2013 NW Straits: Alexis Valauir -Ocean Acidification Effects on Global Communities

Posted on December 5, 2013 by Al Bergstein

From the 2013 NW Straits Annual Conference, a most interesting talk:

Alexis Valauri-Orton recently completed a year-long Watson Fellowship investigating human narratives of ocean acidification in Norway, Hong Kong, Thailand, New Zealand, the Cook Islands and Peru. Over the year, she traded her lab coat for a pair of gum boots, experiencing firsthand the role marine resources play in coastal communities. Investigating narratives of acidification in such diverse communities, she discovered the importance of understanding and navigating the social structures that shape our vulnerabilities and responses to environmental issues. She holds a degree in Biology and Environmental Studies from Davidson College, in North Carolina, and now lives in her hometown of Seattle. She believes increasing scientific literacy and public awareness on issues like ocean acidification is the key to creating a sustainable future.

The Powerpoints of her talk are found at the NW Straits web site:

http://www.nwstraits.org/Whats-New/Meetings-Events/2013-MRC-Conference.aspx

or directly here (This downloads the presentation to your computer)

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You can download this for use on a device like an ipod or iphone, or just listen to it right here on your computer.

https://soundcloud.com/mountainstone/alexis-valauir-on-ocean

 

 

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Huge fish ‘from Mars’ caught in Elliott Bay – Seattle Times

Posted on October 31, 2013 by Al Bergstein

With global warming heating the seas, and currents changing , this was a surprise this week.

A sunfish weighing up to 350 pounds was caught within view of the Seattle skyline on Tuesday night. It took four men to pull the fish aboard a boat.

Read the whole story at the Seattle Times. Support local journalism.

http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2022158034_weirdfishxml.html

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Octopus Hatchings– Diver Laura James

Posted on September 19, 2013 by Al Bergstein

Diver and film maker Laura James captured an octopus hatch on 9/11, http://vimeo.com/74506196#

Katherine Harmon Courage explains in the Octopus Chronicles.

Octopus Babies Hatch By the Thousands, Captured On Video http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/octopus-chronicles/2013/09/19/octopus-babies-hatch-by-the-thousands-captured-on-video-video/

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NOSC looking for Morse Creek Salmon Volunteers

Posted on September 12, 2013 by Al Bergstein

We have two weeks of Morse Creek left and need lots of help to get it done!  We’ll be surveying these next two upcoming Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.  Below is a list of dates with the greatest volunteer needs on top.  There are some great sections in our project site where the gravel is beautiful and clean from all the redds.  This week the nutrient cycling began and it’s beginning to smell like the pinks! 

Below is more information about the survey and what to bring. 

Please let me know if you can make a day and if you would like to carpool (I’m assuming you will).     
Hope you can join! 

Dates volunteers are needed:

Wednesday, Sept 18th: 9am-4pm
Thursday, Sept 19th:  9am-2pm – Strong need for volunteers
Friday, Sept 20th: 9am-4pm
Wednesday, Sept 25th: 9am-4pm – Strong need for volunteers
Thursday, Sept 26th: 9am-4pm – Strong need for volunteers
Friday, Sept 27th: 9am-4pm

Survey Times:

We will be surveying from 9am to approximately 4pm.  Some days may be longer if we have a good swing going and people are feeling up for it.  Please let us know if you won’t be able to come for the entire time (that is completely understandable!).  We will accommodate your needs. 

Carpooling Option:

NOSC will be leaving from our Port Hadlock office at 7:45am. (201 A West Patison Street, PH – Shold Business Park off Rhody Drive).  If you would like to carpool from Port Hadlock or get picked up along the way (such as the Discovery Bay Train Cars off 101) we’d love to carpool!  Please let us know if you are interested so we can make sure there is a seat available and that we know to wait for you.  The one catch (or perk!) with driving with us is that you will be committed to the entire day.  We will be driving a big white vehicle named Moby Dick!  How much more fun can it get? 

Survey Location:

We will be meeting at 651 Cottonwood Lane.

