8/26 Heat wave, oil safety, fish farm protest, fishing rules, license hack, Padilla Bay, sturgeon, wolf kill

Record-breaking temperatures heat up Western Washington 
Enjoy it while it lasts. Temperatures are expected to cool off again this weekend. Jessica Lee reports. (Seattle Times)

New oil reporting rule to improve safety
Starting Oct. 1, facilities that receive shipments of crude oil and pipelines that deliver crude oil will be required to notify the state Department of Ecology of anticipated oil transport, which the state can pass on to emergency responders along oil train and pipeline routes. The rule will apply to four of the state’s five refineries, including the Tesoro Anacortes Refinery at March Point, said Ecology oil notification rule writer Jase Brooks.   It will also apply to the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain Pipeline and BP Olympic Pipeline, both of which pass through Skagit County. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

RCMP arrest four Indigenous protesters for fish farm demonstration
Four members of the Yaakswiis Warriors — whose members are part of the Ahousaht First Nation — were arrested this week after protesting a fish farm operation north of Tofino. "We were protecting our water and our land," said Lennie John, who drove up to the Dixon Bay fish farm — operated by the Cermaq Group — in a "tin can boat."… John and the other three protesters were arrested and later released on August 23, a day after the protest. Justin McElroy reports. (CBC)

State seeks input on Puget Sound, coastal fishing rules 
State fishery managers are holding three public meetings Aug. 29-31 to hear public comments on 2017 sportfishing rules for Puget Sound and the Washington coast. Comments can also be made online at wdfw.wa.gov through Oct. 28. After receiving 66 proposals, 11 have been advanced for additional review. State officials are seeking input on proposals that would:

• Require fishing vessels to carry a descending device when fishing for bottom fish or halibut in areas east of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line. The devices are used to return rockfish to deep water, reducing the number of rockfish deaths due to barotrauma, which occurs when rockfish are brought to the surface quickly. (Olympian)
  

Cyber Hack Shuts Down Hunting, Fishing License Sales In 3 Northwest States
Online fishing and hunting license sales have now been suspended in Washington, Oregon and Idaho following a hacking incident. A Washington state official says some 7 million records across the three states were compromised, but the information was not terribly sensitive. The hack involves a third-party vendor called Active Network Outdoors which calls itself the leading provider of licensing systems to the states. The company has not responded to multiple requests for comment. But Michael Cockrill, Washington’s Chief Information Officer, said the company is cooperating with an investigation that includes the FBI. Cockrill said the information that was compromised includes what you’d find on your driver’s license -- but not full social security or credit card numbers -- suggesting the hacker may have just been showing off. Austin Jenkins reports. (KPLU)

Team spends 24 hours collecting data in Padilla Bay
Scientists sometimes go to great lengths for their research. A team from the Padilla Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve recently spent more than 24 hours confined to the 22-foot Edna B research vessel, afloat in the bay and packed with water sampling equipment. Team members collected water samples every two hours, gathering data that will help document changes in the bay as the climate warms and oceans become more acidic. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Massive 'Pig Nose' white sturgeon caught near Lillooet
A young fishing guide based in Lillooet is enjoying some extra attention after he and some friends reeled in a huge white sturgeon known as Pig Nose this week. It happened late on Tuesday on the Fraser River near Lillooet after a long day without much to show for it. Rafferty BakerREPORTS. (CBC)

Profanity Peak wolf pack in state’s gun sights after rancher turns out cattle on den
For the second time in four years, the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife is exterminating a wolf pack to protect Len McIrvin’s cattle — this time, a WSU researcher says, after the rancher turned his animals out right on top of the Profanity Peak pack’s den. Robert Wielgus, director of the Large Carnivore Conservation Lab at Washington State University, has radio-collared 700 cattle and dozens of wolves, including animals in the Profanity Peak pack, as part of his ongoing study of conflicts between wolves and livestock in Washington. He also camera-monitors the Profanity Peak pack’s den. Lynda Mapes reports. (Seattle Times)

Now, your weekend tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA-  250 AM PDT FRI AUG 26 2016  

TODAY  LIGHT WIND...BECOMING SW 5 TO 15 KT IN THE AFTERNOON.  WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 4 FT AT 9 SECONDS.
TONIGHT  W WIND 10 TO 20 KT...EASING TO 10 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT.  WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT...SUBSIDING TO 1 FT OR LESS AFTER MIDNIGHT. W  SWELL 4 FT AT 9 SECONDS.
SAT  W WIND TO 10 KT...BECOMING 5 TO 15 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND  WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 5 FT AT 8 SECONDS.
SAT NIGHT  W WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 5 FT  AT 7 SECONDS.
SUN  LIGHT WIND. WIND WAVES LESS THAN 1 FT. W SWELL 4 FT AT  7 SECONDS.

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