News clips archive
Selected stories about Alaska Sea Grant from the media.
New tools track freshwater fish in changing climate (6/29/2020) - A salmon life cycle model developed by Alaska Sea Grant-supported researchers will predict how salmon populations in Alaska may fare as freshwater ecosystems change. The model will be online, allowing anyone to run it with various climate scenarios.
KUCB radio: ‘How Are Sea Sponges Alive If They Have No Guts?’ Thousands Join Virtual Dockside Discovery Day (5/14/2020) - The 10th Dockside Discovery Day was coordinated by Melissa Good from the Alaska Sea Grant program, and she spent the day teaching Unalaska students and viewers from across the country about local marine life, fisheries, and more.
SitNews: COVID-19 harms Alaska mariculture industry (5/4/2020) - Alaska’s mariculture industry laid off employees after COVID-19 health mandates sharply reduced revenue, according to a new Alaska Sea Grant survey.
Petersburg Pilot: UASE professor talks crabs, global warming (4/30/2020) - Alaska Sea Grant–funded researcher Sherry Tamone held a virtual lecture this month as part of the Petersburg Science Series, on her research in crab species in Southeast and the effect that warming sea temperatures has on their molt timing. The series is organized by the local Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program.
KFSK: Researcher discusses changing ocean impacts on SE shrimp, crab (4/16/2020) - An online presentation for Petersburg’s Science Series will focus on some of the shrimp and crab species of Southeast Alaska in changing ocean conditions. The science series is put on by the Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program, Petersburg Public Library, and Petersburg Marine Mammal Center.
Pacific Fishing: Boatyard safety (PDF) (1/2/2020) - Pacific Fishing Magazine published an article adapted from Alaska Sea Grant’s new publication
“Boatyard Hazards: Tips for protecting worker safety and health,” written by former Marine Advisory Program specialist Terry Johnson.
KNOM: Little known about algal toxins’ effects on subsistence in Arctic waters (12/20/2019) - Alaska Sea Grant’s Gay Sheffield says two different samples of clams from that voyage were found to have high levels of an algal toxin called saxitoxin
Alaska Fish Radio: 8th AK Young Fishermen’s Summit set for January (12/18/2019) - Alaska Sea Grant’s Alaska Young Fishermen’s Summit since 2007 has aimed to build a sustained network of fishing operations across the state. The next summit is set for late January in Juneau.
Pacific Fishing: Alaska Young Fishermen’s Summit graduates put conference skills into practice (PDF) (11/29/2019) - Armed with knowledge and connections from Alaska Sea Grant’s Alaska Young
Fishermen’s Summit, the Nashes are steering their family’s fishing
business in a new direction.
Juneau Empire—Opinion: Investing in fisheries pays off (11/10/2019) - Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski's funding priorities include fishing-focused programs including NOAA Sea Grant, which supports the next generation of Alaska fishermen through development programs like the annual Alaska Young Fishermen’s Summit.
KDLG Radio: City council weighs options as rapid erosion threatens Dillingham sewer (11/8/2019) - Erosion is eating away the coastline by Dillingham’s sewage lagoon. The city council held a meeting with contract engineers to discuss options for the lagoon before it’s too late. Alaska Sea Grant’s Gabe Dunham has studied the coastline by the lagoon since 2016. In a project with Alaska Sea Grant, Dunham and three other scientists installed three transects, including a camera, to measure how much land is being lost.
Nome Nugget: Chances are, fall and winter will bring warmer and wetter days (10/31/2019) - Rick Thoman came to Nome to give different groups an idea of what to expect in weather this fall and winter.
He began with a recap of last spring and summer for the group attending the Strait Science session, a program sponsored by UAF Northwest Campus and Alaska Sea Grant.
Kodiak Daily Mirror: Kodiakans discuss future of sustainable energy (10/28/2019) - The two-day Adapt Kodiak workshop was organized by Alaska Sea Grant and funded by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Western Alaska Landscape Conservation Cooperative, the National Park Service and the Aleutian and Bering Sea Islands Initiative.
Cordova Times: Federal grant will aid Sitka Tribe toxin research (10/13/2019) - A collaborative project with the University of Washington Tacoma, NCCOS, the University of Alaska and Alaska Sea Grant aims to develop two lab-based quantitative molecular methods for detection and counting of Alexandrium catenella resting cysts in sediment from the Gulf of Maine, Washington (Puget Sound), and Alaska (Kodiak and Kachemak Bay). The project will develop a target-specific DNA probe for a fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) assay.
Cordova Times: Smoked seafood workshop on tap at Kodiak (10/9/2019) - Alaska Sea Grant’s annual smoked seafood workshop is set for Oct. 17-18 in Kodiak, with a focus on safe processing of locally caught chum and coho salmon and black cod.
