3/26 Scallop, J17, sea urchins, Marathassa spill, BC LNG, Custom Plywood cleanup, MPAs, LA coast, Trump's bulb

Pink scallop [Dave Cowles/Walla Walla U]

Pink scallop Chlamys rubida
The pink scallop is found on the Pacific Coast of North America at depths down to about 300 metres (980 ft). Its range extends from Alaska to San Diego, California but it is more common in the northern half of this range. It is also found in Kamchatka, the Sea of Okhotsk and Japan. It is found on rocks or on sandy or muddy sea beds. The pink scallop can be distinguished from its close relative the spiny scallop (Chlamys hastata) by the valves being rather more rounded and by the lack of spines on the ribs which gives it a smooth texture. The glossy white interior of the shell does not have the purplish markings that are sometimes present in the spiny scallop. (Wikipedia)

Sick orca's condition improving, researchers remain 'cautiously optimistic'
Three months after researchers feared the worst for an ailing Southern Resident killer whale, J17 was spotted Friday in an improved condition.  Whale researchers with the Center for Whale Research observed the 42-year-old orca swimming with the J Pod in the northern Haro Strait. In an update published on Monday, the team said her condition appeared to have improved since her last sighting in December/January. (KING)

Sea urchins are devouring Haida Gwaii's kelp forest, so ecologists are smashing them
A project to smash sea urchins is underway in B.C. in an effort to restore Haida Gwaii's disappearing kelp forest. The effort, which began in September, aims to remove 75 per cent of the sea urchins along three kilometres of the coastline of Murchison Island. The quality urchins will be harvested to feed communities in Haida  Gwaii, while the rest will break down underwater and contribute to food sources for sea life. The hope is that will give the kelp a chance to regrow. (CBC)

Crown abandons appeal in case of MV Marathassa oil spill
The federal Crown has decided not to appeal the acquittal in the case of the MV Marathassa, the cargo ship that spilled 2,700 litres of fuel oil into English Bay in 2015. In February, a Provincial Court judge dismissed all charges against the ship after finding that the incident was caused by two shipbuilder defects on the newly-built ship. In January 2017, the Cypriot-registered vessel, which had travelled from Korea to pick up a load of grain in Vancouver, had been accused of discharging a pollutant into the waters and with discharging a substance that was harmful to migratory birds. The ship was also charged with failing to implement its shipboard pollution plan by failing to take samples of oil in the water and by failing to assist with the oil containment. But following a lengthy trial, the judge concluded that the ship which had been built in Japan, a nation with a worldwide reputation for quality shipbuilding, was not to blame. Keith Fraser reports. (Vancouver Sun)

B.C. government announces new tax credit for LNG projects
The B.C. government is introducing new legislation that it says would attract more LNG projects to the province, in part by granting tax credits. Finance Minister Carole James said the proposed changes will bring thousands of jobs to B.C.... The legislation, which attracted immediate disapproval from the Green Party, includes an amendment to the Income Tax Act to provide a tax credit for LNG development, as well as the repealing of two existing acts. (CBC) See also: Vaughn Palmer: LNG bill a slam dunk with Liberals teaming up with NDP  (Vancouver Sun)

Comment sought on final phase of Custom Plywood Mill cleanup
The state Department of Ecology is seeking public comment as it prepares for the final phase of an environmental cleanup at the former site of the Custom Plywood mill on Fidalgo Bay. At a presentation Monday, members of the department’s Toxic Cleanups Program briefed the public on plans for reducing contaminants in the sediment in the bay while minimizing harm to aquatic habitats. Hun Seak Park, site manager with Ecology, said the mill was once the largest plywood producer west of the Mississippi River, but it shut down after a fire in 1992. The operation left behind wood waste and chemical contamination in nearby soil and sediment, as well as 1,000 pilings coated in a contaminant called creosote. Park said this final cleanup phase is expected to begin in 2020. Brandon Stone reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Will Large Protected Areas Save the Oceans or Politicize Them? 
In the last decade, governments have been pushing to create vast Marine Protected Areas large enough to protect species from overfishing and other threats. But critics are questioning whether the creation of these large protected areas is driven more by geopolitics than conservation. Fred Pearce reports. (Yale 360)

Louisiana’s Disappearing Coast
The state loses a football field’s worth of land every hour and a half. Now engineers are in a race to prevent it from sinking into oblivion. Elizabeth Kolbert reports. (The New Yorker)

Trump Administration Flips Switch On Energy Efficient Light Bulbs
If it’s been a few years since you shopped for a light bulb you might find yourself confused. Those controversial curly-cue ones that were cutting edge not that long ago? Gone. (Or harder to find.) Thanks to a 2007 law signed by President George W. Bush, shelves these days are largely stocked with LED bulbs that look more like the traditional pear-shaped incandescent version, but use just one-fifth the energy. A second wave of light bulb changes was set to happen. But now the Trump administration wants to undo an Obama-era regulation designed to make a wide array of specialty light bulbs more energy efficient. Jeff  Brady reports. (NPR)




Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  237 AM PDT Tue Mar 26 2019   
TODAY  SE wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell  7 ft at 12 seconds. Showers likely in the morning then a chance  of showers in the afternoon. 
TONIGHT  SE wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 1 to 2 ft. W swell 5 ft  at 11 seconds.



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