1/2 Bulky people, crab catch, fish rule changes, seabird threats, wetland suit

(Photo: Vancouver Sun)

Happy New Year and best wishes for 2012. To all the polar bears who braved the waters of the Salish Sea, a salute!

Laurie MacBride blogs on the magic of watching.  Much More than Meets the Eye  

Story’s been done a number of times but, as we make resolutions about being a bit more fit in 2012, here’s how Bill Yardley at the New York Times tells the story: Bulk’s Not Just in Bulkhead, So Coast Guard Steps In

Sport fishers of Dungeness crabs had a record harvest and now have to self-report their late season catches. Only 52 percent of the total number of 2011 Puget Sound Crab Endorsement summer catch record card holders met their legal obligations— which gives weight to arguments from tribal and commercial fishers that the expanded sport crab fishery cannot be effectively managed by the state to meet conservation and catch-sharing mandates.  Crab catch reporting will dictate future  

Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission on Saturday will discuss and decide on whether to close fishing early for steelhead and other game fish in several river systems in Puget Sound and along the Strait of Juan de Fuca to protect wild steelhead. Commission takes input on proposed fishing rule changes   

Overfishing hurts seabirds not only by entangling them in fishing gear but by depriving them of prey. When the amount of forage fish drops below one-third of its maximum, seabirds of many species start to have fewer chicks. Seabird-fish research shows threshold for danger

Fill in a wetland without a permit, face a fine from the EPA. Go to court and have the Supreme Court hear your case to consider how and when you can challenge the kind of order EPA issues to stop and restore the damage. High court to hear EPA case from Idaho

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 900 AM PST MON JAN 2 2012
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM TUESDAY
TODAY
SE WIND 20 TO 30 KT...BECOMING S 10 TO 20 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 3 TO 5 FT SUBSIDING TO 1 TO 3 FT. SW SWELL 8 FT AT 10 SECONDS... BUILDING TO 10 FT AT 11 SECONDS IN THE AFTERNOON. RAIN AT TIMES.
TONIGHT
SE WIND 5 TO 15 KT RISING TO 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES BUILDING TO 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 11 FT AT 13 SECONDS. SHOWERS LIKELY IN THE EVENING...THEN RAIN AFTER MIDNIGHT.

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