10/16 Lolita, geoengineering, ocean acid, derelict vessels, Lummi Rock, Mainstream Canada, big eyeball

The federal government has agreed to reconsider a petition aimed at freeing the killer whale Lolita from captivity at Miami Seaquarium. The Animal Legal Defense Fund and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals plan to file a new petition asking the National Marine Fisheries Service to include the captive orca Lolita within its endangered species listing for Puget Sound orcas. Lolita has been performing at Seaquarium since she was captured from Northwest waters in 1970. Under a settlement agreement filed Friday with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the federal government must decide by specific time periods whether protection for the captive killer whale is warranted. In return, the groups agreed to dismiss its appeal.  U.S. to reconsider petition that would free the orca Lolita

In our backyard: A controversial American businessman dumped around 100 tonnes of iron sulphate into the Pacific Ocean as part of a geoengineering scheme off the west coast of Canada in July, a Guardian investigation can reveal. Lawyers, environmentalists and civil society groups are calling it a "blatant violation" of two international moratoria and the news is likely to spark outrage at a United Nations environmental summit taking place in India this week. Satellite images appear to confirm the claim by Californian Russ George that the iron has spawned an artificial plankton bloom as large as 10,000 square kilometres. The intention is for the plankton to absorb carbon dioxide and then sink to the ocean bed – a geoengineering technique known as ocean fertilisation that he hopes will net lucrative carbon credits. World's biggest geoengineering experiment 'violates' UN rules  

Lawmakers will introduce a new bill to tackle Washington's ocean acidification troubles prior to the upcoming state legislative session in January, according to state Sen. Kevin Ranker (D-Orcas Island). Ranker told Crosscut that the potential bill has both Democrat and Republican support, just after he left a Friday meeting of Gov. Chris Gregoire's panel to combat ocean acidification. Gubernatorial candidates Jay Inslee and Rob McKenna, he said, have also been kept in the loop on the findings of the panel. The 28-member panel — to which Ranker belongs and which is made up of legislators, state agency officials, environmentalists, scientists and business representatives — met Friday to discuss a 43-item list of ocean acidification projects that it believes the state should tackle. So far the list includes roughly 20 top priority measures. A bi-partisan move to save Washington shellfish  

Pressure is mounting on government agencies to do something about derelict watercraft off Vancouver Island, after the third of five abandoned barges sank this week in the Chemainus harbour. One barge has been towed to Ladysmith, while another remains afloat in Chemainus. The sunken barges are a travesty, said Peter Luck-ham, a scuba divemaster and charter operator on Thetis Island. The various government agencies have allowed the barges to sink to the bottom of Chemainus harbour, he said. Crackdown urged after barge sinks  

A Lummi Island quarry is appealing orders from Whatcom County's planning department to cease work along the shore near ecologically important eelgrass beds. County Planning and Development Services issued two stop-work orders to Lummi Rock, which mines gravel and rock at Smuggler's Cove. The department claims Lummi Rock is mooring barges and running barge-loading equipment without shoreline management permits and near eelgrass, which provides a beneficial environment to salmon, herring and shellfish.  Lummi Island quarry challenges alleged environmental violations  

A British Columbia salmon farming company is appealing a judge's decision to dismiss a defamation case against an industry critic. Mainstream Canada took British-born activist Don Staniford to court earlier this year over a 2011 campaign that included images of cigarette-like packages and statements such as "Salmon Farming Kills Like Smoking.'' Justice Elaine Adair dismissed the case in September, saying while Staniford's statements were defamatory and he was motivated by malice, the activist honestly believed in what he was saying and animosity wasn't his dominant purpose. Fish farming firm appeals ruling in defamation case

Thank goodness: Mystery solved: 'softball-sized eyeball' likely belongs to a swordfish  

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 900 PM PDT MON OCT 15 2012
TUE
W WIND 20 TO 30 KT. WIND WAVES 3 TO 5 FT. W SWELL 12 FT AT 11 SECONDS. SHOWERS.
TUE NIGHT
W WIND 15 TO 20 KT EASING TO 10 TO 15 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 3 FT SUBSIDING TO 1 OR 2 FT. W SWELL 11 FT AT
 12 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
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