Scientists will have increased capacity to forecast future outbreaks to support sustainable fisheries management. Bitter crab disease is caused by microscopic parasites. Scientists have documented that most infected Tanner crab and snow crab die in laboratory experiments, indicating that the disease can be lethal. Tanner crab and snow crab in the Bering Sea have historically […]
New genetic research on the Alaska red king crab reveals previously undiscovered diversity among different regions, suggesting the species is more resilient to climate change and changing ocean conditions. Maintaining genetic diversity within and among populations is vital to ensure species are resilient to challenging conditions. Without it, a single disease or set of conditions—such […]
Arctic conditions that dominated in the preindustrial Bering Sea are expected to continue to decline over the next 1-2 decades. NOAA Fisheries scientists attribute the abrupt collapse of snow crab in Alaska to borealization, or an ecological shift from Arctic to sub-Arctic conditions in the southeastern Bering Sea due to human-caused climate change. Cold-adapted species […]
Eastern North Pacific Right whale MML# 84 “Cuatro” (female) in the Bering Sea in August 2017. Credit: K. Matsuoka/International Whaling Commission and NOAA Fisheries Eastern North Pacific right whales once numbered in the tens of thousands; today there are estimated to be fewer than 50. Studying these extremely rare whales across their vast ocean range is an […]