Alaska Updates: Snow Crabs, Pebble Mine, and More

Last October, Alaskan officials canceled the snow crab harvest for the first time in history, after the population dropped nearly 90% between 2018 and 2021. In this episode, Steve MacLean from WWF’s US Arctic Program explains how warmer ocean conditions likely contributed to the disappearance of these crabs (2:40), and what a changing climate might mean for future crab harvests (6:20). Steve also shares the latest on efforts to block the development of the Pebble Mine, a proposed gold and copper mine that could threaten Alaska’s iconic salmon fishery (11:28). Last, Steve shares how he and his colleagues are working to manage shipping traffic in the Bering Strait as Arctic sea ice melts and opens up new passages (21:40).

LINKS:

WWF US Arctic Page

WEB STORY: The end of the road for Pebble Mine