Alaska's 2023 ecosystem status reports released by NOAA Fisheries - See Reports HERE

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Issues Brief - Species and Climate Change

The Alaska Climate Integrated Modeling Project

The Alaska Climate Integrated Modeling project (ACLIM) represents a comprehensive effort by NOAA Fisheries and partners to describe and project responses of the Bering Sea ecosystem – both the physical environment and human communities -- to varying climate conditions.

View Powerpoint here.

View ACIM information on NOAA website here.

Read letter from ALFA to NOAA Administrator - Request for Information on NOAA Actions to Advance the Goals and Recommendations in the Report on Conserving and Restoring America the Beautiful

Read article Red Alert for America’s Wild Arctic Fishery in Bloomberg

Ocean Warming

“We are seeing dramatic changes, particularly in cooler ocean regions like New England and Alaska where warming waters over the past 20 years are pushing fish farther north or deeper to stay in cooler waters.” — NOAA Fisheries.

We know our fish and their habitats are sensitive to ocean warming, but what's causing it? The Earth naturally absorbs and releases heat from the sun. A lot of that heat escapes into space, but not all of it. Increased greenhouse gases have created an extra barrier, making it harder for that heat to leave. The ocean has absorbed and held some of that heat in recent years. In the ocean, a small temperature change can make a big difference. More Information: NOAA Climate.gov

Why are fishermen concerned?

• Alaska has seen a greater rate of change than some other areas of the world. The North Pacific has experienced several unprecedented warming events in the last few years.
  Report: Alaska’s Changing Environment 2019

• Fisheries and fishing communities are high risk for climate impacts. A massive warm water “blob” in 2015-2016 coincided with a dramatic decline in Pacific cod in the Gulf of Alaska, closing the vast majority of the fishery. Cod distribution in the North Pacific has changed drastically as fish seek cooler water, and the Alaska Fisheries Science Center reports that ocean warming may have increased metabolism and decreased prey options, both stressors on the stock.
  Report: National Climate Assessment

• Southeast Alaska is seeing changes too. This includes melting glaciers, temperature changes in fresh and ocean waters, changing precipitation patterns, and shifting distribution of plants and animals. Salmon, for instance, face direct and downstream impacts. Warmer streams reduce survivability, droughts erode habitat, and increased winter rains lead to floods that can wipe out rearing grounds. These conditions affect salmon growth, spawning and survival.
  Report: Seabank Annual Report

• Food webs and fish: Ocean climate change in Alaska - Article in Open Access Government

• Crab crisis in Bering Sea a sign of ‘borealization’ and big changes in the future, scientists warn - Article in Anchorage Daily News

• Did climate change really kill billions of snow crabs in Alaska? - Click here to read recent article in Monga Bay news.

• Monitoring marine heat waves in the Gulf of Alaska. Click here to read a current article from NOAA on Central Gulf of Alaska Marine Heatwave Watch

• Read a recent article by NOAA Fisheries - Distribution and Abundance of Forage Fish in Arctic and Sub-Arctic Waters Affected by Warming Ocean Conditions

• Massive Science article - Cod ears contain a long history of warming in the Atlantic Ocean: Bones in fish ears have recorded evidence of a trend that could mean trouble for fish

• Read a Seattle Times article on the effects of ocean warming on Bering Sea crab populations - Valuable crab populations are in a ‘very scary’ decline in warming Bering Sea

• NOAA Fisheries - Gulf Of Alaska Regional Action Plan 2.0 - Climate Science Strategy

• Washington Post article - Salmon travel deep into the Pacific. As it warms, many ‘don’t come back.

• Read recent report in Anchorage Daily News - Into the ice: A crab boat’s quest for snow crab in a Bering Sea upended by climate change

Fishery Impacts of Ocean Warming

Commercial fish and shellfish condition, survival, population biomass and catch have been negatively impacted by extreme events such as the 2014-2016 and 2018-2019 Marine Heat Waves in the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea and record low ice cover in the Bering Sea. Alaska fishermen and coastal communities that depend on vulnerable commercial fish species such Pacific cod, salmon and crab have experienced significant and ongoing economic losses.[i] Negatively impacted species support high revenue fisheries and a large proportion of Alaska fishermen earnings – and U.S. fishery harvest value.

