‘Grim’ Fraser River salmon runs even worse than forecast -Canadian Press

Posted on August 9, 2016 by Al Bergstein

The neglect of the Fraser runs under the Harper Regime was legendary. Then global warming. Now this.

This year’s Fraser River sockeye return, already forecast to be below average, has turned out to be even worse. One First Nation leader described the return as going from poor to grim. The forecast run this year — which has traditionally been one of the low-run years in the four-year cycle of sockeye — was 2.27 million. That was already below the average of the past half century of 3.9 million. The latest estimates from test fisheries and through sonar counts show that only about half of the expected sockeye had returned by last Friday: 400,000 to 500,000 of the anticipated 840,000, according to the Pacific Salmon Commission, a Canadian-American agency that helps manage fisheries. The peak of the remaining summer sockeye run is expected about mid-month, but there is little expectation that the numbers will change, said Pacific Salmon Commission executive secretary John Field. Gordon Hoekstra reports. (Vancouver Sun)

http://vancouversun.com/business/local-business/grim-fraser-river-salmon-runs-even-worse-than-forecast

See also: Federal government expected to act on 2012 report examining Fraser River sockeye http://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/federal-government-expected-to-act-on-2012-report-examining-fraser-river-sockeye (Canadian Press)

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Angry anglers protest closure of Skokomish River – Kitsap Sun

Posted on August 2, 2016 by Al Bergstein

Fish wars continue long Skokomish river. Recent closure of fishing by the tribe based on federal lawsuit crates protest from nontribal sports fishermen. well the protesters were concerned that this may be the start of a trend by the tribes, it’s been my experience that other tribes in the area are not interested in taking this type of action. As the fisheries continue to decline from a variety of reasons, the unfortunate reality is that they may be forced to do so. And in interviews that I’ve done with oldtimers of all political stripes on the Olympic Peninsula, a common thread running through them,regardless of whether they are tribal or non-tribal people is that the fishery should be closed for an extended period,to help replenish the stocks. 

http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/angry-anglers-protest-closure-of-skokomish-river-38ce4140-5d01-643b-e053-0100007faefe–388763471.html

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Sea otter madness close to Hoh Head – PDN

Posted on July 22, 2016 by Al Bergstein

Strange behavior for sea otters. Hopefully it does not portend a serious problem, but just a wonderful natural occurrence.

The calls poured in. To the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, to the National Parks Service and to the Olympic Coast Marine Sanctuary. Have you seen all those sea otters? What visitors were spying off the Pacific Ocean coastline, a raft of hundreds upon hundreds of sea otters, was unusual in both scope and location. “They just look like a dark brown carpet when they are going up and down on the swell,” said Steve Jeffries, a research scientist with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Marine Mammal Investigations unit. Michael Carman reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20160722/NEWS/307229982/outdoors-sea-otter-madness-close-to-hoh-head

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Washington tribe joins legal challenge over modified salmon – AP

Posted on July 20, 2016 by Al Bergstein

The Quinault weight in to stop the insanity of the FDA allowing more modified genetically engineered fish into our waters. What this is about, is a bureaucracy thousands of miles away, deciding that it is ok to grow these fish in waters alongside native species. What possibly could go wrong? Let’s start with sea lice and a breeding ground for virus’s. Just like north of us in B.C.

A Native American tribe in Washington state has joined a lawsuit challenging the federal government’s approval of an Atlantic salmon genetically modified to grow faster. The Quinault Indian Nation on Friday joined the lawsuit that 11 other fishing and environmental groups filed against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and others in late March. The lawsuit alleges the FDA didn’t fully analyze potential environmental effects before approving the faster-growing salmon for human consumption in November. Phuong Le reports. (Associated Press)

http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/washington-tribe-joins-legal-challenge-over-modified-salmon/

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Sea star die-off leads to kelp ‘clearcut’ in Howe Sound, scientists find – CBC

Posted on June 23, 2016 by Al Bergstein

Kelp forests to the north of us in B.C. have been reduced by almost 80%. No data yet on how much our kelp has been affected. In a world not devastated by reductions in science funding under the Harper regime, there might have been an ability to open the areas to urchin harvesting to slow this problem.

The massive die-off of sea stars in B.C.’s Howe Sound has had a domino effect on other creatures, resulting in the virtual clearcut of kelp forests in the area, scientists have found.

The mysterious wasting disease hit in 2013, killing sea stars from Mexico to Alaska in what has been described as one of the largest wildlife die-offs ever recorded.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/sea-star-die-off-leads-to-kelp-clearcut-in-howe-sound-scientists-find-1.3647536

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Photo of the Day – Rose Anemones

Posted on June 22, 2016 by Al Bergstein

Underwater photographer Bruce Kerwin captured these beautiful Rose Anemones off Salt Creek in the Strait. This is in the vicinity of a new proposed net pen.

