Alaska

Killer whale deaths in Alaska trawl harvests prompt investigations and spark anger – Alaska Beacon

Published

1 year ago

September 29, 2023

Killer whale deaths in Alaska trawl harvests prompt investigations and spark anger – Alaska Beacon

An unusually high number of whales have died in trawl fishing gear in Alaska waters, spurring a federal investigation and new criticism of the industry that uses big nets to scoop fish from the bottom of the ocean.

Ten killer whales, also known as orcas, were ensnared in trawl gear this year in the Bering Sea and along the Aleutian Islands, and nine of them died, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service. The toll compares to six killer whale deaths in Alaska fisheries documented over the five years spanning from 2016 to 2020, according to NOAA Fisheries records.

While pollock makes up the biggest volume of fish harvested in the Bering Sea and Aleutians, all of the trawlers involved in this year’s killer whale deaths were harvesting different types of groundfish. Those vessels, participants in what NOAA Fisheries classifies as the Amendment 80 trawl fishery, harvest yellowfin sole, Pacific ocean perch and other bottom-dwelling species.

Critics of bottom trawling speculate that the whales are dying after chasing fish discarded as bycatch by the vessels. Bycatch is the incidental harvest of non-targeted species.

It is possible that climate change has disrupted normal food supplies, said Jon Warrenchuk, a senior scientist with the environmental group Oceana.

“The food web is so out of whack in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska,” Warrenchuk said.

That means that orcas are turning to the food they find around trawl ships, he said. “The whales now have been conditioned to be feeding off the discards of the factory trawlers,” he said.

Halibut may be a particularly fatal attraction for the whales, Warrenchuk said.

He cited a relatively new practice called “halibut deck sorting,” which is allowed exclusively for the non-pollock Amendment 80 trawlers through a rule enacted in 2019.

The practice, a response to reduced halibut stocks, is intended to reduce impacts of halibut bycatch. Under the rule, trawlers within a particular fleet are allowed to send incidentally caught halibut back into the sea without penalty as long as certain requirements are met. The halibut must be alive, they must be returned to the water within 35 minutes and the entire process must be monitored by an onboard fisheries observer, according to the rule.

In practice, halibut shorting “hasn’t turned out so well,” Warrenchuk said. “You really haven’t saved any halibut because now you’ve got these transient orcas that are eating them.”

But the Groundfish Forum, the association for the 18 vessels in the Amendment 80 group, disputes the claim that halibut discards are drawing the whales and creating the unusually high number of deaths.

Something else appears to have driven a change in the whales’ behavior, which is new and “has not been previously documented,” the Groundfish Forum said in a statement.

“Our fishermen believe that the killer whales are attracted to fishing gear because fishing activities aggregate fish and allow killer whales to feed on the catch. In 2023, our captains have reported an increase in the number of killer whales present near our vessels, where they appear to be feeding in front of the nets while fishing,” said a statement released by the organization.

A Pacific halibut is seen at the bottom of the sea in this undated photo. There are concerns that killer whales are attracted to trawlers because of the ships’ halibut discards. A trawling industry group says those concerns are midplaced. (Photo provided by NOAA Fisheries)

It is wrong to blame halibut deck sorting, according to the Groundfish Forum. “These assertions are not true because our vessels do not conduct deck sorting when killer whales are present,” the statement said.

There was a marked decrease since 2020 in Bering Sea observations of marine mammals feeding on Amendment 80 trawlers’ discards, according to a report reviewed at a North Pacific Fishery Management Council planning meeting held last week in Seattle. The report said observed incidents fell from 310 in 2020 to 104 in 2022.

But this year’s spike in killer whale deaths has prompted a NOAA Fisheries investigation, a spokesperson said.

“NOAA Fisheries is analyzing collected data to determine the cause of injury or death and determine which stocks these whales belong to through a review of genetic information. The agency is working quickly to evaluate these incidents and will share findings as soon as possible, after all required analyses are completed,” Julie Fair, a public information officer for the agency, said by email.

The agency itself was involved in an additional killer whale death this year. A dead whale was discovered in June entangled in gear used by a NOAA Fisheries vessel conducting surveys of sablefish and groundfish in the Bering Sea. That incident involved longline gear – lines equipped with hooks that catch individual fish – rather than trawl equipment, which includes nets that fishers drag.

