9/3 Whales, orcas, oil trains, water rules, crab pots, port traffic, spill response, quake, fishing

This you have to watch: How Whales Change Climate
When whales were at their historic populations, before their numbers were reduced, it seems that whales might have been responsible for removing tens of millions of tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere every year. Whales change the climate. The return of the great whales, if they are allowed to recover, could be seen as a benign form of geo-engineering. It could undo some of the damage we have done, both to the living systems of the sea, and to the atmosphere. (Sustainable Human)

B.C. orca calves ‘growing like weeds’ in waters off Vancouver Island
The Class of 2015 — four orcas born since late December — is thriving in the waters of B.C. and Washington state. All are part of the southern resident orca population, which includes the J, K and L pods. Southern resident orcas are listed as endangered, with pollution and lack of food among the contributing factors. Jeff Bell reports. (Times Colonist)

How Harry Styles sent SeaWorld's image diving
One Direction's Harry Styles sent SeaWorld's reputation plunging on social media when he urged concertgoers to boycott the chain of aquatic theme parks, research by the investment bank Credit Suisse suggests. Are young people turning en masse against the idea of animals in captivity? (Vanessa Barford reports. (BBC)

Feds give extension to fix defect causing oil train leaks
Railroad tank cars equipped with defective valves still will be allowed to transport crude oil and other hazardous materials through the end of the year, despite a March directive from federal regulators requiring their replacement within 60 days. The Federal Railroad Administration order followed a Bellingham Herald story about a leaking oil train reported in Washington state in January…. About 6,000 tank cars were affected by the recall, issued on March 13. Curtis Tate and Samantha Wohlfeil report. (McClatchy)

Feds Propose Tougher Clean Water Rule For Washington, Holding Line On Cancer Risk
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is making good on its promise to put forward a clean water rule for Washington, in case the state doesn’t come up with its own plan in time. At issue is how much fish the government says is safe to eat, if it’s caught in polluted water.  In early August, Washington was on track to adopt a major rewrite of the state's outdated water standard, known as the "fish consumption rule." It uses the amount of fish we eat as a measure of how clean the water must be to protect human health. But Gov. Jay Inslee put the most recent proposal on hold and directed the state Department of Ecology to reassess its approach. Bellamy Pailthorp reports. (KPLU)

Crab pots mysteriously vanish in Puget Sound
Since last season, more than 1,000 crab and shrimp pots have been reported stolen or lost to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. "When it's gone, they always think the worst," said Ralph Downes, a fish and wildlife police officer for two decades. "Worst case scenario? I'm thinking 10 percent is the result of theft." As for the other 90 percent, Downes and other wildlife officers think the culprit is the strong current of the sound. Dan Cassuto reports. (KING)

Puget Sound Ports Lose Ground As Mega Ships Grow
The container terminals at the ports of Seattle and Tacoma are running at less than half their capacity, according to a study conducted for the ports. The study by Mercator International of Kirkland – one of several last year – said no other major port complex in North America is so underused. Mercator also says Puget Sound ports have been losing ground, even as competitor ports have been gaining. Carolyn Adolph reports. (KUOW)

WCMRC christens its newest oil spill response vessel
Vancouver, British Columbia, based Western Canada Marine Response Corporation (WCMRC) christened its newest oil spill response vessel yesterday in Burrard Inlet. The $4.5 million G.M. Penman is a 65-foot Ocean Class oil spill response vessel (OSRV) built by Rozema Boat Works, Mount Vernon, WA. It is only the fifth vessel of its kind in the world with sister vessels operating in Santa Barbara servicing the offshore production platforms off the California coast. (Marine Log)

