5/11 Red Irish lord, Big Bar salmon, yacht adrift, Arctic drilling, BC Bear Alliance, Active Pass tanker, Salmon and the city, WA ferries, Crab Park

Red Irish lord [Grant Calligari]

Red Irish lord Hemilepidotus hemilepidotus
The red Irish lord is a species of fish in the family Cottidae. It is found in the northern Pacific Ocean, from Russia to Alaska and as far south as Monterey Bay. (Wikipedia)

Thousands of salmon fry released in B.C. river to restore populations devastated by Big Bar landslide
Thousands of salmon fry have been released in a river west of Prince George, B.C., in the hope they will help restore the salmon population devastated by the Big Bar landslide. Monday's effort is part of an ongoing release of 101,000 chinook salmon fry that Fisheries and Oceans Canada says will avoid the early life stage mortality in the first year of a salmon's life. (CBC)

Sad end for a fabled yacht; Norwester adrift in the Salish Sea
The demise of the 89-year-old 70-ft wooden hulled Norwester is still playing out three weeks after she was grounded on a reef in the San Juan Islands. The yacht went aground near Stuart Island  on the westerly side of Prevost Harbor on April 17, 2021. The vessel has been adrift in the Salish Sea ever since. By May 8, the vessel had drifted over towards Henry Island. (San Juan Islander)

Interior drops Trump proposal easing rules for Arctic offshore drilling
he U.S. Interior Department said Friday that it would not pursue a Trump administration proposal that critics feared would have weakened rules for exploratory oil and gas drilling in Arctic waters. A statement from the department said existing regulations released in 2016 remain in effect and “are critical to ensuring adequate safety and environmental protections for this sensitive ecosystem and Alaska Native subsistence activities.” (Associated Press)

Wildlife advocates form B.C. Bear Alliance, call for provincial watchdog
Wildlife advocates want body cameras on B.C. conservation officers tasked with responding to bear conflicts after more than 500 black bears were killed in the past year. More than two dozen advocacy groups — from Pacific Wild to Justice for B.C. Grizzlies — have joined forces, forming the B.C. Bear Alliance. Organizers say they want to promote improved co-existence between humans and bears in B.C. Jon Hernandez reports. (CBC)

Oil Tanker Spotted in Risky Active Pass Alarms Activists
On a calm Friday afternoon in late April, avid naturalist Barry Swanson was watching Active Pass from his home on Galiano Island, keeping an eye out for the pod of southern resident killer whales that swim by every couple of days. Instead of orcas, he was shocked to see an oil tanker traversing the narrow channel. The MV Kassos was sitting low in the water, its hull heavy with petroleum products bound for Los Angeles. Michelle Gamage reports. (The Tyee)

Salmon and the city
How a destructive earthquake opened up a surprising opportunity to do something good for one of the pacific northwest’s most important creatures, salmon. Matt Martin and Chris Morgan report. (KUOW)

Expect longer wait times: Washington ferries to use smaller-capacity vessels after boat fire
Washington State Ferries (WSF) announced last week that it would be forced to make service changes on several routes after an engine room fire took the MV Wenatchee out of service in late April. The loss of the 202-vehicle vessel combined with staffing challenges and both scheduled and unplanned maintenance on other ships will have "cascading effects" across the entire system as spring and summer travel picks up. Callie Craighead reports. (Seattle P-I)

‘We Are Losing It as We Speak,’ Say Crab Park Advocates
At Crab Park, an urban oasis in the heart of the Downtown Eastside, people are drawn to sit on the beach and gaze across Burrard Inlet to the North Shore mountains. But four years after the Port of Vancouver, overseen by the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, proposed an expansion of the Centerm container terminal, a wall of shipping containers will soon block a chunk of that view. Jen St. Denis reports. (The Tyee)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  247 AM PDT Tue May 11 2021   
TODAY  W wind to 10 kt becoming NW 10 to 20 kt in the  afternoon. Wind waves 1 ft or less building to 1 to 3 ft in the  afternoon. W swell 5 ft at 12 seconds. 
TONIGHT  W wind 10 to 20 kt becoming 5 to 15 kt after midnight.  Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 4 ft at 11 seconds.

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