7/12 Rockfish ESA, fighting eagles, MV Coho, sinking vessels, scorpionflies

Black rockfish (NOAA)

The Center for Biological Diversity said Thursday it intends to sue the National Marine Fisheries Service for missing a deadline to designate protected habitat for endangered Puget Sound rockfish. It's been three years since they were listed. A lawyer for the group in San Francisco, Catherine Kilduff, says some rockfish can live to be 100 years old and losing them would be like clear-cutting an old growth forest. Fisheries Service spokesman Brian Gorman in Seattle says the agency will likely complete the designation within 60 days, before a lawsuit would be filed. Gorman says the designation will have little practical effect because it would overlay existing protections in Puget Sound for Chinook salmon and killer whales. The designation serves as a red flag to federal agencies. Lawsuit threatened over Puget Sound rockfish

If you like to watch: It’s always pretty special to see an eagle soaring near the water. But summer revelers in Seattle were recently shocked when they saw two of the large birds fighting in mid-air, dive-bombing each other at Seward Park.  Dylan Okimoto and his daughter were throwing a football around at the park on July 4 when suddenly others near him started shouting. “So I turn around and think I catch a glimpse of something black and spiraling,” Okimoto said. "And it ends up (that) two eagles crash-land into the water.” Bellamy Pailthorp reports. Close Encounter with Fighting Eagles at Seward Park  

U.S. and Canadian authorities have begun an investigation into what caused the MV Coho ferry to back into a dock used to service seaplanes on its way out of Victoria's Inner Harbour on Wednesday. The collision broke the floating structure into at least three pieces. It was the first such incident for the 53-year-old ferry, company officials said.  No planes were tied to the dock, and no injuries were reported in the 7:30 p.m. crash. Jeremy Schwartz reports. Two-nation probe opens into unprecedented MV Coho crash into Victoria dock

Divers were having trouble Thursday removing the vessel Clam Digger from the water where it sank near Guemes Island Wednesday evening. No fuel appeared to be leaking from the vessel Thursday, which was estimated to hold nearly 3,000 gallons of fuel. Several agencies were on-site, prepared to respond to a spill. Tides, currents and weather in the area could quickly dissipate leaks, making them hard to identify, state Department of Ecology spokesman Dustin Terpening said. Kimberly Cauvel reports. Workers struggle to recover sunken vessel near Guemes Island  And: Yacht destroyed by fire sinks in Roche Harbor marina

Ancient fossils of an extinct family of insects have been found in British Columbia and northern Washington state, and a Canadian biologist says they may hold valuable lessons about climate change and evolution. Bruce Archibald of Simon Fraser University said researchers found fossils belonging to a previously unknown family of scorpionflies near Cache Creek, B.C., and Republic, Wash., while conducting fieldwork. Scorpionflies are flying scavengers that feed on the remains of other insects. Fossils of extinct scorpionflies found in B.C.

Now, your weekend tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT FRI JUL 12 2013
TODAY
W WIND 10 KT RISING TO 10 TO 20 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 FT...BUILDING TO 1 TO 3 FT IN THE AFTERNOON. W SWELL 4 FT AT 8 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
W WIND 10 TO 20 KT EASING TO 5 TO 15 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 3 FT AT 8 SECONDS.
SAT
LIGHT WIND...BECOMING W 5 TO 15 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS IN THE AFTERNOON. W SWELL 3 FT AT 7 SECONDS.
SAT NIGHT
W WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 2 FT AT 8 SECONDS.
SUN
LIGHT WIND...BECOMING W 10 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 2 FT AT 8 SECONDS.

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