These pups—often seen alone onshore—are not abandoned. Seal Pupping Season Begins! NOAA’s Alaska Region has already received reports that harbor seal pups have arrived! Pupping season is typically between May and July, but each year a few pups arrive earlier. During the pupping and nursing season, mother harbor seals will leave their pups on shore […]
For Teacher Appreciation Week, we highlight the dedicated educators who inspire stewardship of Alaska’s ocean and watersheds. NOAA’s Ocean Guardian Program works with schools throughout the country to promote the conservation of local watersheds, the ocean, and places like national marine sanctuaries. Each school creates local projects to create environmentally sustainable events and programs that benefit the […]
NOAA Fisheries is soliciting input on its draft Climate Regional Action Plans to address climate-science needs in each region over the next three years Changing climate and oceans are affecting the nation’s valuable living marine resources and the people, businesses and communities that depend on them. From warming oceans and rising seas, to droughts and […]
NOAA Fisheries accepts applications for $197 million in loans for Community Development Quota groups in western Alaska. NOAA Fisheries is accepting loan applications totaling up to $197 million for fisheries-related projects for the six Community Development Quota groups in western Alaska. Up to $32.8 million will be available for each of the CDQ groups to […]
Curiosity and independent thinking lead the way to a STEM career. Erin Fedewa joined the Alaska Fisheries Science Center in February of 2018 as a research fisheries biologist. Before joining us she did research at Oregon State, as a Fulbright Fellow in Trinidad and Tobago, and at Auburn University. She carries an infectious enthusiasm for […]
Designation of critical habitat is required for species listed under the Endangered Species Act. NOAA Fisheries is designating critical habitat in U.S. waters off the coast of Alaska for Arctic ringed seals and the Beringia distinct population segment (DPS) of bearded seals. Both species are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The ESA requires that […]
Proactive Cooperation Pinnipeds—seals, sea lions, and walruses—are inquisitive animals. This makes them vulnerable to becoming entangled around their necks when they investigate loop-shaped marine debris such as packing bands and abandoned fishing nets. They can also become snagged by fishing hooks and entangled by other garbage that enters the marine ecosystem. In 2009, a group […]
For the love of whales, team sheds light on the death of a long-known humpback whale. Whale on the Beach On February 10, 2022, ferry crew from the Alaska Marine Highway System reported a dead whale on a beach on Killisnoo Island in Southeast Alaska. AMHS and the United States Coast Guard provided photos to […]
The Journey of a Tail To celebrate Whale Week (February 14-20, 2022), NOAA Fisheries is spotlighting a well-loved, school-bus-sized, seasonal resident of Juneau, Alaska—the humpback whale named Flame! Flame was named by the whale-watching community and is one of the most frequently observed whales in Juneau. She’s also known as #1538 in the Southeast Alaska […]