8/9 Shellfish closure, fish farm lawsuit, BC virus, Port Gamble cleanup, Victoria sewage, red Stilly, Swift Cr., ocean trash

New calf J-49 (Center for Whale Research)

Sinclair and Dyes inlets near Bremerton have been added to the list of areas in Kitsap County closed to shellfish harvesting because of high levels or paralytic shellfish poison, sometimes known as "red tide." The closure area now includes the entire eastern shoreline of Kitsap County from Point Jefferson to the Pierce County line, including all the bays and inlets. Chris Dunagan reports.  Sinclair, Dyes inlets also closed to shellfish harvesting

A B.C. First Nation revealed yesterday morning at a press conference that it seeks to re-launch a class-action lawsuit against the B.C. and federal governments to ultimately force the closure of commercial open net-pen fish farms in Broughton Archipelago. The Kwicksutaineuk/Ah-Kwa-Mish First Nation (KAFN) announced its plan to push ahead with renewed legal action to protect its territorial wild salmon stocks from sea lice allegedly caused by nearby salmon farms after a prior attempt at a class action proceeding was stymied by a legal loophole. KAFN Chief Robert Chamberlin condemned the provincial and federal governments for jeopardizing the wild salmon population in B.C. and expressed disappointment in Victoria and Ottawa for continuing to support the aquaculture industry in spite of the environmental impacts. Michael V'inkin Lee reports. First Nation bid to close fish farms may reach Canadian Supreme Court

Two B.C. fish farms will cull their fish this week after receiving confirmation of a virus that can be deadly to Atlantic salmon. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has confirmed that infectious haematopoetic necrosis, or IHN, has been found in salmon at Grieg Seafood’s farm at Culloden Point on Jervis Inlet and Mainstream Canada’s farm at Millar Channel in Clayoquot Sound. Judith Lavoie reports. Virus confirmed, two B.C. salmon farms to cull fish  

An environmental cleanup of Port Gamble Bay in North Kitsap could cost Pope Resources $14.3 million, according to a company statement that reports a net loss of $9.3 million for the second quarter of this year. The new cost estimate is more than seven times the $2 million figure that the Poulsbo-based company previously estimated as its share of the cleanup cost, based on a feasibility study issued last year. Chris Dunagan reports.  Pope Resources updates cleanup costs at Port Gamble  

Greater Victoria's politicians are getting set to turn over control of sewage treatment to a commission of unelected technical experts, who will shepherd the massive project through construction. The seven-person commission will assume much of the work - from contract-signing to getting shovels in the ground - in making the project a reality by March 31, 2018. Placing control in the hands of a quasi-independent panel of experts was a condition of the province's $248-million share of the sewage-treatment bill, announced last month.  The early estimate on cost is $783 million. Rob Shaw reports. Unelected team to run big sewage project

The Stilly will briefly run red next week. A state Department of Ecology research team plans to put red dye in the Stillaguamish River on Wednesday evening as part of a water quality study. The instruments will measure the concentration of the dye in the water over a 12-hour period and help researchers measure river travel times and the rate at which a pollutant would dissipate in the river water. Gale Fiege reports. Red dye will measure water quality in Stillaguamish  

A plan to contain asbestos along Swift Creek will be reviewed for possible environmental impacts. The plan, if carried out as written, would affect Swift Creek itself. It calls for three main approaches to controlling the spread of sediment that contains naturally occurring asbestos: steel-and-timber structures in Swift Creek canyon, levees to control flooding, and excavated basins to trap sediment and slow flood waters. The plan to be scrutinized was completed in early 2011 and proposes a $10 million "mid-term" solution to controlling asbestos in the sediment in Swift Creek. Long-term management would require stabilizing a landslide on Sumas Mountain, which is the source of cancer-causing asbestos, in addition to heavy metals, according to the plan. Ralph Schwartz reports.  Whatcom County officials prepare for asbestos control at Swift Creek

An environmental group has returned from another trip into the debris field in the North Pacific, where it found that home-grown garbage — not tsunami wreckage — is forming the bulk of the floating mess. The Kaisei, the Ocean Voyages Institute's research ship, has made several trips over the past four years into what's called the North Pacific gyre in order to document and track man-made ocean garbage. On every trip, the crew has been pulling up plastic waste at almost every sample point. On its most recent expedition, the research team found that most of the garbage was not of Japanese-origin. It was from this side of the Pacific. Pacific Ocean garbage mostly from home, not Japan tsunami

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 257 AM PDT THU AUG 9 2012
TODAY
W WIND 10 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 OR 2 FT. W SWELL 2 FT AT 9 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
W WIND 10 TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 3 FT AT 7 SECONDS.

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