10/20 On Watch, Forterra, K-45, white sturgeons, BC forestry carbon, GasLink pipe, tribal candidates, warm oceans, Coquitlam Glacier

On Watch [Tony Angell]

On Watch
Tony Angell writes: "When I review images of my successful stone carvings from the past 50 years, I realize that they all seem to have been initiated from a strong personal motivation.   The shape of the stone picked up from a river bed immediately suggested something in motion or a familiar form that only required modest refinement to be realized. Other work has been driven by my emotions at the time—sometimes romantic, others heartfelt and even angry. Even the sheer pleasure of physically working with the shaping of the stone can be compelling... Read more." (Salish Current)

Investors, 80 ex-staffers demand new leadership at Seattle’s Forterra
Big-name philanthropic investors and 80 former staffers of the Seattle-based land conservancy Forterra NW are calling for leadership change there, joining their criticisms with those previously aired by the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe. It’s not clear what may come next for Forterra, a well-known and politically connected nonprofit that’s grown rapidly in recent years, expanded the scope of its mission to include community development and raised as much as $215 million to support a regional timber, manufacturing and housing initiative. But complaints about the organization are piling up. Daniel Beekman and David Gutman report. (Seattle Times)

Scientists confirm newborn endangered orca is a female
Scientists were celebrating Wednesday after determining that the southern resident killer whale calf born in April is a female. K45 was the first newborn for K-Pod since 2011, and the fact that she’s a female gives the critically endangered species a glimmer of hope. Darron Kloster reports. (Times Colonist)

What killed these giant fish?
A dozen white sturgeon died recently in a B.C. river. No one knows what killed them. Georgie Smyth reports. (CBC)

Canadian forestry carbon emissions equal to Alberta's oilsands some years, report says
An analysis suggests Canada is using questionable methods to dramatically underestimate greenhouse gas emissions from the forestry industry, which it says equal those from Alberta's oilsands in some years. The report released Tuesday, also sponsored by the Natural Resources Defense Council, uses federal data and methodology to attempt to find out how much carbon is emitted by Canada's forestry sector. Bob Weber reports. (Canadian Press) 

It’s ludicrous’: Coastal GasLink pushes its pipeline under a Wet’suwet’en river while salmon are spawning
Coastal GasLink is drilling under the Wedzin Kwa (Morice River) as spawning salmon lay their eggs throughout the river system. The work is being done during a period outside of the “least-risk window” for in-stream construction, according to reports filed with the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office. Put another way, Coastal GasLink is putting its pipeline under the river at the riskiest time for salmon. Matt Simmons reports. (The Narwhal)

Tribal representation in Olympia could quadruple this November
Currently, there is just one Native American serving in the Washington state Legislature. Debra Lekanoff, whose Indian name is “Xixch’I See,” is a member of a Tlingit tribe in Southeast Alaska. She represents District 40, Position 1, which includes the San Juan Islands, and is running unopposed this fall. A handful of Indigenous candidates are running for legislative seats this fall, one in the state Senate and three, including Lekanoff, in the House. David Hyde reports. (KUOW)

Oceans are warming faster than ever. Here’s what could come next.
The world’s oceans have been warming for generations, a trend that is accelerating and threatens to fuel more supercharged storms, devastate marine ecosystems and upend the lives and livelihoods of millions of people, according to a new scientific analysis. Brady Dennis reports. (Washington Post)

Metro Vancouver's last remaining glacier is disappearing fast
Metro Vancouver's last surviving glacier, a source of local fresh water, will disappear in less than 30 years, according to local scientists. Scientists say climate change is accelerating the demise of the Coquitlam Glacier. The ice pack, located 40 kilometres north of Vancouver, sits on a mountain more than 1,400 metres high. Ali Pitargue reports. (CBC)

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Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  241 AM PDT Thu Oct 20 2022   
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH  LATE TONIGHT   
TODAY  W wind to 10 kt becoming 5 to 15 kt in the afternoon.  Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 8 ft at 13 seconds. A slight chance  of showers in the morning. 
TONIGHT  W wind 15 to 25 kt. Wind waves 3 to 5 ft. W swell 8 ft  at 11 seconds.