Rose Anemones: Salt Creek State Park, Strait of Juan de Fuca, WA 2016-05-29

Rose Anemones: Salt Creek State Park, Strait of Juan de Fuca, WA 2016-05-29

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Long outlawed, salmon ranching might make a comeback – Kitsap Sun

Posted on June 22, 2016 by Al Bergstein

Another bad idea makes a comeback. Can’t we just kill this idea before it becomes another fiasco? Just to the north of us here, in British Columbia, net pens are creating huge problems because of waste and disease. There is no good reason to bring back private hatcheries and net pens, even if they are labeled with a ‘fun’ label like, salmon ranching. It’s just a PR trick.

OLYMPIA — A long-prohibited method of salmon farming is gaining support among state fisheries managers.

The state Department of Fish and Wildlife is dusting off the idea of allowing private companies to raise and release salmon for commercial harvests. Known as salmon ranching, the practice boomed in the Northwest during the 1970s. It went bust in Oregon and was outlawed in Washington but continues to thrive in Alaska. Norway and Japan are world leaders in the business, producing huge quantities of ranched salmon, lobster, cod and other species.

http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/local/long-outlawed-could-salmon-ranching-make-a-comeback-35d08362-88ce-37a9-e053-0100007fc778-383881381.html

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Pacific angel shark documented for first time in B.C. waters – Vancouver Sun

Posted on May 16, 2016 by Al Bergstein

Divers, keep a look out!

Mark Cantwell had anticipated another enjoyable day of free-dive snorkelling off Victoria’s Clover Point, photographing sea urchins and other common marine life. What the Environment Canada policy advisor got was the experience of a lifetime — a close encounter with a species never before documented in B.C. waters, the Pacific angel shark. Cantwell was swimming near shore in his wetsuit on April 30 when another diver, Henry Fisher, reported spotting an unidentifiable creature on the ocean bottom, about 10 metres down. Larry Pynn reports. (Vancouver Sun)

http://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/pacific-angel-shark-documented-for-first-time-in-b-c-waters

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Photo of the Day – Fried Egg Jellyfish Swimming – Bruce Kerwin

Posted on February 1, 2016 by Al Bergstein
Successive photos of a fried egg jellyfish while swimming. Taken at Sund Rock in Hoodsport, WA

Successive photos of a fried egg jellyfish while swimming. Taken at Sund Rock in Hoodsport, WA

Another great photo from Bruce Kerwin.

 

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Spawning Gumboot Chiton

Posted on January 21, 2016 by Al Bergstein

Photographer Bruce Kerwin captured a Gumboot Chiton releasing eggs into the water column at Point Hudson – Port Townsend, WA

DSC_5116 Spawning Gumboot Chiton - Port Townsend

Filed under: Puget Sound, Sea Life | Tagged: , , , | 1 Comment »

Washington, NOAA launch next step of shellfish initiative – AP

Posted on January 18, 2016 by Al Bergstein

Governor Inslee moves forward on more aquaculture support without spending any more money.  Locally, we support the efforts to restore Olympia Oysters, and the Jefferson County Marine Resources Committee is doing so in Discovery Bay. The MRC  also support a variety of shellfish growers, and are happy that the Tribes are able to make good money selling Geoducks to China.

However, the article is accurate in that environmentalists and shoreline homeowners are very concerned over the State’s willingness to turn entire bays in the South Sound into shellfish farms, despite the fact that these beds are on beaches right in front of homes and will never really be allowed to go back to a natural state, if that’s even possible. It is important to understand that aquaculture rights were established as a priority of shoreline land use  when the State was founded. The shellfish industry has legal right to harvest on  almost all shores below extreme low tide, based on a reading of state statute RCW 79.96.010 (of course the State leases the land first), and seems willing to take as much as it can to do so, regardless of the opinions of the homeowners who’s “backyard” they are farming, or concerns of environmentalists. (this is a clarification of an earlier version of this article)

The harvesting often is late at night in the winter, and noisy enough to disrupt homeowners. Large scale netting of the beach to protect the shellfish from predators leads to birds being caught in nets, and the inability of shoreline homeowners to use their beaches. Real estate agents rarely seem to warn prospective buyers of the issue.  Lawsuits to reign in the growers expansion seem to be rarely successful. The industry is heavily regulated, and the growers need to get a variety of permits to set up a farm. Some recent Shoreline Master Plans have attempted to put some limits on shellfish growers, with little success.

