7/27 Starry flounder, orca calf, grieving whales, red-brown algae, Elwha nearshore

Starry flounder [WikiMedia]

Starry Flounder Platichthys stellatus
Commonly caught off the outer Washington coast, and occasionally within Puget Sound, by recreational harvesters. This species belongs to the right-eyed flounder family, but can also be left-eyed... They range from the Seas of Japan and Okhotsk up to the Rom Chukchi Sea, Bering Sea, and Aleutian Islands south to Los Angeles Harbor, California. They are most commonly found on mud, sand, or gravel bottoms... [and] are usually found near shore and often enter brackish or fresh water. (WDFW)

For third day, grieving orca carries dead calf in water
A grieving mother orca was seen still carrying her dead calf Thursday evening, laboring to push it through a 4-knot current, and making deep dives to retrieve it each time it slipped off her head and sank. “It is just absolutely gut-wrenching to watch,” said Taylor Shedd, program coordinator of Soundwatch, who has followed the whale nearly continuously in daylight hours, keeping state and federal agencies updated and urging boaters to keep their distance.

On Grieving Whales 
Monika Wieland in Orca Watcher writes: "....  I’m sitting on the rocks at Lime Kiln watching members of J- and K-Pods go both north and south when the news hits, and my phone starts buzzing with notifications in my backpack. It’s almost not surprising anymore for this population that can’t seem to catch a break. This year it seems every time they return to inland waters after an absence there is another hit to take. L92 Crewser is deceased. J50 Scarlet is emaciated. Now J35 has lost a baby. We’re coming up on three years without a successful birth into this critically endangered population. The last calf born that is still alive is L123 Lazuli, first seen near the end of 2015. 2015 was a baby boom year, but only five of the eleven known calves born in that 13-month period are still alive. Prior to that, it had been another 2+ years without any successful births. Where is the hope?...."

Red-brown algae blooms spotted in Puget Sound
Large, red-brown algal blooms were spotted across Puget Sound last week, according to the Washington State Department of Ecology. The department’s Marine Monitoring Unit saw the red-brown blooms near Bellingham and Samish Bays, East Sound, Marrowstone Island, Liberty Bay, and finger inlets in the South Sound. There were also large rafts of algae in the South and Central Sound near Carr Inlet, Commencement Bay, and Port Madison. The bloom is not harmful to swimmers, but the department says it’s “not pleasant.” Allison Sundell reports. (KING)

July 2018 in the nearshore
Anne Shaffer of Coastal Watershed Institute reports from the Elwha nearshore: "July is the month it all comes together. The nearshore is teeming with fish now and, by initial standards, we are seeing the most juvenile herring, smelt, and adult and juvenile salmon-primarily Chinook (look close-can you find them?) that we have ever seen in the Elwha nearshore. The herring appear to include two size classes. The vast majority of the smaller (young of the year) herring have parasitic copepods over at least 10 percent of their body. Four years after dam removal ended,   the evolution continues, and for fish in the nearshore, appears to be gaining steam. Or maybe just a good year after a few bad…"


Now, your weekend tug weather--

West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  157 AM PDT Fri Jul 27 2018   

TODAY  W wind 5 to 15 kt becoming 10 to 20 kt in the afternoon.  Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 4 ft at 7 seconds. 

TONIGHT  W wind 15 to 25 kt easing to 5 to 15 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft subsiding to 2 ft or less after  midnight. W swell 4 ft at 8 seconds. 

SAT  W wind 5 to 15 kt becoming 10 to 20 kt in the afternoon.  Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 4 ft at 8 seconds. 

SAT NIGHT  W wind 10 to 20 kt becoming 5 to 15 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 3 ft at 8 seconds. 

SUN  W wind to 10 kt becoming 5 to 15 kt in the afternoon. Wind  waves 2 ft or less. W swell 3 ft at 8 seconds.


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