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The LEO Network is a worldwide network of observers and experts that share their observations of environmental change.
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Observations

King crab boom in northern Norway has become multi-million dollar industry
This crab from the Pacific Ocean was once introduced into the Barents waters of the Soviet Union in Arctic Russia. Since then the invasive species has spread to Norway’s Barents Sea and a multi-million dollar industry has sprung up around it. In 2023 Norway exported 2,500 tons of king crab worth 1,2 billion kroner (€100 million).
Barrents, Norway
The Independent Barents Observer

Mystery invertebrate in a red crab
A crab was caught on the ice just offshore in Nome. It had a small invertebrate in the gills of the crab.
Nome, Alaska, United States

Sea Lice Outbreak Claims At Least 1 Million Salmon in Tálknafjörður
An unprecedented outbreak of sea lice in Tálknafjörður has led to the loss, or the need to dispose of, at least one million salmon. “Nobody has seen anything like this before. There is a Norwegian veterinarian who has been working in Iceland because of this and he has never seen anything like this in his 30-year career,” Karl Steinar observed.
Talknafjordur, Westfjords, Iceland
Iceland Review

Alaska cancels snow crab harvest again due to population concerns
The snow crab harvest in Alaska has been canceled for the second year in a row due to concerns about population sustainability, but red king crab and Tanner crab will be available for commercial fishermen this season. Last year was the first time in history the U.S. snow crab fishery was closed. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game said the harvests were closed over concerns about long-term conservation and the sustainability of crab stocks.
Kodiak, Alaska, United States

Crab pots 'absolutely stuffed' as Bering Sea Dungeness fishery breaks records
While many Bering Sea crab populations find themselves in freefall, Dungeness crab is breaking records in regions that used to hardly see them.
Nome, Alaska, United States
Alaska Public Media

High levels of PSP in Blue Mussels
Blue mussels collected on 6/15/2023, were way above the FDA limit for safe consumption of 80 μg/100g.
Sand Point, Alaska, United States

Dangerous PSP toxin levels found in some Southwest Alaska clams, mussels
High levels of PSP toxins have been found in razor clams in Chignik Lagoon and blue mussels in Sand Point, Alaska, making them unsafe to eat and potentially causing paralytic shellfish poisoning, with no known cure.
Chignik, Alaska, United States
Alaska Public Media

Floating Helmet
"My son found this helmet floating here in Prince William Sound."
Tatitlek, Alaska, United States

Invasive Pacific oyster spreading rapidly in Norway
The invasive Pacific oyster is spreading rapidly in Oslofjord, causing injuries to bathers and threatening local ecosystems, with Oslo municipality now offering a reward for their removal.
Oslofjord, Oslo Viken, Norway
TV 2

Rare pearl mussels discovered in Highland and Trossachs lochs
Scientists said the critically-endangered species had previously only been found in rivers and know pearl mussels have been discovered in the Scotland Lochs.
Scotland
BBC News

Hawke’s Bay red sea’s final act was to kill sea creatures
Test results show the bloom was almost certainly to blame for mass deaths of kina as well as crayfish, starfish and sea cucumber which washed ashore at Hardinge Rd, including Sandy Beach, and on a small part of Westshore Beach eight days ago.
Hawke's Bay, New Zealand
NZ Herald

Invertebrates recover at Miller Creek
Just over a year ago, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game applied the pesticide rotenone to two lakes and a stream in the remote Miller Creek drainage on the northern Kenai Peninsula to eradicate the last known population of invasive northern pike on the Kenai Peninsula.
Soldotna, Alaska, United States
Peninsula Clarion

NOAA trawl survey: Cold pool returns in the Bering Sea
The Bering Sea’s cold pool, a critical part of the seafloor ecosystem, had shrunk to a worrying degree in recent years, but it is continuing to slowly return, according to the latest results of NOAA’s bottom trawl survey. Saffron cod, also called tomcod, seems to be bouncing back after a few bad years, and Arctic cod and blue king crab numbers were also better.
Bering Sea
The Nome Nugget

