4/20 Whale breath, oil sickness, BC spill centre, BP, Elwha mud, Northern Marine, Nooksack kill, Coquitlam Reservoir, Cypress restoration, rockfish MPA

New blog: Our lives are global when we least expect them to be. Travel Notes: Islands in the Salish Sea in Brussels

Celebrate Earth Day weekend at Welcome the Whale Days by hearing Dr. Bruce Mate speaks about Varvara and other Western Pacific Gray whales on Saturday at 3 PM in Langley, Whidbey Island OMG - Whales text their BFFs!  

New research shows that killer whales are inhaling bacteria, fungi and viruses once believed to be found only on land. Some of the pathogens are highly virulent. And some are even antibiotic-resistant.  Killer whales facing an airborne threat  

Open sores. Parasitic infections. Chewed-up-looking fins. Gashes. Mysterious black streaks. Two years after the drilling-rig explosion that touched off the biggest offshore oil spill in U.S. history, scientists are beginning to suspect that fish in the Gulf of Mexico are suffering the effects of the petroleum.  2 years later, fish sick near BP oil spill site  

The federal government is closing B.C.'s command centre for emergency oil spills at a time when the province is facing two possible pipeline projects and a potential spike in tanker traffic in West Coast waterways. Ottawa has said it will shut down B.C.'s regional office for emergency oil-spill responders, located in Vancouver, and centralize operations in Quebec in the wake of the cost-cutting March 29 federal budget.  Oil-spill centre moving out of B.C.  

BP Cherry Point is a few weeks away from returning to normal refining operations, but don't expect to see much change at the gas pump. More than 3,000 contract workers have been at the refinery doing annual maintenance work as well as dealing with the aftermath of the Feb. 17 fire in the crude vacuum unit.  BP Cherry Point closer to resuming normal operations after fire, annual turnaround  

The sediment behind the Elwah dams is one of the factors that makes the $325 million Elwha restoration the largest dam removal project ever anywhere, with some 24 million cubic yards of sediment to manage. Much of the material will remain behind in the watershed, distributed along the river's middle and lower run. But a lot of it is also rinsing out to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, where it is expected the material will help rebuild the near shore and beaches eroded to ankle-turning cobble. Here it comes: sediment starts to really hit the Elwha  


The Washington State Department of Ecology issued a $48,000 fine to an Anacortes yacht builder recently, citing failure to properly label and dispose of hazardous material for three consecutive inspections over an eight-month period.  Northern Marine fined $48,000  

Officials are looking for anyone with information about a spill that may have caused a sudden die-off of young salmon in the Nooksack River Tuesday. Lummi Natural Resources Department staff reported 11 dead Chinook salmon smolts and more than 100 dead pink and chum salmon in a smolt trap at Hovander Park. Officials seek tips on Nooksack River spill that killed young salmon 


Metro Vancouver is hoping to head off proposed federal government water-quality standards that it says could force Lower Mainland residents to pay $300 million to build what officials say is an unnecessary filtration system at its Coquitlam Reservoir. “It’s all very well for the federal government to set these high standards as it doesn’t cost them anything. We are the ones who will have to pay,” said North Vancouver City Mayor Darrell Mussatto. Metro Vancouver wants federal government to back off on water quality demands  

The state’s final construction budget includes $535,000 for restoration work on Cypress Island, west of Anacortes. Part of the grant will restore the Secret Harbor estuary, enhance public access and increase capacity for tourism and low-impact public uses.  Cypress Island receives money for restoration  

If you like to watch: How big do marine reserves need to be to protect resident rockfish for their entire lives? Oregon State University graduate student Tom Calvanese is tracking six species of rockfish. He captured 30 different fish inside the reserve and inserted acoustic tags into them. He set receivers inside the reserve and along the reserve boundaries. And for about a year now he’s been collecting data from the receivers that show how much time the fish spend inside and outside of the reserve. Watch the results of Tom's research: Inside A Marine Reserve: Adopt A Rockfish And See If It’s Protected  

Now, your weekend tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT FRI APR 20 2012
TODAY
W WIND 10 TO 20 KT...BECOMING NW 10 TO 15 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 6 FT AT 9 SECONDS. RAIN LIKELY THIS MORNING...THEN A CHANCE OF RAIN IN THE AFTERNOON.
TONIGHT
W SWELL 10 FT AT 11 SECONDS. NW WIND 10 TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT.
SAT
SW WIND 10 KT...BECOMING SE IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 FT. W SWELL 8 FT AT 10 SECONDS. SLIGHT CHANCE OF RAIN IN THE AFTERNOON.
SAT NIGHT
SE WIND 10 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 2 FT. W SWELL 6 FT.
SUN
SE WIND 10 KT EARLY...BECOMING LIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 5 FT.

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