2/27 Turn Is, light pollution, fish farms, fuel spill trial, Marysville trails, king penguins, protect orcas

Turn Island [WA Dept of Ecology]

Turn Island
Initially it was thought by Wllkes to be a part of San Juan Island and was named Point Salsbury in honor of Francis Salsbury, captain of the expedition's vessel Top. In 1858 the British foundit actually to be an island (with adjacent dangerous rocks that are submerged except at low tide) and renamed it Turn Island and Turn Rocks to mark the proper channel. It is a 35-acre Washington state marine park. (Washington State Place Names)

Light Pollution Identified As Potential Issue For Threatened Puget Sound Chinook Salmon 
It’s been nearly 20 years since the federal government listed Puget Sound Chinook salmon as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The fish inhabit one of the most urbanized watersheds in the region. Local governments have just updated a 10-year recovery plan. One of the new priorities they’re addressing is a possible link between fish mortality and artificial light. On a cold winter’s night, a team of federal researchers has just pulled in a net from the south end of Lake Washington. They’re working at five sites along the shoreline. Here in the shallows at Renton’s Gene Coulon Park is where lots of baby Chinook swim from the Cedar River and spend several months growing before they head out to Puget Sound and then the ocean. The researchers are counting how many of the tiny fish gathered beneath lights they put up over the water, compared to spots where there was no light. After just two hours, the difference is pretty dramatic: six chinook in a dark spot, 60 beneath the first light they check. Belllamy Pailthorp reports. (KNKX)

Puget Sound region's Atlantic salmon fish farms could be headed for final harvest
The salmon-farming industry in the United States got its start right here in the Puget Sound region in the 1970s with experiments to raise salmon perfectly pan-sized or just right to fit the slot of a TV dinner. Union Carbide, then Campbell’s Soup, and a string of other entrepreneurs eventually decided docile, domesticated Atlantic salmon fattened up fastest and best in the open-water net pens they were test-piloting in Puget Sound. The industry really took off when federal fisheries scientists, with more than 1 million jilted Atlantic salmon eggs intended for restocking depleted East Coast streams, instead gave them to private industry. By the time Cooke Aquaculture Pacific came to Washington in 2016, the state was home to one of the largest marine finfish aquaculture operations in the country, with nine net pens producing as much as 17 million pounds of Atlantic salmon grown every year in Puget Sound. Lynda Mapes reports. (Seattle Times)

Trial begins over fuel spill in English Bay, one defendant doesn’t show up
A trial for a vessel and a company that were charged after thousands of litres of bunker fuel spilled off British Columbia’s coast nearly three years ago began in provincial court today without one defendant attending the court hearing. The Greek shipping firm Alassia NewShips Management Inc. and the vessel MV Marathassa face 10 environmental related charges after 2,700 litres of fuel leaked into English Bay in April 2015. Alassia has previously denied ownership of the Marathassa and argued the ship’s master and captain Antonios Valakitsis worked on a contract. (Financial Post)

Marysville to build new trails at estuary and Whiskey Ridge
Two trail projects are scheduled this year to connect and expand popular paths. Marysville is set to add about 2.6 miles of trail total. More than $2 million in work is planned. One of the trail additions is near the restored Qwuloolt Estuary and the once-industrial waterfront the city aims to revamp for public use. The other would link the Bayview Trail on the east side of the city with the regional Centennial Trail. Kari Bray reports. (Everett Herald)

King penguins face warming challenge
King penguins are in deep trouble if nothing is done to constrain climate change, researchers say. The scientists have assessed the birds' fragmented population in the Southern Ocean and concluded that some island strongholds will become unsustainable. The problem is the continued movement away from key nesting sites of the penguins' favoured foraging grounds. And as the climate warms further, food will simply become too distant for many birds to fetch for their chicks. Jonathan Amos report. (BBC)

Captain Hobbes creates organization to protect orcas
After 15 years as a whale watch tour operator, Captain Alan “Hobbes” Buchanan’s passion for whales has led him to create a new organization titled Orca Protection and Rescue. The organization is dedicated to protecting the Southern resident killer whales and wildlife of the Salish Sea. Orca Protection and Rescue will focus on improving whale watch regulations and enforcement, as well as the removal of marine debris and plastics. “I’m done with too many whale watch and private boats around the whales at a time, not enough enforcement, some bad tour operators due to poor training, and ignorance around these majestic animals,” said Buchanan. (Islands Weekly)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  240 AM PST Tue Feb 27 2018  
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON
GALE WATCH IN EFFECT FROM WEDNESDAY MORNING THROUGH WEDNESDAY  AFTERNOON  
TODAY  SW wind 15 to 25 kt becoming W in the afternoon. Wind  waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell 7 ft at 12 seconds. Rain in the morning  then a slight chance of showers in the afternoon.
TONIGHT  W wind 10 to 20 kt becoming S 5 to 15 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 8 ft at 11 seconds. A  slight chance of showers in the evening then a chance of showers  after midnight.

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