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Week of Aug 17
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 AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
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.News2mo ago1 min read
Judge vacates 490-acre Izembek land swap, reopening the fight over the King Cove road
A judge voided the land deal behind the King Cove road, reopening a decades-old fight. Crews stage construction as the court weighs a halt by Aug. 31.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago4 min read
The state is studying a walking path between Naknek and King Salmon
People walk the highway between Naknek and King Salmon with no separated path. The state has started studies on a $6.87 million pathway between the towns.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
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 2mo ago1 min read
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 AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
NOAA is still testing groundwater in the Pribilofs, decades after it left
NOAA is paying $186,644 to keep sampling groundwater in the Pribilofs, cleanup left over from 116 years of federal control of the fur seal harvest.
by Alaska News2mo ago2 min read
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 News2mo ago2 min read
More from Aleutians
Judge asked to rule by Aug. 31 on whether King Cove road work can begin
A judge has been asked to rule by Aug. 31 on whether King Cove road work can start. The state says construction will not begin before Sept. 1.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Judge vacates Izembek land exchange for King Cove road
A federal judge vacated the land exchange behind the King Cove road through the Izembek refuge, reopening one of Alaska's longest fights on primary day.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
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 AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Week of Aug 10
Seward Museum gets $10,000 to make World War II exhibit accessible
A $10,000 federal grant will add reader rails, videos and a mural to Seward Museum's WWII exhibit — including Fort McGilvray, whose guns never fired.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read
NOAA is looking for a fishing boat to carry its scientists across the Gulf and Aleutians
NOAA is hiring an Alaska fishing boat to carry its scientists on a 55-day voyage across the Gulf and Aleutians, running the survey that helps set catch limits.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
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 3mo ago1 min read
State testing finds little or no PFAS in Alaska marine fish, with one exception for pollock
Alaska tested 610 marine fish specimens from 2022 to 2024 and found PFAS in only five samples, all below European and Japanese food thresholds, suggesting locally caught fish pose little dietary risk.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
The panels that shape Alaska's pollock and cod catch limits meet next month
The scientific panels that shape catch limits for Alaska's pollock, cod and rockfish meet Sept. 8-11 to start setting what the fleet can take in 2027 and 2028.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Coming up
NPFMC Joint, BSAI and GOA Groundfish Plan Team Meetings
Alaska Fisheries Science Center, 7600 Sand Point Way N.E., Building 4, Seattle, WA (Joint and BSAI teams in the Traynor Room, 2076; GOA team in Room 2079), and Zoom (registration on the eAgenda)
Meeting
International Pacific Halibut Commission Interim Meeting
Meeting
North Pacific Fishery Management Council December Meeting
Meeting
Amendment 80 Trawl Fleet Permit Paperwork - Public Comment Deadline
Public notice
Comments close: Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Modify Groundfish Season Timing in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska Groundfish Fisheries
Public notice
About Aleutians
The Aleutian Islands, also called the Aleutian Chain, are an island chain in southwestern Alaska stretching from the Alaska Peninsula toward Russia. The region includes Unalaska and Dutch Harbor, Akutan, Sand Point, King Cove, Atka, Adak, Nikolski and the Pribilof Islands of St. Paul and St. George.
Commercial fishing in the Bering Sea and North Pacific drives the economy, with pollock, crab, rockfish and other groundfish landed and processed in ports such as Dutch Harbor. Federal fishery managers set catch limits, bycatch caps and closures, including protections for Steller sea lions, that shape the fleet's seasons. Strong earthquakes, high winds and Bering Sea storms are a regular part of life on the chain.
Unangan (Aleut) communities and their tribes, health programs and language work are central to the region. Local governments include the City of Unalaska and the Aleutians East Borough, which handle grants, facilities and hazard planning.
