4/7 Pocket gopher, BC fish farms, Floodplains by Design, orca Easter, herring, gene 'jump,' gray whales, Patos Light

Mazama pocket gopher [Ty Smedes/WDFW]

Mazama pocket gopher Thomomys mazama
The Mazama pocket gopher is a smooth-toothed pocket gopher restricted to the Pacific Northwest. The species ranges from coastal Washington, through Oregon, and into north-central California. (Wikipedia)

Court orders minister to rethink stocking fish farms in B.C.'s Discovery Islands
A Federal Court judge has suspended a ban on restocking three fish farms in B.C.’s Discovery Islands. Justice Peter George Pamel says in an April 5 decision that Mowi Canada West and Saltstream will suffer real and irreparable harm if they aren’t allowed to restock farms located at Doctor Bay, Phillips Arm and off Hardwicke Island. Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan announced in December that 19 fish farms in the area would be phased out by July 2022 and that no new fish could be transferred to the farms in the interim. The decision says the companies claim the transfer of fish is a vital part of operating under their aquaculture licences, and they would agree to remove the fish when their licences expire, unless a proposed judicial review of the decision changes anything. (Canadian Press)

A tall task: Finding common ground in region’s floodplains
What was a spinach field just four years ago is now a budding tidal marsh known as zis a ba, where sprouting sedges provide the perfect habitat for juvenile salmon to feast on tiny aquatic organisms when the brackish tide pulses. A five-foot floodgate, built into a levy nearby, is ready to open when storm water surges, allowing remaining farm fields on Florence Island to drain faster.The upgrades are just a few that have been made in recent years as part of a statewide effort to improve floodplains in ways that will benefit farmers, tribes, cities, regional fish and wildlife populations. Coined Floodplains by Design, the program requires collaboration among different groups who’ve historically been at odds about what’s best for the Stillaguamish River Basin and other drainage basins around the state. Rachel Riley reports. (Everett Herald)

Rare white orca spotted in the Salish Sea Easter weekend with 55 other killer whales  (KING) See also: 56 killer whales spotted in Salish Sea over Easter weekend  KOMO)

If you like to watch: The fight to boost the Pacific herring population
The Pacific herring population has been dwindling for years. Efforts are underway to bring back the fish stocks, which are vital to the regional ecosystem and a key traditional food source. (CBC)

These fish stole an antifreeze gene from another fish and became natural GMOs
Millions of years before scientists created genetically modified Atlantic salmon with genes from two other fish, nature created genetically modified smelt with a gene from herring, growing evidence shows. And now the Canadian scientists who first proposed that controversial idea say they have a hunch how nature might have done it. A new study by Queen's University researchers Laurie Graham and Peter Davies finds "conclusive" evidence for the controversial idea that the antifreeze gene that helps rainbow smelt survive icy coastal waters originally came from herring and was somehow stolen by smelt about 20 million years ago...Genes are normally passed on from parents to offspring. But in recent decades, scientists discovered they can also "jump" or be "stolen" from one species to another outside normal reproduction — a process called horizontal gene transfer or lateral gene transfer. Emily Chung reports. (CBC)

A whale of a success story: Conservation keys annual return
Nature wows us at this time of year on Whidbey and Camano islands. Each spring, enormous gray whales breach the surface of these beautiful marine waters and send a spray into the air, announcing their highly anticipated arrival. Members of one group of gray whales known as the “Sounders” have returned to Saratoga Passage for roughly 30 years. (Whidbey News-Times)

Keepers of the Patos Light
Eight years ago this month, the President of the United States presented the Salish Sea region with an extraordinary gift. With Sen. Maria Cantwell joining him in the Oval Office, President Barack Obama signed a proclamation establishing a San Juan Islands National Monument. Its capstone and entry point is the historic lighthouse on Patos Island—ever threatened by time and tides, now preserved as part of the monument...The story of this wondrous beacon and efforts to preserve it are documented in a fascinating new book by Edrie Vinson and Terry Vinson, Patos Island Lighthouse from the History Press. Tim Johnson reports. (Cascadia Weekly)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  304 AM PDT Wed Apr 7 2021   
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM NOON PDT TODAY THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING   TODAY  SW 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 3 ft at 8 seconds. A chance of rain in the  morning then rain in the afternoon. 
TONIGHT  W wind 15 to 25 kt. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell 5 ft  at 6 seconds. Rain in the evening then a slight chance of rain  after midnight.

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