While NOAA Fisheries holds a permit that allows for “incidental take” of killer whales during its longline surveys, this was that program’s first incidental catch of an orca since its inception in 1990, said a spokesperson for the agency’s Alaska Fisheries Science Center.

Warrenchuk said the killer whale issue is likely to come up at the upcoming meeting of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, to be held next week in Anchorage. The council is charged with managing fisheries in a zone that stretches 200 miles offshore.

“I don’t know exactly what happens next. But this is clearly something that has to change,” Warrenchuk said.

The Groundfish Forum said its fleet is trying to avoid future killer whale deaths and “is committed to finding solutions to this unprecedented challenge.” Changes already made include movements of vessels away from places where whales are found, investments in research to better understand the whales’ behavior, experiments with gear modifications and the drafting of a new research proposal presented to NOAA, the statement said.

The deaths have angered some of the industry’s critics.

An organization called Stop Factory Trawling Bycatch was planning a “Rally for the Orcas” protest Thursday outside the Seattle hotel where an association of pollock harvesters were scheduled to hold its annual meeting.

Already, one pollock-harvesting organization has sought to distance itself from the Amendment 80 trawlers involved in the whale bycatch.

The Midwater Trawlers Cooperative used Facebook to clarify that its pollock-catching vessels are not part of the fleet with orca catch. Its vessels are smaller and do not process fish on board, the post said. “These catcher vessels have no and do not have incidental catch of orcas,” the post said.

Criticism of the trawling industry for killer whale bycatch predates the latest death reports.

Information and allegations about other incidents have circulated in recent years on social media, including Reddit and Facebook; a Facebook site has posted numerous photos of whales it says were killed in trawler bycatch dating back to at least 2020.

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Alaska

Sky Watch Alaska: planets align plus the aurora forecast

Published

4 hours ago

January 14, 2025

Press Room

Sky Watch Alaska: planets align plus the aurora forecast

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – This is a great time of year to do some star gazing. If you have clear skies in your part of Alaska, take the time to check out the night — and morning — sky.

After sunset, look toward the southwest. Saturn and Venus are snuggled up together (of course, they are more than 800 million miles apart) in the evening sky. They set at about 9:40 p.m. in Southcentral.

Before 9:40 p.m., you can see four planets with the naked eye — Saturn, Venus, Jupiter and Mars. Jupiter and Mars stick around through the morning. Mars is very close to the moon right now.

The Aurora forecast is fairly weak for the next few weeks. That’s not to say there won’t be the occasional burst but overall, solar activity is expected to be fairly low until the beginning of February.

If you get great pictures of the planets, the sky, or the aurora, don’t forget to send them to Alaska’s News Source.

See a spelling or grammar error? Report it to web@ktuu.com

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Alaska

Short-lived cold snap, with another warming trend this weekend

Published

11 hours ago

January 14, 2025

Press Room

Short-lived cold snap, with another warming trend this weekend

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Temperatures across the state are cooling off, as our strong low from the weekend moves into the Chukchi Sea. This will set up for colder air to spread across the state this week, as another short-lived cold snap is expected. While some light snow is possible for the Interior, areas of the Slope and Western Alaska, Southcentral will stay on the drier side until the night. Meanwhile, Southeast will continue to hold onto moderate rain with gusty conditions.

SOUTHCENTRAL:

Temperatures this morning are 10 to 20 degrees colder than yesterday, as colder air has settled back into Southcentral. Clear skies and calm winds are evident this morning for parts of the region, with light snow falling through the Copper River Basin. We’ll see fairly quiet conditions today, outside of Kodiak which will see increasing snow and rain into the afternoon and evening hours. This comes as our next area of low pressure moves up the Alaska Peninsula.

We’ll see light snow spreading north across the Kenai overnight into Wednesday, with light snow expected through Prince William Sound. Several inches are likely through the Kenai and Chugach Mountains, with the pass expected to see a couple of inches of accumulation. Western parts of the Kenai will see the potential for a few inches, while inland areas of Southcentral largely stay dry. If Anchorage and surrounding locations see any accumulation, it’ll amount to less than half an inch.

