News
The latest blog posts and news releases from Alaska Sea Grant
Can mushrooms replace Styrofoam and keep the oceans cleaner? (7/17/2019) - A University of Alaska Anchorage researcher who hopes to curb ocean pollution thinks fungi might have a useful role to play. Philippe Amstislavski, an associate professor of public health at UAA, is experimenting with using mushrooms to create biodegradable insulation, shipping material and other environmentally friendly products. Alaska Sea Grant, a partnership between the National…
Unusual number of marine mammals found dead (7/16/2019) - Working with local subsistence experts, our Nome-based Marine Advisory agent Gay Sheffield has found many marine mammals dead in recent days. They include whales, walruses, and seals (mostly pups). Sheffield told the The Nome Nugget that while it is not unusual to find dead marine mammals once in a while, the number of dead animals found in…
Urgent action needed in support of Alaska Sea Grant and the University of Alaska (7/2/2019) - We need you to contact your legislators now and tell them the University of Alaska and Alaska Sea Grant are worth fighting for! As someone who supports the work of Alaska Sea Grant and the university, you have likely heard by now that Alaska’s governor intends to slash the state’s funding to the university by…
Local and traditional knowledge included in Bering Sea Management Plan (7/1/2019) - With assistance from Alaska Sea Grant, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council recently adopted what some are calling a groundbreaking ecosystem management plan for the Bering Sea that incorporates local and traditional knowledge. It’s the first time that local and traditional knowledge (LTK) has been formally taken into account in the regional council’s management plan…
Lack of sea ice sends seal pups and walrus calves to beach (6/27/2019) - It’s been a busy couple of months for members of the Alaska Marine Mammal Stranding Network, including Alaska Sea Grant’s Gay Sheffield, as they respond to multiple reports of dead ice seals along the coast of the Bering and Chukchi Seas. NOAA Fisheries reported in mid-June that at least 60 seals have recently washed up…
Southeast Alaska tribal council develops climate change plan (6/24/2019) - Climate change in Alaska’s high Arctic often captures headlines. Images of vanishing sea ice, dead seabirds, beached marine mammals, melting permafrost and houses tumbling into the ocean are common. Less media attention is directed to Southeast Alaska, an archipelago of hundreds of islands around a thin strip of mainland, blanketed by coastal temperate rainforest. But…
Alaska fellowship program welcomes three new graduate students (6/7/2019) - Alaska Sea Grant has selected three graduate students for its year-long fellowship program. Meredith Pochardt will spend her fellowship working with NOAA Fisheries Alaska Region in Juneau. Pochardt recently graduated with a master of fisheries science degree from Oregon State University. She will be in the Habitat Conservation division assisting researchers with their habitat conservation…
Volunteers trained to respond to whale entanglements (6/4/2019) - When whales get entangled in fishing gear or other marine debris, it’s a potentially life-threatening event that takes a group of trained specialists to provide help. And with whale entanglements on the rise worldwide, it’s becoming an ever-more pressing need. Last month, Alaska Sea Grant teamed up with Ed Lyman of the National Oceanic and…
Sheffield, Ahmasuk honored for seabird mortality response (6/3/2019) - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has honored Alaska Sea Grant’s Gay Sheffield and Brandon Ahmasuk of Kawerak, Inc. for leading a coordinated response to seabird mortality events across the Bering and Chukchi region. Since 2013, Sheffield, an associate professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, and Ahmasuk have…
Seaweed farmers in Alaska gear up for large haul (5/7/2019) - Blue Evolution is collaborating with the University of Alaska and Alaska Sea Grant on seaweed research aimed at developing cost-effective cultivation methods for several native species.