Worst-case scenario Vancouver earthquake could have death toll of 10,000
It’s a typically rainy day in January at 2 p.m. Downtown cores are packed, with businesses in full swing after workers have returned from the holidays. Then the earthquake hits Vancouver. Most people hear it before they feel it — a low, rumbling sound similar to a freight train. Closest to the epicentre, violent shaking, which lasts 10 to 20 seconds, knocks people off their feet. Gordon Hoekstra reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Washington eases fishing restrictions on some rivers
As conditions improve in some Washington rivers, state officials are easing fishing restrictions and closures put in place earlier this summer because of the drought. The Department of Fish and Wildlife had closed or restricted access on more than 60 rivers and streams to protect fish, which can be harmed by low river flows and warmer water temperatures. On Wednesday, the agency said fishing is now open or no longer restrict to certain hours on more than a dozen rivers, including in north Puget Sound, south-central Washington and on the Olympic Peninsula. (Associated Press)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 258 AM PDT THU SEP 3 2015
TODAY
SE WIND TO 10 KT IN THE MORNING...BECOMING LIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 7 FT AT 10 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND A SLIGHT CHANCE OF TSTMS.
TONIGHT
LIGHT WIND. WIND WAVES LESS THAN 1 FT. NW SWELL 5 FT AT 9 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND A SLIGHT CHANCE OF TSTMS IN THE EVENING.
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"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato@salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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9/2 Orca protection, Malahat LNG, Janet Holder, Clean Water, fed election, jellyfish, derelict boats

July 31, 2015 (Elaine Thompson/AP)

Patrols keep US boaters in line, protect killer whales
Against a backdrop of rocky bluffs, a pod of orcas jumped out of the emerald waters of the Puget Sound before splashing their massive black-and-white bodies back into the water. Shadowing the whales on a recent afternoon were several recreational and commercial whale-watching boats that ferry people out to watch the orcas breach, one of nature's most impressive spectacles. But the combination of boats and whales has state and federal authorities worried now that the Southern Resident pod of killer whales has four new calves. Manuel Valdes reports. (Associated Press)

Agreement signed for 128km pipeline to service Malahat LNG facility
The Island Gas Connector Project would be an independent pipeline that would transport natural gas 52.8 kilometres from Sumas, Washington to Cherry Point, Washington, then 75.2 kilometres under water to the proposed Malahat LNG Project in the Saanich Inlet. Steelhead LNG has signed a pre-construction agreement with United States pipeline developer Williams to commence with the design and regulatory approvals for the Island Gas Connector Project. Environmentalists are concerned that an undersea pipeline could be built through B.C. waters and particularly the sensitive Saanich Inlet. April Lawrence reports. (CHEK)

Janet Holder, public face of the Northern Gateway pipeline project, dies
Janet Holder, who rose to prominence as the project leader for Enbridge's controversial Northern Gateway Pipeline project, has died of leukemia…. Holder was named Enbridge executive vice president of Western Access in 2011, and soon afterwards, relocated from Toronto back to her home town of Prince George. She became a recognizable face to many after fronting a number of folksy-themed television ads promoting the pipeline project.

Obama's Clean Water Act rule faces deepening opposition  
A federal judge in North Dakota has provided the stiffest challenge yet to a new rule from the Obama Administration that aims to protect ecologically-vital temporary waterways. Last week, US District Judge Ralph Erickson in Fargo issued a temporary injunction to stop the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers from regulating the waterways under a reinterpretation of the Clean Water Act. But the scope of the injunction remains unclear. While the EPA argues that it only applies to the 13 states that sued, the North Dakota attorney who filed the request on their behalf says it applies to all 50 states. Michael Holtz reports. (Christian Science Monitor) See also: Why The EPA’s Clean Drinking Water Rule Is So Controversial  Emily Atkin reports. (ThinkProgress.Org)

Federal election a 3-way race in Metro Vancouver; Marine protection a top issue for voters in the upcoming federal election
To live in B.C.'s Lower Mainland is to live on the water, whether it's the commuters who speed over the Fraser River each day or the dog walkers strolling the seawall around Vancouver each night. And it's the waterfront providing a backdrop to many key election issues here, from the affordability of living along it to how it's used to send natural resources abroad. (Stephanie Levitz reports. (Canadian Press)

Marine animal colony is a multi-jet swimming machine, scientists report
The University of Oregon's Kelly Sutherland has seen the future of under-sea exploration by studying the swimming prowess of tiny jellyfish gathered from Puget Sound off Washington's San Juan Island. n a paper with four colleagues in the Sept. 2 issue of the journal Nature Communications, Sutherland details how a tiny type of jellyfish - colonial siphonophores - swim rapidly by coordinating multiple water-shooting jets from separate but genetically identical units that make up the animal. (Phys.Org)

