Historically, there was a limited understanding of kelp and abalone populations in Sitka Sound, or how these two understudied species may respond to human activity and climate change. To fill this information gap the Science Center, along with partner agencies, developed a monitoring program for these sentinel populations. A long-term goal of this project was to the use this information to inform management decisions and help our region respond to a changing environment.

Abalone Monitoring:

The absence of basic population data for pinto abalone (Haliotis kamtschatkana) in Alaska poses an ongoing challenge to the informed management of this important subsistence species at the northernmost end of its range. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game, University of California Santa Cruz, and Sitka Sound Science Center have worked together to institute long-term monitoring of pinto abalone aggregations in Sitka Sound, Alaska.

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Kelp Forest Monitoring Internship

The U.S. Coast Guard Academy and Sitka Sound Science Center developed a 6-week summer research internship opportunity for undergraduate students to maintain a long-term monitoring of the relationship between the spatial extent of giant kelp canopy cover and specific environmental variables in Sitka Sound.

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