Morse Creek is located at the beautiful (and dangerous) curve just before you hit the car dealerships as you head into Port Angeles.  The speed goes down to 45 mph and on the left you’ll see a field and the right you’ll see a cabin.  There is a left turn lane to turn Left onto Cottonwood.  You will go over a speed bump and see the creek down to your left hand side.  You will approach a very sharp left hand turn (there is an info board to mark the spot).  Take that left to the end.  You’ll see a space to park on your left hand side and will see Moby Dick, the big white NOSC vehicle. 

http://mapq.st/1aMNYkE

Day of Survey contact: 

In case you get lost, or something comes up…

1st option: Jac (518) 312-2658
2nd option: Sarah (410) 963-3497
3rd option: Jamie (206) 282-3025

What to Expect:

Beautiful sections of stream, Huge engineered log jams, deep pools, fish…we’ll be surveying stretches above the 2010 restoration project, where we did the restoration project and below the restoration (the impact reach), as well as side channels.  All survey protocol will be taught on site. 

We’ll be in the stream or along the shore for the entire day.  Some areas are deep, others are on bedrock which is extremely slippery.  The water is pretty cold.  Some elements of the survey require us to collect pebbles which can be very cold.   Sections along the stream have blackberries, and nettles.  These days can be long and tiring, but extremely rewarding.  We’ll only work within people’s comfort levels. 

What to bring:

-Lunch, LOTS of water and snacks (we typically bring a “second breakfast” or “second lunch”).  
-Chest waders (NOSC will bring yours – just let us know your size!) 
-Multiple warm layers, preferably non-cotton.  People have gotten wet and appreciated a change in clothes. 
-Dry clothes, socks and pants to change in to after the survey in case you get wet. 
-rain coat – many people wear a rain coat when we do the pebble survey so they don’t get completely wet
-sunglasses/hat, sunscreen

I think that is it!  Sorry it was so long-winded.  Please call if you have any questions (360) 379-8051

Looking forward to you joining –
Jac 

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Yo! Rockfish ReCompression Video – Funny and really worth watching

Posted on August 25, 2013 by Al Bergstein

Are you a fisherman? Catch rockfish? Check out this newer rap video on how to get rockfish back safely into the water and save it. Remember that rockfish take a long time to grow, and they stay in their local territory. So it’s important to get them back in the water quickly. I was unaware that the recompression techniques can save even severely barotraumaed fish. Barotrauma often kills rockfish if not recompressed. Luckily we, and those fabulous little rockfish, can get down with our bad selves and the help of this most epic video montage. The following Rockfish PSA was concocted by the masterminds of California Sea Grant and NOAA’s Southwest Fisheries Science Center.

be sure to catch the rap at the end as well.

Filed under: fisheries, Projects, Sea Life | Tagged: , , , | 6 Comments »

Scientists concerned over chill in reporting of salmon virus after lab delisted – Vancouver Sun

Posted on July 8, 2013 by Al Bergstein

The fallout continues:

Scientists fear there could be a reluctance to report a deadly fish virus after the first lab in Canada to say it was detected in British Columbia salmon was stripped of a special reference status by an international agency. Marine researchers say they were stunned to hear that the World Organization for Animal Health, or OIE, recently suspended the reference status from a research laboratory at the Atlantic Veterinary College in Prince Edward Island. Run by Fred Kibenge, who is considered one of the world’s leading authorities on infectious salmon anemia, it was one of only two labs in the world recognized by the group for the testing of the virus. Alison Auld reports.

http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/Scientists+concerned+over+chill+reporting+salmon+virus/8626837/story.html

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Warnings on oysters – Multiple sources.

Posted on July 3, 2013 by Al Bergstein

Oysters are considered an aphrodisiac, but what happens to them in hot weather isn’t so sexy. Warm air and water during summer make an ideal environment for a natural bacteria called vibrio parahaemolyticus to grow in oysters. Raw oysters, especially ones with the bacteria, can make people who eat them sick. Gina Cole reports.

