And while fish farms are being quarantined, the Federal Government of Canada slashes jobs in the Fisheries.
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It’s the first round of notices to go to Fisheries employees since the federal budget, but Fisheries employees also faced a major wave last December when more than 400 letters went out warning of job losses as spending reductions from the department’s strategic review were rolled out.
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A B.C. fish farm where a virus deadly to Atlantic salmon was detected has been quarantined, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said on Thursday, as officials scramble to contain the highly infectious disease. Earlier this week, Mainstream Canada announced that fish at its Dixon Bay farm north of Tofino tested positive for infectious hematopoietic necrosis, or IHN. It’s the first time in nine years that Atlantic salmon farmed in B.C. have tested positive for IHN.
CFIA quarantines B.C. fish farm as company prepares for cull
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/CFIA+quarantines+fish+farm+company+prepares+cull/6640338/story.html
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The Glines Canyon Dam, the upper dam on the Elwha River, will be completely removed ahead of schedule between spring and summer 2013, federal officials said this week. The last remnants of the lower dam, the 108-foot Elwha Dam, which formed Lake Aldwell 5 miles upstream from the river’s mouth, were removed in March. Dam removal ahead of schedule:
Read the whole story at:
http://peninsuladailynews.com/article/20120517/NEWS/305179992/dam-removal-ahead-of-schedule-glines-gone-in-a-year
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Port Townsend, WA – Standing firm with their demand that Port Townsend Paper prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) regarding its biomass incinerator, five public interest groups filed suit with the Washington State Court of Appeals this week. The suit is in response to a decision handed down by the Superior Court in Thurston County on April 10, 2012, that said further environmental review of the project is unnecessary.
The groups, No Biomass Burn, Olympic Environmental Council, Olympic Forest Coalition, PT Airwatchers and the World Temperate Rainforest Network, represent a broad spectrum of concerns about human health, clean air, the health of our forests, rivers and ocean.
"On the surface, biomass power generation might look like a good thing. But as is often the case with complex proposals like this, it takes more than one look. We are finding the harms that this project may inflict on the area are significant enough that we have no choice but to move forward," said Pat Rasmussen, Coordinator of the World Temperate Rainforest Network. "It’s shocking that the Department of Ecology would allow a multi-million dollar project with such broad ranging effects to proceed with no Environmental Impact Statement.
“Without a complete EIS, how can anyone, including Ecology, begin to evaluate what burning more than double the present amount of forest biomass, along with construction and demolition debris, will do to the air quality around Port Townsend and the communities downwind?”
Burning construction debris is of particular concern because it can be contaminated with plastics, heavy metals, cements, adhesives, petroleum oils and greases, creating a complex mix of air pollutants that changes over time.
"It is irresponsible to the community to allow the project to be built without a clear understanding of what it will do to our health, our forests, our roads, our waters," added Gretchen Brewer of PT AirWatchers.
To illustrate, Brewer cites more than doubling of ultrafine particulates that often lead to increased asthma, heart attacks and strokes in an already compromised community, over 400,000 green tons of woody fuel per year that must come from somewhere, an added 13-17,000 diesel truck trips per year on Highways 19 & 20 into town, and increased acidification of marine waters due to 300,000 more tons of CO2 emitted into the air.
"These are serious issues that need to be addressed."
Ruth Apter, who is studying the effects of CO2 on local shellfish populations, observes, "Increased burning means thousands more tons of climate-altering CO2 will be released into the atmosphere, when ocean waters have absorbed so much already that our native oysters are nearly wiped out."
A hearing date for the appeal has not yet been set.
Filed under: Jefferson County, Olympic Peninsula, Port Townsend | Tagged: Biomass Cogeneration, Olympic Peninsula, Port Townsend, Port Townsend Paper | Comments Off on Five Groups Continue Appeal, Demand Environmental Information from Port Townsend Paper Corporation
No matter the cost, the 128-foot crab boat that caught fire and then sank in Penn Cove this weekend will be raised and removed, according to officials with the state Department of Natural Resources.
Toni Droscher, spokeswoman for the agency, confirmed that the huge steel fishing vessel is not too big to pluck from the bottom, but it will be expensive and it’s a cost that will initially be borne by taxpayers.
“We will get that boat out of there,” Droscher said. “We have to protect the resource.”
The Deep Sea, which has been illegally anchored in Penn Cove for months, caught fire late Saturday evening. The blaze raged unchecked for about two hours before fireboats from Camano Island Fire and Rescue and the U.S Coast Guard arrived and began hitting the vessel with water.
