6/26 Rockfish, False Cr., Gwen Barlee, green crab, shellfish closure, Skagit steelhead, LaCross, TransCanada, TrumpBash

Bocaccio [NMFS/NOAA]

Two rockfish species make a comeback as conservation limits pay off
For fishermen and seafood lovers, there is good news about two species of rockfish. Stocks of bocaccio and the darkblotched rockfish have been rebuilt after years of conservation restrictions to protect populations knocked down by a combination of poor ocean conditions and overfishing. The actions included major closures of some fishing areas and reductions in the numbers of these fish that could be caught — even accidentally — by commercial fleets. Recreational fishermen also faced reductions in harvests. Such protections helped to protect the stocks until years when survival rates of young fish improve dramatically for reasons that scientists are still trying to understand. Hal Bernton reports. (Seattle Times)

Keep False Creek doo doo free: Park Board, City of Vancouver offer free boat pump outs
The City of Vancouver is offering free pump outs to pleasure crafts this weekend and for the summer in an effort to keep False Creek clean. The city says with warm weather and increased boat traffic, E. coli counts from illegal dumping is on the rise in the waters surrounding the city. It says boat sewage is a key source of fecal bacteria in False Creek. (Canadian Press)

Longtime B.C. environmental activist Gwen Barlee dies of cancer
She was a successful environmental activist known for her research skills and ability to back up her claims, but while Gwen Barlee’s death Thursday is a blow to B.C.’s environmental movement, others will continue her work…. Barlee, 54, died after a year-long battle with cancer. A few months ago, she fulfilled a long-time goal, presenting a 40,000-signature petition at the legislature asking for the creation of a provincial endangered species law. Glenda Luymes reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Are we at a crossroads in the green crab invasion on Dungeness Spit?
State biologists are holding out hope that the European green crab invasion at Dungeness Spit can be contained. We may now be going through a critical period, which could result in a permanent infestation or possibly the final throes of the invasion. Green crabs, an invasive species known to displace native species and cause economic devastation to shellfish growers, were first discovered on April 12 in a marshy area on Graveyard Spit, which juts off from the larger Dungeness Spit in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The total number of green crabs caught in an ongoing intensive trapping program has reached 76. The weekly numbers have been declining… but biologists are quite reserved in their predictions. Chris Dunagan reports. (Watching Our Water Ways)

Beaches closed to recreational shellfish harvest
The areas between the Lyre River to the Jefferson County line, Discovery Bay and McCurdy Point west to the Clallam County line are now closed to recreational shellfish harvesting. The closures were announced [Friday] after samples taken Wednesday found high levels of the marine biotoxin that causes paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) in samples of shellfish. Sequim Bay and Kilisut Harbor including Mystery Bay are open to all but the harvest of butter clams and varnish clams, which can hold toxins for a year. (Peninsula Dally News)

Plan submitted for Skagit River steelhead fishery
Fisheries managers are considering a plan to reopen the popular wild winter steelhead fishery on the Skagit River. Anglers have been unable to fish for wild steelhead on the Skagit River since 2010, when the winter catch-and-release fishery was closed because of low numbers of the threatened fish species returning to area rivers. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries is reviewing a steelhead management plan submitted to the federal agency in November by the state Department of Fish & Wildlife and area tribes. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Sibling lawyers defend oil pipeline protesters, and protesters closer to home
Demonstrations last year against a North Dakota oil pipeline near sacred Native American land and tribal water sources drew protesters from around the country, and the protesters’ trials are drawing sibling criminal defense lawyers with deep roots in South Kitsap. Jeniece and David LaCross, who operate separate law firms in Port Orchard and defend clients accused of everything from murder to meth possession, traveled last month to North Dakota to defend people cited as part of the demonstrations against the Dakota Access Pipeline. Andrew Binion reports. (Kitsap Sun)

TransCanada pushes ahead with $2-billion gas pipeline expansion
TransCanada Corp. is moving ahead with a $2-billion expansion to its pipeline system in Alberta and British Columbia as industry hopes for a boom in liquefied natural gas exports fade. Calgary-based TransCanada said on Wednesday that plans for new capacity on its Nova Gas Transmission Ltd. (NGTL) system are backed by firm contracts with producers to ship roughly three billion cubic feet of natural gas a day. The project adds to a $5.1-billion program aimed at boosting pipeline capacity in the Montney and Deep Basin exploration zones, where producers have been hampered by weak prices owing in part to shipping constraints. Jeff Lewis reports. (Globe and Mail)

Adopt a Beach pilot program set on Peninsula
…. A new Adopt a Beach program, spearheaded by Washington CoastSavers, encourages people to take ownership of a Clallam County park beach and clear it of marine debris at least three times a year. The individuals, families, groups or organizations who adopt a beach will have their names printed on a sign in the park. Proposed beaches include Salt Creek at 3506 Camp Hayden Road, Port Angeles; Cline Spit at 199 Cline Spit Road, Sequim; Dungeness Landing at 298 Oyster House Road, Sequim; Port Williams at 2499 Port Williams Road, Sequim; and Panorama Vista at 282 Buck Loop Road, Sequim. (Peninsula Daily News)

Schwarzenegger and Macron join forces in swipe at Trump
French President Emmanuel Macron has taken another swipe at Donald Trump over the US president's policy on climate change - this time backed up by the muscle of Arnold Schwarzenegger. In a video on social media, Mr Macron is joined by the Terminator star as he vows to "make the planet great again". (BBC)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  226 AM PDT Mon Jun 26 2017  
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT  
TODAY  W wind 15 to 25 kt. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell 6 ft  at 8 seconds. Patchy fog in the morning.
TONIGHT  W wind 15 to 25 kt becoming SW 5 to 15 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft subsiding to 2 ft or less after  midnight. W swell 6 ft at 8 seconds. Patchy fog after midnight.

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