The SeaBank Chronicles

Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust
  • 5.0 (3)
  • Places & Travel
  • Weekly

The SeaBank Chronicles is a natural sound theater transporting you through the living science of Southeast Alaska. Combining facts and mystery, each 7-minute episode delivers listeners to Alaska’s coastal rainforest where they groundtruth terrestrial and marine ecosystems guided by a calm and trusted radio operator. Voice narration is woven with rich audio effects to create an immersive experience that is educational and spellbinding. Listeners will learn about the wild and silvery nation of migrating salmon, ancient old growth forests, and the human communities who make their home among them. A project of the Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust, The SeaBank Chronicles is written, hosted, and produced by Beth Short-Rhoads.

  1. 1d ago

    The Salmon Are Coming. They Just Need Clean Water and Time

    Witness the birth of a SeaBank salmon stream courtesy of Salmon Beyond Borders. Glaciers and icefields are melting the world over, but in the Gulf of Alaska emerging Pacific salmon habitat is taking their place to expand wild fish strongholds on the West Coast of North America. Hear that buzzing? Historic data shows that as proglacial streams settle and clear, they attract a burgeoning food web that begins with midges and stoneflies. As mosses and alders stabilize and enrich moraines, it’s only a matter of time—about 15 years—before salmon arrive to colonize the fresh, cold, clean waters left behind by dwindling ice. But in the SeaBank, mining pollution is on its way, too. Who will win the race to emerging post-glacial habitat? It’s up to us to ensure salmon get there first. The SeaBank Chronicles is a natural sound theater transporting you through the living science of Southeast Alaska. Combining facts and mystery, each 7-minute episode delivers listeners to Alaska’s coastal rainforest to groundtruth terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Immerse yourself in rich audio effects woven with lush voice narration for an experience that is educational and spellbinding. A project of the Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust, The SeaBank Chronicles is written, hosted, and produced by Beth Short-Rhoads. When in doubt, just keep listening. Sources and credits

  2. Nov 4

    Kelp Guardians: How Macroalgae Protect SeaBank Coastlines

    Slip into your wetsuit and strap on a scuba tank. You’re about to untangle truth from fable…in a SeaBank kelp forest. If this gathering of coastal guardians—some as tall as a 10-story building—aren’t plants, what are they? Enter the giant kelp’s biogeochemical halo where high oxygen levels, complex carbohydrates, and energy-rich amino acids swirl at the base of the food web to support crabs, rockfish, herring, and juvenile salmon. Then discover what happens to the CO2 this kelp forest absorbs. Put on your headphones and float into an immersive underwater soundscape where protection is all around you. The SeaBank Chronicles is a natural sound theater transporting you through the living science of Southeast Alaska. Combining facts and mystery, each 7-minute episode delivers listeners to Alaska’s coastal rainforest to groundtruth terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Immerse yourself in rich audio effects woven with lush voice narration for an experience that is educational and spellbinding. A project of the Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust, The SeaBank Chronicles is written, hosted, and produced by Beth Short-Rhoads. When in doubt, just keep listening. Sources and credits Read transcript

  3. Oct 28

    Tongass Trees Are a Fire Shield: Why Southeast Alaska is Fire-Averse

    In this episode you take the spotlight…by sharing your knowledge on wildfires. Recently returned to the SeaBank after a research stint on the west coast of North America, you’ll open your field notebook to share a host of discoveries. The reason behind the global rise in wildfires. The secret history of wildfires on Alaska’s southern coast–10,000 years ago. And why the SeaBank is predicted to remain fire-averse even as conflagrations grow across the planet. There’s just one thing we need to do: keep Tongass trees standing. Sponsored by the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association. The SeaBank Chronicles is a natural sound theater transporting you through the living science of Southeast Alaska. Combining facts and mystery, each 7-minute episode delivers listeners to Alaska’s coastal rainforest to groundtruth terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Immerse yourself in rich audio effects woven with lush voice narration for an experience that is educational and spellbinding. A project of the Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust, The SeaBank Chronicles is written, hosted, and produced by Beth Short-Rhoads. When in doubt, just keep listening. Sources and credits Read transcript