--
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10/19 Coho, jelly bloom, rhino auklets, Upper Bulkley River

Coho [NOAA Fisheries]

Coho salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch
Coho use coastal streams and tributaries, and are often present in small neighborhood streams. Coho can even be found in urban settings if their needs of cold, clean, year-round water are met. They spawn in small coastal streams and the tributaries of larger rivers. They prefer areas of mid-velocity water with small to medium sized gravels. Because they use small streams with limited space, they must use many such streams to successfully reproduce, which is why coho can be found in virtually every small coastal stream with a year-round flow. Coho have a very regular life history. They are deposited in the gravel as eggs in the fall, emerge from the gravel the next spring, and in their second spring go to sea, about 18 months after being deposited. Coho fry are usually found in the pools of small coastal streams and the tributaries of larger rivers. (WDFW)

Cinematographer documents stunning Vancouver Island jellyfish bloom: ‘It feels like you’re on another planet’
A Vancouver Island cinematographer took a deep dive into the waters off Brentwood Bay to get an up-close look at a massive moon jelly bloom, capturing the marine species on video for all to see. John Roney, a Parksville resident, submerged himself in Todd Inlet to capture the visually spectacular phenomenon. Ethan Moreau reports. (CHEK)

Whir! Chunk! Capture! The art of tagging rhinoceros auklets on Protection Island
Where do Protection Island's rhinoceros auklets go to find their food? Scientists hope GPS tags will offer new insight into the bird's still mysterious foraging behavior. Eric Wagner writes. (Salish Sea Currents Magazine)

After her farm flooded, this B.C. farmer went looking for solutions
An unlikely group from northwest B.C. is working together to restore the heavily impacted Upper Bulkley River to protect farmland from floods and bring balance back to a disrupted ecosystem. Matt Simmons reports. (The Narwhal)

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Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  307 AM PDT Wed Oct 19 2022   
TODAY  W wind to 10 kt. Wind waves 1 ft or less. W swell 4 ft  at 12 seconds building to 7 ft at 15 seconds in the afternoon. 
TONIGHT  W wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell  9 ft at 14 seconds.

--
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10/18 Sculpin, BC drought, quiet vessels, carbon credits, GasLink protection, Cowlitz Tribe rights, Snohomish MRC, Vancouver seawall

Sailfin sculpin [NOAA/Creative Commons]

Sailfin sculpin
The sailfin sculpin (Nautichthys oculofasciatus, lit. "eye-banded sailor fish") is a species of scorpaeniform marine fish in the sea raven family Hemitripteridae, native to the eastern Pacific Ocean from St. Lawrence Island, Alaska to San Miguel Island off southern California. Named for its elongated, sail-like first dorsal fin, the sailfin sculpin is a popular subject of public aquaria; it is of no interest to commercial fishery. (iNaturalist)

State of emergency declared on B.C.'s Sunshine Coast because of drought
A state of local emergency declared on the Sunshine Coast because of drought includes an order for breweries, water bottlers and non-medical cannabis growers to shut down water use starting at 11:59 p.m. PT on Tuesday. Breweries, water bottlers and non-medical cannabis growers included in businesses ordered to stop using water. Karin Larsen reports. (CBC)

Big ships transiting North Puget Sound asked to slow down, quiet down for orcas
Big ships entering and leaving Puget Sound will be asked to temporarily slow down to reduce underwater noise this fall. Washington state is importing this strategy from British Columbia on a trial basis in hopes of helping the Pacific Northwest's critically endangered killer whales. The voluntary slowdown for container ships, tankers, freighters, cruise ships and car carriers is scheduled to run from October 24 to December 22. The slowdown area covers the shipping lanes from Admiralty Inlet by Port Townsend south to Kingston and Mukilteo. Tom Banse reports. (NW News Network)

Carbon auctions will bring WA more money than predicted. Transportation could benefit
The cornerstone of the 2021 Climate Commitment Act, the new carbon “cap and invest” program requires the state’s largest emitters to either reduce their emissions or purchase carbon allowances at auction if they exceed a set limit...When the complicated carbon reduction program was passed in 2021, the Department of Ecology estimated it would bring in around $220 million in 2023 and close to or just over $500 million every year after that through 2040...But Washington revised those numbers this month as it collected more information on the amount of carbon allowances likely to be sold and based on recent increases in their cost. David Kroman reports. (Seattle Times) See: Seattle's carbon pollution drops with Covid. A rebound is expected John Ryan reports. (KUOW)

RCMP Spending on Pipeline Conflict Reaches $25 Million
As Coastal GasLink begins drilling under the Morice River, police presence on Wet’suwet’en territory appears to be on the rise. Amanda Follett Hosgood reports. (The Tyee)

The Precarious Position of Treaty-less Tribes
What a five-year fight over a few dozen clams shows about the inconsistent rights of Indigenous tribes. Ashley Braun reports. (Hakai Magazine)

