10/26 Rockfish, voting, volcanoes, BC ferry, tribal rights, Site C, Euro bag ban, Marathon oil

Yelloweye rockfish and bocaccio [Claudia Makeyev]

Welcome to the first rockfish newsletter!
NOAA Fisheries West Coast has launched the first edition of its Rockfish Conservation Newsletter to update us about the work being done by NOAA and partners to conserve rockfish and their habitats. The first edition includes articles about counting rockfish, kelp conservation, and some news links about kelp.

Salish Sea Communications blog: I’m voting. Should you?
I got my ballot in the mail and I’m sure you got yours, too. I’m going to vote but the candidates won’t know why I voted so I think it’s important that I say what I mean with my vote.... if you and I stand together on what we want this country to do and to be, please vote, too. Otherwise, don’t vote. (read more)

Washington volcanoes remain among the most dangerous in the country, new report says
Four Washington volcanoes remain among some of the most dangerous in the country, according to an updated threat analysis by the U.S. Geological Survey. USGS’s National Volcanic Threat Assessment was updated for the first time since 2005 after it reassessed how volcanoes are scored and ranked. In all, 166 volcanoes were ranked with a threat level of very low, low, moderate, high or very high. While the change to ranking criteria resulted in a number of volcanoes being dropped, added or moved around the list, none of those changes affected the “very high” ranking of the state’s major volcanoes, including Mount St. Helens, which comes at No. 2, just behind Kilauea, which spewed lava on Hawaii’s Big Island for weeks earlier this year. Three other Washington volcanoes are ranked “very high”: Mount Rainier, ranked 3rd, Mount Baker, ranked 14th, followed by Glacier Peak at 15. Agueda Pacheco-Flores reports. (Seattle Times)

B.C. ferry snags fishing net, and small boat, near Nanaimo 
BC Ferries says it will be speaking with Fisheries and Oceans Canada after a ferry snagged a partially submerged fishing net Wednesday in waters off Nanaimo. Ferry corporation spokeswoman Deborah Marshall says the Queen of Alberni was travelling between the mainland and Duke Point, south of Nanaimo, when it caught a net near Entrance Island. Marshall says about 75 boats were taking part in a fisheries opening in the area and although the captain slowed the ferry to ensure safe passage, one net was poorly marked and became fouled in the ship’s propeller. No one was hurt and the propeller was not damaged but Marshall says the small boat that set the net was towed backward by the ferry until the line between the boat and the net snapped. (Canadian Press)

Seattle caught between tribal rights and protecting its water supply
By early fall, Chester Morse Lake is barely visible from the top of Rattlesnake Ledge. As the snowmelt runs dry, the lake recedes deeper into the Cedar River Watershed, settling behind the forests and foothills that lie east of Seattle and just south of I-90...[The] watershed is one of only five sources in the country so clean they do not require expensive filtration systems to strain out sediment and other impurities. While most of the region’s residents may only enjoy the watershed from a distance, the borders are slightly more porous for enrolled members of the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe. As part of a hard-fought settlement agreement between the tribe and the city in 2006, members are allowed limited access for traditional purposes — the gathering of firewood and other resources, as well as some hunting and fishing. This was their right, after all, guaranteed in treaties from the mid-1800s, and entrance was reaffirmed as part of a broader package of reparations in 2006. But 12 years after signing on to the agreement — seen at the time as historic in its focus and scope — the city and the tribe have still never fully defined the rights of entry for the Muckleshoot tribe. David Kroman reports. (Crosscut)

First Nations 'deeply frustrated' after B.C. Supreme Court dismisses Site C injunction
The West Moberly First Nations have lost a bid for an injunction order against B.C. Hydro's Site C dam project, meaning construction can continue. On Wednesday, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Warren Milman rejected the bid, saying an injunction order would send the project into "disarray." At the core of the case is West Moberly's argument that the multi-billion dollar BC Hydro dam will cause irreparable harm to its territory and way of life — rights protected under Treaty 8. The nation, along with Prophet River, has previously said it believes Site C constitutes a $1 billion treaty violation. (West Moberly is one of the few nations in B.C. that is party to a numbered treaty in Canada.) (CBC)

European Parliament Approves Ban On Single-Use Plastics
The European Parliament voted on Wednesday to enact a complete ban on some single-use plastics — such as drinking straws and disposable cutlery — across the European Union and a reduction on others in an effort to reduce ocean waste. Members of the European Parliament passed the measure overwhelmingly, by a vote of 571 to 53, with 34 abstentions. Before the legislation goes into effect, the European Parliament must negotiate with the European Council of government ministers from its member states. The council is expected to make a decision on Dec. 16. Emily Sullivan reports. (NPR)

Anacortes refinery operating under new ownership
The Marathon Petroleum refinery in Anacortes, which formerly operated as Andeavor, will see little change in its day-to-day operations following its merger with Marathon Petroleum Corporation, refinery spokesperson Matt Gill said. The sale was finalized earlier this month. The $23.2 billion sale of Andeavor to Marathon was first announced in April. The sale means the company will have a capacity of 3 million barrels of oil a day, Gill said, making it the top refiner by capacity in the United States. Together, operations span 41 states and parts of Mexico. Julia-Grace Sanders reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)


Now, your weekend tug weather--

West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  247 AM PDT Fri Oct 26 2018   

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 AM PDT THIS MORNING   

TODAY  SW wind 15 to 25 kt becoming W 5 to 15 kt late this  morning. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft subsiding to 1 to 2 ft late this  morning. W swell 9 ft at 12 seconds. Showers likely. 

TONIGHT  W wind to 10 kt in the evening becoming light. Wind  waves 1 ft or less. W swell 9 ft at 11 seconds. 

SAT  E wind 5 to 15 kt becoming SE 20 to 25 kt in the  afternoon. Wind waves 2 ft or less building to 2 to 4 ft in the  afternoon. W swell 8 ft at 10 seconds. 

SAT NIGHT  SE wind 15 to 25 kt easing to 5 to 15 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft subsiding to 1 to 2 ft after  midnight. W swell 6 ft at 11 seconds. 

SUN  SW wind 10 to 20 kt becoming 5 to 15 kt in the afternoon.  Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 9 ft at 11 seconds.


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"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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