1/4 Oyster Bay, net pen permits, whale lice, coyotes, Joan Carson, Salish Sea Wild

Oyster Bay [Brianhe/WikiMedia]

Oyster Bay
Oyster Bay is an inlet in southern Puget Sound which branches off from Totten Inlet. The bay spans Mason and Thurston counties, in the U.S. state of Washington. Kennedy Creek empties into the bay at the U.S. Highway 101 overpass. Oyster Bay was named for the oyster industry it supports. The bay is the site of one of only four oyster reserves in Puget Sound where the Olympia oyster grows. Oyster Bay is one of the most productive chum salmon runs in the state with over 40,000 spawners a year, estimated to be two-thirds of the run that would exist without human impacts.(Wikipedia)

State taking comment on permits for Atlantic salmon fish farms
The state Department of Ecology is taking comment now on permits for four Cooke Aquaculture Atlantic salmon farms — three in Kitsap County and one in Skagit Bay. Farming Atlantic salmon in net pens is officially banned from Puget Sound starting in 2022. Ecology is using the investigation from the 2017 Cypress Island net pen collapse to mandate more protective permit requirements. Cooke Aquaculture, the only company farming Atlantic salmon in Washington state, lost its lease in Port Angeles in 2017. Ecology is accepting comments on the permit through Feb. 25 and will make a final determination after reviewing them. Information on the draft permit, and a link to comment online, is available here. (Peninsula Daily News)

The Stories Whale Lice Tell
Having lice is one of life’s lower moments. It causes much wailing, rending of garments, purchasing of funny little combs, and a crushing feeling of ickiness. But lice are common in the animal kingdom, afflicting everything from a teensy mouse to one of Earth’s most majestic creatures, the humpback whale. And according to a new paper, those lice may offer a peek into the whale’s world-spanning social networks. Seven breeding populations of humpback whale summer in Antarctic waters. In winter, they migrate north into different parts of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans. How, and even if, these populations interact, especially during their annual migrations, has been a scientific mystery. But the study’s lead author Tammy Iwasa-Arai, a postdoctoral researcher at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, has unearthed some clues. She focused on lice, common whale parasites, betting that they would offer more insight into the whales’ social contacts than satellite tags or other tracking methods. Amorina Kingdon reports. (Hakai Magazine)

There seem to be more coyotes roaming Seattle streets
Two years ago in Laurelhurst, an upscale Seattle neighborhood, five coyotes played in the grass near a bus stop. There was the mom coyote, the dad coyote and three pups....
But then they were gone.... Wildlife Services, a federal agency, confirmed they had killed three of the coyotes in a three-night stake-out. Someone had called the agency, they said in a statement, saying the coyotes had ventured too close to humans and neighborhood cats and dogs.... Two years later, there are more coyote sightings than ever in Seattle, including in Laurelhurst where this coyote family group was killed. Isolde Raftery reports. (KUOW)

The last word from Joan Carson, 'Bird Lady' for 50 years
This is a difficult column to write. Traditionally, one’s retirement is a reason to celebrate. I don’t really feel like celebrating, but maybe that will come, little by little. This will be my last column concerning birds and birdwatchers. After 50 years (Dec. 6, 1967), I have decided to meet my last weekly deadline. That is a reason for celebration, especially when I am traveling. Writing several columns to cover the time I am away from the desk won’t be missed. (Kitsap Sun)

If you like to watch: SeaDoc Society debuts video series about the Salish Sea Jan. 9 
Explore the Pacific Northwest’s most amazing ecosystem with wildlife veterinarian Joe Gaydos and Team SeaDoc in their new video series "Salish Sea Wild". The series begins this month on YouTube. (San Juan Islander)


Now, your weekend tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  258 AM PST Fri Jan 4 2019   
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON   
TODAY  SW wind 20 to 30 kt easing to 15 to 25 kt in the  afternoon. Wind waves 3 to 5 ft subsiding to 2 to 4 ft. W swell  15 ft at 13 seconds. Rain. 
TONIGHT  S wind 10 to 20 kt becoming SE to 10 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 1 to 3 ft subsiding to 1 ft or less after  midnight. W swell 15 ft at 14 seconds subsiding to 13 ft at  13 seconds after midnight. A chance of showers. 
SAT  SE wind 5 to 15 kt rising to 15 to 25 kt in the afternoon.  Wind waves 2 ft or less building to 2 to 4 ft in the afternoon. W  swell 10 ft at 11 seconds subsiding to 7 ft at 12 seconds in the  afternoon. A chance of showers in the morning then rain likely in  the afternoon. 
SAT NIGHT  SE wind to 10 kt becoming W after midnight. Wind  waves 1 ft or less. NW swell 2 ft at 12 seconds building to W  9 ft at 11 seconds after midnight. 
SUN  W wind 20 to 30 kt becoming SW to 10 kt in the afternoon.  Wind waves 3 to 5 ft subsiding to 1 ft in the afternoon. SW swell  9 ft at 10 seconds becoming W 7 ft at 9 seconds in the afternoon.


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