4 more decaying boats removed from Snohomish County shores
The county’s Marine Resource Committee has now removed 175,000 pounds of toxic maritime eyesores since 2018. About 35,000 pounds of marine debris and toxic materials were removed from Snohomish County shorelines this year. The county’s Marine Resource Committee finished extracting its fourth abandoned vessel of the year in late September, putting the total count at 20 vessels, or 175,000 pounds of debris, removed since 2018. Kayla Dunn reports. (Everett Herald)

Breaking Up with the Seawall
The past, present and future of Vancouver's 33-kilometer Stanley Park seawall, the longest continuous waterfront pathway in the world. Auston Chore writes. (The Tyee)

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Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  318 AM PDT Tue Oct 18 2022   
TODAY  SE wind to 10 kt becoming E in the afternoon. Wind waves  1 ft or less. W swell 4 ft at 13 seconds. 
TONIGHT  W wind to 10 kt. Wind waves 1 ft or less. W swell 4 ft  at 12 seconds.

--
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10/17 Pickleweed, BC election, heat, smoke, rain, BC pipe, CWA 50, fire retardant, butterflies, sea rise, Joe Martin

Pickleweed [Sound Water Stewards]

Pickleweed Salicornia virginica
This species can be found in salt marshes and beaches with low wave energy along the Pacific Coast of the United States and British Columbia, on the American East Coast, and also in Western Europe. It is a common and easily recognized perennial with fleshy stems, leaves reduced to scales, and tiny yellow flowers that bloom in July and August. This plant belongs to the goosefoot family. Other common names for it include saltwort, sea asparagus, and American glasswort. A similar but less common species, Salicornia maritima tends to take on a bright red hue in the fall. (Sound Water Stewards)

In cities big and small, winds of change sweep across British Columbia
A municipal election differs from a provincial or federal election in that there isn't one party forming government but dozens of individual results and stories — in the case of B.C., 160 separate municipalities — happening everywhere all at once. That being said, there is one major storyline: people wanting change. Justin McElroy reports. (CBC)

At 88 degrees, Seattle breaks heat record as wildfires and smoke spread  Mike Reicher and Taylor Blatchford report. (Seattle Times)  Air quality advisory for Metro Vancouver, Fraser Valley continues due to wildfire smoke (CBC)

Rains to come to Metro Vancouver at last, with snow in high places
Hazy skies to remain for next few days, but 10 mm of rain forecast for the weekend. David Carrigg reports. (Vancouver Sun)

The Trans Mountain Boondoggle: Taxpayers Lose Billions, Oil Companies Win
A new analysis confirms the pipeline expansion makes no economic sense and taxpayers will subsidize Big Oil. Andrew Nikiforuk reports. (The Tyee)  First Nations Partnerships Say Pipeline Companies Owe Them Millions Four lawsuits allege a former major contractor for Coastal GasLink hasn’t paid for some work on the pipeline. Amanda Follett Hosgood reports. (The Tyee)

The Clean Water Act at 50: Big Successes, More to Be Done
Sparked by the 1970s environmental movement, the Clean Water Act — which marks its 50th anniversary this month — transformed America’s polluted rivers. The Delaware, once an industrial cesspool, is one of the success stories, but its urban stretches remain a work in progress. Andrew S. Lewis writes. (Yale Environment 360)

US sued by Oregon group for pollution from retardant drops on wildfires
An environmental group filed a lawsuit Tuesday against U.S. Forest Service officials that alleges they polluted waterways during their campaigns against wildfires by inadvertently dropping large volumes of chemical flame retardant into streams. Government data released earlier this year found aircraft operated or contracted by the Forest Service dropped more than 760,000 gallons of fire retardant directly onto streams and other waterways between 2012 and 2019. The main ingredients in fire retardant are inorganic fertilizers and salts that can be harmful to some fish, frogs, crustaceans and other aquatic species. (Associated Press)

Climate change threatening butterflies’ pollen-collecting powers, find B.C. researchers
An integral part of a vast array of insect pollinators, the shrinking of butterflies due to rising temperatures could have drastic consequences for agriculture. Stefan Labbé reports. (Times Colonist)

Rising seas, surging storms put many low-lying areas at risk
Sea levels are expected to rise by 1.5 to nearly 2 feet by 2100 along low-lying shorelines around the Salish Sea—including many areas where people live and recreate.  Kai Uyehara reports. (Salish Current)

Meet Elder Joe Martin, a logger turned renowned canoe carver fighting for old-growth forests
Tla-o-qui-aht Elder Joe Martin has been an advocate for old-growth since the 1980s, when he left the forestry industry and joined the first logging blockade in Canadian history. He reflects on the cultural importance of old-growth, its place in a complex ecosystem and carving out lessons for future generations. Stephanie Wood writes. (The Narwhal)

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Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  311 AM PDT Mon Oct 17 2022   
TODAY  NE wind to 10 kt. Wind waves 1 ft or less. W swell 3 ft  at 10 seconds. 
TONIGHT  NW wind to 10 kt becoming SE after midnight. Wind  waves 1 ft or less. W swell 3 ft at 12 seconds.