  4. Oct 20

    Cohos are Heroes: Wetlands and Estuaries are Part of the Journey

    Each year, juvenile coho salmon embark on a hero's journey as they prepare for migration to the sea. But their adventure doesn't require just one map—instead, coho rear in two environments. Grab an oxygen meter and turbidity gauge from your backpack and follow those fish! In this episode, we're helicoptering in a co-investigator to help out. Sponsored by Seafood Producers Cooperative, home of Alaska Gold Seafood. A coho's journey involves more than a bubble bath of groundwater in a side channel and munching on mini-crustaceans in estuaries. They also face deadly threats posed by old-growth logging. When logging leads to spikes in stream temperatures and estuaries clouded by erosion, coho struggle to survive. After collecting data on oxygen depletion and sediments loads, you'll learn what actions you can take to help young coho reach the sea. The SeaBank Chronicles is a natural sound theater transporting you through the living science of Southeast Alaska. Combining facts and mystery, each 7-minute episode delivers listeners to Alaska’s coastal rainforest to groundtruth terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Immerse yourself in rich audio effects woven with lush voice narration for an experience that is educational and spellbinding. A project of the Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust, The SeaBank Chronicles is written, hosted, and produced by Beth Short-Rhoads. When in doubt, just keep listening. Sources and credits Read transcript

  5. 11/11/2025

    Joules of the Sea: The Hidden Lives of Hooligan

    There’s a submersible in the SeaBank supply closet. Locate that—and some thick socks. We’re off to find some hooligan, and they like it cold.   Hooligan are a forage fish that spawn in glacial-fed SeaBank rivers where ideal temperature and salinity conditions support the survival of this rich species. Made of 20% oil, hooligan are a link between essential fatty acids found in plankton and the rest of the food web. Each spring, they return to the SeaBank’s icy waters where embryos tumble-incubate to estuaries before hatching. Hooligan have been a key spring food for Indigenous people for millennia, providing nutrients, medicine, and cultural connection in addition to feeding sea mammals, eagles, and other fish after a long, lean winter. As hooligan runs falter elsewhere on the west coast of North America, it’s more important than ever to protect SeaBank waterways where this key forage fish still thrives. When in doubt, just keep listening. Sources and credits

    Joules of the Sea: The Hidden Lives of Hooligan

  6. 11/05/2025

    Forests are Cool Places: 3 More Reasons People Need Trees

    Sensors in your smart shirt indicate you're overheating. Follow the voice of your radio operator to the shelter of a forest canopy. This adventure in the cooling power of trees is sponsored by Earthjustice. You’ve worked up a sweat groundtruthing the SeaBank ecosystem. Lucky for you, there’s a forest in your future—a place where temperatures dip to human-friendly levels beneath feathery western hemlocks and prickly Sitka spruce. But it’s not just shade that makes this old growth forest a cool place. Amid a soundtrack of rustling treetops, flowing water, and spellbinding musical interludes, you’ll learn three ways that forests help cool our planet, beyond the shade factor and the major benefit of climate sequestration. It’s all about those piney smells wafting around you, branches sighing overhead, and the voracious appetite of hydrogen bonds. Think forests are passive players in climate-proofing our world? Think again. More information about the connection between people and forests at www.earthjustice.org. The SeaBank Chronicles is a natural sound theater transporting you through the living science of Southeast Alaska. Combining facts and mystery, each 7-minute episode delivers listeners to Alaska’s coastal rainforest to groundtruth terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Immerse yourself in rich audio effects woven with lush voice narration for an experience that is educational and spellbinding. A project of the Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust, The SeaBank Chronicles is written, hosted, and produced by Beth Short-Rhoads. When in doubt, just keep listening. Sources and credits.

