This week marked the second observance of the International Day for the Fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing. This day was declared by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 2017 to raise awareness about this global problem. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, IUU fishing and related activities are responsible for the […]
On May 28, 2019, NOAA Fisheries received a report of a dead gray whale in Chignik Bay, a community on the southern side of the Alaska Peninsula. The whale was first observed alive in an unusual location under the community’s dock. It was observed dead on May 25, and towed to a beach away from town due to […]
Fishing industry and researchers team up to track red king crab seasonal movements to provide data vital to keeping the Bristol Bay fishery sustainable in a changing climate Alaska red king crab and the perils that fishermen face to catch them have gained worldwide fame. But fishermen are also working hard, together with NOAA […]
A NOAA-authorized team of marine mammal biologists performed a necropsy Sunday on a dead gray whale beached in the Copper River Delta, near Cordova, Alaska. The biologists–aided by the U.S. Coast Guard–spent approximately two and a half hours on Egg Island collecting tissue samples from the 42-foot long young adult female. NOAA first received a report of […]
Marine mammal experts with NOAA Fisheries and the Alaska Marine Mammal Stranding Network are monitoring the position of a dead gray whale in Turnagain Arm near Anchorage, Alaska, hoping for an opportunity to conduct a necropsy (animal autopsy). The latest reported location of the carcass is a couple hundred yards offshore from the Placer and Twentymile rivers. At […]
It was a rare find: a dead sperm whale washed up on a beach in Alaska’s famed Inside Passage in Southeast Alaska. Sperm whales, which are endangered, usually hang out in deeper, offshore waters. This one—a 48-foot long male—was found beached on the east side of Lynn Canal, north of Berners Bay near Juneau. This is the first […]
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is prohibiting directed fishing for species that comprise the deep-water species fishery by vessels using trawl gear in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA), effective 1200 hours, Alaska local time (A.l.t.), March 26, 2019, through 1200 hours, A.l.t., April 1, 2019, according to James W. Balsiger, Administrator, Alaska Region, […]
An NOAA-led team of marine mammal responders was able to free an entangled humpback whale early Saturday evening in Unalaska Bay, near Dutch Harbor, Alaska. The whale was first reported entangled on Monday, October 15. The whale had a tight wrap of line through the mouth and across its blowholes, as well as line and […]
Charter halibut fishing is an experience that many people look forward to when visiting Alaska. But, there are specific rules and regulations to ensure the sustainability of the species, which, when broken, are subject to enforcement action by NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement (OLE). Recently in Juneau, OLE fined a charter owner/operator $9,750 for exceeding […]