DNR cleans local waterways of sunken, derelict, abandoned boats
A double-masted sailboat and a WWII-era tugboat disappeared from local waters in August — and most people probably consider it good riddance. A state Department of Natural Resources program that works to remove abandoned boats from waterways around the state has focused of late on the Everett area. Contractors will remove seven derelict vessels from local sloughs and riverbanks, if all goes as planned. Noah Haglund reports. (Everett Herald)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT WED SEP 2 2015
TODAY
SW WIND 5 TO 15 KT...BECOMING TO 10 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 8 FT AT 11 SECONDS. SHOWERS. A
 SLIGHT CHANCE OF TSTMS IN THE AFTERNOON.
TONIGHT
SW WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 7 FT AT 11 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND A SLIGHT CHANCE OF TSTMS IN
 THE EVENING...THEN SHOWERS LIKELY AFTER MIDNIGHT.
--
"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato@salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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9/1 Naming names, Gorge cleanup, Wild Future, oil terminals review, Fidalgo Bay Days

Koma Kulshan (WikiCommons)

Here Are Seven Northwest Mountains Named For White Men
North America's highest mountain has a new name. Or rather, an old one. President Obama has announced that Alaska's Mount McKinley will now be called Denali, which is what natives call the peak. Like Denali, mountains in the Pacific Northwest had names before white settlers re-named them. [How many can you name in WA, OR & BC?] Chris Lehman reports. (KUOW)

European settlers renamed many Washington mountains, too
If President Barack Obama starts a trend to change the name of a mountain back to the one used by a region’s original inhabitants, there’s plenty of possibilities in Washington state. European late-comers to the Northwest made it a habit of sticking new names on many of the state’s peaks, from Mount Spokane to Mount Rainier. Jim Camden reports. (Spokesman-Review)

Shoreline focus of cleanup after barge spills flattened cars
A shoreline cleanup specialist started picking debris from the Gorge shoreline on Monday, three days after a listing barge sent dozens of flattened cars into the Gorge Waterway…. The shoreline specialist was contracted by Schnitzer Steel, a scrap-metal recycling company in the Rock Bay area which was operating the barge. Brach said the cleanup effort couldn’t start until the barge was stabilized. (Times Colonist)

State invites comments on fishing, hunting, rec programs and policies
The state Department of Fish and Wildlife is asking the public for help in identifying conservation and recreation priorities for the next several years. Fish and Wildlife is calling the new, multiyear initiative “Washington’s Wild Future: A Partnership for Fish and Wildlife,” according to a news release. The partnership is an effort to strengthen the department’s relationships with communities, increase support for conservation and recreation on public lands, and help ensure the state’s services meet the public’s needs. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Draft Environmental Review Released For Oil Terminals On Washington Coast
The Washington State Department of Ecology has just released its draft environmental review of two proposed oil terminals on the Washington coast. A third proposed terminal has not yet begun the environmental review process. The terminals could be built in Grays Harbor, near Aberdeen, doubling current vessel and train traffic levels there. (KUOW)

Fidalgo Bay Day lets kids play, learn about marine life
A power outage caused by high winds Saturday didn’t dampen spirits at Fidalgo Bay Day. And though the weather forced organizers to move some activities indoors, including educational discovery stations that were to be installed along the Tommy Thompson Trail, visitors interested in the aquatic environment spent the afternoon learning about sea life and marine habitat. Evan Marczynsk reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT TUE SEP 1 2015
TODAY
LIGHT WIND...BECOMING S TO 10 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 6 FT AT 11 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF RAIN IN
 THE MORNING...THEN RAIN LIKELY IN THE AFTERNOON.
TONIGHT
SW WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 6 FT AT 11 SECONDS. SHOWERS IN THE EVENING...THEN SHOWERS LIKELY AFTER
 MIDNIGHT.

--
"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato@salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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8/31 Salmon watch, windstorm, Hood Canal, Gorge waterway, Mt Baker glacier, oil train, Longview oil, Denali

Elwha 8/28/15 (Tom Roorda and CWI)

If you like to watch: Salmon in the Elwha  (John  Gussman) See also: pinks in the green  (Mark Powell)

If Seattle loses salmon, we also could lose city’s soul
Seattle’s the only city in the Lower 48 where lots of salmon run right through the teeth of the urban environment. But this summer the tour guides have had to work to come up with a fish story. Danny Westneat reports. (Seattle Times)

100,000 still without power after windstorm  (Seattle Times) B.C. storm: 60,000 in Metro Vancouver still without power  (CBC)

