Emma Luck

Booming sea otters and fading shellfish spark values clash in Alaska HOMER, Alaska — Roarke Brown, a charter boat captain since 1972 in this picturesque fishing village, remembers being able to tread out onto the Kachemak Bay mud flats at low tide to fill a 5-gallon…

Booming sea otters and fading shellfish spark values clash in Alaska

This is why we fund scientists to study things like oyster slobber even if you don’t think it sounds important

Wild map: all the places in the world where killer whales take fish from fishing activities, often right off hooks on lines

By @emmaluck22.bsky.social et al.

www.frontiersin.org/journals/mar...

Frontiers | A global review of operational fishery interactions with killer whales (Orcinus orca): dynamics, impacts, and management strategies Killer whales (Orcinus orca) are cosmopolitan, apex predators that sometimes interact with commercial fisheries. These fishery interactions can affect killer...

Frontiers | A global review of operational fishery interactions with killer whales (Orcinus orca): dynamics, impacts, and management strategies

Frontiers | A global review of operational fishery interactions with killer whales (Orcinus orca): dynamics, impacts, and management strategies Killer whales (Orcinus orca) are cosmopolitan, apex predators that sometimes interact with commercial fisheries. These fishery interactions can affect killer...

There’s a lot more in our paper and I hope you will give it a read! It is open-access

www.frontiersin.org/journals/mar...

Frontiers | A global review of operational fishery interactions with killer whales (Orcinus orca): dynamics, impacts, and management strategies Killer whales (Orcinus orca) are cosmopolitan, apex predators that sometimes interact with commercial fisheries. These fishery interactions can affect killer...

We found some other interesting things, such as the fact that killer whales depredate at least 30 species of fish from commercial fisheries!

www.frontiersin.org/journals/mar...

Frontiers | A global review of operational fishery interactions with killer whales (Orcinus orca): dynamics, impacts, and management strategies Killer whales (Orcinus orca) are cosmopolitan, apex predators that sometimes interact with commercial fisheries. These fishery interactions can affect killer...

There is no one-size-fits-all solution for addressing fishery interactions with killer whales; however, we can enhance our approach by incorporating more concepts from the social sciences.

www.frontiersin.org/journals/mar...

Frontiers | A global review of operational fishery interactions with killer whales (Orcinus orca): dynamics, impacts, and management strategies Killer whales (Orcinus orca) are cosmopolitan, apex predators that sometimes interact with commercial fisheries. These fishery interactions can affect killer...

Both interaction types can result in injury or death for killer whales, but they differ in their economic impacts on fisheries and the risk of fisher retaliation.

www.frontiersin.org/journals/mar...

Frontiers | A global review of operational fishery interactions with killer whales (Orcinus orca): dynamics, impacts, and management strategies Killer whales (Orcinus orca) are cosmopolitan, apex predators that sometimes interact with commercial fisheries. These fishery interactions can affect killer...

Killer whale interactions with fisheries are widespread; they occur in all oceans and involve various gear types (but especially longlines).

www.frontiersin.org/journals/mar...

Frontiers | A global review of operational fishery interactions with killer whales (Orcinus orca): dynamics, impacts, and management strategies Killer whales (Orcinus orca) are cosmopolitan, apex predators that sometimes interact with commercial fisheries. These fishery interactions can affect killer...

We found that killer whales interactions could be broadly split into two main types: depredation (removal of catch or bait directly from gear) and commensalism (feeding on spilled catch/bycatch/discards/other animals attracted to fishing activities)

www.frontiersin.org/journals/mar...

Frontiers | A global review of operational fishery interactions with killer whales (Orcinus orca): dynamics, impacts, and management strategies Killer whales (Orcinus orca) are cosmopolitan, apex predators that sometimes interact with commercial fisheries. These fishery interactions can affect killer...

We reviewed 69 papers from 1963-2024 to get a better understanding of where and how killer whales interact with commercial fisheries around the world, as well as identify knowledge gaps and policy/management options.

www.frontiersin.org/journals/mar...

I am pleased to share our new review paper detailing killer whale interactions with commercial fisheries in Frontiers in Marine Science!

www.frontiersin.org/journals/mar...

Accepted! I can’t wait to share more soon! 🤩

Alaska Sea Grant: Alaska Sea Grant State Fellows announced for 2025 A new class of 11 Alaska Sea Grant State Fellows is preparing to start work around the state, including at the Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Alaska Ma…

Some exciting news to share—I recently started a new position as an Alaska Sea Grant State Fellow! For the next year, I’ll be working with the Alaska Mariculture Alliance on policy and other topics related to Alaska’s budding mariculture industry 🌊 🦪🌱

alaskaseagrant.org/2025/08/alas...

