Molly Dischner

Scattered throughout Alaska are hundreds of pieces of land that have been transferred to Alaska Native Corporations by the federal government. Some came with contamination: old schools, tank farms, other structures and even some spills.

Researchers with the Alaska Salmon Program have found a way to study bears when they come to fish in Happy Creek or any other salmon stream in Bristol Bay: with cameras activated by movement, and barbed wires to snag bear hair. Listen now

The United States Coast Guard said the Alaska Juris, a 229 foot fishing vessel, was reported to be taking on water this afternoon in the Aleutians. The Coast Guard reports 46 people in survival suits abandoned ship in three life rafts. As of 4 p.m., the Coast Guard was on the way to the ship which was 174 miles from Adak. Listen now

Alaska’s sockeye salmon came back shorter and lighter than usual last year. As sockeye runs return this summer, biologists have been keeping an eye on their size. Listen now

When it comes down to deciding what salmon to serve for dinner, Bristol Bay sockeye is not really known by name, even if it ends up in a lot of meals. The Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association is working on a project to change that. Listen now

Ice is an integral part of many salmon boats’ chilling operations, but getting it isn’t so easy: producing and distributing ice to the fleet is a major undertaking with many players each summer. A recent study looked at making one piece of the puzzle – creating the ice – a little simpler, but that doesn’t mean any changes are on the way right now.

For decades, many of the processors in Bristol Bay have been large companies, with offices in Washington and parent companies in foreign countries. But two small communities are developing locally-owned processing plants. Download Audio

An economics research project is looking at what happened to the Bristol Bay salmon fishing permits initially issued to watershed residents. Download Audio

Alaska’s Board of Fisheries considers possible changes to each of the state’s fisheries every three years. But later this month, the board will consider changing that process so that some proposals get added to a consent agenda, hopefully shortening the length of each meeting. Download Audio

Each summer, millions of fish return to Bristol Bay, and then swim on to the stream where they were born to spawn, and die. Exactly what compels them to return to the right spot is unknown. But scientists think that some hatchery-raised steelhead in Oregon might hold a clue.