UAF CFOS
Longtime Cordova agent poised to leave
After 15 years with the Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program, our Cordova agent will be leaving us at month’s end. Torie Baker is resigning her post to turn her attention to family in the Lower 48. She’s not leaving Alaska permanently though. Baker says Cordova will remain her home. Over the years, Baker has…
Read MoreMarine advisory agents promoted
Julie Matweyou and Gary Freitag of Alaska Sea Grant’s Marine Advisory Program received promotions this month. Matweyou, the marine advisory agent based in Kodiak, received tenure and is now associate professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, where Alaska Sea Grant and the Marine Advisory Program are housed. Matweyou…
Read MoreScientists use app to engage citizens in ocean acidification study
Clam populations throughout Alaska have steadily declined for over 20 years, affecting subsistence, recreational and commercial harvesters. The exact causes of the decline are unknown. Suspected factors include habitat changes, environmental stressors, predation and, possibly, ocean acidification. Under the supervision of University of Alaska Fairbanks professor Amanda Kelley, PhD student Ashley Rossin is studying the…
Read MoreWhy are salmon shrinking? UAF professor tackles the topic at Rainforest Festival
When you hear the word rainforest, people often associate it with something tropical. Residents of Southeast Alaska might think differently though, since they’re surrounded by the 17-million-acre Tongass National Forest, a temperate rainforest. In Petersburg, the gifts of Alaska’s coastal rainforest were celebrated this month in a festival organized in part by Sunny Rice, Alaska…
Read MoreClams and climate change — new Alaska study examines the connections
SEWARD, Alaska — July fourth in Seward is known for its fireworks, festivities and the grueling Mt. Marathon race that draws elite athletes from around the world. But for a University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) graduate student, the holiday took on a whole different meaning this year. “It was the first time I was able…
Read MoreUAF student completes salmon predation study
Very few juvenile salmon return to spawn. Many are consumed by larger fish who eat them as they migrate from rivers or hatcheries to the ocean. That’s a problem for hatcheries that release millions of young salmon, called smolts, into the waters of coastal Alaska. Alaska Sea Grant funded research on chum salmon predation by…
Read MoreFellowship leads to job in governor’s office
An Alaska Sea Grant State Fellow has landed a full-time job as a policy and program analyst in Alaska’s Office of the Governor. “I will continue much of the work that I did as a fellow in policy research and stakeholder engagement, but with an expanded portfolio that includes climate change, marine resources, renewable energy…
Read MoreUAF student wins Knauss fellowship
Amy Kirkham, a University of Alaska Fairbanks doctoral student, will start a Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship in Washington, D.C. next year. The prestigious fellowship is administered by Sea Grant, a partnership between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and universities in 33 states and U.S. territories. Alaska Sea Grant nominated Kirkhan for the fellowship.…
Read MoreStudy focuses on salmon resilience
Christopher Sergeant is studying Southeast Alaska watersheds as part of his doctoral research at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences. Along with his advisor, Assistant Prof. Jeffrey Falke, and partners at the U.S. Forest Service, Alaska Sea Grant and Southeast Alaska Watershed Coalition, Sergeant is working on an Alaska Sea Grant-funded project to assess the resilience of Southeast Alaska salmon.
Read MoreIs big always better? Maybe not
Over the past 20 years, the South Olga Lakes on Kodiak Island has produced nearly half a million sockeye salmon per year on average. This fishery is historically one of the region’s most productive sockeye systems. But recently, its salmon wealth has plummeted, prompting calls for something to be done. Managers are considering fertilizing the…
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