Bering Sea

Microplastics are in the fetal tissues of Alaska spotted seals, new research finds

Yereth Rosen | Alaska Beacon

UAF scientists have found microplastics in all marine mammals species they’ve studied so far, and new results show passage from maternal seals to their young.

Flooding of low-lying areas is seen in the Kuskokwim Delta coastal community of Kwigillingok on the evening of Jan. 10, 2025.

Public Safety

Tidal action and fierce winds flood low-lying areas of Kwigillingok

Evan Erickson

Amid the ongoing flooding, Kwigillingok’s tribe received a rare federal disaster declaration from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for damage wrought by another flood event in August 2024.

Sunlight reflects off the waters of Norton Sound off Nome on Sept. 4, 2021. In the distance on the left are floating gold dredges. Norton Sound is part of the Bering Strait area, where President Joe Biden extended an oil and gas leasing prohibition established in 2016 by then-President Barack Obama.

Politics

Biden extends oil and gas leasing ban in Alaska’s Northern Bering Sea

Yereth Rosen | Alaska Beacon

The Bering Sea move is part of a wider action that withdrew Atlantic and Pacific areas from the federal leasing program, expanding existing no-leasing policies.

Science and Environment

Chum salmon bycatch limit in valuable Alaska pollock fishery at center of pending management decision

Patrick Gilchrist

Tribal policy experts got together on Jan. 3 in anticipation of a fisheries management decision that could eventually set a limit on chum salmon bycatch in the Bering Sea pollock fishery.

Norton Sound, part of the Northern Bering Sea, is seen from the outskirts of Nome on Sept. 30, 2020. Record-low winter ice in 2018, followed by near-record low ice in 2019, shocked the Northern Bering ecosystem. Atmospheric conditions, in combination with warming conditions in the Arctic, are expected to bring repeat events occasionally through the end of the 2030s, according to a new study.

Science and Environment

The record-low Bering Sea ice conditions of 2018 expected to be repeated in coming years

Yereth Rosen | Alaska Beacon

As the Northern Bering Sea ecosystem emerges from the extraordinary warmth that wreaked havoc on Alaska fisheries, wildlife, and communities, a study warns of likely future occurrences.

In September 2022, Typhoon Merbok has relocated debris and people’s belongings across coastal land.

Public Safety

FEMA announces $108M award to Typhoon Merbok-related projects

Ben Townsend, KNOM - Nome

Authorities announced the approval of $108.8 million for Alaskan communities reeling from 2022’s Typhoon Merbok.