Cook Inlet

An Escopeta Oil jack-up drilling rig has been in Cook Inlet for only three months, but company officials announced Friday that it has discovered about 3.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas -- an amount they say could be the inlet's largest energy discovery in 25 years. According to a statement from the company, a single well drilled by the Spartan 151 rig reached a depth of 8,805 feet in the inlet's Kitchen Lights Unit Oct. 28, discovering 46.7 billion cubic feet of natural gas. The jack-up rig is the first to explore the inlet in at least two decades.

Three men are dead and two are still missing after they vanished during a clam digging trip in Cook Inlet, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. The Coast Guard began searching after it got a call at around 3:45 from Pacific Alaska Shellfish that said five of it's employees on board a 20-foot aluminum skiff went missing in the area of Polly Creek. A search by the company found the body of one of the men. A Coast Guard helicopter crew found two more dead at around six o'clock this evening.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game will restrict fishing on several south central Alaska streams and part of Cook Inlet in the coming weeks, as part of a continuing bid to protect poor king salmon stocks. According to Fish and Game spokesperson Ryan Ragan, emergency orders released Wednesday will see parts of the Anchor River, Ninilchik River, Deep Creek and Stariski Creek closed to all sport fishing through July 15. An indefinite closure, taking effect at 6 a.m. Friday, will also bar sport fishing on the Susitna River near a fish weir operated by Fish and Game.

Scientists offered the public a look at research and technology surrounding Cook Inlet beluga whales at a conference in Anchorage this week. The forum was meant to answer questions about the endangered animals, but did not delve into the National Marine Fisheries Service's proposal to designate parts of Cook Inlet as critical habitat for the whales. Scientists shared the latest research on health, population size, whale movement patterns and technical methods to track the animals -- like passive acoustic monitoring.

The National Marine Fisheries Service is hosting a science conference about the Cook Inlet beluga whale. If you missed Monday's conference, you can go again Tuesday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Marriott downtown. The National Marine Fisheries Service will present its research on the beluga whales to the public. The belugas were listed as an endangered species in 2008. The federal government is considering designating parts of Cook Inlet as critical habitat for belugas.

by Channel 2 News staff Thursday, January 7, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Thursday it is extending the public comment period on the proposed designation of critical habitat for Cook Inlet belugas by 30 days. Alaska's congressional delegation requested and received the extension from NOAA. The comment period will now end March 3. NOAA announced plans to establish 3,000 square miles in Cook Inlet -- or about one-third -- as critical habitat on Dec. 1. Cook Inlet belugas were listed as endangered in October.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game says the subsistence, personal use and sport fisheries for Tanner Crab will open July 15 in Cook Inlet and the North Gulf Coast, including Kachemak Bay. The department says permits are required, but are free and available at Fish and Game offices in Anchorage, Soldotna and Homer, and at the Fish House in Seward. The department says the bag and possession limit for legal-sized male Tanner crab is five. Crabs must be 5-and-a-half inches or greater in carapace width.

Happy Thanksgiving!  You'll have some fresh snow to frolick in if you need to burn off some major overeating.  Light snow will fall this morning along Cook Inlet before lightening up.  Partly to mostly cloudy skies can be expected through the weekend.  it will stay cold all over the state.  Snow and rain showers are a done deal the next couple days for Southeast.  Most of Alaska will be see nothing more than flurries and cold temps....

by Rebecca Palsha Wednesday, July 9, 2008 JUNEAU, Alaska -- Lawmakers have gaveled in for yet another special session this summer.     The topic of debate is substantial: Should TransCanada be awarded a state license to build a $30-plus billion natural gas pipeline? If that's not already enough, lawmakers also took on the concept of a bullet gas pipeline on Wednesday. The bullet line would initially send natural gas from Cook Inlet north to Fairbanks, according to a public-private partnership project outlined by Gov. Sarah Palin.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has decreased the bag and possession limit for razor clams harvested from the eastside Cook Inlet beaches due to an assessment that shows this year's abundance of razor clams as the lowest on record in the past 21 years. According to the ADFG, razor clam populations on the Ninilchik Beach decreased from approximately 1,500,000 clams in 2011 to 79,000 clams in 2013. The cause of the decline is unknown, but is thought to be a result of poor spawning or settling success.