Raw oysters risky during warmer months  http://www.goskagit.com/all_access/raw-oysters-risky-during-warmer-months/article_67523d12-e37a-11e2-bc29-0019bb2963f4.html

See also: Be vigilant about illness from tainted commercial shellfish, B.C. doctors told http://www.vancouversun.com/news/vigilant+about+illness+from+tainted+commercial+shellfish/8608330/story.html

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Tests show no signs of ISA virus in Washington’s salmon–WDFW

Posted on May 31, 2013 by Al Bergstein

If these tests are accurate  (BC has consistently manipulated their tests results), then this is good news. However, with the disease found just north of us, it requires ongoing testing and vigilance if we want to protect our wild stocks (and the investments of hundreds of millions of dollars over the decades we have spent as taxpayers). It is good to see that there are two labs involved in the testing, and that the Tribes are also in the loop on the process. The NW Indian Fisheries Commission is certainly a credible independent voice for wild salmon.

Recent tests of salmon from Washington’s waters show no signs of a fish virus that can be deadly to farm-raised Atlantic salmon, state, tribal and federal resource managers announced today. Infectious Salmon Anemia Virus (ISAV) was not detected in tissue samples taken from more than 900 wild and hatchery-produced Pacific chinook, coho, sockeye, chum and steelhead, as well as farm-raised Atlantic salmon. ISAV is not harmful to people. Specific strains of the virus have caused a deadly disease in farm-raised Atlantic salmon. Outbreaks with significant losses have occurred in farmed Atlantic salmon in Maine, Eastern Canada, Chile and several European countries. ISAV has not been documented in farmed, wild or hatchery salmon in Washington.

http://wdfw.wa.gov/news/may3013a/

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The mysterious decline of Puget Sound herring – Crosscut

Posted on March 27, 2013 by Al Bergstein

Another indicator species that is in trouble. As goes the herring, so go the salmon and the Orca, among others. Many agencies, including the Jefferson County Marine Resources Committee, are working on protecting herring habitat. That’s why you see the “no anchor zones” in Port Townsend and Mystery Bay. They are there to help you not anchor in a location that would destroy eel grass, which is a herring habitat.

This excellent article gives a good overview of the problems facing Puget Sound herring. It’s only two pages long but you’ll learn a lot. I know I did.

Pacific herring might be the most popular dish in Puget Sound. The small silvery swimmers are called “forage fish” not because they’re rummaging for food, but because just about everything wants to eat them. They fill the bellies of Puget Sound sea life, from giant sea lions to the iconic chinook salmon to tiny jellyfish, which means that they’re key players in the local marine ecosystem. That makes herring fundamentally important – and it makes their shrinking numbers alarming. Lisa Stiffler reports.

http://crosscut.com/2013/03/27/animals-wildlife/113579/mysterious-decline-Puget-Sound-herring/

Support local journalism. Donate to Crosscut.

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Odd creature showing up on Washington’s coast–King 5

Posted on February 15, 2013 by Al Bergstein

It started with a few sightings here and there. Now a strange sea creature, a salp, is showing up on beaches and in crab pots up and down the Washington Coast, raising curiosity and concerns.  Marine expert Alan Rammer said he’s received several calls from people asking what they are. He told us they are members of the tunicate family called ‘salps’ and are a harmless visitor from the South. Gary Chittim reports. http://www.king5.com/news/local/Odd-creature-showing-up-on-WA-coast-191283061.html

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Mystery compound found to kill Coho salmon–Kitsap Sun

Posted on January 22, 2013 by Al Bergstein

In the last year there’s been a growing body of evidence that seems to show that runoff from our roads may be a significant and possibly primary cause of loss of salmon in our creeks and rivers. Chris Dunagan reports on efforts to identify this substance in Kitsap County.

http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2013/jan/21/mystery-compound-found-to-kill-coho-salmon/#axzz2Ij8S6P5D

Meanwhile, researchers in Seattle have decided to simply look at rain gardens to filter the poisons out. With great success. The following video shows the problem, and wat may be the ultimate solution. The next question that needs to get asked is, “What happens with the rain garden? Does it become a toxic waste site?

