Marine Wildlife

Genetically engineered salmon face tough road to market

AquaBounty, the U.S. company hoping to market genetically engineered, fast-growing salmon, is running out of money while waiting for final federal approval. Some would cheer the company's demise.

Whale drowns after getting hooked on ship's anchor chain

A fin whale drowned after getting its baleen hooked on the anchor chain of a fishing vessel.

Four groups sue to protect Cook Inlet beluga whales

Four groups including an Alaska Native village are suing the National Marine Fisheries Service, claiming the federal agency's permit for oil exploration will hurt endangered beluga whales in Cook Inlet.

Eastern Steller sea lions no longer endangered, feds say

Steller sea lions from Alaska's Panhandle to California have reached recovery targets and should be removed from the endangered species list, according to the federal agency that oversees them.

NOAA to update recovery plans for 2 whale species

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will prepare an updated recovery plan for the North Pacific right whale and the blue whale, according to a notice published Tuesday in the Federal Register.

Fishery managers call for review of underwater canyons

Fishery managers in the North Pacific last week voted unanimously to reassess how to treat two large underwater canyons in Alaska's Bering Sea that lie near one of the nation's most profitable fisheries.

US, Russia to begin count of Bering Sea seal population

A team of researchers will begin flights over Bering Sea ice to answer a basic question about four of the region's most important species: How many ice-dependent seals are out there?

Polar bears get mischievous on St. Lawrence Island

Extensive Bering Sea ice this winter may be bringing more polar bears than usual to St. Lawrence Island, and they're raiding whaling camps. Alaska Dispatch reports whalers from the villages of Gambell and Savoonga are packing carpentry supplies along with hunting gear for their trips to camp.

Group demands recovery plan for North Pacific right whale

An environmental group has given notice it intends to sue the federal government for failing to prepare a recovery plan for highly endangered North Pacific right whales.

Rare whale swims up West Coast toward Russian home

Orphaned Alaska sea otter pup rescued

A stranded male sea otter pup is getting a second chance at survival at the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward. Residents of Port Heiden on the Alaska Peninsula found him on a beach next to his dead mother.

More environmental review ordered for sea lion protections

A federal court judge has ordered the National Marine Fisheries Service to perform additional environmental work for its rules that protect endangered Steller sea lions in the western Aleutian Islands.

Scientists find no radiation in Alaska's sick ringed seals

Lesions and other symptoms associated with sickened or dead ringed seals along Alaska's northern coast last year were probably not caused by radiation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Friday.

Video: Sea lions caught in marine debris is cautionary tale

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has released a graphic video showing the effects on sea lions of human garbage in their environment, including a variety of fishing gear and packing bands. "We are certainly underestimating the number of animals entangled," says study researcher Lauri Jemison, a Fish and Game biologist. Read more of the story behind the video at Mother Nature News.

Wayward ribbon seal receives checkup, is found to be healthy

An Arctic ribbon seal rarely seen in Puget Sound has had its southerly sojourn interrupted for a medical checkup that shows the male is in good health.

Satellite tags show ties between Pacific gray whale groups

A research team using satellite tracking technology is causing marine mammal biologists to re-examine what's known of highly endangered western Pacific gray whales.

Rare, tagged western gray whale located near Monterey

Federal Marine Mammals Commission begins Anchorage meeting

The federal Marine Mammal Commission began four days of meetings today in Anchorage.

Predators may block recovery of Alaska sea lions, scientists say

Alaska's endangered Steller sea lion population could have trouble recovering because so many juveniles are being eaten by killer whales and sharks, according to findings of a six-year study published this week.

Feds followed rules with sea lion protections, judge rules

Survey spots fewer Cook Inlet belugas in 2011

The 2011 survey of endangered beluga whales in Alaska's Cook Inlet spotted 20 percent fewer animals but federal officials say it's not an indication of an abrupt population drop.

More on beluga whales

Otter released in Kachemak Bay after month in rehab

A young male sea otter found in November on the pavement of the Kenai Spur Highway has been treated for a bacterial infection that may have disoriented him and released off the Homer Spit, says The Redoubt Reporter.

Sick Alaska seals will be tested for Japanese radiation

Tissue samples from Alaska's sickened ringed seals will be analyzed for evidence of radiation, but a scientist says he doubts there's a connection to the Japanese nuclear plant damaged by a tsunami last year.

Sick seals washing up onshore around the Arctic

Judge takes Alaska's lawsuit over sea lions under advisement

Lawyers for Alaska and the federal government squared off Wednesday in a lawsuit filed by the state opposing protection of endangered Steller sea lions through commercial fishing restrictions around the western Aleutian Islands.

Western Aleutian fisheries cut to help Steller sea lions