4/13 Brittle star, ship fire, river otters, hypoxia, orca protection, underwater noise, BC cruise ships, fish kill, goose story

Painted brittle star
Dave Cowles/Walla Walla University]

Painted brittle star Ophiopholis aculeata
This is the main species common on rocky shores in our area.  Others can be found in gravelly areas or in areas with boulders interspersed with sand.  They feed by capturing food with their tube feet, by picking up detritus, or by mucus secreted by the rays.  Predators include fish and harlequin ducks.  Ovaries are red and testes are white.  In our area they may spawn in Jan-March, July, October, or November. (Walla Walla University)

Tacoma ship fire worse for climate than burning a million gallons of gasoline
...The fire on the Kodiak Enterprise released tons of one of the most dangerous substances for the global climate and the Earth’s protective ozone layer. Firefighters attempted to keep tanks containing nearly 10 tons of the coolant Freon from overheating and releasing their contents to the atmosphere. John Ryan reports. (KUOW)

River otters return to the Duwamish despite toxic contamination
Is their presence a harbinger of environmental recovery? Don't assume so. Carin Leong reports. (Hakai Magazine/Crosscut)

Oxygen for life: The biological impacts of low dissolved oxygen
“Hypoxia,” a word used to describe oxygen deficiency, first came into use in the medical field during studies of metabolic function in the 1940s. Hypoxia was seen as something occurring within the body of a human or animal that was not getting enough oxygen for normal function. During the 1970s, “hypoxia” also came to be widely used to describe bodies of water so depleted of oxygen that they were harming or even killing the aquatic species that lived there. Chris Dunagan reports. (Salish Sea Currents)

State House passes bill to protect endangered southern resident orcas
The Washington State House passed a bill to protect the Salish Sea endangered orcas on Tuesday. Senate Bill 5371 protects southern resident orcas by establishing a 1,000-yard setback for recreational vessels. This will bring recreational boats under the same law as commercial whale-watching boats. Julia Dallas reports. (KIRO)

Salish Sea Institute publishes new paper on how much noise is too much for Southern Resident killer whales
The Salish Sea Institute has published the second paper in its Emerging Issues in the Salish Sea series: "How much is too much noise for Southern Resident killer whales?"  (Western Washington University)

BC braces for busy cruise season after record year in 2022
British Columbia Port Authority expects 2023 to be a banner year for cruises. The Port of Vancouver expects 331 cruise ships to visit between April and October, an increase of approximately 8% from 2022. Up to 1.3 million passengers are expected to visit downtown from Vancouver. The Port Authority of Greater Victoria expects 330 ships during the season with at least 850,000 passengers in the capital of British Columbia. In Prince Rupert, 43 ships and 80,000 passengers are expected from May to early October. (The Saxon)

International engineering firm fined $1M over B.C. spill linked to 85 trout deaths
A British Columbia court has ordered an international engineering firm to pay a $1-million fine for releasing a harmful substance that flowed into a Metro Vancouver creek, after an investigation into the deaths of dozens of fish. (Canadian Press)

Operation Mother Goose
David B. Williams in Street Smart Naturalist writes: "The 1960s was time of change in Seattle. For most of the decade no Canada geese called our waterways home. But in April 1968, the story of the big black and gray birds began to be rewritten." (Street Smart Naturalist)

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Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  245 AM PDT Thu Apr 13 2023   
TODAY  W wind to 10 kt. Wind waves 1 ft or less. W swell 6 ft  at 10 seconds subsiding to 4 ft at 10 seconds in the afternoon. A  chance of showers in the morning then showers likely in the  afternoon. 
TONIGHT  W wind to 10 kt. Wind waves 1 ft or less. W swell 3 ft  at 9 seconds. A slight chance of showers.

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