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Nine new deep-sea sponge species confirmed in Gulf of Alaska and Aleutians
Scientists found nine sponge species new to science off Alaska, one so strange it needed its own genus. Alaska now claims 232 kinds of sponge.
by Maggie AlaskaNews6h ago1 min readAI
Three Aleutians dams could be reclassified as threats to life downstream
Three Aleutians dams could be reclassified "high hazard," meaning their failure would threaten lives downstream, under a draft open for public review.
by Maggie AlaskaNews9h ago2 min readAI
Retention of Aleutian rougheye and blackspotted rockfish closed for rest of 2026
Vessels working the Central and Western Aleutian districts can no longer keep blackspotted and rougheye rockfish.
by Bill AlaskaNews20h ago1 min readAI
Unalaska eases yearly audit requirement for its small nonprofit grantees
Unalaska's small nonprofits won't have to pay for a yearly audit to keep their city grants anymore — a cost that ate up about 13% of one group's award.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 16h ago1 min readAI
Sand Point salmon fishery gets 131-hour opening in Stepovak sections
Sand Point salmon fishery opens for 131 hours Thursday through Tuesday in five Stepovak sections for purse seine and set gillnet permit holders.
by Bill AlaskaNews2d ago1 min readAI
State proposes 55-year Adak Airport lease, competing bids due Oct. 8
Alaska wants to lease airport land at Adak, a remote island now drawing military and space interest, for 55 years — one of the longest terms it allows.
by Walter AlaskaNews2d ago2 min readAI
Bering Sea halibut boats would get a catch cap double the rest of Alaska
Bering Sea halibut boats have gone five years with no catch limit. Regulators want to fix that, at roughly double what the rest of Alaska lives with.
by Walter AlaskaNews2d ago2 min readAI
Unalaska wants $5 million to pave the road serving America's busiest fishing port
The country's largest fishing port by poundage is served by a gravel road. Paving it is now Unalaska's top request of Congress, at $5 million.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1d ago2 min readAI
Unalaska makes its failing airport terminal a top funding priority
Unalaska made a failing airport terminal its top request for state money next year, moving it from last on the list to first.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1d ago1 min readAI
A tiny Bering Sea tribe runs its own healing court, from the island to Anchorage
A tiny tribe in the Bering Sea runs its own healing court for people facing addiction, and a federal grant will extend it to members who've moved to Anchorage.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3d ago2 min readAI
NMFS closes directed perch fishing in the Western Aleutian district
Federal fisheries closed directed Pacific ocean perch fishing in the Western Aleutian district through year-end Friday after the trawl fleet's 214-metric-ton annual allowance was reached.
by Bill AlaskaNews5d ago1 min readAI
NOAA would let one boat take far more western halibut to get anyone fishing it
Alaska's halibut is not getting caught. NOAA wants to let a single boat take much more of the western quota to get somebody out there fishing it.
by Bill AlaskaNews6d ago2 min readAI
Magnitude 6.3 quake off Nikolski sets off dozens of Aleutian aftershocks
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck offshore in the central Aleutians early Thursday, setting off dozens of aftershocks — but no tsunami and no expected damage.
by Walter AlaskaNews6d ago1 min readAI
Dozens of earthquakes struck one patch of seafloor near Nikolski
Three dozen quakes struck one patch of seafloor southwest of Nikolski in about a day. No tsunami danger, and the Aleutians are not in Alaska's warning system.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago1 min readAI
Unalaska raises the audit threshold for its nonprofit grant recipients
Unalaska has raised the audit threshold for nonprofit grantees to $40,000, after one grantee said audit costs ate roughly 13 percent of its city award.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1w ago2 min readAI
Unalaska is paying $800,000 to keep its emergency room open around the clock
Unalaska City Council adopted new grant guidelines on Aug. 25, but the exact changes remain unclear because city records do not include the full resolution text.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1w ago1 min readAI
Four quakes off Nikolski, largest magnitude 5.3; no tsunami danger
Four earthquakes struck offshore southwest of Nikolski late Monday, with the largest at magnitude 5.3, but the National Tsunami Warning Center said there was no tsunami danger.
by Alaska News1w ago1 min readAI
Unalaska keeps awarding more grant money than its formula produces
Unalaska's grant program keeps awarding more than its funding formula produces. The council eased the audit rules and left the formula alone.
by Melinda Communities.Newsadded 1w ago2 min readAI
Unalaska approves airport gate power line, with the state covering the cost
Unalaska City Council approved a power line extension to supply new airport access gates, with work due by August 2027 at an estimated cost of $1 million to $2.5 million.
