4/6 Sea nettles, medical pulp, 'don't come,' cherry blossoms, ferry layoffs, hunting boom, Archie, Eyes Over PS, BioBlitz, SRKW

Sea nettles [Monterey Bay Aquarium]

Sea nettles Chrysaora fuscescens
You will want to watch: Monterey Bay Aquarium's sea nettles move their long tentacles and lacy mouth-arms smoothly through the water. But don't let these unassuming invertebrates fool you — their graceful trailing parts are covered in stinging cells used for hunting. When their tentacles touch tiny drifting prey, the stinging cells paralyze it and stick tight. The prey is moved to the mouth-arms and then to the mouth, where it's digested. (Monterey Bay Aquarium)


*EDITOR'S NOTE: Access updates on the COVID-19 virus at national and regional print publications like the CBC, the Seattle Times, the Peninsula Daily News, the New York Times, and the Washington Post.
 

Nanaimo, B.C., pulp mill boosts medical pulp production
A B.C. pulp mill that makes a special recipe of pulp for surgical masks, gowns and other medical supplies has doubled up on its production for an American customer amid the COVID-19 crisis. Harmac Pacific president Levi Sampson said their round-the-clock production at the mill near Nanaimo has been diverted to make the medical-grade pulp...There are more than 300 full-time workers at the mill and Sampson said the employees take pride in going to work because of the product they’re producing. Teri Theodore reports. (Vancouver Sun) See also: ‘Flushable’ wipes clog sewer pipes, officials say  So-called flushable wipes are actually not flushable and can clog sewer pipes and pumps, the city of Port Townsend said in a press release. Disinfection products help prevent the spread of COVID-19. All such wipes, even those that claim to be flushable, should be thrown into the trash rather than down the toilet, the city’s Public Works Department said. Ken Park reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

'This is not the time': Heiltsuk Nation tells yachters they can't visit during COVID-19 pandemic
Despite daily exhortations from health-care officials to stay home during the COVID-19 pandemic, and repeated pleas by remote communities to stay away, the Heiltsuk Nation on B.C.'s Central Coast says travellers in yachts and sailboats are still trying to access their shores — and being turned away. On March 27, the Heiltsuk issued a bylaw banning non-residents and non-Heiltsuk from entering their territory, including Bella Bella, to avoid bringing infection into the community. Essential workers including health-care staff are exempt. On Saturday, the First Nation turned away two sailboats en route to Alaska, and have stopped other vessels from docking, said Chief Councillor Marilyn Slett. Lisa Johnson reports. (CBC)

Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival goes online as COVID-19 forces people indoors
The pale pink cherry blossoms that bloom across Vancouver in the spring usually draw flocks of people outside, but this year, it's a little different. Public health officials are asking British Columbians to stay inside to minimize the spread of COVID-19. That's forced organizers of the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival to get creative in finding a way to move an outdoor festival indoors...Instead of organized walks through blooming neighbourhoods, the festival has created "virtual walks" through the trees that anyone can follow online.  (CBC)

BC Ferries lays off 1,400 staff, cancels routes as traffic plummets 80%
BC Ferries has laid off more than 1,400 employees and cancelled a major route between Metro Vancouver and Vancouver Island as the corporation faces a steep drop in traffic. A statement Friday said BC Ferries is seeing an 80 per cent drop in passengers due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To save money, the corporation said it is suspending service on the Horseshoe Bay-Departure Bay route linking West Vancouver and Nanaimo for 60 days. Sailings are also being slashed for a number of other routes on the South Coast "to better match ferry service to current demand." (CBC) See also: Ferries, commercial vessels told to reduce passenger numbers to avoid COVID-19  (Canadian Press)

B.C. hunting licences, wild game permits show dramatic uptick
Hunters could be out in greater numbers this year to secure food supplies as the world grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic...The number of hunting licences sold to British Columbians more than doubled in the first three months of 2020 compared with the same period in each of the past three years, with more than 4,852 already granted. More than 3,500 permits to harvest white tail and mule deer have also been issued in that time, compared with just 1,091 last year. Interest in elk, caribou bison and moose has doubled over previous years. Randy Shore reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Sea lion shot by crossbow and gun released back into the wild
It took five months, but Archie the California sea lion has been deemed healthy enough to be released back into the wild by staff at the Ocean Wise Marine Mammal Rescue Centre. (CBC)

Eyes Over Puget Sound: Surface Conditions Report - March 16, 2020
After a wet January, precipitation has been low and air temperatures have been cooler.  As a result, rivers gages are lower than expected, a pattern that has continued since last year. In March we approached the coldest water temperatures of the year. Herring are spawning in Port Madison. Although these cool temperatures are good for herring, temperatures are close to the survival limits for anchovies. (WA Ecology)

Port Townsend Marine Science Center prepares for BioBlitz in May
Port Townsend Marine Science Center and Fort Worden State Park invite people to come out for the third annual BioBlitz. The goal is to document as many living species as possible in a 24-hour period. From 10 a.m. May 9 to 10 a.m. May 10, folks using the iNatrualist app on their smartphones can explore Fort Worden, photograph the plants and animals they find and upload them to the app. Ken Park reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Southern Resident Connections
NOAA's Southern Resident Connections is a series featuring perspectives on endangered Southern Resident killer whales. Part 1: West Coast Salmon Fishing and Southern Residents

The Pandemic Is Turning the Natural World Upside Down
From inside her living room in London, Paula Koelemeijer can feel the world around her growing quieter. Koelemeijer, a seismologist, has a miniature seismometer sitting on a concrete slab at the base of her first-floor fireplace. The apparatus, though smaller than a box of tissues, can sense all kinds of movement, from the rattle of trains on the tracks near Koelemeijer’s home to the waves of earthquakes rolling in from afar. Since the United Kingdom announced stricter social-distancing rules last month, telling residents not to leave their home except for essential reasons, the seismometer has registered a sharp decrease in the vibrations produced by human activity. Marina Koren reports. (The Atlantic)

Human Elements: Healing forests with fire
Ernesto Alvarado’s childhood was filled with fire. He learned of its danger and its promise while growing up in Mexico’s Chihuahuan Desert — how it could both destroy the things that grew on the land and bring them back. As a professor of wildfire ecology at the University of Washington, Alvarado now studies Indigenous cultures around the world, integrating and elevating their ecological knowledge to get a fuller picture of how ecosystems work. Sarah Hoffman reports. (Crosscut)


Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  204 AM PDT Mon Apr 6 2020   
TODAY  W wind to 10 kt becoming NW in the afternoon. Wind waves  1 ft or less. W swell 4 ft at 8 seconds. 
TONIGHT  W wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell  4 ft at 8 seconds.




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