Oceans

The cod population in the Gulf of Alaska is at its lowest level on record. The culprit is a warm water mass called “the blob” that churned in the Pacific Ocean between 2013 and 2017.

In the past three years or so, Brandon Ahmasuk says something strange has been opening its jaws to marine mammals in the Bering Sea.

Commercial sockeye fishing in Yakutat has been closed due to historic low returns, leaving set-netters in a bind until coho and chum season later in the summer. Unlike other salmon fisheries around the Southeast, biologists never saw this coming.

Three whales washing up in such a short span of time in the same area is concerning, Mandy Migura said. Preliminary results from necropsies should be back soon while more detailed reports will take more time.

“We could aim to develop some mitigation strategies that would help ships avoid key habitats, adjust their timing, take into account certain migration routes and times,” Donna Hauser said. “As well as make some efforts to minimize sound disturbance by changing vessel speeds.”

The vessel is on state tidelands and out of the city’s jurisdiction, but state officials haven’t decided what to do. Juneau port officials say the tug needs to be disposed of before it breaks up in stormy winter seas.