11/8 Hermit crab sponge, herring homecoming, dead crabs, heat pumps, B'ham carbon, U.S. climate, road salt, derelict boats, ocean acid

Hermit crab sponge [Sound Water Stewards]

Hermit crab sponge Suberites sp.
Although sponge of this genus is well known because of its tendency to overgrow a snail shell being carried around by a hermit crab, on Whidbey Island beaches, we most often see it as a lobe shaped encrusting mass attached to shaded areas of rock in the very low intertidal zone. It has a firm leathery texture and is colored tan to yellow-orange. The mass may be up to 1.2 in (3 cm) thick and may reach a diameter of 14 in (36 cm) Its range extends from the very low intertidal to a depth of 118 feet (36 meters). Sponges are filter feeders. This sponge is preyed upon by nudibranchs. (Sound Water Stewards)

Welcoming Herring Home
In Howe Sound, British Columbia, a new generation of stewards is keeping careful tabs on the comeback efforts of a tiny fish with big cultural value. Lauren Kaljur reports. (Hakai Magazine)

Dungeness crab dying amid low oxygen levels linked to climate change
...(P)iles of dead Dungeness crab washed ashore on Kalaloch Beach this summer. Meanwhile, fishers have shared stories about hoisting up dead or suffocating crabs in their pots, said Jenny Waddell, research ecologist with the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary.Now, scientists are working to understand how climate change is affecting Dungeness crab, which is both culturally significant and a pillar of Washington’s seafood industry. From 2014 to 2019, coast-caught Dungeness was worth an annual average of $45 million. Isabella Breda reports. (Seattle Times)

WA building council votes to require heat pumps in new homes and apartments
New homes and apartments in Washington will be required to install heat pumps beginning in July, the Washington State Building Code Council ruled Friday. The council voted 9-5 last week on the ruling, a decision that could help the state further reduce carbon emissions by electrifying the heating systems of new buildings. The council, which is appointed by the governor, voted in April to revise the state’s building code to require heat pumps in large and commercial buildings. Nicholas Turner reports. (Seattle Times)

Bellingham not on track to meet established carbon pollution targets
Bellingham is not on track to meet its carbon pollution minimization goals, city council members learned during a Monday Climate Action Committee Meeting. The goals, established by the city’s initial Climate Action Plan in 2007 and updated in 2018, call for the city to reduce overall carbon pollution by 40% by 2030 and 85% by 2050, compared to baseline measures taken in 2000. Julia Lerner reports. (CDN)

Climate change threatening ‘things Americans value most,’ U.S. report says
Climate change is unleashing “far-reaching and worsening” calamities in every region of the United States, and the economic and human toll will only increase unless humans move faster to slow the planet’s warming, according to a sprawling new federal report  released Monday.  Brady Dennis, Chris Mooney and Steven Mufson report. (Washington Post)

Researchers investigate impact of road salt on salmon
A group of researchers, including staff from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, UBC, SFU, BCIT and volunteers with local stream-keepers groups, is beginning a study to look into the impact of road salt on salmon in creeks around Metro Vancouver. According to the group, there's already research showing that high concentrations of salt in freshwater — where salmon begin their lives — can be harmful, but it's not known exactly how much salt is winding up in streams around Metro Vancouver, and it hasn't been established that the effects on Pacific salmon are the same as those on Atlantic salmon that have already been studied. Rafferty Baker reports. (CBC)

Transport Canada to dispose of 11 derelict vessels in False Creek
Transport Canada has served notice it will seize and dispose of 11 vessels moored in False Creek that the federal agency deems wrecked, abandoned or hazardous. Owners have 30 days from publication of a notice to remove abandoned boats before Transport Canada hauls them out of the water to dispose of. Gordon McIntyre reports (Vancouver Sun)

Have you read the Salish Current?
Researchers, growers face the challenge of acidic ocean water: Dealing with the problem of ocean acidification is like trying to work a 1,000-piece puzzle without “the picture of what it’s supposed to look like and … missing half the pieces.” Read it here. Independent, fact based news for Whatcom, San Juan and Skagit counties. Free to read, free from ads. Catch the Current here.

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  253 AM PST Tue Nov 8 2022   
GALE WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM PST THIS MORNING   
TODAY  E wind 25 to 35 kt easing to 15 to 25 kt in the  afternoon. Combined seas 4 to 7 ft with a dominant period of  11 seconds. 
TONIGHT  E wind 15 to 25 kt easing to 10 to 20 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. NW swell 2 ft at 9 seconds.

--
"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to mikesato772 (@) gmail.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

Follow on Twitter. 

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told