6/7 Marine debris, stinky tanker, Site C, Baker River salmon

Red rock crab [Kirt L. Onthank]

Red rock crab
The red rock crab, Cancer productus. is one of the larger crabs seen in the Salish Sea area....The carapace of adults is deep brick red in color and has 5 teeth that protrude anteriorly between the eyes.  Nine teeth that line the edge of the carapace lateral to each eye have a somewhat fluted appearance, like pie crust…  The pinchers have black tips.  Juvenile red rock crabs are quite variable in carapace color and pattern, the patterns sometimes being quite exotic. Cancer productus is a predator and scavenger.  This species preys on bivalves, polychaetes, amphipods, snails, barnacles, and smaller crabs.  They are found in a variety of habitats ranging from quiet estuaries to higher energy beaches and in substrates of mud, sand, gravel, cobble, and boulders.  In addition, they range from the intertidal to a depth of 260 feet (80 meters). (Sound Waters Stewards)

'It's heartbreaking': volunteers overwhelmed by marine debris in Clayoquot Sound
Volunteers cleaning up marine debris from a remote and otherwise pristine area on the west coast of Vancouver Island say they are overwhelmed by what they've found. Just a few days into the two-week mission, volunteers with Clayoquot Cleanup have collected far more trash then expected from the shorelines of Clayoquot Sound, said founder Josh Temple. "We anticipated that there would be in the neighbourhood of 200 to 300 tonnes of debris in Clayoquot Sound. But boy, did we ever get that wrong," he said by phone from a beach in Hesquiaht Harbour, north of Tofino. Temple estimates the group will collect twice that amount before the first phase of the cleanup ends later this month. Megan Thomas reports. (CBC) See also: UN Ocean Conference: Plastics Dumped In Oceans Could Outweigh Fish by 2050, Secretary-General Says  (The Weather Channel)

Sulfur-like odor in Bellingham is likely crude oil tanker, clean air agency says
A sulfur-like odor that prompted 911 calls Saturday evening was likely caused by venting tanks aboard a crude oil tanker anchored near Vendovi Island, the Northwest Clean Air Agency said. The air quality agency on Facebook said officials there believe the smell came from the tanker Mare Siculum, which is waiting to offload crude oil at the BP refinery at Cherry Point. The tanks were vented to relieve pressure, the agency said. Kyle Mittan reports. (Bellingham Herald)

Christy Clark gives opposition 4 days to provide input on Site C dam
B.C. Premier Christy Clark is giving NDP Leader John Horgan and Green Party Leader Andrew Weaver until Saturday to provide advice on how the government should proceed on the $9 billion Site C dam. In similar letters addressed to the two opposition leaders, Clark explains the potential implications of delaying relocating two homes slated to be knocked down for dam construction. "In your response, I would ask you to specifically indicate," read the letter, "whether or not you maintain your request to delay the relocation of the two houses in question with the knowledge that BC Hydro ratepayers may be at risk of incurring a $600 million cost increase to Site C." Richard Zussman reports. (CBC)

Record number of young salmon released into Baker River
Only time will tell if the record-setting release of about 1.1 million young salmon through the Baker River Project will mean larger adult salmon runs in the years to come. Time and Mother Nature…. It’s the second time since efforts began in 1985 to bolster the salmon populations in the Baker River that the milestone of 1 million fish released has been reached. The first was in 2014. Vince Richardson reports. (Skagit Valley News)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  240 AM PDT Wed Jun 7 2017  
Today  Light wind becoming NW 10 to 20 kt in the afternoon.  Wind waves less than 1 ft becoming 1 to 3 ft in the afternoon. W  swell 5 ft at 11 seconds.
TONIGHT  NW wind 10 to 20 kt becoming E to 10 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 1 to 3 ft subsiding to 1 ft or less after  midnight. W swell 5 ft at 10 seconds. A chance of rain in the  evening then rain after midnight.

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