Read full text by Paul Olsen here.

Ocean Acidification

Ocean acidification is a change in ocean pH — or “acidity.” When seawater absorbs carbon dioxide, it triggers a chemical reaction that breaks down important minerals, like calcium carbonate. Those minerals are essential ingredients for shell-building marine life, including some that are vital to the base of the food chain — like pteropods — and some that are key fishery species — like crab. When carbon dioxide increases, those calcium building blocks are depleted, and these organisms struggle to build skeletons and shells, reproduce and survive. While this is a natural process, the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed by the ocean each year has increased substantially, causing an unprecedented rate of change.
More Information: NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory Carbon Program

Ocean acidification is expected to progress faster and more severely in Alaska than lower latitudes. Waters in Alaska are both ‘cold and old’: cooler water temperatures and global circulation patterns mean that Alaska waters naturally hold more CO2 year-round. Because Alaska runs at a higher pH than many other waters — also impacted by natural upwellings, as well as carbon run-off from streams and glaciers — it sits closer to a tipping point when levels start to shift.
More Information: Alaska Ocean Acidification Network

• The Sitka Tribe of Alaska is supporting citizen water sampling efforts to help establish baseline data on ocean acidification. Building an understanding of local conditions, in particular nearshore conditions, is crucial to understanding and addressing impacts on a local level — such as potential impacts to shellfish and other species communities rely upon.
  More Information: Southeast Alaska Tribal Ocean Research

• Potential impacts on salmon and the salmon food web are a top priority. Initial studies show finfish behavior may be impacted by acidification, and certain salmon prey species have difficulty thriving in higher acidity. 
  New Research: Informing Adaptation Decisions for Alaska’s Salmon Fisheries

• Regional monitoring tools include ocean moorings, underwater gliders, ship-based studies, and data taken on the ferry Columbia, which runs from Bellingham to Skagway.

What’s at Stake Today

Scientific reports increasingly highlight the urgency of climate solutions. Recent studies warn that global-to-local ocean and ice ecosystems are facing down extreme and irreversible damages. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is calling for sweeping global changes that could alter this course, including immediate and long-term reductions to carbon emissions. The IPCC reports that delaying action could severely increase the costs and risks of climate impacts, and makes the case for a rapid reduction in carbon emissions to prevent the worst effects to ocean ecosystems, resources, and communities. 
IPCC Full Report: Oceans and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate 2019
Report Summary

Recent reporting in Alaska shows that fisheries management agencies are tracking major climate-driven impacts to fisheries — now and in the near future. Current ecosystem-based fishery management used in the Bering Sea today will help the fisheries withstand warming in the short-term. But by mid-century, or possibly sooner, Bering Sea fisheries may reach a tipping point or rapid decline if climate change continues on its current trajectory. Recent news coverage describes these trends:

• Ecosystem-based management helps Bering Sea fisheries battle climate change: Researchers say that a similar study has just been funded for the Gulf of Alaska.

• Gulf research project will focus on fisheries, fishing communities: NOAA researchers forecast more rapid change in the Gulf than seen historically. Research aims to project what the future will look like under continued climate change and assess implications for marine resources, fisheries and fishing communities.

• The Blob returns: Alaska cod fishery closes for 2020: The Gulf of Alaska cod fishery collapsed in 2019 due to a series of marine heat waves.

• The Big Bust: Decline in North Pacific salmon numbers appears to have been the greatest in recorded history, according to a trio of scientists who’ve spent much of their careers studying the secret lives of salmon in the ocean. The crash was likely driven by warmer ocean waters. Read article here.

What To Do

Addressing climate change needs an all hands on deck approach, and fishermen are vital partners in any vision for a climate and food-stable future. Our jobs, our families and America’s food security depends upon it. Here are some key priorities to support in any discussion around climate change or resource management:

• Research. Baseline monitoring and ongoing investigation into climate change impacts is crucial to our ability to understand the threats and design solutions that work.

