The report does not include this year’s unusually high number of cases, in which 10 killer whales were found ensnared in fishing gear.
Oceans
Rare fin whale found dead near Kodiak
It’s unclear how it died, but the whale was in remarkably poor health.
Bottom-trawl gear to blame for most of this year’s fishery-related killer whale deaths, NOAA says
An investigation found that some whales were dead before becoming ensnared, but critics of bottom trawling have more questions about this year’s large death toll.
Only 51 of these U.S. whales remain. Little has been done to prevent their extinction
Rice’s whales are one of the world’s newly discovered whale species – and already one of the most endangered. Protections for the whales in the Gulf of Mexico are not coming fast.
Sitka workshop discusses the future of invasive crabs in Alaska
European green crabs first reached the Pacific coast in 1989, but it wasn’t until 2022 that they showed up in Alaska.
Post-mortem shows that a local humpback calf was killed by a large boat
The fatal injuries included deep lacerations on the calf’s body and pectoral fin, likely caused by a propeller.