The Pacific Decadal Oscillation and North Pacific Gyre Oscillation are not as effective at helping us predict regional environmental and ecological change as in the past. A new study shows that two important indicators for understanding and predicting the effects of climate variability on eastern North Pacific marine ecosystems are less reliable than they were historically. […]
Pacific cod in the Gulf of Alaska were earmarked to lose certification from the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) on April 5 but remained certified as sustainable under the Alaska Seafood Management Institute’s Responsible Fisheries Management program. MRAG Americas Inc., an independent auditing and certification body for the MSC standard, said the suspension was based […]
NOAA Fisheries scientists are part of an international team that set sail on April 11. They are studying the impacts of continued warm ocean temperatures in the Gulf of Alaska on Pacific salmon survival. It has been estimated that one-third of all Pacific salmon spend the winter in the Gulf of Alaska. While reduced in […]
The 2013 to 2016 marine heatwave—known as “The Blob”—is the largest warm anomaly ever recorded in the North Pacific. In the Gulf of Alaska, scientists have connected low numbers of Pacific cod larvae, juveniles, and adults to loss of spawning habitat. This occured during and immediately following the heatwave. Compounding the ecological loss is the […]