9/23 Drone on pods, missing Chinook, West Coast warming, beach access, Quilcene PSP

Hexacopter (Canadian Press/Globe & Mail)

Vancouver Aquarium uses hexacopter drone to monitor whale pods
Vancouver Aquarium killer whale experts have teamed up with American researchers to monitor and record images of Northern Resident killer whales using a drone. Hovering 30 metres above pods of orcas, the drone's camera allowed scientists to see the whales from a much different perspective than from a nearby vessel. Some whales were clearly pregnant, a condition not always visible by boat.(CBC)  

Where are the salmon? Chinook waiting for rain
Concern is growing over the low numbers of Chinook salmon returning to Puget Sound rivers. State officials and the Nisqually Indian Tribe have closed that river to Chinook fishing until the numbers increase…. Sport fishermen are also wondering where the salmon are after there were official forecasts of a strong Chinook season. Experts say the Chinook may be just be late and are pooling up at the mouths of Puget Sound rivers waiting for cooler temperatures and rain. Gary Chittim reports. (KING)

Study says natural factors, not humans, behind West Coast warming
The rise in temperatures along the West Coast over the past century is almost entirely due to natural forces — not human emissions of greenhouse gases, according to a major new study. But that doesn’t refute the idea that humans are contributing to global climate change, the authors say. Craig Welch reports. (Seattle Times)

Railroad curbs access to Everett waterfront trail
The trail that runs from near the Port Gardner neighborhood to Pigeon Creek Beach is a lot quieter nowadays. In late June, BNSF Railway closed the underpass at Bond Street, citing safety concerns. The underpass runs under the railroad's main line, and the city doesn't have an easement in the railroad's property…. More and more frequently, the railway has been parking long trains, usually hauling coal or petroleum products, for up to several hours at a time along those tracks. Chris Winters reports. (Everett Herald)

Quilcene Bay shellfish show lethal levels of PSP biotoxins
Lethal levels of marine biotoxins that cause paralytic shellfish poisoning have been detected in shellfish taken from Quilcene Bay, Jefferson County health officials warned Monday. Quilcene and Dabob bays have been closed to the recreational harvest of molluscan shellfish ­— clams, oysters, mussels and scallops — since Sept. 8. Paralytic shellfish poisoning, or PSP, concentrations have risen to more than 6,000 micrograms per 100 grams of shellfish. That’s 75 times the 80-microgram closure level, and twice the levels detected last week. Rob Ollikainen reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 830 PM PDT MON SEP 22 2014
TUE
SE WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 4 FT AT 8 SECONDS. SHOWERS LIKELY.
TUE NIGHT
SE WIND TO 10 KT...RISING TO 10 TO 20 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS...BUILDING TO 1 TO 3 FT AFTER
 MIDNIGHT. W SWELL 4 FT AT 7 SECONDS. RAIN.--

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