‘The discovery of the decade’: Researchers have found the culprit behind sea star wasting disease An international research effort, including scientists from the University of Washington, has finally revealed the cause of sea star wasting disease: a strain of the bacterium Vibrio pectenicida.

The culprit of the mass seastar deaths in the Pacific was not a virus as thought, but a Vibrio bacteria strain
www.washington.edu/news/2025/08...

A torbie cat looks at a laptop screen with a photo of a killer whale as the desktop image

A torbie cat stares very intently with her down, gazing at a photo of a killer whale in a book

Every now and then I catch my cat Sushi staring at photos of killer whales with remarkable intensity…

They do say pets take after their owners!

Opinion: What does Rep. Nick Begich have against Alaska marine mammals? Alaska’s congressman has proposed a truly heartless piece of legislation that would gut the remarkably successful Marine Mammal Protection Act.

Alaska's Rep. Nick Begich has proposed text that would drastically weaken the incredible Marine Mammal Protection Act. Cooper Freeman, the Center's Alaska director, explains why these changes would be terrible for Alaskans and the state's wildlife. 👇

www.adn.com/opinions/202...

iOS 26 is getting new emojis, but don’t expect to see them right away It'll be a couple of updates before we see Orca and Bigfoot get the spotlight.

An orca emoji is FINALLY on its way! 🎉

mashable.com/article/new-...

Humpback whales bubblenet feeding with gulls circling overhead

A killer whale calf breaching in front of forested mountains and hills

Last weekend was a delight—I observed my first bubble net feeding humpback whales and got to see the AD8s and AJs! (Resident pods of killer whales)

Their saddle patches (the gray area behind the fin) vary from one individual to the next (within and among populations) so I just tried to include a variety for visual purposes :)

If anybody has recommendations for public policy/interdisciplinary PhD programs in Australia or New Zealand that accept international students, I am all ears 👀

An infographic with four illustrations of female resident killer whales (southern resident, northern resident, Alaska resident, and western pacific resident), each with slightly different morphological features. A map of resident killer whales’ range sits in the lower right corner. The text describes population numbers for each stock.

A recent piece I made describing 4 different stocks/populations of resident killer whales found in the North Pacific Ocean! ⬇️

BREAKING: Scientists are staging a “science fair” in the lobby of a Congressional building to tell elected officials about the critical knowledge the US will lose because their research grants have been canceled.

Living in Alaska means having a constant panicky feeling in July because you can feel summer slipping away and you have not done nearly enough summer activities yet

Marine Mammal Acoustics in a Noisy Ocean This open-access book explores the potential impacts of noise on marine mammal species such as whales, dolphins, seals, seacows, and otters.

New free book: "Marine mammal acoustics in a noisy ocean", looks like an incredible intro to how sound works in the ocean and an overview of some of the big outstanding questions and answers.
By Erbe et al.
link.springer.com/book/10.1007...

Illinois-Indiana Letter to Congress in Support of Sea Grant Dear Illinois and Indiana congressional delegations: We, the undersigned constituents from Illinois and Indiana, are writing to urge your support for federal funding for the Sea Grant Program in fi...

The administration's FY26 budget request for NOAA includes terminating the entire Sea Grant program. The Sea Grant Association will be sending this letter highlighting impacts in IL + IN to congressional delegations - please consider adding your name in support docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Two female killer whales surface next to steep, misty mountains

A male killer whale surfacing in foggy conditions

A killer whale showing its flukes at the surface

Yesterday I had some great encounters with killer whales! We saw the AT1 transients (Bigg’s) in the morning, and then found the AK6 matriline (residents) later in the afternoon. My first time seeing two killer whale subspecies in the same day!

A male and a female killer whale surfacing front of green, snowcapped mountains.

A pink sunset on the coast of Utoro

A small Japanese seaside town next to the mountains

A large king crab sculpture next to an abandoned building

My trip to Japan was a dream—northeastern Hokkaido is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to.

Three killer whales surfacing in foggy conditions

The dorsal fin of a male killer whale

A male killer whale tail slapping next to a female

A newborn killer whale calf surfaces next to its mother

Japan’s Shiretoko Peninsula is every bit as magical as I hoped it would be. Here are some resident killer whales we saw yesterday in Nemuro Strait!

Skeleton of a North Pacific right whale

Informational sign about the articulated right whale

A killer whale skeleton on a stand next to two informational signs

A preserved fetal humpback whale in a jar

Hello from Japan! 🇯🇵 Day 1 highlights included a visit to the Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology. They have a fully articulated western gray whale and a North Pacific right whale, as well as various other skeletons and specimens.