8/13 Local shark, hydraulic code, Pit-to-pier, BC sockeye, Polley mine, CN train derail

Big basking shark (PHOTO: Gracie Coale/Seattle Times)

Local Shark Week: 25-foot rare shark seen in Puget Sound
...On Saturday, (Gracie) Coale and her father were fishing near Meadowdale Wharf when they saw a 3-foot fin heading toward them. When she realized the large animal approaching her boat was a basking shark, Coale said she had to take pictures. Dr. Heidi Dewar, fishery research biologist with National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration, confirmed that Coale’s photos were of a basking shark. Zahra Farah reports. (Seattle Times)

News release: State Extends Comment Period For Changes To Nearshore Fish Protection Rule
After repeated refusals to extend a 30-day comment period, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) reversed itself after last Friday’s public hearing by extending its comment period to September 15 on major revisions to the primary state regulations specifically protecting critical nearshore habitats and at-risk fish species. The decision followed public testimony before the state Fish and Wildlife Commission on the department’s proposed rulemaking for the state Hydraulic Code which is intended to protect fish and fish habitat from in-water development impacts of bulkheads, groins, piers and marinas. The Code was established to ensure no net-loss of the state’s critical nearshore habitats... (Sound Action)

Pit-to-pier draft environmental impact statement draws some 260 comments
The state and the Navy are among those who criticized a draft environmental impact statement for a project nicknamed “pit-to-pier.” The Jefferson County Department of Community Development received about 260 public comments in response to the draft statement for a proposal to build a 4-mile-long conveyor belt and a 998-foot pier on the Hood Canal to move gravel from a quarry to ships. Charlie Bermant reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Rough waters ahead for B.C.’s sockeye salmon season
Four years after the largest salmon run in a century to swim the Fraser River, one of the hundreds of fishermen who set out earlier this week is optimistic that 2014 will be a good year despite warnings that high water temperatures could pose a risk to many of the 23 million sockeye expected to return. Roy Jantunen and his daughter Kirsten caught 280 sockeye on Monday afternoon during the three hours they were allowed to keep their nets in the water. Justin Giovannetti reports. (Globe and Mail)

Mount Polley mine spill: fish safe to eat, water ban mostly lifted
A drinking water ban that followed a mine tailings spill in British Columbia was mostly lifted Tuesday and fish from the area were declared safe to eat — the latest signs that health officials believe the spill won't have a significant impact on people or aquatic life. The tailings dam at the Mount Polley gold and copper mine failed last Monday, sending millions of cubic metres of water and silt spilling into lakes and rivers in a remote area about 600 kilometres northeast of Vancouver. (CBC)

US senators: Lax Canadian mine regulation endangers our salmon
Salmon runs and spawning streams shared by the U.S. and Canada could be threatened by big Canadian mining developments and the lax regulatory climate that led to British Columbia’s Mount Polley environmental disaster, two U.S. senators warned Monday. “We have to show these people that salmon know no boundaries,” Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said while touring facilities at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Joel Connelly reports. (SeattlePI.Com)

CN Rail train derails in northern B.C.
A CN Rail train derailed Tuesday morning approximately 145 kilometres northeast of Prince George. Operations on the line were suspended at around 6:15 a.m. PT, after 11 out of 127 cars on the train came off the tracks. No injuries were reported. A company spokesperson said the cars were empty, but that they would typically be carrying sulphur and centre beams. (CBC)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 243 AM PDT WED AUG 13 2014
TODAY
SW WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 4 FT AT 10 SECONDS. SHOWERS LIKELY.
TONIGHT
SW WIND 5 TO 15 KT...BECOMING LIGHT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 4 FT AT 9 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
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