JAN
2020
January 15, 2020
It is hard to comprehend the scale of damage that resulted from the 2011 Japanese tsunami. Entire forests, neighborhoods and even towns were washed away. It caused the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl. Overall, almost 20,000 people were proclaimed dead or missing.
More than eight years after the tragedy, the city of Sendai, in Japan’s Tohoku Region, is still in recovery. As the city continues to rebuild, however, local scientists and planners aim to share the knowledge they have ...
Read MoreJanuary 10, 2020
WSG would like to congratulate Michelle Chow, a former John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellow, in her new position as a stormwater and toxics policy manager for the Washington Environmental Council.
As a Knauss Fellow working in D.C., Michelle had the opportunity to gain direct experience in policy that was essential for her new position, allowing her to return ...
Read MoreJanuary 8, 2020
Liked the cucumber salad and ginger chicken soup, and ready for another recipe for your kelp cookbook? Try this Chinese kelp salad found on the China Sichuan Food blog. This cold dish is simple to make with basic ingredients and low prep time. While you could use the same noodles more easily found in stores from the ginger chicken kelp soup recipe, a greater variety ...
Read MoreDecember 23, 2019
Seaweed has been receiving a lot of attention recently as the next sustainable superfood. Not only is it packed with micronutrients, but seaweed also absorbs carbon dioxide as it grows. This means cultivating seaweed alongside other marine species could help buffer vulnerable organisms, such as oysters, from the corrosive effects of ocean acidification.
But getting a seaweed farm ...
Read MoreDecember 20, 2019
A new report details the effects of a changing climate on Puget Sound in 2018, and describes how these changes trickled down through the ecosystem to affect marine life and seafood consumers.
Scientists observed unusually warm water temperatures, though not as hot as during the years of “the Blob,” the marine heatwave of 2014-2016. Salinity went up everywhere in the Puget ...
Read MoreFrom the autumn 2019 Sea Star print newsletter
By Andrew Chin, WSG Science Communications Fellow
On a quiet day in Oak Harbor last January, the surface of Puget Sound was as smooth as glass. The water gently reflected the winter sun as 45 pairs of eyes watched the tide slowly overtake the shoreline, reaching the line of driftwood that had been thrown ashore in storms past and the grass lawn of Flinstone Park. This encroachment was a king tide: the edge ...
Read MoreDecember 17, 2019
Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor are home to some of the most productive oyster farms in the country, but in recent years these estuaries have been plagued by an active burrowing shrimp population that threatens much of coastal Washington’s oyster grounds.
Washington Sea Grant hosted the first of four workshops in support of the Washington Coast Shellfish Aquaculture Study in South Bend recently, kicking off a three-year applied research project to assist planning and collaboration amongst tideland managers, owners and ...
Read MoreBy Bobbie Buzzell, WSG Science Communications Fellow
Given the success of the kelp aquaculture webinar last month, we decided to take to the kitchen last weekend and test out a kelp noodle recipe.
Kelp noodles can be a struggle to find, and there are not many brands currently offered at local grocery stores. I was able to find Sea Tangle Noodle Company’s Kelp Noodles at Haggen. At first glance, they look like a food you would use for a Halloween gag ...
Read MoreNovember 27, 2019
Looking for an ingredient to change up holiday meals? Kelp is sustainable and eco-friendly food that can be incorporated in everyday cooking. With availability spreading, it’s not just limited to high-end restaurants.
Try this simple recipe from Maine Island Institute.
*To rehydrate dried kelp, ...
Read MoreFrom the autumn 2019 Sea Star print newsletter
By Helen Kesting, guest student writer
Just 50 miles away from Seattle as the crow flies, the University of Washington runs a marine field station on San Juan Island called Friday Harbor Laboratories (FHL). Wooden buildings, grass fields and grazing deer cover the campus, which is surrounded by nearly 400 acres of mixed coniferous forest. During the weekends, students entertain themselves by hiking or by taking a rowboat to a nearby cove. At ...
Read MoreNovember 27, 2019
Washington Sea Grant is a proud sponsor of We Are Puget Sound: Discovering & Recovering the Salish Sea, a new book by David L. Workman, Leonard Forsman, Mindy Roberts and Brian J. Cantwell from Braided River (an imprint of Mountaineers Books). The following profile is an excerpt from the book.
Sally Brownfield is a soft-spoken, strong Puget Sound woman. For all ...
Read MoreNovember 18, 2019
Northwest Maritime Center receives grant for Puget Sound Fiberglass Boat Recycling plan
Beginning in the 1960’s, fiberglass became a prominent material for ship building. Durable and relatively low maintenance, fiberglass became the choice material for vessel owners. But as these vessels begin to come to the end of their lifespan, a question comes up: what should we do with ...
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