Hal Bernton
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Articles by Hal Bernton
Bering Sea fleet set to harvest a bounty of tanner crab in upcoming season
The crew of the Pinnacle sort snow crab on Thursday morning, Jan. 20, 2022 in the Bering Sea southwest of St. Matthew Island. Snow crab, Chionoecetes opilio, is related to the tanner crab, Chionoecetes bairdi, and both are found in the Bering Sea. (Loren Holmes / ADN) In the aftermath of an intense marine heat wave, Bering Sea bairdi tanner have boomed, prompting the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to announce a 32.1-million-pound total allowable catch for the season that begins Oct. 15.
On Mount Hood, an aging climber finds his pace up Oregon’s tallest mountain
TIMBERLINE LODGE, ORE. — At 12:20 a.m. on a clear, cool night, I started up the snow-covered flanks of Mount Hood. I soon fell behind my friend David Moffat and our guide Denis Lee. They walked side by side, debating the merits of ’80s rock music as if they were on a leisurely stroll rather than launching a climb of Oregon’s tallest mountain. Their voices were comforting but increasingly muffled as they pulled further away.
On Mount Hood, an aging climber finds his pace up Oregon’s tallest mountain
Cancer risk at Trainsong Park: What we know, what we don’t Regulators have known about dioxin contamination at Trainsong Park for five years, putting up fences to reduce exposure and keep health risks low. …
Security Check
An innovator in the apple orchards separates from her family to return to Mexico. In Congress, a bipartisan bill to legalize many undocumented workers struggles to gain a hearing.
For a Yakima Valley farmworker, Trump’s immigration crackdown prompts a wrenching decision to self-deport
In early January, Flor Sánchez departed from her Yakima Valley home in Sunnyside, leaving behind her husband and then six-year-old son — both U.S. citizens — to self-deport to Sinaloa, Mexico. For 12 years, she worked in the fruit orchards of central Washington, one of thousands of undocumented men and women who remain a vital part of the labor force in a region that produces most of the nation's apples. Sánchez, 41, had hoped to gain legal residency in the United States.
Para una trabajadora agrícola del valle de Yakima, la represión migratoria de Trump provoca la dolorosa decisión de autodeportarse
For a Yakima Valley farmworker, Trump’s immigration crackdown prompts a wrenching decision to self-deport An innovator in the apple orchards separates from her family to return to Mexico. In Congress, a bi-partisan bill to legalize many undocumented workers struggles to gain a hearing.
For a Yakima Valley farmworker, Trump’s immigration crackdown prompts a wrenching decision to self-deport
Para una trabajadora agrícola del valle de Yakima, la represión migratoria de Trump provoca la dolorosa decisión de autodeportarse Una innovadora en los huertos de manzanas se separa de su familia para regresar a México. Un proyecto de ley bipartidista que podría legalizar a muchos trabajadores indocumentados tiene dificultades para conseguir una audiencia en el congreso.
In a warming Arctic, gray whales struggle to find nourishment - Chinook Observer
RAYMOND — Doug Nussbaum is a retired logger whose morning rituals include a walk down to the bluff behind his house that overlooks a bend in the Willapa River. He is never quite sure just what he will spot — ducks, bald eagles and sometimes seals and sea lions pursuing salmon. On April 1, he heard a breeching sound, then was stunned to see a gray whale — some 35 feet in length — swimming in circles.
In a warming Arctic, gray whales struggle to find nourishment
RAYMOND, Wash. — Doug Nussbaum is a retired logger whose morning rituals include a walk down to the bluff behind his house that overlooks a bend in the Willapa River. He is never quite sure just what he will spot — ducks, bald eagles and sometimes seals and sea lions pursuing salmon. On April 1, he heard a breeching sound, then was stunned to see a gray whale — some 35 feet in length — swimming in circles.
In a warming Arctic, gray whales struggle to find nourishment
Raymond, Washington — Doug Nussbaum is a retired logger whose morning rituals include a walk down to the bluff behind his house that overlooks a bend in the Willapa River. He is never quite sure just what he will spot — ducks, bald eagles and sometimes seals and sea lions pursuing salmon. On April 1, he heard a breeching sound, then was stunned to see a gray whale — some 35 feet in length — swimming in circles.
Hal Bernton, Author at Nebraska Examiner
Hal Bernton has worked in journalism for more than four decades. He was at The Seattle Times until March, 2023, and previously was employed by The Oregonian, The Anchorage Daily News, The Twin Falls Times News and columnist Jack Anderson. He has written extensively on energy, environment and fisheries issues, and his overseas reporting includes dispatches from Haiti, China, Indonesia, Iraq and Afghanistan.