--

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10/14 Puffball, sea lice, kokanee, humpback, coyotes, NEXUS pass, PT paper mill, week in review

Common Puffball
[Kitsap Peninsula Mycological Society]

Common Puffball Lycoperdon perlatum
Formerly known as Lycoperdon gemmatum, this mushroom is extremely widespread and prolific, but it is edible only when young. Solitary, scattered, gregarious, to clustered on ground; widespread fall and winter. “Lyco” means “wolf” and “perdon” means “to break wind” in Greek, so the two combine to mean “wolf-fart”. Puffballs can be dehydrated and powdered for flavoring bland foods. (Kitsap Peninsula Mycological Society)

Eco-Label Increases How Many Sea Lice Can Be on Certified “Farmed Responsibly” Salmon
In early September the independent non-profit Aquaculture Stewardship Council increased the amount of sea lice allowable on farmed salmon that is certified as “responsibly farmed.” The new standard means up to 1,550 per cent more parasites can live on the fish. Michelle Gamage reports. (The Tyee)

Transported 'by land, by sea, by air,' endangered kokanee salmon released into Lake Sammamish
Earlier this year, small planes carried roughly 12,000 offspring of Lake Sammamish kokanee salmon from a hatchery on Orcas island. There, they were protected from potentially hazardous conditions like warming waters. After a brief celebration, Snoqualmie tribal members, Lake Sammamish Kokanee Work Group members, and officials from King County departed in three boats to release the endangered juvenile kokanee into the middle of Lake Sammamish at sunset. Megan Farmer reports. (KUOW)

Humpback whale carcass washes up at Ruby Beach
The carcass of a humpback whale washed ashore at Ruby Beach last week, killed by what experts believe to be a collision with a large vessel. Peter Segall reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Fifty Coyotes in Seattle
David B. Williams in Street Smart Naturalist writes: "The other day while walking up to the Light Rail station at Northgate, I heard a wonderful sound. Fifty feet further I saw the source, a lone coyote standing atop a high spot at North Seattle College. He or she was clearly agitated by a pair of dogs and their people on the grass just north. As I stood there watching, the coyote continued to bark, or yip, as well as howl. It was a glorious way to begin my day..." (Street Smart Naturalist)

Canada says U.S. holding NEXUS travel program 'hostage'
A new dispute has been quietly simmering for months and boiled over on a public stage Thursday. It involves dysfunction in a Canada-U.S. program for pre-screened trusted travellers, who can cross the border more quickly with what's known as a NEXUS card. The U.S. has shuttered offices in Canada that process applications for these cards while it presses for changes to the program. A Canadian official made clear her country's displeasure in an unusually curt assessment before a high-level audience in Washington. Alexander Panetta reports. (CBC)

Port Townsend Paper mill, parent firm purchased
Port Townsend Paper Corp., one of Jefferson County largest employers with more than 300 workers, has been acquired by Atlas Holdings, a private investment and equity firm located in Greenwich, Conn., according to a press release from the company. The acquisition was part of a larger transaction that included Crown Paper Group, a holding company created in 2015, and acquired Port Townsend Holdings Company, which includes the Port Townsend paper mill in Port Townsend; the Crown Packaging plant in Vancouver, B.C.; the Boxmaster packaging plant, also in Vancouver; and Distribution Centers in Kelowna, B.C., and Calgary, Alberta. Brian Gawley reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Salish Sea News Week in Review 10/14/22: Pooh Friday, Taylor Shellfish, BC drought, AK crab season, gray whales, Seattle summer, Blue Heron Slough restored, Augtober, sunken tires

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Rising seas, surging storms; Council votes to create Racial Equity Commission; Economic mobility starts at birth...   Catch the Current here.

