Newsflash

An example of crabs found while tidepooling. Photo by Andrew Schaefer / Flickr Kayla Desroches/KMXT Every year, fifth-graders in Kodiak take a boat out to Woody Island and camp in cabins there for a few days to learn about the history, birds, and wildlife of Woody Island. That includes the shelled creatures and fish that live on its beaches. Switgard …

A dead gray whale floating in the ocean. Photo by Kate Wynne Kayla Desroches/KMXT Last summer, a mass die-off of at least 40 whales under unknown circumstances caused NOAA to declare an “unusual mortality event.”  Many of those whales, the majority of which were fin or humpback whales, were spotted on or around the Kodiak Archipelago. On Friday, KMXT’s Kayla …

Steller sea lions in the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters/Flickr Kayla Desroches/KMXT Community members have been reporting sightings of a Steller sea lion with a rope constricting its neck. It appears to have gotten entangled in marine debris. Bree Witteveen, a mammal specialist with the Kodiak Seafood and Marine Science Center, says they’ve been …

Colored pencils, some tools of the trade when it comes to sketching. Richard Steih/Flickr Kayla Desroches/KMXT Sometimes, all it takes to capture a scene are a few lines and a splash of color. A series of free art classes at the Kodiak Public Library will teach students how to document the world through sketching. Kodiak resident Bob Ross will lead …

Geologist Kristi Wallace stands beside particulate monitor. Kayla Desroches/KMXT Kayla Desroches/KMXT Researchers are trying to determine whether strong winds blowing over the Valley of 10,000 Smokes on the Alaska Peninsula can transport dangerous amounts of ash into the Kodiak environment. To help them collect data, they’ll turn to a pair of particulate monitors they set up last week – one …

Workshop participants sort roe according to grade, looking for tears and other flaws. Kayla Desroches/KMXT Kayla Desroches/KMXT A workshop about roe, or fish eggs, last week covered everything from the market for roe to how to judge its quality. Almost 30 students took the course Thursday and Friday at the Kodiak Seafood and Marine Science Center. Chris Bledsoe slaps a …

Salmon roe on rice. Robert S. Donovan / Flickr Kayla Desroches/KMXT Researchers in Kodiak want to open up new markets and expand existing ones for a popular fish product. This delicacy is what you might imagine people at cocktail parties eating over stock market discussions. It’s also good with tortilla chips. We’re talking about roe, fish eggs which in Alaska …

2016 Alaska Press Club awards won by KMXT News At the Alaska Press Club Awards Banquet Saturday, KMXT News was recognized for three efforts in 2015. News Director Jay Barrett won first place in Crime or Court Reporting for his extensive coverage of the incident where three KPD officers handcuffed and pepper-sprayed Nick Pletnikoff, entitled “Answers Sought in Possible Excessive …

A baleen whale breaches. Michael Dawes/flickr Kayla Desroches/KMXT Now is a prime time to find a spot by the ocean and hunker down with a pair of binoculars, because there’s a good chance you could spot a grey whale. Cindy Bower is leading a whale-watching trip Saturday as part of the Audubon Society and says it’s no coincidence that the …

Kasprzak – in blue, far left – competes in ComFish Fisherman’s Contest. Here he ties a selection of knots. Kayla Desroches/KMXT The closure of Jackson Mobile Home Park on May 1 means that people have been scrambling to find alternative spots for their homes or businesses, other housing arrangements, or are even considering moving out-of-state. This week we share the …