Flames on deck had largely been extinguished by 2:30 a.m. Sunday but fires continued to burn below. Fire fighting efforts had to be temporarily suspended due to fear of the boat sinking but resumed again at daylight.
At about 6 p.m., about 19 hours after it first caught fire, the vessel finally succumbed and sank in about 60 feet of water just outside Penn Cove Shellfish’s mussel rafts.
http://www.southwhidbeyrecord.com/news/151598885.html
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A 128′ fishing vessel caught fire on Saturday and sunk Sunday. What was initially reported as 100 gallons of fuel on board has turned out to be far greater. Today it was reported 1,900 gallons had been pumped out of the sunken vessel and a leak of 2 gallons/minute may have been plugged, after two days of leaking (if accurate, the leak alone is around 5,000 gallons). The boat was immediately adjacent to Penn Cove Shellfish whose annual production of mussels is over 1 million pounds. The link’s below with a picture of the boat and its proximity to Penn Cove’s mussel rafts after that.
Thanks to Jules for the report.
UPDATE as of 5/15
JUSTIN BURNETT
Whidbey News Times Staff reporter
Divers have successfully plugged the hole in the fuel tank of a 128-foot crab boat that caught fire and sank in Penn Cove this past weekend, but enough diesel leaked out that the state has closed the bay to shellfish harvesting.
According to Mark Toy, an environmental engineer with the state Department of Health, more diesel was in the boat than earlier thought and photos from the air have shown just how far the resulting sheen has spread.
"It looks like the oil sheen is pretty extensive," Toy said. "As of this morning, it went past the Coupeville Wharf."
For those reasons, the agency decided to issue a formal closure for the whole shellfish bed in the cove, he said. It will be effective immediately and will stay in effect for one week after the sheen dissipates.
At that time, a series of tests will be performed in accordance with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration standards. If everything checks out, the shellfish bed area will be reopened for harvesting.
Ian Jefferds, owner of Penn Cove Shellfish, said state officials had notified him of the closure prior to the issuance of a new release Tuesday afternoon.
"At this point it looks like we are going to be closed down for at least a week," Jefferds said.
Up until this point, the farm had voluntarily shut down harvesting since the vessel sank on Sunday.
The closure comes after the successful patching of the vessel’s leaking fuel tank. Petty Officer Nathan Bradshaw, a spokesman for the Coast Guard, confirmed late Tuesday that divers had patched the hole, which had been leaking diesel at a rate of about one to two gallons per minute.
Syphoning efforts are ongoing and, so far, about 2,100 gallons of diesel has been recovered. Once the tanks are empty, divers will then search the inside of the vessel for any other pollutants, such as portable gas cans or paints.
The fishing vessel Deep Sea caught fire late Saturday evening before sinking about 19 hours later on Sunday. It’s currently lying in about 60 feet of water just outside Penn Cove Shellfish’s mussel rafts.
Whidbey News Times Staff reporter Justin Burnett can be reached at jburnett@whidbeynewsgroup.com or 360-675-6611 ext. 5054.
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It doesn’t look like something that could disrupt ecosystems, destroy wildlife habitats, impact a state’s shellfish industry, or increase the threat of flooding, but Spartina, also known as common cordgrass, is a plant that can and has done all of these. Northwest Ag’s Greg Martin reports on planned spartina treatments for the 2012 season.
http://www.aginfo.net/index.cfm/event/report/id/Washington-Ag-Today-22033
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Interesting tidbit sent along from Mike Sato’s blog.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EFkcJyTO9U&feature=youtu.be
Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: Puget Sound | Comments Off on 1971 Penn Cove orca captures with Interviews
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
(Quilcene, WA) The Wild Olympics Campaign today acknowledged disappointment with the decision by Congressman Norm Dicks and Senator Patty Murray to drop the willing-seller National Preserve addition piece of their proposal, but said they understand and accept the change. The Coalition stated they continue to enthusiastically back the modified Congressional plan which retains Olympic National Forest wilderness additions and new Wild and Scenic River designations for the Peninsula.
"While we are extremely disappointed by this development, we understand and accept it," said Connie Gallant, chair of the Wild Olympics Campaign. "When we began the Wild Olympics outreach process more than three years ago, our goal was to create a plan to provide the strongest possible protection for peninsula watersheds that was also tailor-made to accommodate the diverse needs of the local communities. Paramount to the success of the process was a commitment to extensive and exhaustive community input," she said.
"In reaching out to the timber landowners, we had substantive conversations and worked in good faith together to try and resolve our differences over the draft proposal. Unfortunately, despite significant efforts on both sides to try and find common ground, our differences around the park additions proposal proved to be challenging. Senator Murray and Congressman Dicks opted for a pathway forward that did not include the potential additions to the Park. And, as we supported the process, we now support the results," Gallant said.
