6/26 Yelloweye, new L pod baby, Jack Delay, WA gas price, heat wave suit, BC drought, microplastics, marmots, renewable energy, underwater noise, pop-up gear, beach eggs, octopus mom

 

Yelloweye rockfish
[Alaska Department of Fish and Game]

Yelloweye rockfish Sebastes ruberrimus
Yelloweye rockfish are among the longest lived of rockfishes, with maximum age reported to be up to 150 years. This species also is very slow growing and late to mature. Although conservation measures like fishing bans have been put in place in Puget Sound, recovery from threats such as past overfishing and continued bycatch will take many years due to the life history of yelloweye rockfish. The Puget Sound/Georgia Basin distinct population segment (DPS) in Washington State is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

Southern resident killer whale pod welcomes new baby
The critically endangered southern resident killer whales appear to have a new baby. The new calf was filmed with L Pod off Tofino on Monday. Howie Tom got the photographs as the calf was swimming with members of the L77 matriline, but it isn’t immediately clear which whale is the mother. It would be the first new calf in L pod since 2021, when L125 was born. Darron Kloster reports. (Times Colonist)

The old-fashioned ‘new politics’ of civic activist Jack Delay
Commentary: Colleague Sati Mookherjee takes a memorial look at a life-long activist whose career culminated in the co-founding and success of Communitywise Bellingham and whose life was celebrated this past weekend. (Salish Current)

Rising gas prices in WA fuel debate over who pays to combat climate change
Washington faced unwelcome news this week that the state’s average price for a gallon of gas is the highest in the country. Some policy and energy experts have tied the increase to the state's new climate change policies, while others point to supply chain issues as a key driver for rising prices across the region. It's sparking renewed debate about Washington's response to climate change and the future of energy costs. Jeanie Lindsay reports. (KNKX)

The Pacific Northwest’s deadly 2021 heat wave fuels a new lawsuit against Big Oil
It’s been nearly two years to the day since a freak heat wave obliterated temperature records across the Pacific Northwest... Now, that heat dome — which scientists deemed “virtually impossible” without global warming — is the subject of a new lawsuit. Multnomah County sued ExxonMobil, Shell, Chevron, and other fossil fuel companies on Thursday, seeking to put them on trial for the role their products played in fueling the heat wave. Kate Yoder reports. (Grist)

B.C. warns of summer drought and asks people to conserve water
The British Columbia government is urging people to save water, saying the forecast predicts drought across much of the province this summer. A statement from the Forests Ministry says recent rains have provided some relief in parts of B.C., but it hasn't been enough to make up the deficit. B.C.'s drought map shows much of the northeastern corner of the province is at drought level four on the five-level scale, meaning conditions are extremely dry, with communities and ecosystems likely to experience adverse impacts. (Canadian Press)

Microplastic Exposure Breeds Antimicrobial Resistance
Laboratory research shows that someway, somehow, PVC plastic makes microbes more virulent and resilient. Michael Allen reports. (Hakai Magazine)

Captive-bred Island marmots being released into wild
This weekend, 52 captive-bred yearling marmots will be introduced to existing colonies around Mount Washington, but dry conditions could make it hard for them to survive. Darron Kloster reports. (Times Colonist)

Buying renewable energy doesn’t mean what you think
The popular method of buying renewable "credits" for electricity is inflating green power claims. Shannon Osaka and Hailey Haymond report. (Washington Post)

Could AI be used to protect whales from underwater noise pollution?
Marine researchers are diving into the world of artificial intelligence to help solve an invisible problem: noise pollution, and the effect it has on local marine life. Non-profit organization Clear Seas is researching how machine learning can help reduce the noise emitted from ships, with the goal of creating an underwater vessel that will tune and adjust its noise to adapt to whatever marine mammal, especially in regards to whales, is nearby. Mina Kerr-Lazenby reports. (Times Colonist)

This fishing gear can help save whales. What will it take for fishermen to use it?
State regulators closed the Dungeness season two months early this year, due to the arrival of humpback whales in the area..over concerns that whales are getting entangled in the long ropes attached to their gear. Normally, crabs and lobster traps sit on the bottom of the ocean and are tethered to the surface by a rope that can stretch hundreds of feet. Pop-up fishing gear, also known as on-demand or ropeless gear, keeps the rope and buoy stowed on the ocean floor, until the fisherman comes to retrieve it. Lauren Sommer reports. (NPR)

Beach eggs
Wendy Feltham shares her photos and fascination with the eggs marine critters lay on the beaches of the Salish Sea. Part one. (Rainshadow Journal)

'Super octo-mom' off B.C. coast fights king crabs to protect her young
A standoff witnessed during a deep-sea research trip off the coast of Vancouver Island showed nothing is more powerful than a mother's love. A group of researchers said they witnessed a protective mother octopus (Graneledone boreopacifica) fighting off five king crabs surrounding her and her eggs. Michelle Gomez reports. (CBC)

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Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  246 AM PDT Mon Jun 26 2023   SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM PDT THIS MORNING THROUGH THIS EVENING   
TODAY  W wind to 10 kt rising to 15 to 25 kt in the afternoon.  Wind waves 1 ft or less building to 2 to 4 ft in the afternoon. W  swell 3 ft at 6 seconds. Patchy drizzle in the afternoon. 
TONIGHT  W wind 15 to 25 kt easing to 5 to 15 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft subsiding to 2 ft or less after  midnight. W swell 3 ft at 9 seconds. Patchy drizzle after  midnight.

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