NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION

Black cod fishermen in the Bering Sea have reported an increase in orcas taking their catch off their fishing lines in recent years. Orca depredation isn't just a costly headache for fishermen — it can be dangerous for orcas, too.

The entangled humpback whale in Nateekin Bay has moved outside of the surrounding Unalaska Bay and is trailing a buoy.

There’s an entangled humpback whale in Nateekin Bay, and local responders are asking boaters to keep their distance.

On April 1, a young humpback whale was found tied up in a probable fishing line and anchored down in a busy area in Iliuliuk Bay. Four days later, a group of whale entanglement experts carefully cut the line wrapped around the humpback's mouth and tail.

The Alaska Marine Mammal Stranding Network is working with local responders to gather images and information to coordinate helping an entangled humpback in Unalaska’s Iliuliuk Bay.

When scientists estimated that more than 10 billion snow crab had disappeared from the Eastern Bering Sea between 2018 and 2021, industry stakeholders and fisheries scientists had several ideas about where they’d gone. Some thought bycatch, disease, cannibalism, or crab fishing, while others believed it could be predation from other sea animals like Pacific cod. But now, scientists say they’ve distinguished the most likely cause for the disappearance. The culprit is a marine heatwave between 2018 and 2019, according to a new study authored by a group of scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is predicting warmer than average temperatures in the Aleutians this winter. According to NOAA’s annual winter weather report, El Niño conditions and climate change are to blame for the warm temperatures.

Scientists aboard a federal research vessel may have discovered two new species in the Aleutian Islands this summer.

The NOAA research vessel Okeanos Explorer recently stopped by Unalaska. The crew is mapping the floor of the Bering Sea as part of Seascape Alaska, a five-month project that started in May of this year.

The Okeanos Explorer docked in Unalaska last month, after finishing its first of six expeditions, mapping out the deep seafloor around the Aleutian Islands and discovering three gas seeps. According to NOAA, the discovery is crucial because these gas seeps can create unique surrounding habitats and provide potential sources of alternative energy and biopharmaceuticals.