"We want to publicly thank Merrill & Ring Vice President Norm Schaaf, who graciously threw his support behind the revised Wild Olympics proposal after the congressional offices announced the Park additions were removed. Mr. Schaaf’s gesture of goodwill honors the spirit of the inclusive process behind the Wild Olympics."
"Even without the Park addition component, the current proposal remains a major milestone in the history of Peninsula conservation. The Congressional offices have remained steadfast in their support for permanent protections for more than 130,000 acres of Olympic National Forest wilderness and more than 19 new Wild and Scenic Rivers–including their major tributaries. These protections are critical to the long-term protection of key watersheds on the Peninsula," said Gallant.
"We are extremely grateful that Congressman Dicks and Senator Murray and their staff conducted this process in a completely transparent and inclusive manner, inviting community input at every juncture, revising their proposal to address concerns, and building support through collaboration and compromise," Gallant continued. "Although the new plan is not everything we were hoping for, we are 100 percent supportive of the very important Wilderness and Wild and Scenic River protections that remain in the proposal, and commend the leadership of Murray and Dicks on this critical issue. Their plan provides durable and permanent safeguards for the Peninsula’s most priceless natural treasures: our towering ancient forests, free-flowing rivers, critical fish and wildlife habitat, and our clean water."
For more information, visit: www.wildolympics.org
Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: Puget Sound | 1 Comment »
As if we need more damning research into the problems of hatchery stocks, as our Jefferson County Commissioners continue to fight the WA State Dept of Ecology on net pens in our county waters.
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A special issue in the journal Environmental Biology of Fishes looks at how hatcheries are affecting wild fish populations. Research for the issue came from scientists around the Pacific Ocean – from Japan to California. One of the major findings: hatchery fish may be outcompeting wild fish for food in the Bering Sea.
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NOAA Scientists Discover Novel Way to Detect Low Level Exposure to Seafood Toxin: Students at Northwest Indian College Learn How to Conduct Tests. Martha Baskin reports on Green Acre Radio.
NOAA scientists have found a novel way to detect low level exposure to a seafood toxin in marine mammals. While high level exposure has long presented a significant health threat, the outcome of increasing low-level toxin threats was unknown. Subsistence shellfish harvesters, particularly in coastal and tribal communities, are most at risk.
http://greenacreradio.blogspot.com/2012/05/may-10-2012-noaa-scientists-discover.html
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The Navy is continuing to promote that they can expand their training here inside Puget Sound without harming marine mammals, yet more and more troubling information keeps coming out. Given that we have little ability to monitor the Navy actitivites, and strange things like porpoises and whales washing up dead with odd problems, it’s worthy of concern….
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The U.S. Navy may hurt more dolphins and whales by using sonar and explosives in Hawaii and California than thought, says an analysis that reflects new research and covers naval activities in a wider area than previous studies. The Navy estimates its use of explosives and sonar may unintentionally cause more than 1,600 instances of hearing loss or other injury to marine mammals each year, according to a draft environmental impact statement that covers training and testing planned from 2014 to 2019. The Navy calculates the explosives could potentially kill more than 200 marine mammals a year.
http://www.thenewstribune.com/2012/05/12/2140800/sonar-explosives-pose-high-risk.html
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Three dead porpoises have washed ashore on Whidbey Island in a matter of days, and now some experts are wondering if the animals were ill – or the cause of their deaths is something worse. One of the porpoises was found a few yards away from the iconic Admiralty Lighthouse on Whidbey Island, and Susan Berta is hoping to find answers that will shed light on the mystery.
The dead harbor porpoise found near the lighthouse is the third one she has investigated this week. Just as concerning is what happened north of here, along the San Juan Islands. In early May, over a seven-day stretch, eight porpoises were found dead along the shoreline.
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Workshop – Salmon Farming in Land-Based Closed-Containment Systems
Monday, May 14 9am – 1pm Port Townsend Cotton Building
If you were planning on attending the Fish Farming Workshop on Monday, May 14, the venue has changed due to scheduling conflicts with construction work. Work has been underway at the Northwest Maritime Center updating the technology in all of the rooms and as construction goes, they need to get into the room we were scheduled to use on Monday.
The Workshop will be moving from the NWMC to the Cotton Building.
The upside is that we will be a half a block to the west in the ‘Cotton Building’. This saves you from having to climb the stairs at the Maritime Center to get to the 2nd floor. All else is the same. The Maritime Center will have everything we need at the Cotton Building.