Lack of oxygen killing marine life in Hood Canal waters
A lack of oxygen in southern Hood Canal is killing fish, crab and other marine life, according to Seth Book, a biologist with the Skokomish Tribe who has been monitoring the marine waterway. Through the month of August, Book and other Skokomish staff have observed dead English sole and thousands of dead and dying eel pouts on the beaches. They also have found masses of dead cockles and butter clams, and on Friday, Book said he saw hundreds of crab along the beaches that were trying to get to the surface to breath. “It’s a dead zone anywhere east of Sister’s Point to Belfair, Mason County. There’s very low oxygen at depth,” Book said. Hal Bernton reports. (Seattle Times)

Victoria's Gorge waterway needs cleanup after barge full of scrap cars tips
A barge carrying scrap vehicles tipped in Victoria's Gorge Waterway Friday, sending more than 50 cars spilling into the water. The accident occurred when a crane that was loading cars onto the barge apparently tipped, causing the barge to list badly, said Katie Hamilton, a spokeswoman for the city of Victoria. (CBC)

Living on boats to be a thing of the past in Victoria's Gorge
The sight of live-aboard boats anchoring on the Gorge Waterway in Victoria could soon be a thing of the past. Council passed a bylaw banning overnight anchoring in the Gorge last year, and by the end of October, people living in boats could be told to raise anchor and leave. Council was mostly concerned about environmental impacts from the boats after hearing complaints that some of the people living on the dozen or so boats — some of which have been described as derelict — were dumping sewage and garbage into the ocean near a sensitive ecological habitat. (CBC)

Scientists, Nooksack tribe study shrinking Mount Baker glacier
…. The glaciers on Mount Baker, a volcanic peak about 125 miles northeast of Seattle, provide a critical water source for agriculture, cities and tribes during the late summer. The icy glacial melt keeps streams cool for fish and replenishes rivers during a time of year when they typically run low. For the Nooksack Indian Tribe, which has relied for hundreds of years on salmon runs in the glacier-fed Nooksack River, a way of life is at risk. Without that glacial runoff, rivers will dry up more quickly and warm up faster, making it harder for salmon to spawn or migrate to the ocean. Phuong Le reports. (Associated Press)

Request made to extend comment period on oil-by-rail environmental studies
Several Washington community leaders sent a letter Friday to Skagit County Commissioner Ken Dahlstedt and Gov. Jay Inslee requesting 120-day public comment periods for the proposed Shell Puget Sound Refinery rail unloading facility in Anacortes and the proposed Grays Harbor crude oil terminals. The letter, which was also sent to Hoquiam City Manager Brian Shay and state Department of Ecology Director Maia Bellon, urged officials to allow the longer comment periods for the draft environmental impact statements of the projects in order to give community groups more time to gather information. The draft environmental impact statements have yet to be completed. Shannen Kuest reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Parched Olympic Peninsula Community Eyes New Reservoir
For more than a century, the snowmelt that fed the Dungeness River here has provided water for farmers’ crops as well as salmon journeying to the ocean and back. The system has worked well – except when there’s not enough water. And now that this part of Washington’s Olympic Peninsula is caught in the drought afflicting much of the West, interest in building a new reservoir is on the rise. For longtime advocate Gary Smith, that’s a good thing. Ashley Ahearn reports. (KUOW)

Oil And More: Longview Energy Company Proposes Expansion
An energy company wants to build a transfer terminal in Longview, Washington that could handle liquefied natural gas and crude oil, according to documents reviewed Friday by OPB. The project is an expansion on an already proposed oil refinery for Longview. The documents were obtained by Columbia River Keeper through a public records request. They describe an “off-load and transfer terminal” at the Port of Longview that could handle up to two unit trains per day. Conrad Wilson and Tony Schick report. (OPB)

Obama Renaming Continent's Highest Peak From Mt. McKinley To Denali
The White House announced Sunday that President Obama is changing the name of North America's highest peak. Mt. McKinley — named after William McKinley, the 25th president, who served in the White House until his assassination in 1901 — is returning to its traditional Alaska Native name, Denali. Obama will make a public announcement of the name change in Anchorage Monday, during a three-day visit to Alaska. Brakkton Booker reports. (NPR)

Lower Elwha Klallam tribe plans to restore beach on Ediz Hook
A restored beach of sand and dune grass will replace rip rap and concrete rubble on the south side of Ediz Hook this fall. The Lower Elwha Klallam tribe plans to re-establish original habitat to two-thirds of a mile of shoreline east of the old A-frame site. The remains of the A-frame log dock vanished in 2008, and the tribe restored the nearby beach in 2011. (Peninsula Daily News)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT MON AUG 31 2015
TODAY
SW WIND 5 TO 15 KT...BECOMING 10 TO 20 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 7 FT AT 11 SECONDS. RAIN.
TONIGHT
SW WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 7 FT AT 11 SECONDS. RAIN.

