanographers work, especially in the oceans around Alaska.

Read the full story at Alaska Business Monthly

Deadline approaches for Alaska Sea Grant fellowships

February 3, 2017 — Alaska Sea Grant, located at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, is offering graduate students, or those who recently completed their degree, the opportunity to acquire on-the-job-training in Alaska-based federal and state agencies for one year as part of ASG’s State Fellowship Program.

This is a paid fellowship ($3,500 per month for a total of $42,000) for highly motivated and qualified applicants who are focused on science or policy that affects Alaska’s marine and freshwater resources.

ASG will accept three or more state fellows for 2017-2018. Successful candidates may be placed at the following organizations:

Alaska Office of the Lieutenant Governor
Alaska Department of Fish and Game
National Park Service
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Alaska Fisheries Science Center
NOAA, National Marine Fisheries Service, Alaska Region
North Pacific Fishery Management Council
North Pacific Research Board
North Pacific Research Board/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Landscape Conservation Cooperative
U.S. Geological Survey
The deadline to apply is Feb. 24, 2017. More information and the application are available at alaskaseagrant.org/fellowships

Read the full story at Alaska Business Monthly.

ALASKA: The next generation of ocean specialists

November 28, 2016 — Alaska’s university system is ramping up programs to train the next generations of fishery and ocean specialists — and plenty of jobs await.

Since 1987, the College of Fisheries and Ocean Science, or CFOS, at the University of Alaska Fairbanks has offered undergraduate and graduate degrees in Fisheries Science, complete with paid internships to help prepare them for positions in the state’s largest industry.

“It’s a degree path preparing students for what I call fish squeezers — they’re going to go to work for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, or NOAA, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or some other type of agency where they’re going to be primarily out doing field work, traditional fish biologist types,” said Trent Sutton, a Professor of Fisheries Biology and Associate Dean of Academics.

Due to student interest, the college broadened the fisheries degree this fall to include ocean sciences, and opened more oceanography and marine biology classes to undergraduate students. The new degree combo program attracted 53 students, Sutton said.

The college also is a center for ocean acidification studies, which is a big student draw.

“You hear all the concerns regarding climate change and marine mammals and fisheries and sea ice — all of those garner interest from students because there are job opportunities down the road to deal with these issues,” Sutton explained.

The CFOS also is the only school in the nation to offer a Bachelor of Arts degree in fisheries for students interested in seafood sciences and technology, and marine policy. Another focus of the B.A. track is in rural and community development where students can get the degree at home.

“A student in Bethel or Dillingham can stay home and take 100 percent of their courses either through video conferences or online or by some other distance delivery technology. They can get a degree that is tied to fisheries and it will help them have a good career and become leaders in their communities,” Sutton said.

Read the full story at the Alaska Journal of Commerce