Suggested donation $10 – to register contact Mary: mary.pitts@wsu.edu
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LEE HORTON’S OUTDOORS COLUMN: Mixed early results for spot shrimp. – Here’s a good rundown of the fishing this week from the folks at the PDN…
“It was a good opener,” state shellfish biologist Mark O’Toole said.
“The weather was decent — especially compared to last year — participation was up in several areas, and the catch rates were relatively good overall.”
As we say, part of the reason we protect the environment is to continue a sustainable harvest now and into the future for our kids.
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Time to get your kids out from behind desks and computers and onto the beach! Www.ptmsc.org for signup or call them.
At the Port Townsend Marine Science Center, our Summer Camps are great for kids exploring beaches, uncovering treasures hidden in our exhibits, playing games, making crafts and hiking through beautiful Fort Worden State Park. Our science campers come back year after year, and many of our past campers return again as camp counselors. Join us for a wet, sandy, adventurous, fun-filled week!
Filed under: Jefferson County, Olympic Peninsula, Port Townsend | Tagged: Classes, kids, Olympic Peninsula, Port Townsend, summer camp | Comments Off on Port Townsend Marine Science Center Summer Camps open registration.
Tune in to KPTZ Friday at noon May 11th on the Phil Andrus “Tossed Salad” variety show to catch the latest in environmental news from our neighborhood!
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A proposed ban on plastic bags will be submitted to the Port Townsend City Council for discussion and possible approval in June. The potential ban — based on one approved by the city of Bainbridge Island in April — was discussed at a meeting of the city’s Special Projects Committee on Wednesday. The bags that would be subject to the ban are plastic bags with handles that are given out by retailers at the cash register. Plastic-bag ban proposal to go to Port Townsend council
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If adopted, the new rule drafted by the Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) will protect existing water supplies for current uses and fish habitat and make it easier for local governments to affirm that water is legally available for future water uses. The new rule will bring certainty to the process of obtaining water for new uses in a basin where a growing population and limited water availability have prevented Ecology from permitting new water rights since the 1990s.
A new water management rule for the Dungeness has been recommended by the Local Leaders Water Management Group, which has been working with Ecology since February 2011 to identify water supply issues in the watershed and recommend solutions. Members of the LLWG (their acronym) include Clallam County, the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, city of Sequim, the Sequim-Dungeness Water Users Association, and Ecology.
“The draft water management rule for the Dungeness basin is an excellent example of what collaboration and cooperation between state government and the local community can achieve in protecting our water resources,” said Ecology Director Ted Sturdevant. “This rule if adopted will ensure that the water needs of local residents as well as growth and economic development and fish habitat are met into the future.”
The proposed rule would:
The new rule will not affect:
An economic Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) has been completed for the proposed rule which has been filed with the state code reviser. Over 20 years, the analysis shows the projected benefits of adopting the new rule exceeding the costs.
The proposed water management rule for the Dungeness is available online. Visitors to the Website can get directions on submitting comments electronically on the rule, submitting comments by e-mail or by mailing comments to Ecology. Comments will be accepted until 5 p.m. July 9, 2012. Ecology expects adoption of the rule no earlier than August 31, 2012.
An open house and public hearing on the proposed rule is scheduled Thursday, June 28, 2012, at the Guy Cole Center in Carrie Blake Park, 202 North Blake Ave. in Sequim, WA.
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Media Contacts:
Ecology’s Dungeness Water Management website (http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wr/instream-flows/dungeness.html)
Filed under: Government, Places | Tagged: Clallam County, dungeness river, water use, WRIA | Comments Off on Public comment period begins today on proposed water management rule for the Dungeness
Not a surprise, but I think that all of us, Democrats and Republicans, ought to be asking when Kevin will reverse his support of both the State Parks Discover Pass (which he helped instigate against the wishes of Lynn Kessler) and the biomass plants in Port Angeles and Port Townsend, which he supports. The least that can be asked for is that the biomass plants, which were originally passed as *experimental* back in 2005/06, be placed on such a standing, with gates of acceptance to prove they are more than just that. I just came back from the Hoh, and the piles of biomass waiting for delivery to the PA plant at many places alongthe way are a testament to the absurd self fulling prophecy that if they build them the fuel will come. A WSU study, funded by the legislature in 2006, found that there was not enough biomass to fuel these plants. Now legsilators want the study redone. You can imagine why.
Peninsula Daily —-Kevin Van De Wege announced Monday that he will seek a third two-year term in the state House of Representatives. Van De Wege, D-Sequim, …
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20120508/NEWS/305089997/van-de-wege-to-seek-re-election-to-house
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