In a warming Arctic, gray whales struggle to find nourishment
Raymond, Washington — Doug Nussbaum is a retired logger whose morning rituals include a walk down to the bluff behind his house that overlooks a bend in the Willapa River. He is never quite sure just what he will spot — ducks, bald eagles and sometimes seals and sea lions pursuing salmon. On April 1, he heard a breeching sound, then was stunned to see a gray whale — some 35 feet in length — swimming in circles.
In a warming Arctic, gray whales struggle to find nourishment Original
Environment Skinny whales dying in Pacific Northwest waters during the spring migration signal a population in decline RAYMOND, Wash. — Doug Nussbaum is a retired logger whose morning rituals include a walk down to the bluff behind his house that overlooks a bend in the Willapa River. He is never quite sure just what he will spot — ducks, bald eagles and sometimes seals and sea lions pursuing salmon.
In Warming Arctic Gray Whales Struggle To Find Nourishment
15 hours ago The Trump administration is pursuing a bureaucratic rule change that could allow for greater political influence over billions of dollars in federal research grants. The new rule would have a broad impact on research fields, including housing and transportation. Health and science funding would be …
In a warming Arctic, gray whales struggle to find nourishment Original
Raymond, Washington — Doug Nussbaum is a retired logger whose morning rituals include a walk down to the bluff behind his house that overlooks a bend in the Willapa River. He is never quite sure just what he will spot — ducks, bald eagles and sometimes seals and sea lions pursuing salmon. On April 1, he heard a breeching sound, then was stunned to see a gray whale — some 35 feet in length — swimming in circles.
In a warming Arctic, gray whales struggle to find nourishment | Alaska Beacon
Oregon State 1 hour ago Scientists lose critical ocean research thanks to Trump funding cuts indy100.com - Annika Hammerschlag • 1h One of the world's most ambitious ocean monitoring networks is facing a significant shutdown, with scientists preparing to dismantle a crucial … Cannabis 3 hours ago Weed really does change your dreams Popular Science - Shoshi Parks • 3h But the specifics are a little hazy. It’s four in the morning and you wake from a dream.
Hal Bernton, Author at Source New Mexico
Hal Bernton has worked in journalism for more than four decades. He was at The Seattle Times until March, 2023, and previously was employed by The Oregonian, The Anchorage Daily News, The Twin Falls Times News and columnist Jack Anderson. He has written extensively on energy, environment and fisheries issues, and his overseas reporting includes dispatches from Haiti, China, Indonesia, Iraq and Afghanistan.
With surge winding down here, Pacific Northwest volunteer networks brace for more ICE agents
An immigrant man with long black hair lay cuffed in a snowbank in a south Minneapolis neighborhood. Federal agents — tactical vests emblazoned with “Police” — hovered over him. A woman with blond streaked hair, bundled in a purple coat, watchdogged them. She cursed an officer, who repeatedly warned her to stay back. Then, she flung herself on top of the man on the ground, shielding his body with her own. It was Jan.
Hal Bernton, Author at Oregon Capital Chronicle
With surge winding down here, Pacific Northwest volunteer networks brace for more ICE agents BY: Hal Bernton - February 21, 2026 An immigrant man with long black hair lay cuffed in a snowbank in a south Minneapolis neighborhood. Federal agents — tactical vests emblazoned with “Police” — hovered over him. A woman with blond streaked hair, bundled in a purple coat, watchdogged them. She cursed an officer, who repeatedly warned her to stay back. Then, she […]
With surge winding down here, Pacific Northwest volunteer networks brace for more ICE agents Original
An immigrant man with long black hair lay cuffed in a snowbank in a south Minneapolis neighborhood. Federal agents — tactical vests emblazoned with “Police” — hovered over him. A woman with blond streaked hair, bundled in a purple coat, watchdogged them. She cursed an officer, who repeatedly warned her to stay back. Then, she flung herself on top of the man on the ground, shielding his body with her own. It was Jan.
Commission again sets Pacific halibut harvest at rock-bottom levels amid U.S.-Canada tensions
Posted 1/29/26 In partnership with the Anchorage Daily News and The Seattle Times, Northern Journal has chronicled the long, steep decline in Pacific halibut. Reporter Hal Bernton filed this dispatch. The article is republished here with permission. The International Pacific Halibut Commission set the 2026 harvest at a historic low during an annual meeting that drew a […] This item is available in full to subscribers.
Commission again sets Pacific halibut harvest at rock-bottom levels amid U.S.-Canada tensions Original
In partnership with the Anchorage Daily News and The Seattle Times, Northern Journal has chronicled the long, steep decline in Pacific halibut. Reporter Hal Bernton filed this dispatch. The article is republished here with permission. The International Pacific Halibut Commission set the 2026 harvest at a historic low during an annual meeting that drew a Trump Administration political appointee to lead tense U.S. negotiations with Canada over shares of a shrunken fishery.