As snow tapers off Wednesday, we’ll see the return to colder and drier conditions into Thursday. Thursday may be the coldest day this week across the region, before another warming trend carries us into next week. Right now holding with snow through early next week, but areas of wintry mix are possible as highs warm above freezing.

SOUTHEAST:

The winter storm warning for Skagway and higher elevations expired at 6am this morning. While some light snow showers are still possible, little accumulation will occur the rest of the day. Scattered to periodic showers are occurring elsewhere across Southeast today, with less than half an inch of rainfall through the day. Any moisture available into the evening will see a transition to some wintry mix or snow into Wednesday morning. However, the better chance will come from another low lifting north into the panhandle. Any snow and wintry mix we see for Wednesday will primarily stay confined to the central and southern panhandle. We’ll see much cooler weather taking hold this week for Southeast.

INTERIOR:

Some areas of light snow are possible this morning, with less than half an inch to be expected. While temperatures are still warm for much of the Interior, highs will steadily fall throughout the day. Many areas will see lows bottom out near or below zero by tomorrow morning. We’ll see high pressure keep things dry and sunny through the next couple of days, with the coldest stretch of weather from Wednesday morning into Thursday morning. Much like the rest of the state will experience, a warming trend arrives this weekend. We’ll see the return to highs in the 20s, with some snow in the forecast. Be prepared for some gusty conditions through the Alaska Range by the close of this week.

SLOPE/WESTERN ALASKA:

Areas of light snow and blowing winds will continue to impact the Slope, with a winter weather advisory remaining in place for the Central Brooks Range and the Beaufort Sea Coast. Both locations will see up to 1 inch of snow and gusty winds up to 35 mph. While the winter weather advisory will expire for the Central Brooks Range this afternoon, the Beaufort Sea Coast will see the alert continue into Tuesday evening. Snow and blowing snow will be the primary impact today, with a return to colder weather through the rest of this week, this comes as high pressure settles into the area.

The storm responsible for the damaging winds for Southcentral over the weekend, has pushed north into the Chukchi Sea. We’ll still see some light snow accumulations for Western Alaska, with 1 to 3 inches expected. Some fo the heaviest snow will fall across the Seward Peninsula and the Western Brooks Range.

An area of low pressure in the Bering Sea will keep gusty winds and snow in the forecast for Gambell/St. Lawrence. Be prepared for heavy snow at times and areas of reduced visibility. Overall, colder weather will settle into Western Alaska, with the possibility of morning fog in the valleys over the next few mornings.

ALEUTIANS:

Some light areas of snow will occur for the Pribilof Islands and into parts of the Alaska Peninsula today, as a weak low moves up the Peninsula. This will be the main focus for snow into Wednesday for Southcentral. This low will bring heavy precipitation and gusty winds for the Eastern Aleutians and the Alaska Peninsula. Looking ahead through the rest of the week, we can expect to see more a ridge beginning to build into the region. This ridge will slowly shift east, keeping several upper level disturbances traversing the Aleutians. Temperatures will remain fairly warm in the 30s and 40s.

OUTLOOK AHEAD:

Model consensus continues to agree on another warming trend heading our way into next week. This stretch of warmth will likely lead to many spots cementing themselves within the top warmest January’s on record. While we’ll spend the rest of this week on the colder side, highs steadily climb this weekend into next week. We’ll see highs in Southcentral climbing back above freezing, with areas of the Interior climbing back into the 20s.

Have a safe and wonderful Tuesday!

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Alaska

Anchorage, Alaska hit by hurricane-force winds, structures damaged across city

Published

19 hours ago

January 14, 2025

Press Room

Anchorage, Alaska hit by hurricane-force winds, structures damaged across city

Associated Press

Hurricane-force winds cause widespread damage in Alaska’s largest city

Thousands of residents across Alaska’s largest city were still without power Monday, a day after a powerful storm brought hurricane-force winds that downed power lines, damaged trees, forced more than a dozen planes to divert, and caused a pedestrian bridge over a highway to partially collapse. A 132-mph (212-kph) wind gust was recorded at a mountain weather station south of Anchorage. A large low-pressure system in the Bering Sea brought the high winds, moisture and warmer than average temperatures — in the low 40s Fahrenheit (slightly over 4.4 degrees Celsius) — to Anchorage on Sunday, said National Weather Service meteorologist Tracen Knopp.

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