The SeaBank Chronicles

Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust
  • 5.0 (3)
  • PLACES & TRAVEL
  • UPDATED 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. Joules of the Sea: The Hidden Lives of Hooligan

    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

    7 min
  2. Forests are Cool Place: 3 More Reasons People Need Trees

    11/05/2025

    Forests are Cool Place: 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.

    7 min
  3. A Salmon Habitat Mosaic: Why Glaciers and Volcanoes Matter to Fish

    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.

    7 min
  4. Cracking the Black Cod Code: Why is Sablefish So Rich?

    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

    7 min
  5. Sandpipers on the Silvery Stikine: What's the Secret in All That Mud?

    10/14/2025

    Sandpipers on the Silvery Stikine: What's the Secret in All That Mud?

    What's your boot size? There's a pair waiting in your Stikine River jet boat. This birding adventure is sponsored by Audubon Alaska. Step into another universe during the Stikine River Shorebird Festival, which takes place near the SeaBank outpost of Wrangell each year in late April. You’ll travel a 27,000-acre intertidal delta to reach an otherworldly expanse of silvery mudflats where shorebirds—including enchanting murmurations of western sandpipers—gather for a nutrient-dense feast during their migratory journey to northern breeding grounds. But it’s not crustaceans or worms those sandpipers are pecking at in the mud. What is this mysterious substance? Find out as you immerse yourself in the sounds of flocking birds, flowing water, and a musical symphony that invites your ears to take flight. Don’t forget your birding map from www.ak.audubon.org—and your Xtratufs! 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

    7 min
  6. Passport to a Salmon Stronghold: A Taku River Flyover

    10/07/2025

    Passport to a Salmon Stronghold: A Taku River Flyover

    That noise? It's your helicopter. Put on your headset and climb aboard! This trip to Canada's boreal forest is sponsored by Salmon Beyond Borders. Step aboard the Coho Cruiser helicopter for a flyover of the Taku River watershed, a 4.5-million-acre transboundary salmon stronghold that connects the SeaBank and boreal forests of northern British Columbia. Learn why this ecosystem is a global hotspot for salmon production (hint: it’s wild as all get-out) and how it’s expected to change the face of salmon resilience in western North America. Witness the ill effects of transboundary mining and the positive side to climate change—emerging glacial streams that will likely expand prime salmon habitat on the West Coast. Who is watching over these lands and waters? Tribal entities on both sides of the political border. Join them by listening to this episode of the SeaBank Chronicles, then learn what you can do to protect the Taku as an official salmon stronghold at www.salmonbeyondborders.org/take-action. . 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

    7 min
  7. Cruising Toward a Pollution Solution: How a Healthy Ecosystem and Cruise Ship Tourism Can Coexist

    09/29/2025

    Cruising Toward a Pollution Solution: How a Healthy Ecosystem and Cruise Ship Tourism Can Coexist

    Do you copy? Weather data shows it's a beautiful day in the SeaBank. Pull out your snorkel and prepare to dive in. Sponsored by Southeast Alaska Conservation Council. In this transmission about Alaska's coastal rainforest ecosystem, you’ll combine a snorkeling excursion in SeaBank waters with an immersive economics lesson on negative externalities. While floating amid the sounds of seagulls and bell buoys, encounter phytoplankton and other inhabitants of the marine food web—along with the realities of aquatic pollution like PAHs, sulfates, nitrates, and heavy metals released by cruise ships that use open-loop scrubber technology. Luckily, your pack contains a dry towel plus a pollution solution with room for both the economic benefits of tourism and a healthy Southeast Alaska environment. It’s all about a switch from low-quality heavy fuel oil to cleaner-burning marine gas oil, which any vessel employing a marine scrubber can easily do 100% of the time. For more information on the use of Heavy Fuel Oil and sustainable cruise tourism, visit Southeast Alaska Conservation Council at www.seacc.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

    7 min

  8. 01/01/2025

    Seeking Shelter: Knock Here for Climate Resilience

    Episode Notes Go ahead—knock on any door. Logbook 1, Transmission 7. In the final episode of this season, find yourself in the path of a powerful coastal storm. Follow instructions from your radio operator and seek shelter in the communities of Southeast Alaska. Protected by the might of ancient forests and sturdy wetland buffers, residents of these resilient SeaBank outposts are gathering to share myriad ideas for adapting to climate change and preserving life-giving lands and waters in a swiftly changing world. 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, guided by a trusted radio operator. Voice narration weaves in and out of rich audio effects to create an immersive experience that is both educational and spellbinding. Listeners will learn about the wild and silvery nation of migrating salmon, ancient trees, and the human communities who find refuge among them. A project of the Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust, The SeaBank Chronicles is written, hosted, and produced by Beth Short-Rhoads.

    7 min
See All (14)

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 - 2025
  • Episodes
    14
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © yes
  • Show Website
    The SeaBank Chronicles