11/28 China rockfish, Fraser islands, Skagit stamp, imidacioprid, dusky gopher frog, orca welcome, fake news, Zatypota wasp, CO2 rise, Samish land

China rockfish [Central Coast Biodiversity]

China rockfish Sebastes nebulosus
China rockfish are found from Kechemak Bay, Cook Inlet, Alaska, to San Nicolas Island in southern California. They are found at water depths between 3 and 128 m (10-420 ft).  This is a solitary species inhabiting high-energy, high-relief rocky outcrops with numerous crevices.  They are very territorial and rarely move more than 10 m (33 ft) from their home site. Commonly caught by recreational harvesters off the northern Washington coast.  Recreational harvest within Puget Sound has been closed. (WDFW)

Fraser islands deforestation Canada’s most urgent rivers issue
Deforestation of three islands in the heart of the Fraser River is the most pressing rivers issue in the country for the coming year, according to the Outdoor Recreation Council. Herrling, Carey and Strawberry Islands — nestled mid-river between Hope and Mission — are all being cleared of trees to varying degrees, activity that could damage the most biologically productive part of the Fraser, said ORC rivers chair Mark Angelo. This stretch of river is a spawning site for threatened white sturgeon, a rearing area for chinook salmon and provides habitat for more than two dozen other finfish species. “It sustains our largest single spawning run of salmon, the millions upon millions of pink salmon that spawn right in the main stem every two years, right in and around those islands,” said Angelo, who has received the Order of British Columbia and the Order of Canada for his conservation work. Randy Shore reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Skagit River picked to be on a stamp
The Skagit River will be featured in the U.S. Postal Service’s “Forever” stamp program thanks to its national recognition as a waterway that has wild and scenic values. The Postal Service announced Nov. 20 the Forever stamp lineup for 2019. The Skagit River will be one of 12 rivers included in a stamp book showcasing river segments with designations under the national Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Two weeks of testimony scheduled in oyster growers’ appeal for pesticide permit
Oyster growers on the Washington coast will have a chance to convince regulators to let them use a controversial pesticide to control native burrowing shrimp. The shrimp can infest oyster beds and turn them into quicksand. Members of the Willapa Bay Grays Harbor Oyster Growers Association say they’ve lost hundreds of acres of tidelands to the problem. In 2015, the Department of Ecology approved conditional use of imidacloprid, a common agricultural insecticide that had never before been permitted for use in the water. A neurotoxin in the class known as neonicotinoids, it has been linked to bee colony collapse. It paralyzes the shrimp and causes them to suffocate. After much public outcry, the growers withdrew from their original permit and then came back with a scaled back permit application in 2017. This April, Ecology denied that permit. Bellamy Pailthorp reports. (KNKX)

The Dusky Gopher Frog Loses a Round in the Supreme Court 
The Supreme Court unanimously ruled on Tuesday that an appeals court must take a fresh look at whether the Fish and Wildlife Service had gone too far in its attempt to protect an endangered species, the dusky gopher frog. The species is in danger of extinction, and the only known remaining frogs live in the De Soto National Forest in Mississippi.... Chief Justice Roberts said the case turned on the meaning “critical habitat.” Adam Liptak reports. (NY Times)

SATURDAY: You’re invited to ‘Welcome the Orcas’!
The Whale Trail and Seal Sitters invite the public to an inspirational, educational, fun and family-friendly event on Saturday, December 1, to mark the annual return of the southern resident orcas to the inland waters of Puget Sound. At the event, members of the public can learn about the final recommendations put forth by Governor Inslee’s Southern Resident Orca Task Force and have fun while learning about Seattle’s famous residents and the major threats to their survival.... The event begins with activities, games, and informational booths at 10, speakers at 11:30 am, Orca Parade at noon, 12:30-2 pm “light reception” mode. The Bathhouse is at the east end of the Alki boardwalk, 60th/Alki. (West Seattle Blog)

The godfather of fake news
Meet one of the world's most prolific writers of disinformation. Anisa Subedar reports. (BBC)

B.C. researchers discover parasitic wasps that hypnotize and feast on spiders
Philippe Fernandez-Fournier was in Ecuador studying "social" spiders that typically stay close to their colonies. So, when one wandered off alone and started spinning a thick, cocoon-like web, he noticed.... Those first notes led to the discovery of a new species of wasp that transforms the sociable spiders into lifeless drones that abandon their own colonies to obey the wasp instead. And, eventually, die to keep the wasp alive. The findings, published in Ecological Entomology this fall, detail the unusual parasite-host relationship between the Zatypota wasp and the spider. (CBC)

Climate change: CO2 emissions rising for first time in four years
Global efforts to tackle climate change are way off track says the UN, as it details the first rise in CO2 emissions in four years. The emissions gap report says that economic growth is responsible for a rise in 2017 while national efforts to cut carbon have faltered. To meet the goals of the Paris climate pact, the study says it's crucial that global emissions peak by 2020. But the analysis says that this is now not likely even by 2030. Matt McGrath reports. (BBC)


Feds approve Samish Tribe land application
The U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs has approved a land application from the Samish Indian Nation that the tribe hopes will end years of struggle when it comes to its property rights. "It's a great Christmas present for the tribe," said Samish Chairman Tom Wooten.  The approval from the Bureau of Indian Affairs gets the tribe one step closer to bringing a 6.7-acre plot of land into trust, which would give the tribe authority over how to develop and tax the land.  But more importantly, Wooten said, it demonstrates that the tribe is eligible to bring land into trust, something that has been uncertain until now. Brandon Stone reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)


Now, your tug weather--



West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  235 AM PST Wed Nov 28 2018   

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR HAZARDOUS SEAS IN EFFECT THROUGH  THURSDAY MORNING   

TODAY  SE wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell  13 ft at 16 seconds subsiding to 11 ft at 16 seconds in the  afternoon. Scattered showers. 

TONIGHT  SE wind to 10 kt becoming N 5 to 15 kt after midnight.  Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 12 ft at 15 seconds subsiding to  10 ft at 14 seconds after midnight. Scattered showers in the  evening then isolated showers after midnight.


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