Saxitoxin detected in regional clam
By Diana Haecker
Savoonga, Alaska, United States
The Nome Nugget

Lots of dead krill washed up on Sarichef Island
Die-offs of krill are in some cases associated with hypoxia (low oxygen) excess sediment suspended in the water column and changes in water temperature. There were recent reports of high levels of Alexandrium in water samples in the areas, and Norton Sound Health Corporation is performing some testing of krill samples (see below). There was also an unprecedented storm event only a week ago, unusual for the storm surge and early season.
Shishmaref, Alaska, United States
Gay Sheffield, Brandon Ahmasuk, Dean Stockwell, Racheal Lee, Jacqualine Schaeffer, Anahma Shannon, Sadie McGill, Emma Pate

Aquaculture: Oyster and mussel growers on Prince Edward Island calculating losses from Fiona
James Power doesn’t have a final tally yet on how much post tropical storm Fiona cost Raspberry Point Oysters Ltd., but the damages are likely to be in the ...
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada

Storm bounty in clams
Storms can bring a bounty to the beach - driftwood sometimes or in this case, clams! But be careful out there. There are new concerns about emerging levels of harmful algae in Western Alaska waters, which could impact shellfish and human health.
Mertarvik, Alaska, United States
Louisa Castrodale, Chris Dankmeyer, Jacqualine Schaeffer, Gay Sheffield, Racheal Lee, Bob Gerlach, Brian Lefferts, Emma Pate, Joanna Barton, Julie Matweyou, Thomas Farrugia, Karen Pletnikoff

Unidentified juvenile crab
Juvenille crab was found at a salmon set-net site. Is this a Puget Sound species that has now been found on the Alaska Peninsula?
Orzinski Bay
Tammy Davis, Karen Pletnikoff, Melissa Good, Asia Beder

Norton Sound crab fishery bounces back with record year following fishing hiatus
After no commercial crabbing since 2019, this summer’s Norton Sound Red King Crab fishery had a record year of $3.7 million dollars in ex-vessel value.
Nome, Alaska, United States
KNOM Radio Mission

Evidence of invasive crab that could wreak havoc on Alaska fisheries found near Metlakatla
The European Green Crab are a threat to ecosystems and commercial fisheries. They uproot eelgrass beds in search of food, which serve as habitat for herring and salmon.
Metlakatla, Alaska, United States
Alaska Public Media

B.C.’s sea life is bouncing back, slowly, after the 2021 heat dome
One UBC scientist says his early estimation that a billion creatures died from the 2021 heat dome was too low. Today, life is returning to areas scorched by last year’s unprecedented heat wave. The die off was patchy and the plants and animals in the intertidal zone that survived the heat wave “are the parents to the next generation,” Harley said.
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
The Narwhal

Sudden lake draining event
"The event occurred on June 29th, on our native allotment near Kotzebue (Illivak). We left home in the morning and when we came back around 8:00 PM in the evening the whole lake had drained! It looked like it was blown up with dynamite."
Kotzebue, Alaska, United States
Ken Tape, Richard L Thoman Jr, Gemini , Guido Grosse, Susan Tessier, Benjamin Jones, Anna Liljedahl , Vladimir Romanovsky, Jacqualine Schaeffer, Joanna Barton, Ingmar Nitze, Bruce Forbes

Volunteers confront an invasion of black slugs near Whittier
Volunteers at the Whittier Slug-Out learned about Alaska’s invasive species and helped mitigate European black slugs near a popular cove on Prince William Sound.
Whittier, Alaska, United States
Anchorage Daily News

Decaying Sea Cucumbers
I have photos of four different sea cucumbers decaying, but my friend claims to have observed around 10 dead sea cucumbers.
Saxman, Alaska, United States
Jesse Endert, Gary Freitag, Mandy Lindeberg

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