A lack of chum salmon is causing pain in riverside communities of Yukon and Alaska, as mushers are left without a traditional source of food.

So far, the department has counted just under 37,000 fish at the Chilkat weir, well below the 10-year average of 80,000 fish. Zeiser said at this point in the season, it’s doubtful the run will hit the escapement range of 70,000 to 150,000 fish.

About 189,000 fall chum had entered the Yukon River as of Sept. 7. At least 300,000 fish must enter the river before either Alaska or Yukon fishers can begin harvesting.

After learning about catches of pink salmon near Salluit, Quebec wildlife officials are urging any fishers who net the newcomers to report their catch. Two pink salmon were netted in Nunavik during the summer of 2019 in the Ungava Bay region, one near Kangirsuk.

The Government of Nunavut is restricting harvest due to what it calls “a recent steep decline in the population” of the herd. That decline has led to a “conservation concern” about the western Nunavut herd’s numbers.

Dead or dying eggs in a female coho salmon are a possible symptom of environmental stress felt by the fish. In Western Alaska, water levels have been low following a rapid spring snowmelt and low precipitation.

There has been a surge of plastic trash that has been washing up on beaches in Nome and across the Bering Strait Region.

Early snowmelt and low precipitation have led to low river water levels on the southern Seward Peninsula. Low water levels may be a contributing factor in observations of poor fishing, and poor fish health, along the western coast of Alaska.

Early snowmelt and low rainfall contributed to low river levels near Nome, affecting the ability of residents to reach usual fishing spots.

The Yukon Salmon Sub-Committee is recommending the complete cessation of fishing for Chinook salmon this year on the Yukon River.

Officials have been receiving reports of Steller sea lions hauling out on beaches in poor condition, but have been unable to retrieve the animals for research — largely because they are in remote areas.

Salmon rivers like the Exploits River were closed to anglers around the province by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans earlier this week because of low water levels.

The Amur River, once full of salmon, has seen the fish all but vanish since 2017. The problem started because of over fishing. At first companies were harvesting in the first 100 kilometers of the river, and since they have expanded 700, 800 kilometers upstream.

Alaska Department of Fish and Game records show two other unusually wayward moose hunts: One in 2016 taken north of Teshekpuk Lake along the Arctic coast, and another in 2014 on the Kokolik River near Point Lay.

Due to excessively wet weather, Leduc County has declared a municipal state of agricultural disaster.

The rate of coastal erosion seems to be speeding up near Cape Blossom.

Iqaluit saw record rainfall yesterday, creating turbulent streams. Heavy precipitation may lead to fat berries and caribou, and lots of mosquitoes.

A person has died from paralytic shellfish poisoning after eating blue mussels and snails in the Aleutian Island community of Unalaska, state health officials confirmed Wednesday.

Tuomas Siilasjoki and Minna Näkkäläjärvi say they were taken by surprise when a mobile drill rig one day appeared in the horizon. Nobody had asked them about exploring for minerals inside their siida, a reindeer foraging area, in northern Finland.