Posts Tagged ‘College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences’
Nome Nugget: Slight uptick in Cesium-137 heralds arrival Of Fukushima plume in Northern Bering Sea
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.
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 MoreNew Alaska Sea Grant-funded graduate students dive into research
Six graduate students from the University of Alaska became research fellows last summer and this fall with funding from Alaska Sea Grant. The students are working on projects that address scientific issues in Alaska coastal communities and ecosystems. Jesse Gordon is working with associate professor Anne Beaudreau on a project titled, “Integrating local ecological knowledge…
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 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 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…
Read MoreMarine Advisory agent teaches ROV skills
(VIDEO: Watch Gary Freitag give instruction on how to use a remotely operated vehicle) There’s no typical day in the life of an Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory agent. Sometimes the work might involve disentangling a humpback whale caught in commercial fishing gear. Another day it could be performing a necropsy, rescuing a stranded baby…
Read MorePort Heiden: an Alaska community adapting to climate change
Like dozens of other coastal villages in Alaska, Port Heiden is grappling with how to adapt to climate change effects, including rising ocean levels, disappearing sea ice, extreme erosion and flooding. With its volcanic soil and exposed location on the peninsula, Port Heiden is naturally vulnerable to powerful storms and erosion. But climate change is…
Read MoreUAF student studies whale watching impacts on humpbacks
Whale watching is a booming business in Alaska’s state capital. Over the past nearly 20 years, the number of whale watching boats in the waters around Juneau has roughly doubled. The business is valued at about $35 million annually, according to the McDowell Group, and its rise parallels that of the cruise ship industry, whose…
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