More from Aleutians
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 3mo ago1 min read
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 AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
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 AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Week of Aug 3
Alaska Peninsula salmon fishing keeps opening and closing as managers work around sockeye returns
Alaska Peninsula salmon fishing keeps opening and closing — 20 advisories in this season — as managers work around sockeye returns near Port Moller.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
King Cove road materials arrive on scene as local workers hit another milestone in the development of a contested project
A barge of equipment for the long-disputed King Cove-Cold Bay Road has reached King Cove, though the fight over the route through Izembek refuge continues.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
New bill from Murkowski would let NOAA identify fish from the DNA they leave in the water
Fish leave DNA in the water, and a new bill would let NOAA read it to fill survey gaps — like the Aleutian king crab stock with no survey data at all.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
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 AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Pacific halibut hit a 40-year low as Alaska absorbs the deepest cuts
Pacific halibut are at a 40-year low, and Alaska's waters took the deepest 2025 cuts, including 22% in the Central Gulf, hitting commercial, charter and subsistence fishing alike.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Bering Sea cod trawl fee drops to 2.09% after fishery value jumps
Federal cost recovery fees on Bering Sea cod trawlers dropped from 3% to 2.09% after the fishery's value jumped 42%. But fishermen still want to know what the fees pay for.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Week of Jul 27
Seattle man dies after fall from boat mast in Akutan
Man falls overboard out of Akutan, Troopers will investigate.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago1 min read
Trident is renewing its tanker spill plan, in waters it has spilled in before
Trident is renewing the spill plan for two tankers that move oil through Alaska waters — and the company has spilled here before. Comment by Aug. 27.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago1 min read
Cruise ships come to St. Paul as the island rebuilds after the crab crash
Five cruise ships are headed to St. Paul Island as the Unangax̂ community seeks new footing after its snow crab economy collapsed, leaving a $2.7M hole.
by Alaska News3mo ago1 min read
Begich bill would make Alaska trawlers carry salmon excluder gear
Alaska's delegation wants trawlers to carry salmon excluders and seafloor sensors, as bycatch keeps killing Chinook from western Alaska's collapsed runs.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Week of Jul 20
Full-time St. Paul Island homeowners can get replacement fuel tanks
St. Paul Island homeowners can now get free replacement heating fuel tanks through a new community program, limiting eligibility to full-time residents.
by Alaska News3mo ago1 min read
Mercury in Western Aleutian sea lion pups exceeds safety thresholds, prompting $1.5M NSF study
Mercury in endangered Aleutian sea lions has doubled in a decade, and pups now top safety limits. Scientists want to know why before it reaches people.
by Melinda Communities.News3mo ago1 min read
Strong escapement at one weir is driving long Alaska Peninsula openings
One weir at Orzinski counts salmon for the whole South Alaska Peninsula. It's running above average, and the openings have gotten long to match.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Five Aleutians East Borough seats are up, and filing opens Aug. 24
Want to run for office in the Aleutians East Borough? You've got 12 days — Aug. 24 to Sept. 4 — for five seats, mayor included.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Aleutians East newsletter flags fisheries as defining issue in 2026 Alaska races
Aleutians East Borough won a legal fight over salmon fishing rules in May and is now directing voters to check where candidates stand on fisheries in the 2026 governor, Senate, and House races.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Alaska has the most earthquakes. The program that watches them expired in 2023.
The federal earthquake program has been running on expired authorization since 2023 — awkward for the state that gets a magnitude 7 most years.
by Melinda Communities.Newsadded 3mo ago2 min read
EPA proposes a $5,859 penalty over Dutch Harbor discharges
EPA wants $5,859 from UniSea over discharges into a Dutch Harbor bay that Unalaska residents use for subsistence. Public comment closes August 19.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
ADF&G extends Northwest Stepovak commercial salmon fishing 48 hours
Alaska Fish and Game opened Northwest Stepovak commercial salmon fishing for 48 hours starting July 12 noon, allowing purse seine and set gill net boats a brief window near Renshaw and Dent points.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min readFrom 
Week of Jul 13
Air Force seeks contractor to install communications gear at remote Shemya outpost
Alaska contractors have until July 24 to bid on installing communications gear at Eareckson Air Station on Shemya Island, valued at $25,000 to $100,000.
by Alaska News3mo ago1 min read
APIA cuts heating assistance 20% for 10 Aleutian and Pribilof communities
APIA is cutting heating assistance 20 percent for Alaska Native households in ten Aleutian and Pribilof communities in 2027 to stretch limited funding.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
BSAI Pacific cod trawl season ends early for AFA catcher/processors
NMFS shut down directed Pacific cod fishing for AFA trawl catcher/processors in the Bering Sea starting Monday, July 20, after the sector hit its annual allowance.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read