Gov. Jay Inslee on Friday renewed the state’s commitment to protecting Washington’s lucrative shellfish resources. Inslee joined federal, tribal and other leaders at the National Fish & Oyster Co. in Olympia to launch the second phase of the Washington Shellfish Initiative, which former Gov. Chris Gregoire initiated in 2011. The state, working with many partners including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, will take new steps to improve water quality, restore native shellfish such as Olympia oysters, improve the permitting process for shellfish-growers and promote ways to address how ocean acidification is affecting shellfish. Phuong Le reports. (Associated Press)

http://www.kirotv.com/ap/ap/washington/washington-noaa-launch-next-step-of-shellfish-init/np6H6/

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An Ocean Garden – The Secret Life Of Seaweed

Posted on January 16, 2016 by Al Bergstein

Just saw a tweet this morning from Alex Warneke about a new book on the wonderful world of seaweed. Called “An Ocean Garden – The Secret Life of Seaweed“, by Josie Iselin.

Ocean+Garden

A good short review of it is here: http://www.deepseanews.com/2015/11/from-the-top-shelf/

In this captivating book, artist and avid beachcomber Josie Iselin celebrates the unexpected beauty of seaweed, an often overlooked but fundamental aspect of ocean life. Produced on a flatbed scanner, Iselin’s vibrant portraits of ocean flora reveal the exquisite color and extraordinary forms of more than two hundred specimens gathered from tidal pools along the California and Maine coasts. Her engaging text, which accompanies the images, blends personal observation and philosophical musings with scientific fact. Like her previous books, An Ocean Garden: The Secret Life of Seaweed is a poetic and compelling tribute to the natural world and the wonder it evokes.

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Photo of the Day -Juvenile Puget Sound King Crab at Point Hudson

Posted on December 9, 2015 by Al Bergstein

Another gem from Bruce Kerwin of Bainbridge Island. DSC_4425 Juvenile Puget Sound King CrabJuvenile Puget Sound King Crab at Point Hudson (eventually the white cap will disappear and he will grow to more than 4 times its current size) – Port Townsend, WA;

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DNR buys lands around Taylor Shellfish hatchery for long-term conservation – PT Leader

Posted on November 8, 2015 by Al Bergstein

I missed this story. More good news from DNR, Taylor Shellfish and the Northwest Watershed Institute. Moving forward on protecting shorelines that are key to aquaculture  from development. We need cooperative agreements where the habitat calls for it.

On Sept. 17, Taylor Shellfish Farms sold four undeveloped shoreline parcels, totaling 15 acres, to the Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for preservation as part of the Dabob Bay Natural Area, according to a press release.

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Millions of B.C. salmon mysteriously ‘just disappear’ in troubling year – Globe and Mail

Posted on November 5, 2015 by Al Bergstein

More bad news for our fishing fleets.

Although spawning salmon are still returning to British Columbia’s rivers – including some, surprisingly, to urban streams – early returns indicate another troubling year, despite some bright spots…. There were good sockeye salmon returns to the Great Central Lake system on Vancouver Island and to the Nass River on the North Coast, he said. But contrasting that were very poor returns on the Fraser River, where only about two million sockeye returned, far short of the more than six million predicted in preseason forecasts. Even more dramatic was the collapse of the pink salmon on the Fraser, with only about five million fish showing up when more than 14 million had been forecast. Mark Hume reports. (Globe and Mail)

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/millions-of-bc-salmon-mysteriously-disappear-in-troubling-year/article27089342/

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Lawsuit Claims Commercial Salmon Farms Harm Native Fish In Puget Sound – KUOW

Posted on November 5, 2015 by Al Bergstein

Finally, someone decides to question (and challenge) the prevailing assumption that having lice ridden net pens (and dumping antibiotics to protect the salmon from them) of Atlantic salmon in the midst of an endangered run of wild salmon is a good thing. It’s not. It’s a recipe for disaster. We, the taxpayers, are funding millions of dollars to save our wild stocks. Supporting an industry that is known to have problems as a vector for disease and lice is counterproductive. If you wish to help support this lawsuit, even with $10, contribute to The Wild Fish Conservancy. 

The Wild Fish Conservancy is suing federal environmental and fisheries agencies for inadequately monitoring the impact of commercial salmon farms in Puget Sound. The lawsuit filed Wednesday says commercial farms pose many risks to wild salmon. In 2011 the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Marine Fisheries Service found the opposite. They concluded that commercial salmon farms are unlikely to harm wild salmon. Kate O’Connell Walters (KUOW)

http://kuow.org/post/lawsuit-claims-commercial-salmon-farms-harm-native-fish-puget-sound

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Death by dirty water: Storm runoff a risk for fish  – Bellingham Herald

Posted on November 17, 2014 by Al Bergstein

As if you needed to better understand the importance of rain gardens, stormwater runoff and salmon, after my last post, here’s the next thing in my inbox. Another recent experiment that shows the affects that stormwater has on aquatic species.