• Investigate Multi-stressors. Ocean warming and acidification trigger a ripple of impacts through our food webs and communities. We need to understand these complex chain reactions.

Leaders are considering a wide scope of policy options. There won’t be just one solution — we need varied strategies that address the needs of many different stakeholders. Here are some of the options being discussed:

Global

• Carbon Emissions Reductions. Many believe that to avoid the worst consequences of climate change, we need to reach “net zero” emissions by 2050. Net zero means that no more carbon is dumped into the atmosphere than is taken out. This can be accomplished through emissions reduction, development of technology to remove carbon that is already in the atmosphere, and efforts to conserve wild habitats that offer carbon “savings,” such as the Sea Alaska Carbon Credits Program.

• Carbon Taxes. Most economists agree that market forces are needed to expedite a transition to clean energy. This means putting a price on carbon emissions. Climate change impacts are already and will be costly to address. A policy that puts a price on carbon emissions up front, means those costs are represented in what we pay for energy, rather than in crisis management costs later. Program designs include incentivizing clean energy over fossil fuels while preventing disproportionate burdens on lower income households and vulnerable communities. That includes exposed economic sectors like fisheries that need time to adapt fishing operations, increase fuel efficiency, and address implications for seafood markets.

  • Market Mechanisms: Options for Climate Policy

  • Carbon Pricing Q & A

• Renewable Energy. Energy efforts well underway seek to transition away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy infrastructure — such as advancing electric engines and energy efficiency technology.

 National

A variety of Congressional and Executive climate actions are either already in development, or expected to come forward in the coming years. Some of what we’re watching:

• The U.S. Senate has launched a bi-partisan Climate Solutions Caucus.

  • Recent panel discussion with Caucus members, Senators Murkowski and Whitehouse.

• H.R. 763 - The Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act: one example of a fee and dividend system.

  • Fact Sheet

  • Economists Report: Fee and Dividend Systems

Alaska

Check out the Future Ocean Podcast: Carbon Policy and Our Alaska Fisheries produced by the Alaska Ocean Acidification Network

Alaska Carbon Credits In the News:

• Sealaska Corporation announces multimillion dollar deal to keep trees in the ground

• How ANCSA corps are saving trees by selling carbon credits to California C&T.

 Southeast Focus: Tongass. The Tongass is the world’s largest remaining expanse of intact coastal temperate rainforest. This means it is a globally significant carbon sink. The old growth forest takes up large volumes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and holds that carbon in trees and soil. If the living forest is logged, the capacity of the Tongass to sequester carbon is reduced. Sealaska Corporation seized on the opportunity to bring monetary value of this natural capital by turning half of their forest lands into carbon credits, offsetting emissions generated by industry outside of Alaska. More recently, existing Tongass protections have been rolled back, risking this forest’s future.

• National Geographic: An ancient forest in Alaska loses environmental protections

• Alaska Conservation Foundation: Learn More about Tongass Protections

• An open letter from scientists: 111 Scientists Call on Biden Administration to Make Tongass Temperate Rainforest part of a nationwide carbon reserve system

Crab crisis in Bering Sea a sign of ‘borealization’ and big changes in the future, scientists warn - Article in Anchorage Daily News

North Pacific Climate Change Peril: Read article in National Fishermen that highlights a panel with Linda Behnken our ED participated in at Pacific Marine EXPO 2022.

Southeast Alaska Report: Fishing Vessel Energy Efficiency Project

ALFA recently signed a resolution opposing an oil and gas lease sale in Lower Cook Inlet and supporting renewable energy development. Click here to read the resolution

Read letter from American Sustainable Business Council and ALFA to Biden-Harris Administration on climate change policy

Op-Ed in The Hill — Setting Biden's seafood policy table 

Op-Ed in Nature - Ocean protection needs a spirit of compromise

Read article in Nature - Protecting the global ocean for biodiversity, food and climate

Read letter from ALFA to NOAA Administrator - Request for Information on NOAA Actions to Advance the Goals and Recommendations in the Report on Conserving and Restoring America the Beautiful