The Northern Climate Observer

The Northern
Climate Observer

Boom and Bust - For fisherman in Alaska it has been another summer of extremes. In Bristol Bay, the salmon fishery had a very big year, its biggest in history. Over 63 million sockeye returned, allowing commercial fisherman to also set some records. July 1st was the biggest single day with a whopping 1.8 million fish harvested. Fisheries managers are pointing to Bristol Bay as a "shining beacon" of how good a job we are doing managing our fisheries resources. That is pretty jaw dropping, not just because of the big year in Bristol Bay, but also given the fact that only 160 miles to the north, the picture is so completely opposite. A total collapse of the Yukon chum salmon fishery requiring not only closures but emergency shipments of fish from other parts of the state. No chest thumping on the Yukon, only the heart break of empty fish houses, lost jobs and livelihoods and disbelief that a salmon run that has spanned the ages, could just... stop. It is a story that resonates with many communities across Alaska. Disbelief in the current state of our fisheries, and uncertainty for the future. Since 2015 LEO Network has documented dozens of reports of salmon die-offs and troubling returns. A reminder that one strong fishery in one season does not spell success and that many fisheries are struggling or in decline. This summer's Yukon chum salmon fishery also resonates with other harvest failures across the circumpolar north. From the unprecedented loss of a food crop like strawberries in Norway, to a mass die-off of reindeer in Russia. In these places the land has stopped providing and it is the local fisherman, farmers, herders and hunters that bear witness, and the consequences when our knowledge and management strategies are eclipsed by a new, unfamiliar and unforgiving environment. Mike Brubaker, Editor

	Bristol Bay records its largest sockeye run on record Dillingham, Alaska, United States Alaska Public Media / July 21, 2021 Bristol Bay’s 2021 sockeye run is the largest on record: 63.2 million fish have returned to the bay, breaking the 2018 record of 62.9 million. Read article on Alaska Public Media
	Dismal Yukon River salmon returns prompt widespread fishing closures, emergency aid — and tough questions Bethel, Alaska, United States Yereth Rosen / ArcticToday / August 11, 2021 A decades-long decline in salmon in the Yukon River has reached a crisis this year, forcing harvest closures and prompting emergency shipments of salmon from other regions of Alaska to river residents who are otherwise facing food shortages. Read article on ArcticToday
	The field has been giving strawberries for 80 years, but not anymore – it's completely dead Utskarpen, Rana, Nordland, Norway Synnøve Sundby Fallmyr / NRK / August 18, 2021 All farmer Arild Stenhaug is left with is tiny berries that cannot be sold. He believes the cause is climate change. "We have to listen to a farmer who has lost everything," says a researcher. Read article on NRK
	For the second year in row, large numbers of wild reindeer are found dead along Russia's Khatanga River Khatanga, Krasnoyarskiy, Russia ArcticToday / August 15, 2021 A state of emergency was declared in mid-August in Khatanga, a small town on the banks of the river of the same name in Russia’s far northern Taymyr Peninsula, after more than 1,200 dead reindeer were found scattered on the river’s banks. Read article on ArcticToday
	Wildlife officials investigate mass die-off of snow geese in western Nunavut CBC / September 7, 2021 It's not the first time snow geese have died in large numbers in western Nunavut. The cause of this event is under investigation, but overpopulation could have played a role, says the Canadian Wildlife Service. Read article on CBC
	Water warning as reservoir levels hit 18-year low Scotland, United Kingdom BBC News / August 31, 2021 Scottish Water says storage levels at some sites are at 66% amid one of the driest summers in 160 years. Read article on BBC News
	Inuvik experienced one of its warmest, driest summers on record Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada Mackenzie Scott / CBC / It wasn’t part of your imagination if you thought it was warmer this summer in the Northwest Territories. Inuvik experienced its seventh warmest summer on record according to data from Environment and Climate Change Canada. Read article on CBC
	Russia to Fully Ban Single-Use Plastic Products By 2024 Russia The Moscow Times / September 2, 2021 Banned goods would include disposable plastic straws, plates, glasses, lids and appliances; coffee capsules; cotton swabs; opaque and colored PET (thermoplastic polyester) bottles; boxes and packs for tobacco products; blister packaging (except for medicines); egg cartons; and several types of bags. Read article on The Moscow Times

The Northern Climate Observer is published by the Center for Climate and Health. We track news coverage from across the circumpolar north and provide readers with a curated roundup of climate change related events. Thank you for reading our newsletter and for paying attention to our changing world.

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Northern Climate Observer

The Northern Climate Observer is published weekly by the Center for Climate and Health. We track news from across the circumpolar north and provide readers with a curated roundup of climate change related events.

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Northern Climate Observer

The Northern
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