For most of the twentieth century the Bering Sea had a cold pool on its floor, left by winter ice. Between 2014 and 2020 that machinery faltered: the Blob starved seabirds, Alaska canceled its snow crab season, and Yukon chum and kings returned in record-low numbers. A 2026 study found harvest and bycatch were not important factors for Yukon kings. The episode asks whether controllable deaths then carry the conservation burden.
Who's who
- Nicholas BondUniversity of Washington climatologist who coined the name the Blob
- John PiattUSGS seabird biologist who led the murre die-off study
- Steve BarbeauxNOAA biologist behind the Gulf of Alaska cod assessment
- Miriam JonesUSGS scientist whose study judged 2018 ice lowest in about 5,500 years
- Cody SzuwalskiNOAA biologist who led the snow crab collapse study
- Ed FarleyNOAA manager who studied juvenile chum condition in marine heatwaves
- Lukas DeFilippo+2 more episodesNOAA lead author of the 2026 Yukon king salmon study
- Jayde FergusonAlaska fish pathologist who studied Ichthyophonus in Yukon kings
Where it happens
- Bering Sea+10 more episodesLost its cold pool in 2018 and 2019
- Gulf of Alaska+2 more episodesBlob heatwave closed the federal cod fishery in 2020
- Yukon River, Alaska+3 more episodesChum in 2021 and kings in 2022 hit record lows
- Bristol Bay, Alaska+7 more episodesSockeye runs reached record sizes
Timeline
- June 2014Nick Bond names the warm water anomaly the Blob
- December 6, 2019Council votes to close the federal Gulf of Alaska cod fishery for 2020
- 2022Yukon king run lowest on record; Bristol Bay sockeye largest on record
- October 10, 2022Alaska cancels the Bering Sea snow crab season for the first time
- April 1, 2026Yukon king salmon life-cycle study published
- Early October 2026Yukon king salmon fishing remains closed
Still debated
The 2026 study shows when mortality rose, not why; prey shortage, the parasite Ichthyophonus and warm-water costs are candidates. Its finding on bycatch covers Yukon kings only, not Kuskokwim kings or Western Alaska chum. Whether tighter limits make sense in a less productive sea is a question of values.