“Drained: Urban Stormwater Pollution”

https://vimeo.com/51603152

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Workshop on Net Pen Aquaculture for Planners

Posted on January 15, 2013 by Al Bergstein

Not open to the public. – Editor

Coastal and Shoreline Planners Group: Marine Net Pen Aquaculture        
Date:  Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Time:  10:00 am to 4:00 pm
Location:  Manchester Labs, Port Orchard, WA 98366
 
This event is intended for Coastal and Shoreline Planners representing local governments, the private sector, academia and tribes who are interested in learning more about marine net pen aquaculture. This agenda replicates the January 10th event at the Department of Ecology that was held specifically for State and Federal employees. This event also includes a tour of NOAA’s Manchester Research Facilities relevant to marine aquaculture. Speakers include:
·       Alan Cook, Icicle Seafoods, commercial net pens
·       Bruce Stewart, Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, enhancement net pens
·       Jill Rolland, United States Geological Survey, fish disease
·       Mike Rust, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Office of Aquaculture, feeds
·       Walt Dickhoff, NMFS Northwest Fisheries Science Center, escapes and genetics
·       Lori LeVander, WA Department of Ecology, state and National Pollutant Dischage Elimination System (NPDES) permitting
·       John Kerwin,  WA Department of Fish and Wildlife, WACs and WDFW permitting
·       Jack Rensel,  Rensel Associates Aquatic Science, tools and modeling
Due to limited space, this meeting requires an RSVP. Please respond to Jamie Mooney, mooneyja@uw.edu,             206.616.3368      , to be added to the list of attendees. We can only accept 30 attendees on a first come, first served basis. Please keep in mind that because this event will be held at a federal facility, you will need to have your name on the list to attend.
If there is a high demand and we are not able to accommodate everyone who is interested in attending, we will work to schedule another Coastal and Shoreline Planners session on this topic.  Please do not distribute this announcement beyond the listserv due to limited capacity.

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Marine Predators in Trouble

Posted on January 4, 2013 by Al Bergstein

Science News shows a continuing decline in marine predators. Bad news for all of us.

In half of the North Atlantic and North Pacific waters under national jurisdiction, fishing has led to a 90-per-cent decrease in top predators since the 1950s, and the impacts are now headed south of the Equator, according to a new study published online December 5 in the journalMarine Ecological progress Series.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111205170103.htm

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Jellyfish ‘bloom’ may be a bust

Posted on January 4, 2013 by Al Bergstein

Those jellies! The current global increase in jellyfish may be nothing more than a consequence of a normal 20-year fluctuation cycle. A new multinational collaborative study suggests these trends may be overstated, finding that there is no robust evidence for a global increase in jellyfish over the past two centuries.

This goes to prove, as if we needed more proof, that research is needed before jumping to conclusions on any environmental issue. That goes for both sides of the environmental spectrum.

  http://www.futurity.org/science-technology/jellyfish-bloom-may-be-a-bust/

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FDA Appears ready to approve genetically engineered salmon – Various sources

Posted on December 23, 2012 by Al Bergstein

The FDA released a report on Friday that seems to point to it’s clearing genetically altered salmon to be sold to the public. The report, at the link below, is usually the final chapter, needed prior to approval. The only hurdle left is for the FDA to get public feedback on the proposal.

http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/DevelopmentApprovalProcess/GeneticEngineering/GeneticallyEngineeredAnimals/ucm280853.htm

This is another distressing move by the Obama administration, all of them, slated to come out just after the election. There is widespread negative feedback from the fishing, environmental and food safety communities to stop this approval. The company in question apparently is not doing well financially. But there doesn’t seem to be much that the Obama administration would do to say no to jobs.

If you feel like acting on this, there are many groups gathering signatures, or you can write the FDA directly. .

 

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Salmon grants will help Hood Canal estuaries – Kitsap Sun

Posted on December 11, 2012 by Al Bergstein

More than $550,000 has been set aside to purchase and conserve lands within the estuaries of the Big Quilcene, Dosewallips and Duckabush rivers, all in Hood Canal. The Hood Canal grants were endorsed by the state’s Salmon Recovery Funding Board, which approved $19.2 million for salmon projects throughout the state. Chris Dunagan reports. http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2012/dec/10/salmon-grants-will-help-hood-canal-estuaries/

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Highly Controversial Decision Against Point Reyes Oyster Farm- Marin Independent Journal

Posted on November 29, 2012 by Al Bergstein

We here on the Olympic Peninsula and Salish Sea, aren’t the only ones dealing with the controversy over aquaculture farming. The shellfish industry is up in arms, even up here, over the ruling by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, to end the lease with Drake Bay Oyster Co. on Point Reyes. This action, if left to stand, will end with the removal of the farm, the loss of 30 jobs, and the closing of one of the last oyster farms left in California.

