3/6 Octopus escape, oil train spill, GSA 25th, orca tracking, Fair Trade fish, Lummi @CP, Bentinick Is, old poison

“Ink” the octopus (Seattle Aquarium)

If you like to watch: The Real Story Behind the ‘Octopus Escape’ Viral Video
Was it a daring escape attempt thwarted at the last minute? Or was it an intelligent and agile creature new to its environment exploring its boundaries? Video posted online earlier this week shows the octopus seemingly attempting to topple over the lip of its enclosure at the Seattle Aquarium.  At the last minute, an aquarium staffer can be seen helping the animal stay in its tank. The video quickly went viral with websites posting and reposting the video with breathless headlines about a daring escape. However, the Seattle Aquarium’s Tim Kuniholm tells Q13 FOX News “video has been blown out of proportion.” (KCPQ)

Illinois oil train derailment involved safer tank cars
The BNSF Railway train derailed Thursday afternoon in a rural area where the Galena River meets the Mississippi. The train had 103 cars loaded with crude oil. (Associated Press) And see: Hoquiam mayor wants moratorium on new crude oil facilities  (Associated Press)

Wash. House passes bill to improve safety of oil transport
The Washington state House passed a bill Thursday night to strengthen safety regulations as increasing numbers of oil trains move through the state. The measure, which drew bipartisan support in a 60-38 vote, requires advance notice of oil transfers, allows for the possibility of tug escorts for oil barges and requires railroads and others to show they can pay for oil spill cleanup. It would increase a barrel tax collected on oil that comes to the state by train from 4 cents to 8 cents per 42 gallons, with the proceeds going to an oil-spill response fund, and extend the tax to pipelines. Derrick Nunnally reports. (Associated Press)

Georgia Strait Alliance: 25 Years of Protecting Georgia Strait
Georgia Strait Alliance is turning 25 years old in 2015, and we are celebrating by acknowledging the many reasons we work to protect the Strait. In 1990, a group of caring citizens came together because they felt the Strait was under threat and no one was speaking for the communities along its shores. Thanks to the support of people like you, we've had 25 years of success in protecting the Strait and helping to raise awareness of how important this body of water is to our way of life.

Baby orca, other discoveries made by tracking team
A new baby orca wasn’t the only interesting discovery researchers made while tracking endangered killer whales. Researchers aboard a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) vessel returned to Oregon earlier this week with a wealth of new data about the whales and their ocean environment. The information was gained after NOAA Fisheries researchers followed the giant marine mammals for 21 days to find out where they go during the winter, what they eat and what risks they encounter. Phuong Le reports. (Associated Press) See also: Menopausal killer whales are family leaders  Nicholas Weiler reports. (Science Magazine)

Fair Trade seafood to be sold at Seattle-area Safeways
A Fair Trade seafood label is to be launched next month at Safeway stores in Seattle, Portland and Northern California. Sarah Stuteville reports. (Seattle Times)

Lummis submit more information to try to block Cherry Point coal port
Lummi Nation is pressing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to act quickly to halt a proposed coal terminal on historic tribal land at Cherry Point. The Lummis sent a letter to the Corps on Thursday, March 5, providing details about how Gateway Pacific Terminal would disrupt the tribe’s fishing practices. The tribe won a court decision in the 1990s after challenging a salmon farm that sought Corps permits on Lummi fishing grounds. The March 5 letter was in response to a letter dated Feb. 3 from the Corps, which asked the Lummis for more information before the federal agency could decide whether to block the coal terminal. Ralph Schwartz reports. (Bellingham Herald)

Bentinck Island demolition range to be in use
The military’s demolition range on Bentinck Island, located near Race Rocks, will be in use March 11-13. Operations will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. The public likely won’t notice the range being used except on days where such factors as wind direction and humidity affect how far sound travels, CFB Esquimalt said in a statement. Jeff Bell reports. (Times Colonist)

Tonnes of old pesticides burned as part of disposal program  B.C. farmers unloaded nearly 20,000 kilograms of obsolete pesticides and 156 kilograms of livestock medications last year. The unwanted products — some of which had been stored for decades — were collected at five locations in the Fraser Valley and Vancouver Island in October and then burned at a high-temperature incinerator in Alberta under a pesticide-industry collection campaign. (Vancouver Sun)

Now, your weekend tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PST FRI MAR 6 2015
TODAY
SE WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. SW SWELL 4 FT AT 13 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
LIGHT WIND. WIND WAVES LESS THAN 1 FT. W SWELL 5 FT AT 13 SECONDS.
SAT
E WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 4 FT AT 12 SECONDS. PATCHY FOG IN THE MORNING.
SAT NIGHT
W WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 4 FT AT 11 SECONDS.
SUN
SE WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 4 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
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