9/25 Moon fish, dungeness crab, orca diets, TM pipe, Hope Slough fish kill, Sumas Out, recycling, scientific publishing

Moon fish [Ralph Pace]

Moon fish Lampris
Opahs, also commonly known as moonfish, sunfish, kingfish, and redfin ocean pan are large, colorful, deep-bodied pelagic lampriform fishes comprising the small family Lampridae. The family comprises two genera: Lampris and the monotypic Megalampris. (Wikipedia)

Today's top story in Salish Current: The vision of Mount Vernon’s Library Commons becomes reality

Dungeness are WA’s most lucrative seafood, but we know little about them
For decades this crab has helped sustain Washington fishing communities, averaging an annual harvest of 23.3 million pounds over the past 10 years. The nontreaty/state harvest alone was worth an average of $63 million. Even so, relatively little is known about this native species and how future conditions might affect its abundance. This is especially true in Puget Sound. It is unlike the well-known Pacific salmon. Now as climate change threatens marine life all over the Northwest, work is underway from the coast to the Salish Sea to figure out how Dungeness might fare. Isabella Breda reports. (Seattle Times)

New research reveals diet differences between thriving and endangered killer whale populations
A research team led by scientists from the University of Washington and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has uncovered new insights into the diet of resident killer whales, which could aid in the conservation of endangered populations. The study, published on Sept. 18 in Royal Society Open Science, examined the dietary habits of two groups: the Alaska resident and southern resident killer whales. While both populations prefer salmon, they differ in the types of fish they eat and when they switch species, providing critical information for understanding why some populations thrive while others struggle. (KIRO/Yahoo News)

Trans Mountain paid McKinsey over $32M to save money as pipeline costs exploded
Canadian taxpayers could pay up to $18.8 billion for the pipeline expansion, even though federal officials say McKinsey & Company consultants helped them save hundreds of millions of dollars. Mike De Souza reports. (The Narwhal)

Hope Slough spill kills thousands of salmon near Chilliwack, B.C.
First Nations in B.C.'s Fraser Valley say a large spill in the historic Hope Slough waterway on Monday has led to the death of thousands of salmon and other fish. The Cheam First Nation said in a Tuesday statement that the spill was discovered on Monday when community members went out to the waterway to check on years-long restoration efforts led by the Cheam and Sqwá First Nations. (CBC)

Sumas group asks to be removed from Nooksack Watershed lawsuit
A group known as Sumas Out has asked to have its watershed removed from the upcoming WRIA 1 Nooksack Watershed adjudication. The adjudication, backed by local tribes, has a goal of listing all the legal water rights within the Nooksack Basin based on their priority date. The problem is that significant parts of WRIA 1 are not in the Nooksack Watershed.  “Our water all flows to the Fraser River in Canada,” said Jerry DeBruin, local farmer and member of Sumas Out. Dave Brumbaugh reports. (Lynden Tribune)

Is recycling beyond fixing? Here’s why California thinks so.
California’s lawsuit against ExxonMobil says plastic recycling is broken. The oil giant agrees, but blames the state. Anna Phillips reports. (Washington Post)  Also: Skagit County to stop accepting glass for recycling at transfer stations With the closure of Ardagh Glass Packaging, the facility that first processes the recycled glass, Strategic Materials Inc., is no longer accepting the county’s glass. Emma Fletcher-Frazer reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Publish or perish the thought: Orcas, seals, and a curious scientist
In 2022, more than three million scientific papers were published in about thirty thousand journals. This represented something like a 9% increase over the year before, and a 47% increase since 2016. “Academic publishing has a problem,” wrote Mark A. Hanson, the biologist at the University of Exeter who compiled these figures. Eric Wagner reports. (Puget Sound Institute)

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Here's your tug weather—
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  242 AM PDT Wed Sep 25 2024    
TODAY  W wind 10 to 15 kt, rising to 15 to 20 kt this  afternoon. Seas 4 to 6 ft. Wave Detail: W 3 ft at 4 seconds and W  6 ft at 13 seconds. Rain early this morning, then a chance of  rain late this morning.  
TONIGHT  W wind 10 to 15 kt, backing to S after midnight. Seas  4 to 6 ft. Wave Detail: W 2 ft at 4 seconds and W 6 ft at  12 seconds.

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