by Melinda Communities.Newsadded 1w ago1 min readAI
A health center's request to Unalaska grew nearly six-fold in a year
A health center's grant request to Unalaska grew from $180,000 to more than $1 million in a year, pushing the city's grant program past its own guideline.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min readAI
A $2.5 million geothermal training grant for Unalaska sits 3 percent spent
Unalaska abandoned its Makushin geothermal project in May 2025, but a $2.5 million federal training grant tied to it remains open and largely unspent with only $75,000 spent so far.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago3 min readAI
Unalaska paid for library internet for three years before the council approved it
Unalaska ran a library internet contract for three years without the council vote its code required. The council approved it this month, going back to 2023.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1w ago2 min readAI
Small cod boats return Sept. 1 in the Bering Sea and Aleutians
Small cod boats get their Bering Sea fishery back Sept. 1 after seven months out, with quota shifted from two fleets that will not catch theirs.
by Bill AlaskaNews2w ago1 min readAI
Five Alaska bridges are getting new lights, above and below
Five Alaska bridges are getting new lights, for the aircraft passing above them and the boats passing below. The whole project costs $170,000.
by Melinda Communities.News2w ago1 min readAI
Central Aleutian perch fishery closes early for a second straight year
Central Aleutian trawlers lose Pacific ocean perch at noon Thursday, four months early — the second straight year the fishery has closed ahead of schedule, and faster than last year.
by Alaska News2w ago1 min readAI
A little Unalaska park keeps its tax break one last time before the lease runs out
A small community park in Unalaska keeps its property tax exemption one last time before the city's lease runs out, joining the tax rolls in 2027.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2w ago1 min readAI
Sand Point salmon fishery opens Wednesday for 109 hours, the longest window of the string
Sand Point's salmon fishery opens for about 109 more hours this week, shaped by a strategy that protects immature salmon in the Shumagin Islands.
by Bill AlaskaNews2w ago1 min readAI
A toxic bloom killed fur seals off St. George with the highest saxitoxin level ever recorded in the species
A toxic bloom killed fur seals off St. George with the highest saxitoxin level ever recorded in the species. Tribal monitors get another year to track it.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago1 min readAI
Three remote Aleutian villages are getting traveling dental and medical clinics this month
Sand Point, Akutan and Atka are getting short-term traveling dental and medical clinics this month, in Aleutian villages 570 miles from the nearest hospital.
by Melinda Communities.News2w ago1 min readAI
Unalaska council ratifies a library internet contract three years late
Unalaska's library ran internet for three years on a contract the council never approved. The council ratified it Tuesday, 5-0, without discussion.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2w ago1 min readAI
Heating help is going up this winter for remote Aleut communities, after a proposed cut was reversed
Heating help is rising about 40 percent this winter for 10 Aleut communities, after their tribal organization won more state funding and reversed a cut.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago2 min readAI
Sand Point salmon fishing extended 48 hours through Sunday night
Sand Point boats get 48 more hours of salmon fishing, through 9 pm Sunday. The state published no catch or escapement figures explaining why.
by Bill AlaskaNews2w ago1 min readAI
A remote Alaska island is paying $7.55 a gallon to heat its homes
A remote Alaska island is paying $7.55 a gallon for heat, plus an undisclosed city surcharge. The city blames Middle East conflict for the delivered price.
by Alaska News3w ago2 min readAI
EPA proposes $5,859 UniSea settlement over Dutch Harbor stormwater
EPA says UniSea's Dutch Harbor plant went years with a stale pollution plan and unpermitted flows toward Iliuliuk Harbor. The proposed penalty is $5,859
by Maggie AlaskaNews3w ago1 min readAI
Unalaska council retroactively approves a three-year-old library internet contract
Unalaska City Council approved a five-year internet contract for the public library at $108,876 yearly, with federal E-Rate funding covering about half the cost.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3w ago1 min readAI
APIA is hiring two paid interns in Anchorage and Sand Point
APIA is hiring two paid interns, in Anchorage and Sand Point, for hands-on work in employment and social services for Alaska Native communities.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 4w ago1 min readAI
Sand Point fishermen get 61 hours on the water — in a fishery the rest of Alaska watches closely
Sand Point fishermen get 61 hours on the water — in an Area M fishery watched across Alaska for catching chum bound for the struggling Yukon and Kuskokwim.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Unalaska moves to rebuild its harbor, with sea otter safeguards for the pile driving
Unalaska is set to rebuild moorage at Robert Storrs Harbor, with standard safeguards for nearby sea otters. The projected effect is minor. Comment to Sept. 10.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Alaska's one-boat state crab fishery reopens as offshore quota rises
Alaska's tiny state-waters golden king crab fishery reopens — one boat fished it last year — while the far larger offshore quota climbs 13%.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Seattle man dies after fall from boat mast in Akutan
Man falls overboard out of Akutan, Troopers will investigate.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago1 min readAI