Just hours into the experiment, the prognosis was grim for salmon that had been submerged in rain runoff collected from one of Seattle’s busiest highways. One by one, the fish were removed from a tank filled with coffee-colored water and inspected: They were rigid. Their typically red gills were gray….. This was the fate of coho salmon exposed to the everyday toxic brew of dirt, metals, oil and other gunk that washes off highway pavement after rains and directly into Puget Sound. Phuong Le reports. (Associated Press)

http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2014/11/16/3977239_scientists-study-stormwater-deadly.html

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Return of the River – A homerun of a movie for Gussman and Plumb

Posted on September 19, 2014 by Al Bergstein

Just got out of the world premiere of  ‘Return of the River”, the film that likely will be considered the definitive work on the Elwha Dam removal.  This film, years in the making, was a labor of love for the two Peninsula based filmmakers, John Gussman and Jessica Plumb. And it was great to see it premiered here at the Port Townsend Film Festival.

The film tracks in detail the history of the dam, but more importantly the place that is the Elwha River, the feel for the Olympic Peninsula then and now, and a great depth of interviews with people that were instrumental, on both sides of the controversial project.  It is impossible not to come away impressed with the idea that hard things to do take a long time, and a lot of consensus building. From the interviews with leading politicians, mill managers, environmentalists, writers, biologists, and most importantly, the tribal members of the Lower Elwha Tribe, who never gave up hope to bring back the historic runs. There were so many people who played significant small roles in this drama. Gussman and Plumb treated all with the respect they deserve. There are no demeaning ‘heroes and villains’ caricatures.

It is almost trite to say that certain stories are ‘epic’ and ‘pivotal’ but the removal of the Elwha Dam has been just that. It has galvanized world attention more than almost any other single environmental event of the last ten years, because it is a message of hope. Hope that we can restore what we have destroyed. Gussman and Plumb have captured that story, distilled it to 70 minutes, and given fair treatment to all sides, and points of view. More than ever, we need stories of hope in the face of ever mounting environmental problems to solve.

In the last week, I’ve posted the story that bull trout have been seen in the upper Elwha for the first time in a century. Also that the shores of the Elwha estuary are turning back into a clam bed capable  sand spit. The power of restoration is an amazing thing to watch.  The restoration of this river, with it’s unique short run from sea to protected park, is possible, and is happening, right now, in front of our eyes for just taking the time to go look.

Gussman and Plumb, along with the rest of their crew, have given us the story, in all it’s facets. A well crafted storyline, beautiful filmmaking, solid editing, a wonderful original soundtrack, animation when needed of the hard concepts.

Congratulations for a remarkable piece of work. A 5 star must see film.

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Shellfish Tell Puget Sound’s Polluted Tale – Earthfix

Posted on September 19, 2014 by Al Bergstein

It’s always been a question mark in my mind, about how much of the bad stuff in the Sound are we eating with our delicious meals of shellfish. Now we know. And it’s a good word of caution that if you are regularly eating shellfish, that buying them from growers who are away from urban environments, or harvesting them yourself in remote places, is the best rule of thumb. And it also gives us a very easy way  to measure the recovery efforts at work. The bad news is that PCBs, long banned, continue to be found in the water, as do flame retardants. Both are cancer causing. It points out that storm water runoff and our crazy notion that we can pour our sewage into our Sound, have consequences for us.

Scientists used shellfish to conduct the broadest study to date of pollution levels along the shore of Puget Sound. And in some places, it’s pretty contaminated. This past winter the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife put mussels at more than 100 sites up and down Puget Sound. After a few months, volunteers and WDFW employees gathered the shellfish and analyzed them for metals, fossil fuel pollution, flame-retardants and other chemicals. The WDFW just released the results. [http://wdfw.wa.gov/publications/01643/] Ashley Ahearn reports. (EarthFix)

http://earthfix.kcts9.org/water/article/shellfish-tell-puget-sounds-polluted-tale/

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‘Warm blob’ keeps possible record sockeye run away from U.S. waters – Bellingham Herald

Posted on August 25, 2014 by Al Bergstein

The story of how this year’s great hot weather has affected the salmon runs. 

In a development that has left local fishermen scratching their heads, it appears an unusually warm section of ocean water is helping send nearly the entire sockeye salmon run into Canadian fishing waters this season. According to data from the Pacific Salmon Commission through Tuesday, Aug. 19, in recent weeks about 99 percent of the sockeye salmon has gone through the Johnstone Strait around the northern part of Vancouver Island into Canadian waters. That’s made a big difference in who is catching the fish: Nearly 2.9 million sockeye salmon have been caught in Canadian waters, while the U.S. fishermen had caught around 98,000 through Aug. 19. Dave Gallagher reports. (Bellingham Herald)

 

 http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2014/08/24/3815002_warm-blob-keeps-possible-record.html

Support local journalism. Subscribe to the Bellingham Herald. 

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