--
"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato@salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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8/28 Vultures, Lummi coal, Shell drill, Duwamish cleanup, drone fined, Snohomish habitat, new ferry art

Turkey Vulture (Mike Gabelmann/BirdNote)

If you like to watch: Vultures! Nature's Clean-up Crew
In celebration of International Vulture Awareness Day Sept. 5.  Although some of the Turkey Vulture's habits may evoke our disgust, these remarkable birds also inspire our awe. With wingspans approaching six feet, Turkey Vultures ride currents of air to make their spring and fall journeys, and to cover the miles of their home range in summer. Gliding on updrafts, or pushed along by weather fronts, Turkey Vultures rarely need to flap their wings more than ten times in a row. To rise above storms, they ride upward on thermals. (BirdNote)

Lummis done talking, call for decision on coal port
Lummi Nation’s leaders expect the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will stop a proposed coal terminal at Cherry Point. The tribe asked the Corps in January to reject permits for the terminal, claiming the 2,980-foot dock and up to 487 ships per year berthing there would interfere with traditional fishing areas protected by an 1855 treaty. The tribe doesn’t expect its fight against Gateway Pacific Terminal to end there, however. Lummi Nation announced on Thursday, Aug. 27, it had hired Dentons, reportedly the world’s largest law firm, to represent it in future lawsuits related to the terminal. Ralph Schwartz reports. (Bellingham Herald)

Environmentalists Appeal To Stop Shell's Return To Seattle
Environment groups have another opportunity to stop a Shell Oil rig from returning to Seattle. They are appealing a Superior Court decision from earlier this summer that the Port of Seattle could host Shell's Arctic drilling fleet without conducting an environmental review. The appeal argues that the port did need to conduct that environmental review. And it says that should be enough to strike down the lease involving Shell. Carolyn Adolph reports. (KUOW)

EPA wants $367,500 penalties on Jorgensen for faulty cleanup work on the Duwamish
Losing patience with faulty work in the heralded cleanup of industrial waste from Seattle’s Duwamish Waterway, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing a six-figure penalty against a steel producer that is a major presence on the river. The EPA wants $367,500 in penalties against the Earle M. Jorgensen Co. for repeatedly failing to meet needed and agreed-upon requirements in its portion of the Duwamish cleanup. Joel Connelly reports. (SeattlePI.Com)

Drone operator fined more than $1,000 for allegedly getting too close to orca pod
An American drone operator and photographer have been slapped with hefty fine for allegedly getting too close to a pod of orcas in Washington state.  The footage captured in the Haro Strait, just east of Vancouver Island, is incredible but one of the operators is facing a fine of more than $1,000.  U.S. authorities say the pair's drones were within nine metres of the whales while the regulation requires all vessels should be at least approximately 183 metres back. Tamara Baluja and Tina Lovgreen report. (CBC)

Snohomish River levee breached to open wetlands to salmon recovery
Bulldozers removed about 1,500 linear feet of a levee in the Snohomish River Estuary to reopen 350 acres of wetlands to threatened salmon. The Tulalip Tribes and officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries division say the breach was part of the largest restoration projects so far in the Snohomish watershed. (Associated Press)

Drought forces fishing ban in Nooksack River Basin
Fishing was closed unexpectedly Thursday, Aug. 27, in various areas of the Nooksack River Basin as the drought continues to take its toll on fish. As the drought reduces river flows to a trickle in places and water temperatures increase, spring chinook are dying off in high numbers, many before they can spawn, according to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Debbie Townsend reports. (Bellingham Herald)