Now, your weekend tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  257 AM PDT Fri Oct 14 2022   
TODAY  E wind to 10 kt. Wind waves 1 ft or less. W swell 3 ft  at 9 seconds. 
TONIGHT  Light wind becoming SE to 10 kt after midnight. Wind  waves less than 1 ft becoming 1 ft or less after midnight. W  swell 2 ft at 9 seconds. 
SAT  E wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 2 ft  at 9 seconds. 
SAT NIGHT  SE wind 10 to 20 kt. Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell  2 ft at 8 seconds. 
SUN  SE wind 5 to 15 kt becoming E to 10 kt in the afternoon.  Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 2 ft at 8 seconds. 
SUN NIGHT  NW wind 10 to 20 kt becoming N 5 to 15 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 2 ft at 9 seconds.

--
"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to mikesato772 (@) gmail.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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12/13 Warty tunicate, BC drought, sunken tires, Living Planet Index, Columbia-Snake fish recovery, samurai wasp, East Sooke Park, Miller Peninsula SP, Sinclair Inlet derelict vessels

Warty tunicate [iNaturalist]

Warty tunicate Pyura haustor
Pyura haustor is a species of sessile ascidian, or sea squirt, that lives in coastal waters in the north-eastern Pacific Ocean, attached to rocks or artificial structures. Common names for this species include the wrinkled seapump, the wrinkled sea squirt and the warty tunicate.  Like other tunicates, this sea squirt draws in large quantities of water through its buccal siphon, filters out the edible particles and expels the water through the atrial siphon. The diet includes the eggs and larvae of crustaceans, echinoderms, mollusks and other tunicates.(iNaturalist)

We need to talk about B.C.’s drought
In the depths of this record-breaking B.C. drought, pretty much everyone I know is tormented by two opposing sentiments: 1) Overwhelming joy at the endless summer we’re having and 2) A growing sense of anxiety about how nearly three months with no rain in much of B.C. is impacting, well, all other living things. As salmon and red cedar suffer during what many are calling Augtober, we’re reminded of the alarming rate at which our climate is changing. Emma Gilchrist writes. (The Narwhal)

B.C. Hydro looks to protect fish as drought leaves some reservoirs at record-low levels
B.C. Hydro says drought conditions in the province have left some of its reservoirs at or near record-low levels. While there is enough water at its larger facilities to meet the demand for power, the Crown utility says it has had to adapt to the impacts of climate change to keep fish alive downstream. A new report titled "Casting drought" says the system at Campbell River has had the lowest water inflows for the month of September in 53 years. Water inflows in the Lower Mainland since the beginning of September are close to all-time lows. (CBC)

Groups working to remove thousands of tires from Puget Sound
The Washington Scuba Alliance (WSA) has teamed up with Coastal Sensing and Survey to locate 500,000 tires that were put underwater in Puget Sounds and Hood Canal in the 70s to create fish habitat. The organization said a recent study revealed the decomposing tires are poisoning sea life including Coho salmon. Karina Vargas reports. (KOMO)

The 2022 Living Planet Index Is Out. Here’s How to Understand It.
Researchers Report a Staggering Decline in Wildlife. Here’s How to Understand It. The latest update to an important assessment found that populations had declined by an average of 69 percent since 1970. But that might not mean what you think. Catrin Einhorn reports. (NY Times)

National report details ways to boost fish recovery in Columbia, Snake rivers
Local leaders and researchers are finding new solutions to an old problem: helping endangered salmon and steelhead species across the Columbia River Basin. Improving fish hatcheries, reintroducing young fish into dam-blocked areas and better water quality were listed as first-step solutions to fish recovery in the Columbia and Snake rivers, according to a report published last month from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. Sydney Brown reports. (Longview Daily News)

Samurai wasps poised to help B.C. with its stink bug problem
Stink bugs threaten crops, orchards and backyard gardens because they eat apples, grapes, peaches, berries, peppers, beans, tomatoes and hazelnuts...The bugs are present in Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, on Vancouver Island and in the Kelowna area. The working theory is that they travelled with goods shipped from Asia when they started appearing in B.C. in 2015. The good news: one of their natural predators also appears to have hitched a ride. Josh Grant reports. (CBC)

East Sooke Park expands by 16 hectares with land acquisition
The Capital Regional District has acquired a 15.9-hectare parcel to add to East Sooke Regional Park. The land, near Anderson Cove, is one of the last remaining large tracts of undeveloped land adjacent to the park...The area is considered an important habitat for large carnivores such as wolves, cougars and black bears, as well as for many smaller organisms, including the warty jumping slug, considered a species of special concern under the federal Species at Risk Act. Darron Kloster reports. (Times Colonist)

