A total run of 1.4 million sockeye salmon, along with 60,000 Chinooks, are expected to return to the Copper River in 2020, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G). The state forecast released on Jan. 28 compared with the recent 10-year average (2010-2019) of 2.1 million wild sockeyes returning to the […]
Whale Population Plummeting in Project Area, New Federal Data Show ANCHORAGE, Alaska— Conservation groups Friday threatened to sue the Trump administration for approving oil exploration in Alaska’s Cook Inlet after new federal data found a dramatic decline in the area’s population of endangered beluga whales. The formal notice of intent to file an Endangered Species Act lawsuit […]
Today, NOAA Fisheries released its biennial abundance estimate for endangered Cook Inlet beluga whales. Scientists estimated that the population size is between 250 and 317, with a median estimate of 279. The population is estimated to be smaller and declining more quickly than previously thought. Abundance estimates can vary from year to year due to a […]
JUNEAU, Alaska — Alaska’s population decreased by 3,048 people — 0.4 percent — from July 2018 to July 2019, based on estimates released Wednesday by the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development. This was the third straight year of decline for the state’s total population, which peaked at 739,649 in July 2016 and […]