NYT Opinion: Where the sea ice recedes, so does an Alaska way of life (9/25/2019) - With climate change, animals that sustain Native hunters are disappearing, and harmful algae are contaminating waters. This opinion article was written by Gay Sheffield, Alaska Sea Grant marine advisory agent, Vera Trainer, president of the International Society for the Study of Harmful Algae, and Rick Thoman, climate expert at the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy.
Mail & Guardian: Mayhem as sea ice melts in heating world (9/23/2019) - The Bering Strait region may be primed for large-scale harmful algal blooms, experts said at a two-day Nome workshop organized by Alaska Sea Grant and the Alaska Ocean Observing System.
News-Miner: UA partnership program with federal agency seeks to diversify marine workforce (9/21/2019) - A University of Alaska system partnership established this summer with NOAA aims to provide career opportunities to Alaska Native and rural Alaska students. The Partnership Education Program Alaska, or PEP Alaska, was developed by Alaska Sea Grant and NOAA Fisheries.
SeafoodNews: Alaska Sea Grant releases new handbook on avoiding boatyard hazards (9/17/2019) - Citing a rate of injury and illness on ships and in boatyards is more than double those of construction and general industry, Alaska Sea Grant has released an online booklet aimed at making boatyards safer.
Global Ocean Acidification Research Starts at Local Level All Around the World (9/9/2019) - The Alaska Sea Grant program supports the research of University of Alaska Fairbanks assistant professor Amanda Kelley, a top researcher on ocean acidification’s effects in Alaska.
Chilkat Valley News: Local entrepreneur aims to start kelp farm (9/5/2019) - Demand for seaweed like kelp has grown over the past five decades, and mariculture produces more than 96 percent of the world’s supply of seaweed products, currently valued at $4-5 billion, according to a 2017 report from Alaska Sea Grant.
Cordova Times: CDFU scholarships send fledgling fishermen to college (8/24/2019) - An Alaska Young Fishermen’s Summit $500 scholarship, established by the Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program, will help send recipients to a three-day crash course in fisheries management.
Nome Nugget: Forget the distribution charts—ask a fisherman (8/9/2019) - NOAA’s Dr. Lyle Britt came to Nome to share with the community his research on impacts of receding sea ice on marine ecosystems as part of the Strait Science series, sponsored by Alaska Sea Grant and the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Juneau Empire: Tlingit and Haida commissioned a climate change report for Southeast Alaska. Here’s what they found. (8/7/2019) - The Climate Change Adaptation Plan, published in May with help from Alaska Sea Grant and the University of Arizona Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals, is a document showing what’s happening to Southeast Alaska and how the tribes in the region can handle it.
Arctic Sounder: Bering Sea is feeling the effects of warm winters (8/3/2019) - Communities around the Bering Sea are feeling the effects of recent warm winters. Biologists and others, including Alaska Sea Grant’s Gay Sheffield, are working to understand the long-term consequences.
Nome Nugget: Biologists advise to use caution in shellfish consumption (7/26/2019) - Alaska Ocean Observing System, UAF Fairbanks and Alaska Sea Grant sponsored a community workshop on Harmful Algal Blooms—certain poisons coming from certain blooms of algae produced by phytoplankton. The group held a second workshop the next day for healthcare professionals.
APM: Low levels of algal toxins in northern Bering Sea of interest to scientists and residents (7/22/2019) - Julie Matweyou with Alaska Sea Grant in Kodiak said PSP has hindered the seafood industry in Alaska and cost the state money
APM: New Bering Sea management plan to incorporate local and traditional knowledge (7/22/2019) - For the first time, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council will incorporate Traditional Knowledge from local communities into its core management plans for the Bering Sea region. Alaska Sea Grant’s Davin Holen, says Traditional Knowledge can be extrapolated into larger data sets.
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner: Fungus-based Styrofoam substitute to ship fish (7/19/2019) - A biologist and an engineer based in Anchorage have developed a substitute insulator made with biodegradable mushroom tissue. This week, Alaska Sea Grant was helping to measure the material’s thermal properties at the Kodiak Seafood and Marine Science Center.
KFSK: As a deadly bat disease spreads, volunteers gather data on Southeast populations (7/11/2019) - Residents in Petersburg and several other Southeast communities, including Alaska Sea Grant’s Marine Advisory agent Sunny Rice, are taking a tally of the region’s suffering bat population.
ADN: Eating shellfish you’ve harvested yourself is risky – and can be deadly (7/6/2019) - In Southeast Alaska this summer, researchers have seen extremely high levels of toxins in mussels and clams, prompting state health officials to warn that harvesting and eating shellfish is risky. Alaska Sea Grant’s Ginny Eckert helps explain what is causing this danger.
