Dead Sea Mammal and Sea Birds on the Beach

Observation by Edgar Knight as relayed by Erica Lujan:

In early July, I saw dead seals between Hooper Bay and Chevak (not pictured). At Kiuqliiviq, and there were dead birds washing up on the beach. The birds were black.

Comment by Erica Lujan:

Chevak Environmental Coordinator Cynthia Paniyak put out a call on Facebook asking for other reports of dead birds and sea mammals. Other residents reported seeing black sea birds both alive and dead near the mouths of the Kiuqliiviq and Aprun rivers. Others saw puffins, not normally seen in this area, at the beach in Hooper Bay, and landing in a lake near the Kiuqliiviq river. Also found near Hooper Bay was a dead sea mammal on the beach (pictured below). 

Kathy Kuletz, Seabird Coordinator with US Fish and Wildlife :

Yes the dark bird is a short-tailed shearwater, and the other is a horned puffin. If the residents notice a bird dying, or one that recently died, and they have a means to freeze it and ship to us in Anchorage, please let me know and we can provide shipping information and account number. We can not use 'old' carcasses, but would appreciate any counts, estimates, pictures, etc of seabirds onshore or dead.

Comments from LEO Editors:

This observation has been forwarded to the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).

Communities along the western coast of Alaska have reported hundreds of dead sea birds since May of 2018. The reported species include murres, fulmars, shearwaters, kittiwakes, auklets, and puffins. Due to similarities to the 2016-2016 common murre die-off, the US Fish and Wildlife Service is asking for residents to report dead sea birds to regional partners, or the the USFWS directly at 1-866-527-3358 or AK_MBM@FWS.GOV .

• North Slope: Taqulik Hepa (907) 852-0350
• Northwest Arctic: Cyrus Harris (907) 442-7914 
• Bering Strait region: Brandon Ahmasuk (907) 443-4265 or Gay Sheffield (907) 434-1149 
• Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta: Jennifer Hooper (907) 543-7470 
• Bristol Bay: Gayla Hoseth (907) 842-6252
• Aleutian/Pribilof Islands: Lauren Divine (907) 257-891-3031

In the report, USFWS is asking for

•  Location, Time & Date observed
• Type & number of birds (count or estimate)
• Photos of sick/dead birds
• Videos of any unusual behaviors (approachable, drooping head and/or wings)

Marine mammal mortalities can be reported to the Alaska Marine Mammal Stranding Network  The most important information to collect include:

• the date
• location of stranding (including latitude and longitude)
• number of animals
• species