Coast Salish asked to create art for three new ferries
B.C. Ferries has issued a call to Coast Salish people for expressions of interest in creating art for three new vessels — the Salish Orca, Salish Eagle and Salish Raven. Ferries has joined with the First Peoples’ Cultural Council to organize the commission of three original designs from up to three Coast Salish artists. B.C. has 20 Coast Salish nations. Expressions of interest and portfolios are being sought, with a committee of artists and B.C. Ferries representatives to select a short list. Those shortlisted will be commissioned to propose specific design concepts, with the final selections to come from that work. Jeff Bell reports. (Times Colonist)

Now, your weekend tug weather--
 WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 900 AM PDT FRI AUG 28 2015

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 5 AM PDT EARLY THIS MORNING THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON
 GALE WATCH IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY MORNING THROUGH SATURDAY EVENING
TODAY
SE WIND 15 TO 25 KT...BECOMING SW 5 TO 15 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT...SUBSIDING TO 2 FT OR LESS IN THE AFTERNOON. W SWELL 4 FT AT 15 SECONDS. RAIN IN THE MORNING...THEN SCATTERED SHOWERS IN THE AFTERNOON.
TONIGHT
SW WIND TO 10 KT...BECOMING E AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 4 FT AT 16 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS IN THE EVENING...THEN RAIN AFTER MIDNIGHT.
SAT
E WIND 20 TO 30 KT...BECOMING S 25 TO 35 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. SEAS 5 TO 8 FT WITH A DOMINANT PERIOD OF 16 SECONDS. RAIN.
SAT NIGHT
SW WIND 20 TO 30 KT...BECOMING S 15 TO 25 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 3 TO 5 FT...SUBSIDING TO 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 6 FT AT 17 SECONDS.
SUN
SW WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 8 FT AT 15 SECONDS.

--
"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato@salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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8/27 Robots, rain, BC fracking quakes, 'blob,' sewage spill, hatchery losses

Pink octopus (Ocean Networks Canada)

If you like to watch: Deep sea robots livestream ocean floor landscapes, creatures
Join two robots exploring the deeps off the British Columbia coast — without getting wet. You can watch them online during a three-week mission by the University of Victoria's Ocean Networks Canada in the Salish Sea and Pacific Ocean to discover new species, map the ocean floor, upgrade high-tech undersea sensors – and drop off a couple of fresh pig carcasses. (CBC)

Major Weather Shift Will Bring Substantial Rain And Help Bring Wildfires Under Control
The end of August often brings the entrance of a major weather system and a touch of fall, and this year will follow this pattern. The atmosphere has been shifting into a different configuration the past week, and during the next few days a major transition will occur, with persistent strong troughing (low pressure) over the Northwest.  It will bring large amounts of rain to our mountains, knock back and end some of the fires, and allow firefighters to gain control of the situation.   It will bring substantial water to reservoirs that have dropped to extremely low levels. Cliff Mass forecasts. (Weather Blog)

Fracking-induced quakes in B.C. are among largest on record
At least two earthquakes in British Columbia over the past year – including one last week – are among the largest ever caused by natural gas fracking in North America and were both strong enough to force temporary shutdowns of operations. But while the province’s oil and natural gas ministry as well as the shale gas industry have both played down the severity of fracking-induced quakes – insisting they are rare and present no threat to people or buildings – experts caution much is still not known about just how strong a fracking-induced earthquake could be. Kat Sieniuc reports. (Globe and Mail)

‘Blob’ lures more tropical fish to waters off Island
Tropical fish continue to be spotted off Vancouver Island and scientists say a warm patch of ocean known as “the blob” is to blame. Ocean sunfish, butterfish and tuna are just some of the marine species that have moved beyond their usual habitats into B.C. waters, said Ian Perry, a research scientist with Fisheries and Oceans Canada. And while some of those species have appeared in past warm years, others are making their debut. Amy Smart reports. (Times Colonist)

Seward Park beach closed after sewage spill in Lake Washington
A large underground sewage storage tank spilled about 12,000 gallons of sewage into Lake Washington Wednesday morning, prompting the beach at Seward Park to close, according to a Seattle Public Utilities news release. Waker Orenstein reports. (Seattle Times)

Drought Becomes Deadly For Olympic Peninsula's Hatchery Fish
This summer’s extreme drought is becoming increasingly deadly for fish in the northwest. The state department of Fish and Wildlife had already lost about one and a half million juvenile fish in overheated rivers and streams in Washington at the end of July, due to this summer’s historically warm temperatures and low water levels. Bellamy Pailthorp reports. (KPLU)

Now, your tug weather
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 900 AM PDT THU AUG 27 2015
TODAY
SW WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 3 FT AT 17 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
W WIND 10 TO 20 KT...BECOMING NW TO 10 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT...SUBSIDING TO 1 FT OR LESS AFTER MIDNIGHT. W
 SWELL 3 FT AT 16 SECONDS. RAIN LIKELY AFTER MIDNIGHT.

