The United States is in the midst of a bird flu outbreak first detected in December 2021. Alaska Sea Grant’s Gay Sheffield has been closely monitoring the situation in the Bering Strait region as part of her work as the Marine Advisory Program agent based in Nome. Avian influenza, or bird flu, is a disease […]
Alaska’s burgeoning mariculture industry, which includes shellfish and seaweed farming, has substantial economic potential for coastal communities. The path to establish an aquatic farm is challenging, as prospective farmers are required to file multiple permits with four or more state and federal agencies. This confusing and time-consuming multi-agency permitting process was identified by the state’s […]
Alaska’s coastal waters are some of the most commercially valuable and productive ecosystems on the planet. Ocean acidification—a decrease in ocean pH caused by increasing concentrations of carbon dioxide—is expected to impact these ecosystems, but very little is known about how it could alter nearshore environments. Nearshore ecosystems provide habitat and serve as a nursery […]
Elizabeth Figus, PhD, contributed to this story. During the summer of 2021, two students from Kake participated in Alaska Sea Grant’s Community Engaged Internship (CEI). The internship is designed for undergraduate students from underrepresented and Indigenous communities, with the goal to engage students in place-based projects that respect and integrate local ways of knowing. Simon […]