4/30 Trout, Cooke Aqua, plastic no-ban, dam removal, BC trees, food climate, BC pipe protest, Trump's clean water, refinery safety, gas price gouge, tribe fishing sites, oilsands bacteria, river person, spy hop whale

Rainbow trout [BBC]

Rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss
Steelhead and rainbow trout are the same species, but rainbow are freshwater only, and steelhead are anadromous, or go to sea. Unlike most salmon, steelhead can survive spawning, and can spawn in multiple years. Rainbow trout are the most common and hence most popular species of trout in Washington. There are thousands of wild populations statewide but the main reason for their popularity is that the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife stocks millions of rainbow trout every year across the state for the specific purpose of providing recreational angling opportunities. Rainbow trout are an excellent game fish for their willingness to bite bait and lures, their scrappy nature when on the end of a fishing line, and the fact that they are excellent table fare. Steelhead are also highly regarded game fish and the steelhead is the state fish of Washington. (WDFW)

Cooke Aquaculture agrees to pay $332,000 fine after net pen failure
Cooke Aquaculture has agreed to pay the $332,000 fine for the negligent release of thousands of Atlantic salmon in August 2017, the state Department of Ecology announced Monday. The department says Cooke tried to appeal the penalty, "but in a legal settlement with Ecology, agreed to pay the full penalty." The settlement will divide the $332,000 payment, according to the department -- $265,600 to "an environmental project related to regional salmon enhancements or habitat restoration" and $66,400 to Ecology's Coastal Protection Fund. (KING) See also: Puget Sound Salmon Farm Dealt Loss in Clean Water Act Case  The Wild Fish Conservancy proved four of five Clean Water Act claims against an aquaculture operator stemming from the 2017 collapse of a Puget Sound salmon pen, a federal court ruled. Steven M. Sellers reports. (Bloomberg Environment)

Vancouver to postpone ban on straws, Styrofoam and other single-use items
With Styrofoam takeout containers, plastic straws and disposable coffee cups everywhere in the food industry, the speed of the move to ban single-use items in Vancouver is running into resistance. Last May, the city voted to eliminate these kind of single-use items as part of the Zero Waste 2040 strategy and was set to introduce a ban on June 1. But at a meeting Monday night, council approved a recommendation by city staff that the ban be postponed until April 2020. Clare Hennig reports. (CBC)

Washington Budget Funds Group To Study Snake River Dam Removal
Tucked into Washington’s $52.4 billion operating budget passed Sunday night by the Legislature is controversial funding for a “stakeholder group” tasked with looking into what would happen should the four Lower Snake River dams be removed or altered. Supporters say this group will make sure Washingtonian’s voices are heard in the often contentious conversation around dam removal. Critics say the effort is a waste of time and money – too similar to a discussion already happening at the federal level. Gov. Jay Inslee had asked for $750,000, following the recommendations of the state’s Southern Resident Orca Task Force, a group created by the governor to find ways to save the orcas. Courtney Flatt reports. (NW Public Broadcasting)

B.C. forestry watchdog highlights 'major weaknesses and gaps' in report
British Columbia's forestry watchdog says there are "major weaknesses and gaps" in the way the province enforces logging rules and protects its natural resources. Last week the B.C. Forest Practices Board issued a report that highlights the challenges regarding enforcement for the Forest and Range Practices Act and the Wildfire Act, which govern logging and other forestry activities in B.C. Kevin Kriese, the watchdog's board chair, says one of his primary concerns is that natural resource officers, who are tasked with enforcing B.C. forestry laws, don't have time to proactively monitor logging operations before a problem occurs. Maryse Zeidler reports. (CBC)

From Apples to Popcorn, Climate Change Is Altering the Foods America Grows
The impact may not yet be obvious in grocery stores and greenmarkets, but behind the organic apples and bags of rice and cans of cherry pie filling are hundreds of thousands of farmers, plant breeders and others in agriculture who are scrambling to keep up with climate change. Drop a pin anywhere on a map of the United States and you’ll find disruption in the fields. Warmer temperatures are extending growing seasons in some areas and sending a host of new pests into others. Some fields are parched with drought, others so flooded that they swallow tractors. Kim Severson reports. (NY Times)

Protester, 71, climbs tree to stop Trans Mountain pipeline expansion
A 71-year-old man who was arrested last year for camping in a tree at Burnaby’s Westridge marine terminal to protest the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion — has once again climbed a tree at the site. Terry Christenson, an Ontario grandfather of two, scaled the tree inside the terminal Monday morning and erected a mid-air camp to protest the proposed twinning of the Trans Mountain pipeline. “I’m doing this for all of the grandchildren of the world. Climate change is an issue that will impact my grandchildren much more than it will impact me,” Christenson said in a news release. “Canada is already on the path to clean energy and we must continue to diversify our economy — not build more dirty pipelines. I’m here today to ensure Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hears this message loud and clear.” Scott Brown reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Trump order threatens WA's environmental authority
Washington state blocked what would have been the largest bulk coal terminal in the country. Trump's change to the Clean Water Act might make that harder in the future.
Carl Segerstrom reports. (High Country News)

