10/11 Squid, sewage control, chinook for whales, Fraser sturgeon, bad sushi, feeding deer

Opalescent squid [David R. Andrew/Central Coast Biodiversity]

California Market aka Opalescent Squid Doryteuthis (formerly Loligo) opalescens
California Market Squid range from Baja, Mexico to Alaska.  This species lives within 200 miles of shore, moves off the continental shelf by day, and can be found in depths up to 500 m (1,640 ft).  Shoals of adults move to the surface at night to hunt.   Spawning occurs in aggregations with females creating 5-20 eggs capsules containing 100-300 fertilized eggs.   Females attach egg capsules to sandy bottoms with a thin anchoring strand.  Wave surge ventilates the eggs for 45-75 days depending on water temperature.  Paralarvae emerge and grow into juveniles and then into adults that die after spawning.  Over the course of their development, California Market Squid progress through a diet that is dominated by copepods, then euphausiids, and eventually fish, crabs, shrimp, mollusks and other juvenile squid.  They are preyed upon during every developmental stage with predators ranging from sea stars to fish, marine mammals, and birds. (WDFW)

NWEA Petition Seeks Control of Puget Sound Sewage Discharges
(News Release 10/10/17) Pursuing action to clean up sewage discharges, a Northwest environmental group called on the State of Washington's Department of Ecology (Ecology) to develop a clean-up plan for Puget Sound that is required by the federal Clean Water Act.  The demand, contained in a formal 77-page petition for rulemaking filed today with the state agency, seeks to force Ecology to drastically reduce the amounts of nitrogen pollution flowing from cities and towns into Puget Sound where it is causing unsafe levels of dissolved oxygen in the water, widespread nuisance algal blooms, and food web changes. (Northwest Environmental Advocates)

Stopping chinook fishing might not be enough to help hungry killer whales: salmon official
Stopping all fishing of chinook, including harvesting by First Nations, likely won’t provide an instant food solution for endangered Southern Resident killer whales, the president of the Pacific Salmon Foundation said Tuesday. Brian Riddell, a former senior official with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, said in an interview there are limited options to help the whales other than to stop fishing. “Can you do it? Certainly. That’s something that could be done right now, if that was the priority. You could stop all fishing and put all the fish on the spawning grounds…. Riddell said he is not convinced that taking “large-scale immediate actions are going to make an immediate difference” for the whales. He also believes it is possible to provide limited in-river First Nations chinook catches without having a major impact on productivity. In Canada, only conservation takes priority over First Nations’ food, social, and ceremonial fishing. What is needed over the longer term is to increase the overall abundance of chinook, including protection of their habitat, while acknowledging the impact of other marine predators on those same chinook, he said. “That’s probably the only way we’ll make a significant difference.” One option for increasing productivity is to acclimate chinook smolts through their transition to sea water by feeding them in temporary sea-pens. Larry Pynn reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Proposed bridges over Fraser River threaten sturgeon, environmentalists warn
Environmental groups are warning that a proposed bridge development over the Fraser River near Chilliwack could irreversibly harm critical white sturgeon spawning habitats. The B.C. Wildlife Federation (BCWF), is asking provincial and federal governments for a full environmental review of the proposed construction of two bridges to Carey and Herrling islands…. The BCWF is one of a number of environmental groups that have written to provincial and federal ministers, outlining their concerns and pleading for an immediate intervention. White sturgeon are classified as"imperilled" in B.C. Cathy Keamey reports. (CBC)

Here's One More Reason To Be Scared Of Cheap Sushi
Yet another alarm is being raised about the dangers posed by a staple of local cuisine — seafood. A new federal study says that fish imported from other countries contain potentially hazardous levels of drug residue, which can cause allergic reactions or even cancer in consumers. About 90 percent of all seafood in the United States comes from overseas, and about half of that comes from fish farms, according to the General Accountability Office. Major suppliers of seafood to the United States include China, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand. Kristin Downey reports. (Civil Beat)

So you love feeding deer. How much longer will you be able to do it in Bellingham?
Feeding wild deer and raccoons is being banned in Bellingham city limits over concerns that doing so isn’t good for the animals, or the people who are affected by the activity. The City Council voted 6-1 on Monday to prohibit the intentional feeding of deer and raccoons. Council member April Barker was the no vote. The new rule is expected to go into effect in about a month. Kie Relyea reports. (Bellingham Herald)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  246 AM PDT Wed Oct 11 2017  
TODAY  W wind to 10 kt. Wind waves 1 ft or less. W swell 7 ft  at 11 seconds. A chance of showers.
TONIGHT  W wind to 10 kt. Wind waves 1 ft or less. W swell 6 ft  at 10 seconds. A slight chance of showers.

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