KNOM: From krill to whales, marine life is washing up dead in the Bering Strait (7/5/2019) - Throughout the month of June, dead marine life was being reported on a weekly basis in the Bering Strait region, and Alaska Sea Grant’s regional Marine Advisory agent responded.
SitNews: Southeast Alaska tribal council develops climate change plan (6/28/2019) - Plants and animals important for subsistence, cash and culture are at risk, according to a new report from Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska. Alaska Sea Grant is one of the organizations that assisted with the report.
KXDF TV: Cordova residents worry about impacts of budget cuts on community (6/17/2019) - In Cordova, residents hope they can maintain their Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program agent.
Cordova Times: Future of MAP in Cordova in jeopardy (6/14/2019) - Cordova’s MAP program is in danger of extinction, and with money being carved away overall, the future of the statewide program could be in jeopardy.
KNOM: Unusual ice seal deaths reported in Western Alaska; NOAA investigating (6/13/2019) - According to Gay Sheffield with Alaska Sea Grant, last month, 12 dead ringed seals were found in Nome alone.
KDLG: Study on Iliamna Lake seal teeth adds to debate on conservation status (5/20/2019) - The elusive seals that reside in Bristol Bay’s Iliamna Lake have long been a mystery. While wildlife managers treat them the same as marine harbor seals, a new Alaska Sea Grant-funded study supports what traditional knowledge has long held – that they are a distinct, freshwater population.
KNOM: Fukushima Radiation Is Present in Bering Sea, Researchers Say — But No Cause for Concern (5/15/2019) - Several years after a Fukushima nuclear power plant was damaged, Gay Sheffield, with Alaska Sea Grant, says St. Lawrence Island residents started sending her water samples.
Bristol Bay Times: Expert offers tips on survival kits for safe adventuring (5/10/2019) - As summer approaches, many might consider venturing into the vast expanses of Bristol Bay. Gabe Dunham, with the Alaska Sea Grant, had some tips on how people can be prepared when they do.
Undercurrent News: California company leads Alaska’s largest seaweed harvest (5/10/2019) - Blue Evolution has been collaborating with the University of Alaska and Alaska Sea Grant on seaweed research aimed at developing cost-effective cultivation methods.
Science Magazine: Chemical records in teeth confirm elusive Alaska Lake seals are one of a kind (5/1/2019) - Hundreds of harbor seals live in Iliamna Lake in Alaska. How the seals first colonized the lake remains a mystery. Research funded by Alaska Sea Grant aims to learn more about these seals to inform conservation efforts in the face of climate change and proposed development.
Alaska Native News: Carbon dioxide sample from Utqiaġvik provides wake-up call on climate (4/18/2019) - Alaska Sea Grant education specialist Marilyn Sigman visited Utqiaġvik to learn how the buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere measured at Hawai‘i’s Mauna Loa volcano over the last six decades compares with the air above Alaska.
KRBD: Whale encounters topic of next Ask UAS presentation (3/21/2019) - Gary Freitag will discuss whales of Southeast Alaska and his work with the Marine Mammal Stranding Network. He and Shellie Tabb give details about the presentation.
Nome Nugget: Slight uptick in Cesium-137 heralds arrival Of Fukushima plume in Northern Bering Sea (3/13/2019) - After the 2011 tsunami that caused the destruction of a nuclear powerplant at Fukushima, Japan, Bering Sea coastal residents anticipated that some radiation would show up in the region. Now it has, but at levels that are well below concern.
SeafoodNews.com: Alaska Sea Grant hosting Better Process Control class, workshop on oil spill preparedness (2/6/2019) - Looking to continue your education? Alaska Sea Grant has you covered. This month the organization is offering two different events for those in the Anchorage area.
KDLG radio: Dillingham plans improvements to sewage lagoon (1/29/2019) - Alaska Sea Grant and the Bristol Bay Native Association have helped monitor erosion near the lagoon, helping the city take action.
Nome Nugget: Mueter talks fisheries management at Strait Science series (11/29/2018) - Franz Mueter of the University of Alaska Fairbanks talked fisheries management in Nome as part of the Strait Science series, organized by Alaska Sea Grant and the UAF Northwest Campus.
Kodiak Daily Mirror—Quality control: Keeping Alaska seafood safe, fresh (11/20/2018) - Seafood processor workers from throughout the state gathered in Kodiak last week for the five-day class Seafood Processing and Quality Control, facilitated by Alaska Sea Grant and taught by Chris Sannito.
KNOM radio: Rick Thoman Gives a Sea Ice Report (11/2/2018) - Rick Thoman of the UAF Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy gave a special “Strait Science” presentation in Nome on Thursday, part of a series organized by Alaska Sea Grant.