Commission again sets Pacific halibut harvest at rock-bottom levels amid U.S.-Canada tensions
The fishing boat Oracle longlines for halibut on June 1, 2025 near Unalaska Island. (Loren Holmes / ADN) The International Pacific Halibut Commission set the 2026 harvest at a historic low during an annual meeting that drew a Trump administration political appointee to lead tense U.S. negotiations with Canada over shares of a shrunken fishery. The four-day gathering last week in Bellevue, Washington, came during a time of tumultuous relations between the two nations.
In Washington orchards, immigration crackdown sows fear and uncertainty
UNION GAP, Wash. — On a chilly fall morning, farmworkers fanned out through an orchard here to pick rose-hued apples from green rows of trees that flank this central Washington valley’s irrigated slopes. These Pink Ladies were one of the last varieties to ripen in a harvest season that began in late summer amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
In Washington orchards, immigration crackdown sows fear and uncertainty
UNION GAP, Wash. — On a chilly fall morning, farmworkers fanned out through an orchard here to pick rose-hued apples from green rows of trees that flank this central Washington valley’s irrigated slopes. These Pink Ladies were one of the last varieties to ripen in a harvest season that began in late summer amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
In WA orchards, immigration crackdown sows fear and uncertainty • Washington State Standard Original
UNION GAP, Wash. — On a chilly fall morning, farmworkers fanned out through an orchard here to pick rose-hued apples from green rows of trees that flank this central Washington valley’s irrigated slopes. These Pink Ladies were one of the last varieties to ripen in a harvest season that began in late summer amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
Halibut commission at crossroads as fishery hits record lows
SPECIAL REPORT | This story was supported by grants from the Pulitzer Center and the Alaska Center for Excellence in Journalism, in partnership with the Anchorage Daily News and the Northern Journal. Fish biologist Juan Valero went to work for the International Pacific Halibut Commission in 2008, and soon emerged as a dissident voice inside this organization that sets harvest levels for the U.S. and Canada.
Bottom-trawl fishermen that snagged orcas try ‘echoreflective’ netting
33-metre, 180-tonne monster tops 'biggest animals in the ocean' list – and makes the great white shark look tiny From the gigantic blue whale to a coral colony so large it can be seen from space, here are some of the most enormous organisms living in the …
In Alaska, fishers struggle to keep orcas from their catch
Climate Lab is a Seattle Times initiative that explores the effects of climate change in the Pacific Northwest and beyond. The project is funded in part by The Bullitt Foundation, CO2 Foundation, Jim and Birte Falconer, Mike and Becky Hughes, Henry M. Jackson Foundation, Martin-Fabert Foundation, Craig McKibben and Sarah Merner, University of Washington and Walker Family Foundation, and its fiscal sponsor is the Seattle Foundation.
Bottom-trawl fishers that snagged orcas test new ‘echoreflective’ netting
SPECIAL REPORT | This story was supported by grants from the Pulitzer Center and the Alaska Center for Excellence in Journalism, in partnership with the Anchorage Daily News and the Northern Journal. In the Bering Sea, some killer whales are drawn to trawl vessels that catch large volumes of fish from nets pulled along the sea bottom. The orcas often gather near below-deck chutes that funnel back to sea discards of whole fish.
In Alaska, fishers struggle to keep orcas from their catch
When you think about states that might throw Democrats a lifeline, Alaska hardly comes to mind first. But I could argue that it will play a crucial part in the party’s quest to reclaim a Senate majority next year. And that Democrats will prevail. Hear me out. One of Alaska’s two Republican senators, …
WA and Alaska halibut fishing crews see troubling signs in recent harvests
SPECIAL REPORT | This story was supported by grants from the Pulitzer Center and the Alaska Center for Excellence in Journalism, in partnership with the Anchorage Daily News and the Northern Journal. ABOARD THE ORACLE, North Pacific — Skipper Robert Hanson seeks halibut on a stretch of graveled sea bottom ripped by the powerful tides of the Aleutian Islands. There, he drops a mile of line carrying nearly 600 baited hooks.
Bottom trawlers face renewed scrutiny amid halibut decline
SPECIAL REPORT | This story was supported by grants from the Pulitzer Center and the Alaska Center for Excellence in Journalism, in partnership with the Anchorage Daily News and the Northern Journal. UNALASKA, ALASKA — For fishing captain Sam Wright, halibut are an unwelcome sight. Wright runs the FV Unimak, a 185-foot trawl vessel, which uses large nets to scoop up — by the ton — yellowfin sole, Atka mackerel and other bottom-dwelling fish that are then headed, gutted and frozen at sea.