Open house to spotlight changes at Miller Peninsula State Park
State parks leaders will host an open house this month to give an overview of proposed changes and hear from community members about plans for the Miller Peninsula State Park property. Staff from Washington State Parks will host the event set for 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. next Tuesday at the 7 Cedars Resort, 270756 U.S. Highway 101. This in-person-only open house will begin with a brief introduction and overview of the planning work to date, status of the project and anticipated next steps, parks officials said. by Michael Dashiell reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Port Orchard police marine patrol unit removes 35 derelict vessels on Sinclair Inlet
With limited resources and staff shortages, the Port Orchard Police Department marine patrol unit managed to remove 35 derelict vessels on Sinclair Inlet over a year, addressing potential environmental and public safety concerns... The marine patrol unit ultimately impounded five derelict vessels and will destroy them later. Peiyu Lin reports. (Kitsap Sun) 

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Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  250 AM PDT Thu Oct 13 2022   
TODAY  SE wind to 10 kt in the morning becoming light. Wind  waves 1 ft or less. W swell 3 ft at 11 seconds. 
TONIGHT  W wind to 10 kt. Wind waves 1 ft or less. W swell 4 ft  at 9 seconds.

--
"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to mikesato772 (@) gmail.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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10/12 Rougheye rockfish, restoring salmon habitat, Bigg's orcas, black bears and wolves killed, quiet vessels, pandemic winners and losers

Rougheye rockfish [NOAA Fisheries]

 
Rougheye rockfish Sebastes aleutianus
Rougheye rockfish range from Japan into the Bering Sea, throughout the Aleutian Islands, and south to San Diego, California. In Washington most live at water depths between 150 and 450 m (495-1,485 ft). Commonly caught off the Washington coast by commercial harvesters using otter-trawls and longline gear. Rougheye rockfish can grow up to 97 cm (38 in) in length. Maximum age is at least 205 years old. One of the longest lived fishes in the world. (WDFW)

Puget Sound salmon habitat restored with tribes leading the way
Reconnecting estuaries — the place where fresh and salt water meet — is an effort largely led by Washington’s tribes and backed by local and state leaders... At 353 acres, the Port of Everett’s Blue Heron Slough restoration project is among the largest along the Puget Sound. Near completion, the project joins two nearby restoration projects at Smith Island and Qwuloolt marsh to create over 1,000 acres of recovered estuary. At the center of this effort is an attempt to restore struggling salmon populations. Isabella Breda reports. (Seattle Times)

Orca predators take down large minke whale
A group of nine Bigg’s orcas attacked and killed an adult minke whale near Smith Island, Washington — about 40 kilometres southeast of Victoria — last Friday. The scene played out in front of a boat of whale watchers as two families of killer whales worked in tandem to bring down the nine-metre minke, according to the Pacific Whale Watch Association. Darron Kloster reports. (Times Colonist)

B.C. has killed 5,632 black bears since 2011: ‘there’s no sign that it’s getting better’
Conservation officers kill hundreds of black bears in B.C. each year. Experts say there are simple steps communities can take to reduce human-bear conflict, but not enough are taking them. Ainslie Cruickshank reports. (The Narwhal)  Officials confirm 6 wolf poisonings in NE Washington Wildlife officials Monday confirmed the deaths of six wolves in northeastern Washington was due to poison...In February, Stevens County deputies found four dead wolves while on a snowmobile patrol, according to an incident report. Courtney Flatt reports. (NW News Network)

SCHOTTEL Gets Canadian Funding to Develop Quiet Propulsion
German propulsion company SCHOTTEL has been selected for funding within the Government of Canada's Quiet Vessel Initiative, which supports the development of new quiet vessel technologies, designs, and operational practices, leading to less underwater noise from vessels in Canadian waters. (Marine Link)

Who won the pandemic? In our state it’s not even close
At 11.2 deaths per 100,000 population, San Juan County has by far the best record for handling the COVID disease in the pandemic to date. Ferry County has 413.8 deaths per 100,000. “For the first two years, we had the lowest case rate in the United States,” says San Juan’s health director, Dr. Frank James and explains why. Danny Westneat reports. (Seattle Times)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  225 AM PDT Wed Oct 12 2022   
TODAY  E wind to 10 kt. Wind waves 1 ft or less. W swell 3 ft  at 7 seconds. 
TONIGHT  Light wind. Wind waves less than 1 ft. W swell 2 ft at  8 seconds.

--
"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to mikesato772 (@) gmail.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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