Nome Nugget: Northwest Campus dedication commemorates buildings programs (10/23/2018) - Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory agent Gay Sheffield spoke on the importance of science at the Northwest Campus and the capacity to support research.
Learning from a master smoker (10/13/2018) - The two-day Smoked Seafood School, run by Alaska Sea Grant and the Manufacturing Alaska Extension Partnership, is taught by seafood technology specialist Chris Sannito.
Kodiak Daily Mirror: First-time author set to present book tonight (9/19/2018) - Alaska Sea Grant's Marylin Sigman will be presenting her first book, “Entangled, People and Ecological Change in Kachemak Bay” at the Kodiak Public Library.
Arctic Today: With erosion threatening its shoreline, Utqiagvik’s residents are stepping up as citizen scientists (8/17/2018) - A project in Utqiagvik funded by Alaska Sea Grant is focusing on key areas where infrastructure is vulnerable, and will help local people plan ways to mitigate climate change effects and adapt to new realities.
KMXT: Kodiak tribal groups take stock of popular subsistence resource (8/15/2018) - Shellfish are a popular subsistence food on the island, and groups are surveying the density of the local resource. There’s no regular on-site testing of PSP because shellfish harvest on Kodiak beaches is subsistence, but Alaska Sea Grant is working with NOAA to develop a new instrument for monitoring PSP.
KTUU: Researchers work to pinpoint cause of seabird die-off in Bering Sea (8/13/2018) - Alaska Sea Grant’s Gay Sheffield is part of a group trying to understand why 1,400 seabirds have been found dead around the northern Bering and Chukchi Seas.
KMXT: Graduate student experiments with extending shelf life and safety of cooked crab (7/30/2018) - An Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute and Sea Grant graduate student intern is looking at how to extend the shelf life of cooked Dungeness crab and make it safer to eat.
KTVA: Harvesting Alaska—New research could change seaweed rules (7/30/2018) - A Sea Grant-funded graduate student is seeing if seaweed can be sustainably harvested Cook Inlet.
Eye on the Arctic: Communities wrestle with shark-bite mystery off Alaskan coast (7/24/2018) - Gay Sheffield says that the environmental knowledge of Alaska’s subsistence harvesters goes back for generations, so when they see something and are concerned enough to report it, it’s a big…
Nome Nugget: Scientists study effects of oil spill dispersants on Arctic wildlife (7/19/2018) - Scientists are taking a close look at the effects of chemical dispersants on seabirds.
Nome Nugget: “Public asked to report dead birds.” (6/21/2018) - Gay Sheffield says reports of dead seabirds have escalated.
ArcticToday: “Mysterious marine mammal injuries hint that some sharks are shifting their range northward into the Arctic.” (6/19/2018) - Gay Sheffield and others were researchers.
SeafoodNews.com: “Study: Alaska Fishermen Suffer High Rate of Health Problems.” (6/15/2018) - Torie Baker is one of the researchers.
HealthNewsDigest.com: “Study: Alaska fishermen suffer high rate of health problems.” (6/14/2018) - Torie Baker is one of the researchers.
Genes to Genomes: “The Alaska Sea Grant State Fellowships: an inside view.” (6/14/2018) - Interview with Tara Borland.
Genes to Genomes: “The Alaska Sea Grant State Fellowships: an inside view.” (6/14/2018) - Interview with Tara Borland.
Nome Nugget: “NOAA administrators visit Nome, explain their work” (5/31/2018) - Gay Sheffield hosted coastal management scientists.
Homer News: “School briefs” (5/16/2018) - Alaska Sea Grant helps Homer school with marine education.
UAA Green and Gold News: “Marilyn Sigman’s ‘Entangled’” (5/7/2018) - Sigman interviewed about her MFA degree and new book.
Nome Nugget: “Nature follows its own break-up calendar.” (4/27/2018) - Interview with Gay Sheffield and others.
Nome Nugget “Nome hosts gathering of scientists.” (4/6/2018) - Gay Sheffield helped organize the conference.
KNOM: “Alaska Native Leaders Imagine Divergent ‘Arctic Futures’.” (4/5/2018) - Gay Sheffield assisted with logistics.
KNOM: “Council Unanimously in Favor of Port Tariffs and Regulations, Despite Debate Over Rate Effects on User.” (3/27/2018) - Gay Sheffield appointed to Nome Port Commission seat F by city council.
KNOM: “Amid Renovations, Nome’s UAF Campus Remains a Crossroads of Regional Interests.” (3/26/2018) - Strait Science and Western Alaska Interdisciplinary Science Conference (both cosponsored by Alaska Sea Grant) are mentioned.