NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION

The U.S. Coast Guard had an unusual wildlife spotting off the coast of Unalaska last month: the body of a beaked whale.The whale was found floating near Makushin Bay.

How cold is the water in the Bering Sea? That’s what a group of researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration wants to know. NOAA is currently out in the Aleutian Islands running their annual Eastern Bering Sea Bottom Trawl Survey. They've been running annual surveys since the 1970s, mainly to collect data on the distribution and abundance of bottom-dwelling species like crab and groundfish. But this year they’re paying special attention to the cold pool—a section of bottom water that stays cold through the summer. It affects everything from when fish spawn to what part of the ocean they live in.

While Dutch Harbor has been named the nation's top fishing port in terms of volume for the 22nd consecutive year, the port dropped from second to third…

Last month marked the hottest, driest July in the Aleutian Islands in 95 years.The conditions matched the larger trend across Alaska, which experienced…