Posts Tagged ‘Alaska’
“We have never been here before” — Gay Sheffield, on ecosystem-wide changes in the Bering Sea
The Bering Sea is undergoing massive changes that include the dramatic loss of sea ice last winter. As Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory agent Gay Sheffield notes in the interview below, “we have never been here before.” Ever since records starting being kept in 1850, sea ice had never been as scarce as it was…
Read MoreNew cohort of State Fellows start Alaska-based jobs
For the fourth year, Alaska Sea Grant has funded five graduate students to begin marine policy and science communications work with local host organizations this fall. Modeled after the highly successful Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship, the Alaska Sea Grant State Fellowship provides recent graduates with a unique professional opportunity to work firsthand on the science…
Read MoreGraying of the Fleet research wins national award
Alaska Sea Grant-supported researchers won a national award at Sea Grant Week in Portland, Ore., this month for a study on how to boost access to Alaska commercial fisheries by young and rural residents. The Sea Grant Association, comprised of Sea Grant program directors from 33 coastal universities, presented its Research to Application award to…
Read MoreNew artwork in Dillingham showcases water as a source of life and culture
The Dillingham School District recently installed a mural called “Water is Our Way of Life.” The mural highlights the important role water serves as a source of culture, food and recreation within the Bristol Bay community, where fishing is a key economic and cultural activity. Icicle Seafoods contributed $1,800 toward the mural’s creation. It was…
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 MoreSupport for Alaska’s blue economy signed into law
Alaska’s emerging mariculture industry is getting a boost. Gov. Bill Walker signed a bill this week making it easier for shellfish hatchery owners to access loan funds to grow their businesses. House Bill 76 amends the Alaska Mariculture Revolving Loan Fund so that non-profit hatcheries, not just individual farmers, can apply for loans to market seeds to grow seaweed,…
Read MoreBuilding resilience in the Y-K Delta
The Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta of western Alaska is one the most rural parts the United States. With 56 villages scattered across some 50,000 square miles, the Y-K Delta region is rich with wild fish and game upon which its predominately Yup’ik residents heavily depend. As in other parts of coastal Alaska, the Delta is being hit…
Read MoreNavigating the Gulf of Alaska
The Gulf of Alaska is an essential travel route for vessels seeking passage to and from Southeast Alaska and locations further west, such as Prince William Sound, Kodiak, the Aleutian Islands and beyond. It’s a wild place that lures some of the world’s most adventurous boaters. At some 2,500 nautical miles, the Gulf of Alaska…
Read MoreStudy aims to help Alaska’s North Slope officials adapt to climate change hazards
(UTQIAĠVIK, Alaska)—Stacy Bowen’s family has owned The Fur Shop for some 40 years. The cream-colored store in Utqiaġvik sits on the edge of the Arctic Ocean. Crammed floor to ceiling with animal skins, costume jewelry, fabric bolts, souvenir sweatshirts and fresh flowers flown in from the tropics, the eclectic shop is a commercial hub for…
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