--
"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato@salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

Follow on Twitter.

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8/26 Farmed salmon suit, giant squid, A95 hurt, BC LNG sites, Whidbey waterfront donation

(PHOTO: Laurie MacBride)

Must be the Season of the Frog
Laurie MacBride in Eye on Environment writes: "August is Tree Frog Month around our place. The steady chorus that came from our ponds every night in March and April has, thankfully again this year, resulted in a new generation of Pacific Chorus frogs…."

Group threatens to sue over farmed salmon in Puget Sound
A conservation group says it intends to sue the federal government for allowing farm-raised salmon in Puget Sound. Wild Fish Conservancy sent a letter Tuesday to the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Environmental Protection Agency, giving them a required 60-day notice of intent to sue. The organization says the agencies failed to fully assess the danger of floating pens of non-native Atlantic salmon to protected wild salmon runs, including chinook and Hood Canal chum salmon as well as steelhead. Wild Fish Conservancy says that violates the Endangered Species Act. (Associated Press)

Hauling in a real-life kraken: Giant squid snagged by Oak Harbor middle schooler a rare find
The only thing certain in Peyton Horn’s mind was that whatever was on the end of his fishing line wasn’t a salmon. Horn, an eighth grader from Oak Harbor Middle School, reeled in a giant squid while fishing for salmon on a North Whidbey beach Sunday morning. The squid was dead, with missing parts and bites taken out of it. But it was an impressive sight nonetheless, estimated to be five-and-a-half feet long and so heavy Horn couldn’t lift it off the beach. A biology professor who conducts research on marine life off Whidbey shores identified the massive creature as a robust clubhook squid, which is an unusual discovery in Puget Sound waters, and exceptionally rare around this island. Ron Newberry reports. (Whidbey News-Times)

Young killer whale may have been injured by boat propeller
Researchers are closely monitoring a young killer whale with an injury that may have been caused by a boat strike off the coast of Vancouver Island. The whale was spotted with a fresh wound on its flank and dorsal fin on Saturday in Johnstone Strait.  Researchers identified her as A95, a six-year-old killer whale from the northern resident population known as Fern. (CBC)

Search on for alternate site for Pacific NorthWest terminal near Prince Rupert
The Lax Kw'alaams First Nation appears to be taking steps to find a new site for the proposed Pacific NorthWest LNG terminal, one that would not affect the salmon-rearing habitat in the Skeena River estuary. In several community votes earlier this year, the Lax Kw'alaams rejected a $1.15-billion benefits package offer from the company and the B.C. government over concerns the liquefied natural gas terminal on Lelu Island near Prince Rupert in northwest B.C. would harm young salmon that rear in eel grass beds on Flora Bank. Gordon Hoekstra reports. (Vancouver Sun) See also: First Nation asserts right to B.C. island slated for LNG plant  Some members of a north coast First Nation are gathering on a small island near Prince Rupert, B.C., to protest plans for a liquefied natural gas project. Members of the Lax Kw’alaams band are preparing to set up tents and carry out other activities on Lelu Island, which they claim as traditional Tsimshian territory. (Canadian Press)

Couple donates Whidbey waterfront land to EvCC’s marine sciences academy
A Whidbey Island couple has donated 3.8 acres of waterfront property to Everett Community College's Ocean Research College Academy. Gary and Kathi Lang's daughter, Rebekah Woodson, graduated from ORCA in 2013. ORCA is an early college academy for high school students focused on marine sciences and field research. The land on south Whidbey is undevelopable because of steep sliding slopes, Gary Lang said from his home in Arizona. Chris Winters reports. (Everett Herald)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 900 AM PDT WED AUG 26 2015
TODAY
W WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 3 FT AT 15 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
W WIND 10 TO 20 KT...BECOMING 5 TO 15 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 3 FT AT 15 SECONDS.

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