    Forests are Cool Places: 3 More Reasons People Need Trees

  7. 10/28/2025

    A Salmon Habitat Mosaic: Why Glaciers and Volcanoes Matter to Fish

    Grab all the foul-weather gear you can find—in this transmission, you’ll trek across a tumultuous landscape in search of resilience strategies for wild Alaska salmon. Sponsored by Acme Smoked Fish. Ice-age glaciers, volcanoes, tectonic motion, windstorms, and flooding are all part of the package when it comes to salmon’s biggest defense against climate change: genetic diversity. While Alaska is home to five species of Pacific salmon, its genetically-distinct stocks number in the hundreds of perhaps even thousands. With subtle differences in appearance and behavior, these robust populations embody what scientists call the “portfolio effect.” What does this mean and how can it help salmon remain climate resilient? Find out as you enjoy a soundtrack of immersive sounds and musical interludes that take you from the placid lakes of Alaska’s Bristol Bay region to the rushing rivers of Southeast. Then, read Sockeye 101 at www.acmesmokedfish.com. The SeaBank Chronicles is a natural sound theater transporting you through the living science of Southeast Alaska. Combining facts and mystery, each 7-minute episode delivers listeners to Alaska’s coastal rainforest to groundtruth terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Immerse yourself in rich audio effects woven with lush voice narration for an experience that is educational and spellbinding. A project of the Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust, The SeaBank Chronicles is written, hosted, and produced by Beth Short-Rhoads. When in doubt, just keep listening. Sources and credits.

    A Salmon Habitat Mosaic: Why Glaciers and Volcanoes Matter to Fish

  8. 10/21/2025

    Cracking the Black Cod Code: Why is Sablefish So Rich?

    You're cold. You're wet. You're hungry. Come in out of the rain for a classic SeaBank dinner. This culinary adventure is sponsored by Sitka Seafood Market. After groundtruthing the SeaBank ecosystem, it's time to gather around a crackling fire in a cozy SeaBank outpost to explore a delicious recipe—miso and soy-glazed sablefish. Amid a collage of lively cooking sounds and musical soundtrack that features the traditional Japanese folk song “Sakura,” you’ll break the black cod code to answer the question: why is this species so abundant in healthy, marine-derived lipids like omega-3 oils DHA and EPA? It’s all about microscopic marine plants called diatoms that spin sunlight into sugar at the base of the marine food web. When fellow SeaBank groundtruthers show up in search of a hot meal, you’ll welcome them with the unrivaled taste sensation that is black cod—and the mystery of deliciousness locked inside the black cod code. To find the recipe featured in this transmission, visit www.sitkaseafoodmarket.com. The SeaBank Chronicles is a natural sound theater transporting you through the living science of Southeast Alaska. Combining facts and mystery, each 7-minute episode delivers listeners to Alaska’s coastal rainforest to groundtruth terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Immerse yourself in rich audio effects woven with lush voice narration for an experience that is educational and spellbinding. A project of the Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust, The SeaBank Chronicles is written, hosted, and produced by Beth Short-Rhoads. When in doubt, just keep listening. Sources and credits

    Cracking the Black Cod Code: Why is Sablefish So Rich?
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

The SeaBank Chronicles is a natural sound theater transporting you through the living science of Southeast Alaska. Combining facts and mystery, each 7-minute episode delivers listeners to Alaska’s coastal rainforest where they groundtruth terrestrial and marine ecosystems guided by a calm and trusted radio operator. Voice narration is woven with rich audio effects to create an immersive experience that is educational and spellbinding. Listeners will learn about the wild and silvery nation of migrating salmon, ancient old growth forests, and the human communities who make their home among them. A project of the Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust, The SeaBank Chronicles is written, hosted, and produced by Beth Short-Rhoads.

Information

  • Creator
    Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    18
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © yes
  • Show Website
    The SeaBank Chronicles

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