"My husband and I have been dipnetting on the Kasilof since 2014. This year we noticed more small fish than usual and all but ~5 of the 35 fish we caught had parasites."
Tim Sands, an Alaska Department of Fish and Game area management biologist, said he is hopeful the strong run throughout Bristol Bay will continue next year.
Researchers on an expedition 300 kilometers west of Vancouver Island stumbled upon a group of 25-30 endangered sei whales.
Millions of small black flies have taken over mountains and hiking trails. "I thought it was horrible," says Pernille Frøskeland.
"River is running bank full with all gravel bars and low islands underwater."
Thousands of euphausiid shrimp, the species identified here in Resurrection Bay as Thysanoessa spinifera. were washed into the intertidal zone and on the beach near Whittier
Intensive baiting programmes have so far had little success against the infestation, and locals are hoping for heavy rain to drown the mice in their burrows.
"I've seen some way bigger than that, like a baby lobster."
Pet fish dumped in local waterways have become the scourge of Hamilton’s marshes and harbour
England's largest grey seal colony is expected to see a record baby boom of 4,000 new arrivals this year. The seals thrived on the low levels of disturbance and mortality of the pups in the first few weeks of life, and a lack of natural predators on the long shingle spit where they have their young.
A massive ocean wave that was tracked off the west coast of Vancouver Island in 2020 is now considered the most extreme rogue wave ever recorded, according to scientists at the University of Victoria.
Coonstripe shrimp (Pandalus hypsinotis) can be found at a depth of 30-300 feet in Norton Sound. During a strong storm, some washed up on a beach north of their known range.
For years in Takikawa there was perhaps one bear sighting every few years, but since May 28 there have already been a total of 10 this year.
The attacks are being attributed to a shortage of acorns in the bears’ natural habitat, forcing them to wander into populated areas in search of food.
"It almost snowed when it was flowering. The bees were barely out, and we see the result of that here," said fruit farmer Kari Lutro. The decline for plums is as much as 90 percent, compared with last year.
Mosquito populations may be down, but the gnats, no-see-ums, white sox and several other unidentified bugs were relentless.
Exterminators are fielding more calls about rodent activity. Rat-related calls are up 20 percent from last year; include mice and calls are up 57 percent.
The Hemlock Looper Moth outbreak is said to last between 3-4 years and now coincides with an outbreak of Phantom Hemlock Looper which saw its last outbreak more than a decade ago.
Invasive pigeons have made their way out of Alaska's large cities to fish camps on the west side of Cook Inlet.
Early snowmelt and low precipitation have led to low river water levels on the southern Seward Peninsula. Low water levels may be a contributing factor in observations of poor fishing, and poor fish health, along the western coast of Alaska.
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