Internal memo outlines stark impacts of federal downsizing on Alaska regional fishery agency
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has long struggled to compete with corporate America to recruit tech workers to maintain the complicated computer systems that track the federal seafood harvests off Alaska. These chronic staffing shortages at NOAA Fisheries’ Alaska Region have been greatly exacerbated by the Trump administration’s efforts to cut the federal workforce.
Internal memo outlines stark impacts of federal downsizing on Alaska regional fishery agency
NOAA Fisheries Alaska region, hit hard by staffing losses, helps oversee the harvests off Alaska, which produce about half the fish caught in U.S. waters. Here, a trawl net full of pollock — the largest volume fishery off Alaska — comes aboard the Northern Hawk during the summer 2023 harvest.
Science Supporting Alaska Seafood Industry Threatened by Federal Firings, Biologists and Fishermen Say
Rebecca Howard is a marine biologist who spent six years in graduate school — largely funded by federal scholarship dollars — to earn a doctorate at Oregon State University. Last April, she was hired by the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration’s fisheries branch to join in annual surveys off Alaska that gather data vital to the management of the nation’s biggest seafood harvests.
ALASKA: Science supporting Alaska seafood industry threatened by federal firings, biologists and fishermen say
March 11, 2025 — Rebecca Howard is a marine biologist who spent six years in graduate school — largely funded by federal scholarship dollars — to earn a doctorate at Oregon State University. Last April, she was hired by the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration’s fisheries branch to join in annual surveys off Alaska that gather data vital to the management of the nation’s biggest seafood harvests.
Firings prompt concerns that science supporting Alaska seafood industry could be undermined
Rebecca Howard is a marine biologist who spent six years in graduate school — largely funded by federal scholarship dollars — to earn a doctorate at Oregon State University. Last April, she was hired by the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration’s fisheries branch to join in annual surveys off Alaska that gather data vital to the management of the nation’s biggest seafood harvests.
Firings prompt concerns that science supporting Alaska seafood industry could be undermined
Rebecca Howard, on a 2019 survey cruise, stands next to a muddy trawl net catch of bottom dwelling creatures. Seattle-based Howard was one of the Alaska Fishery Science Center biologists who was terminated by NOAA Fisheries in late February. (Photo courtesy of Rebecca Howard) Rebecca Howard is a marine biologist who spent six years in graduate school — largely funded by federal scholarship dollars — to earn a doctorate at Oregon State University.
Hal Bernton, Author at Oregon Capital Chronicle
Rebecca Howard is a marine biologist who spent six years in graduate school — largely funded by federal scholarship dollars — to earn a doctorate at Oregon State University. Last April, she was hired by the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration’s fisheries branch to join in annual surveys off Alaska that gather data vital to […]
How a Risky State Investment in Seafood Cost Alaskans Millions and Left a Fishing Town in Crisis
Last summer, an unsettling quiet cloaked the isolated Southwest Alaska community of King Cove as the town’s economic engine — a sprawling seafood processing plant — sat shuttered. Bunkhouses, once filled with hundreds of workers during the peak salmon harvest, were vacant. Four diesel generators that had rumbled day and night were stilled. The plant docks, once lined with boats and circled by fish-scavenging gulls, were empty.
How a risky state investment in seafood cost Alaskans millions and left a fishing town in crisis
This story was originally published by ProPublica. This article was produced for ProPublica in partnership with Northern Journal and the Anchorage Daily News. Sign up for Dispatches to get stories like this one as soon as they are published. High Stakes: The $80 billion Alaska Permanent Fund helps pay for government services and sends annual dividend checks to Alaskans.
How a risky state investment in seafood cost Alaskans millions and left a fishing town in crisis
There were warning signs ahead of the bet on Peter Pan Seafood, which is expected to cost Alaskans more $29 million. This article was produced for ProPublica in partnership with Northern Journal and the Anchorage Daily News. Last summer, an unsettling quiet cloaked the isolated Southwest Alaska community of King Cove as the town’s economic engine — a sprawling seafood processing plant — sat shuttered. Bunkhouses, once filled with hundreds of workers during the peak salmon harvest, were vacant.
How a Risky State Investment in Seafood Cost Alaskans Millions and Left a Fishing Town in Crisis
This story was originally published by ProPublica. ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox. High Stakes: The $80 billion Alaska Permanent Fund helps pay for government services and sends annual dividend checks to Alaskans. Failed Investment: After fund trustees decided to invest in companies with Alaska ties, more than $29 million went into a deal with Peter Pan Seafood.
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