The largest commercial harvest of seaweed in Alaska is taking place this month. Blue Evolution, a California-based company that cultivates, harvests and distributes Alaska-grown seaweed, is expected to haul in up to 200,000 pounds from waters near Kodiak Island within the next two weeks. Previous harvests have been a fraction of that size, but, as […]
NOAA scientist Bryan Thomas stands outside the Barrow Atmospheric Baseline Observatory. How does the buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere measured at Hawai‘i’s Mauna Loa volcano over the last six decades compare with the air above Alaska? During a recent spring trip to Utqiaġvik, I had a chance to find out by visiting the […]
[dropcap][/dropcap]In the 1990s, the endangered status of the short-tailed albatross catalyzed efforts to reduce the number of birds accidentally killed as bycatch in Alaska, home to the country’s biggest fisheries. Marine fisheries scientist Ed Melvin, at Washington Sea Grant at the University of Washington, and research associate Kim Dietrich, an independent contractor, were at the […]
Alaska’s commercial fisheries are vast and lucrative. With a dockside value of $1.7 billion in 2016, the industry employs more than 29,000 people. To help fishermen and others understand more about Alaska’s 180-plus commercial fisheries, Alaska Sea Grant has developed an interactive map. It features target species, gear, locations, seasons and more. Sunny Rice, Alaska Sea […]