Groups to hold forum on oil refinery safety
Environmental and labor groups will hold a public forum on oil refinery safety at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 2. The presentation at the Burlington Community Center, 1011 Greenleaf Ave., will be hosted by United Steelworkers, the BlueGreen Alliance, RE Sources for Sustainable Communities and Evergreen Islands. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Big oil refiners from Alberta price-gouging B.C. customers: Think-tank
Alberta’s oil industry is raking in “excess profits” by price-gouging B.C. customers, according to a new report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. Marc Lee, an economist at the CCPA and the author of the report, says: “Turn off the taps? Alberta already has Vancouver over a barrel,” and taxes aren’t to blame for record-high pump prices here — “Big Oil” in Alberta is. Lee’s report found Vancouver motorists are paying oil-refiners 20-30 cents more per litre than are customers in Calgary and Toronto. They’re also paying far more than they did just a decade ago. Suncor, Parkland Fuel and Imperial Oil, refiners that were specifically named by Lee, referred Postmedia News to the Canadian Fuels Association, an industry group to which all companies belong. Shell didn’t respond to a request for comment. Matt Robinson reports. (Vancouver Sun)

If you like to watch: Creek turned 'dumping ground' restored for salmon in West Seattle
KING 5 Environmental Reporter Alison Morrow [goes]to West Seattle to show a creek that has gone from drainage ditch to salmon habitat. [KING]

U.S. House Passes Bill To Improve Tribal Fishing Sites
On Monday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would provide $11 million to improve unsafe and unsanitary living conditions at tribal fishing sites on the Columbia River.Over time, the federal government created 31 in-lieu fishing sites for Native American tribes to make up for the land that was flooded when the Columbia River dams were built. The tribes were also promised new housing to replace what was lost. But that promise still hasn’t been fulfilled. In the meantime, many tribal fishermen have created makeshift residences at the in-lieu fishing sites. Cassandra Profita reports. (OPB)

Chemical-eating bacteria could solve the oilsands’ big problem
UBC engineers are using directed evolution and genomic tools to encourage naturally occurring bacteria to eat the toxins in oilsands tailings ponds. Field trials on a “consortium” of bacteria that thrive on naphthenic acids are set to begin this summer in northeastern Alberta with a major oilsands bitumen producer. Heated water pumped into the ground to loosen the gooey bitumen absorbs dozens of different toxins, which require a huge amount of energy to remove, said Vikram Yadav, a professor of chemical and biological engineering. Bitumen can be processed into gasoline and other fuels in much the same way as conventional crude oil. While much of the water used in the process can be recycled, there are vast ponds full of contaminated water, silt and sand recovered from the extraction of bitumen. Randy Shore reports. (Vancouver Sun)

How a River Was Granted Personhood
For more than 700 years, the Maori, the indigenous people of New Zealand, fought to maintain their spiritual connection to the Whanganui River. Mostly, it was a losing battle: Rapids were dynamited, gravel was extracted, and water was drained and polluted. Promises were broken. Generations of Maori looked on as awa tupua—their river of sacred power—was treated as a means to an end or, worse, as a dumping ground. Then, in 2017, something unprecedented happened. The New Zealand government granted the Whanganui River legal personhood—a status that is in keeping with the Maori worldview that the river is a living entity. The legislation, which has yet to be codified into domestic law, refers to the river as an “indivisible, living whole,” conferring it “all the rights, powers, duties, and liabilities” of an individual. Emily Buder reports. (The Atlantic)

Norway finds 'Russian spy whale' off Arctic coast
A beluga whale found off Norway's coast wearing a special Russian harness was probably trained by the Russian navy, a Norwegian expert says. Marine biologist Prof Audun Rikardsen said the harness had a GoPro camera holder and a label sourcing it to St Petersburg. A Norwegian fisherman managed to remove it from the whale. He said a Russian fellow scientist had told him that it was not the sort of kit that Russian scientists would use. Russia has a naval base in the region. The tame beluga repeatedly approached Norwegian boats off Ingoya, an Arctic island about 415km (258 miles) from Murmansk, where Russia's Northern Fleet is based. Belugas are native to Arctic waters. (BBC)



Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  250 AM PDT Mon Apr 29 2019   
TODAY  SE wind to 10 kt. Wind waves 1 ft or less. W swell 4 ft  at 10 seconds. 
TONIGHT  W wind to 10 kt in the evening becoming light. Wind  waves 1 ft or less. W swell 4 ft at 11 seconds.

--
"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.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

Follow on Twitter. 

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told