5/9 Oyster 'shrooms, GiveBig, orca 'no-go,' tangled whale, sea lice, pet poop, LNG conversion, Britt Slough

Oyster mushrooms [Tom Volk Fungi]

Oyster mushroom Pleurotus ostreatus
Oyster mushroom are found in spring, late summer and early fall usually on stumps or logs of alder, willow maple or cottonwood. The various types, whether white or brownish or gray are all edible and are very good when young. Several crops may be gathered in one season from the same tree or log. If the log is carried home to the yard and kept moist, sometimes the mushrooms will continue to fruit. (New Savory Wild Mushroom)

Give Big Today
Wednesday, May 9 is GIVEBIG, a one-day online giving campaign to raise funds for local nonprofits. Join us and GIVEBIG for all!

State places voluntary ‘no-go’ zone along western San Juan Island to protect orcas
State fish and wildlife managers are asking boaters to avoid an area along the west side of San Juan Island in an effort to protect a dwindling population of Southern Resident killer whales. Despite state and federal government protection, the population of Southern Resident killer whales has declined from 98 whales in 1995 to just 76 in December 2017. The state said major threats to the whales include a lack of chinook salmon,  disturbance from vessel traffic and increased noise, and toxic contaminants. (KCPQ)

Authorities respond to entangled whale near La Push
Authorities said crews were responding to a whale that was entangled in fishing gear off the Washington coast. The Coast Guard said on Twitter Tuesday afternoon that their crews and crews from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration were responding to the reported Humpback whale that was more than 15 miles off La Push. (Peninsula Daily News)

DFO investigates sea lice infestations at Clayoquot Sound fish farms
Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) says it is investigating the management of sea lice at Cermaq Canada farms in Clayoquot Sound to determine if there has been non-compliance with the licence conditions. Half of the company's 14 salmon farms in the region on the west coast of Vancouver Island have reported sea lice levels at or above the threshold that requires treatment. Under Pacific Aquaculture Regulations, fish farms must monitor and manage the parasite — which can be deadly to farmed and wild fish. Companies must submit a lice reduction plan if monitoring shows levels higher than three motile sea lice per farmed fish during the wild salmon outmigration period from March 1 to June 30, DFO said in a statement. Megan Thomas reports. (CBC)

Seattle pets poop the weight of a fire truck every day
Everybody poops, especially your pooch. Seattle pets generate over 80,000 pounds of poop a day, according to Seattle Public Utilities. That’s 40 poop tons, or the weight of a fire truck. Like human poop, pet excrement can carry diseases. The EPA classifies dog poop as a form of raw sewage. You certainly don’t want that in our waterways, where it can work like a kind of fertilizer. Which can lead to increased weed growth or algae blooms, and if that’s left unchecked that can lead to contaminated recreational waters or possibly even (contaminated) shellfish beds,” said Vance Kawakami, who was trained as a veterinarian and works for King County Public Health as an epidemiologist. Anna Boiko-Weyrauch reports. (KUOW)

TOTE Pushes Back LNG Conversions
On Monday, Washington-based shipping company TOTE Maritime announced that it has pushed back the conversion of its two Orca-class ships to LNG propulsion.  The ro/ro Midnight Sun was slated to undergo a brief drydocking in late 2018 for the first phase of the conversion, but this work period has now been delayed until late 2019. The Sun's sister ship, the North Star, already completed "phase one" of her conversion this February, and she will now wait until the end of 2020 for phase two. Midnight Sun's phase two yard period will occur at the end of 2021. The conversion process has already been delayed by several factors, including the loss of the El Faro and the scrapping of her sister ship El Yunque. The two Ponce-class ships were due to take over the Tacoma-Alaska run in order to make time for the Orca-class conversions. While not related, the announcement of the one-year delay follows after Washington State regulators launched another environmental review for a planned LNG bunkering plant in Tacoma, the Puget Sound Energy Liquefied Natural Gas facility. The plant is the only natural gas liquefaction terminal in the Pacific Northwest to begin construction, and it is the planned LNG fueling point for TOTE's Orca-class ships. (Maritime Executive)

Salmon project planned for Britt Slough
A salmon habitat restoration project is being planned for Britt Slough, a side channel of the Skagit River to the west of the river’s south fork. Skagit Fisheries Enhancement Group, the state Department of Fish & Wildlife and the Skagit Conservation District are working together on the Skagit Forks-Britt Slough Restoration Project. The project will restore about 8 acres of wetland in the river’s floodplain that is contained by levees on Fish & Wildlife property, according to project documents. The restored wetland will increase the space available to young chinook salmon on their way out to sea during the spring. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)


Now, your tug weather--

West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  302 AM PDT Wed May 9 2018   
TODAY  SW wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. SW swell  4 ft at 8 seconds. Showers likely in the morning then a chance of  showers in the afternoon. 
TONIGHT  SW wind 5 to 15 kt becoming S after midnight. Wind  waves 2 ft or less. SW swell 5 ft at 9 seconds. A chance of  showers in the evening then showers likely after midnight.

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