Hunted nearly to extinction during 20th century whaling, the world’s largest animal, the Antarctic blue whale, went from a population size of roughly 200,000 to little more than 300. The most recent abundance estimate in 2004 put Antarctic blue whales at less than 1% of their pre-whaling levels. But is this population recovering? Is there just one population of Antarctic blue whales, or multiple? Why do these questions matter for conservation? PhD student, Zoe Rand, is tackling these questions in a new study.

Chelsea Wood, SAFS Associate Professor, has an upcoming children’s book titled “Power to the Parasites! Everything You (N)ever Wanted to Know About the Creepy Crawlies Hidden in Your Home, Your Food, Your Pets – and Maybe Even in You!” The book introduces kids to the world of parasitism.

In a new blog by Long Live the Kings, they explore the preliminary findings of post-restoration monitoring undertaken by the UW Wetland Ecosystem Team at a habitat restoration project at Vigor Shipyards, which was completed in the Spring of 2023.

Polar bears in some parts of the high Arctic are developing ice buildup and related injuries to their feet, apparently due to changing sea ice conditions in a warming Arctic. While surveying the health of two polar bear populations, researchers led by Kristin Laidre from UW SAFS, found lacerations, hair loss, ice buildup and skin ulcerations primarily affecting the feet of adult bears as well as other parts of the body.

Taking the AERA class as part of the Alaska Salmon Program was a pivotal moment for two undergrads, who went on to contribute to major discoveries in cryptic diversity in two vastly different species: harbor seals and fish parasites.

Bitter crab syndrome might sound like an attitude problem, but it’s actually a condition faced by two very valuable fisheries in Alaska: snow crabs and Tanner crabs. So-called for the bitter flavor of crab meat in infected crabs, bitter crab syndrome (BCS) is caused by a parasitic dinoflagellate of the genus Hematodinium and infects a number of crustacean species around the globe. We spoke to SAFS grad student, Aspen Coyle, about her research.

It’s not all work while visiting the Alaska Salmon Program camps for the summer field season. Students head up to southwest Alaska, some for over three months, and downtime is a chance to explore, connect with their peers, and experience living in a field camp.

They may be small, but crayfish are mighty in other ways, one of them being invasive risk in areas where they are not natively found. Crayfish are increasingly being traded online for ornamental purposes, such as aquariums, and in a new study led by SAFS Professor Julian Olden, the first ever global assessment of the online trade in and associated invasion risk of freshwater crayfishes was conducted.

SAFS annually hosts the “Bevan Seminar on Sustainable Fisheries” funded by gifts from the Bevan family, and contributions from NOAA Fisheries and SAFS. This year, we will hold a one-day symposium on Thursday November 21, 2024, centered on Tribal voices, reflecting on the past 50 years and considering what the future of Washington fisheries will look like over the next 50 years.

Housed in a set of World War II artillery bunkers on the outskirts of New Orleans is a surprising, and gargantuan, fish collection. Home to the largest collection of post-larval fish specimens in the world – 7 million to be precise – the Royal D. Suttkus Fish Collection at the Tulane University Biodiversity Research Institute (TUBRI) was the destination for a group of UW researchers over the summer.