The controversy exists over the reading of the lease, which apparently offered the shellfish farm with the ability to renew the lease, but the Parks department is saying that is not the case.

With powerful political allies like Senator Diane Feinstein siding with the oyster company, and the shellfish industry that is planning to sue to overturn the decision, I don’t think we have heard the end of this issue.

The bizarre part of this, is that the decision allows continued ranching and farming within the park, which one could argue would be vastly more destructive to the land than a small oyster farm operation. Also, given that the decision came just after the election, that this was in the works for months, with the election holding back the decision.

It is hard to understand the science behind this decision. These decisions often are not based in sound science, as witnessed by the NOAA decision last year to push whale watch boats even farther away from the Orcas in the San Juans. Having read the science behind the decision, I have to feel that there was more politics at play than reasonable science based decision making.

In the notion of “following the money”, it would be interesting to know who owns the ranches that were granted the free ride, and whether those people donated to any major political campaigns or not.

http://www.marinij.com/basketball/ci_22090541/drakes-bay-oyster-company-will-have-leave

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Taylor Shellfish Denied Mussel Farm Expansion in Thurston County

Posted on November 19, 2012 by Al Bergstein

Thurston County Commissioners have denied Taylor Shellfish’s mussel farm permit because cumulative impacts were not adequately considered. This doesn’t seem to mean that Taylor cannot come back with more data. The refusal had to do with not presenting what the Hearing Examiner, a lawyer by trade, felt was compelling cumulative impacts of the proposed farm.

The legal precedent behind this decision appears to have been from a variety of already resolved lawsuits, including one by the coalition of a group of six citizen organizations that have been fighting the expansion of shellfish farms, mainly in the South Sound.

Again, it’s interesting to note that the Puget Sound Partnership did not weigh in at all on this case, for either side.

Read the short PDF of the ruling here. There is a longer document of the actual findings from the Hearings Examiner available on line if you wish.

http://www.co.thurston.wa.us/permitting/hearing/decisions/2012/961372.bocc.decision.taylor.pdf

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Downstream or Upstream, It’s Uphill for Salmon: Tribes Work to Protect Habitat–Green Acre Radio

Posted on November 19, 2012 by Al Bergstein

Martha Baskin has been doing a good job of covering environmental issues on her Green Acre Radio podcast. Here is a reminder warning by the NWIF and Stilaguamish, that we are still on a downhill trajectory, and more, much more needs to be done if we are to save our wild stocks.

Wild salmon runs have been in steep decline in the Pacific Northwest for decades. Restoring runs to historic levels involves substantial economic costs, competing societal priorities, and entrenched policy stances. The Stillaguamish Tribe and Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission say there’s no time to wait. If we don’t act there won’t be any more salmon. Martha Baskin reports.

http://greenacreradio.blogspot.com/2012/11/november-15-2012-downstream-or-upstream.html

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Nature filled with unique animals–The News Tribune

Posted on October 15, 2012 by Al Bergstein

When people ask me, “so who cares if animal whatever goes extinct”? I usually discuss that we don’t really know what these animals might teach us. Sometimes it might unlock an issue of great importance to us. There is an assumption by the public that we know everything there is to know about snail darters, or whatever species is on the Endangered Species list.   Here’s a good quick article about one such bit of knowledge, right here in our Sound.

Sometimes, it can be hard to tell the difference between what is real and what is only a myth. In the Northwest, we have some incredible natural wonders that sound almost too bizarre to be real. Aequorea victoria, a common jellyfish in the Puget Sound waters, can really make a statement when agitated. This amazing jellyfish combines two different proteins within its body to create bioluminescence and glow in the dark. Scientists have been able to extract one of these proteins and apply it to modern medicine to help researchers track proteins in living cells. 

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2012/10/14/2331617/nature-filled-with-unique-animals.html

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