Booming sea otters and fading shellfish spark values clash in Alaska

This is why we fund scientists to study things like oyster slobber even if you don’t think it sounds important

Wild map: all the places in the world where killer whales take fish from fishing activities, often right off hooks on lines By @emmaluck22.bsky.social et al. www.frontiersin.org/journals/mar...

Frontiers | A global review of operational fishery interactions with killer whales (Orcinus orca): dynamics, impacts, and management strategies

I am pleased to share our new review paper detailing killer whale interactions with commercial fisheries in Frontiers in Marine Science! www.frontiersin.org/journals/mar...

Accepted! I can’t wait to share more soon! 🤩

Some exciting news to share—I recently started a new position as an Alaska Sea Grant State Fellow! For the next year, I’ll be working with the Alaska Mariculture Alliance on policy and other topics related to Alaska’s budding mariculture industry 🌊 🦪🌱 alaskaseagrant.org/2025/08/alas...

The culprit of the mass seastar deaths in the Pacific was not a virus as thought, but a Vibrio bacteria strain www.washington.edu/news/2025/08...

Every now and then I catch my cat Sushi staring at photos of killer whales with remarkable intensity… They do say pets take after their owners!

Alaska's Rep. Nick Begich has proposed text that would drastically weaken the incredible Marine Mammal Protection Act. Cooper Freeman, the Center's Alaska director, explains why these changes would be terrible for Alaskans and the state's wildlife. 👇 www.adn.com/opinions/202...

An orca emoji is FINALLY on its way! 🎉 mashable.com/article/new-...

Last weekend was a delight—I observed my first bubble net feeding humpback whales and got to see the AD8s and AJs! (Resident pods of killer whales)

If anybody has recommendations for public policy/interdisciplinary PhD programs in Australia or New Zealand that accept international students, I am all ears 👀

A recent piece I made describing 4 different stocks/populations of resident killer whales found in the North Pacific Ocean! ⬇️

BREAKING: Scientists are staging a “science fair” in the lobby of a Congressional building to tell elected officials about the critical knowledge the US will lose because their research grants have been canceled.

Living in Alaska means having a constant panicky feeling in July because you can feel summer slipping away and you have not done nearly enough summer activities yet

New free book: "Marine mammal acoustics in a noisy ocean", looks like an incredible intro to how sound works in the ocean and an overview of some of the big outstanding questions and answers. By Erbe et al. link.springer.com/book/10.1007...

The administration's FY26 budget request for NOAA includes terminating the entire Sea Grant program. The Sea Grant Association will be sending this letter highlighting impacts in IL + IN to congressional delegations - please consider adding your name in support docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Yesterday I had some great encounters with killer whales! We saw the AT1 transients (Bigg’s) in the morning, and then found the AK6 matriline (residents) later in the afternoon. My first time seeing two killer whale subspecies in the same day!

My trip to Japan was a dream—northeastern Hokkaido is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to.

Japan’s Shiretoko Peninsula is every bit as magical as I hoped it would be. Here are some resident killer whales we saw yesterday in Nemuro Strait!

Hello from Japan! 🇯🇵 Day 1 highlights included a visit to the Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology. They have a fully articulated western gray whale and a North Pacific right whale, as well as various other skeletons and specimens.

My first, first-author paper is SUBMITTED! 🎉

Help contribute to marine research! ⬇️🦈

Last night, while driving along Turnagain Arm after an unsuccessful whale watching trip in Seward, I happened to glance over and saw a GRAY WHALE next to the road! I pulled over and watched it for about an hour. Gray whales are uncommon in upper Cook Inlet.

Master of Marine Policy: ✅ Onto the next adventure! 🌿🌊🐟🐋

Since there are animals and other stuff also sitting atop the sea floor that will die when you trawl up these nodules, maybe you should also consider environmental impacts.

Cuts to @noaa.gov have devastating impacts for the seafood and aquaculture industries and put our food and communities at risk. Loved this article from @mongabay.bsky.social about the real-world, real-time impacts of attacks on NOAA staff and funding: bit.ly/4irn6uw

I recently wrapped up an internship with the North Pacific Fishery Management Council! During my time there, I designed and illustrated 3 infographics about marine mammals and Alaska’s fisheries and related policy/statutes/management practices: www.npfmc.org/fisheries-is...

Currently, Sea Grant is at risk of losing all federal funding. Please sign our letter and share this skeet to make a difference. #SeaGrant To sign: bit.ly/4irPQTT To learn more about Oregon Sea Grant: seagrant.oregonstate.edu/about-oregon...

For my 28th birthday today, I spent the afternoon in Kenai Fjords National Park with some of my favorite critters 🐋⭐️🦭

For a little piece of hopeful news on #whaling - "The Iceland Nature Conservation Association has filed a formal complaint with the Parliamentary Ombudsman regarding former Minister of Agriculture Bjarni Benediktsson’s decision to issue fin and minke hunting whale permits." 🐳🌍🦑

A bucket list whale sighting for me today—killer whales in Turnagain Arm, just outside of Anchorage! While belugas are frequently seen in upper Cook Inlet, killer whales are NOT. They are seen once every few years or so and generally do not stick around long.

Nothing like a little impending volcanic doom to really get into the spirit of 2025 🌋

Great article on the ongoing impacts of the Trump administration on fisheries in the NE Pacific, and the people whose livelihoods both support and depend on them. alaskabeacon.com/2025/03/10/f...

Full page in today’s Anchorage Daily News:

New paper from my PhD 🐬🧬 Admixture is increasing genetic diversity and adaptive potential in low latitude killer whales promoting an genetic rescue effect. See more here onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.... 1/n

For context, the funding being terminated is 50% of Maine Sea Grant's budget. Cutting $4.5 million won't make a drop in the overall federal budget, but will decimate the program. Maine Sea Grant, like all Sea Grant programs, exists to serve the American people. The return on investment is huge.

This is absolutely devastating. "The University of Maine System, which oversees Maine Sea Grant, said it was notified Friday night that NOAA was terminating a four-year agreement for funding, leaving 20 employees and the Sea Grant’s programming in limbo." www.pressherald.com/2025/03/01/m...

I worry that the focus on NOAA's weather predicting value is ignoring the millions of other ways NOAA researchers enrich communities and local economies. There are no oysters without NOAA. There are no blue crabs without NOAA. NOAA trains teachers. NOAA is the lifeblood of coastal communities.

Fisheries management... what we need to ensure jobs, food, and sustainable environment. One more thing that NOAA does.

Biodiversity is depleted and large furrows still lie in the seabed where deep-sea mining equipment operated more than 40 years ago.

Whalers in St. Vincent and the Grenadines have agreed to stop hunting killer whales in exchange for two fish aggregating devices to help them with tuna fishing ⬇️ www.stvincenttimes.com/st-vincent-w...

Typing up my silly little whale manuscript as if the federal government isn’t actively going off the rails

Miso says hello and wishes you all a good weekend (despite The Horrors)

1. Today the NIH director issued a new directive slashing overhead rates to 15%. I want to provide some context on what that means and why it matters. grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...

Deleted my Twitter account after retrieving all of my data, feels good to leave that now awful platform! Bluesky is a refreshing throwback to the reasons I originally joined Twitter six years ago—to connect with fellow scientists, share research, and talk about the things I love most 👩🏼‍🔬🐳

bringing back some #InvertebrateShitposting from the archives

me every single day for the last two weeks

Our poor Sushi got diagnosed with feline asthma last week—she’s not a fan of the inhaler. If anybody has advice or experience with asthmatic cats, I’m all ears!