SHELLFISH AND CULTIVATION
Non-native snail Batillaria attramentaria reported (Grason et al. 2018)
Read MoreAPR
2018
Non-native snail Batillaria attramentaria reported (Grason et al. 2018)
Read MoreFebruary 26, 2018
The Junior Olympics of Ocean Science in the Northwest
High school teams from throughout Washington State competed for the winner’s cup at Washington Sea Grant’s 21st annual Orca Bowl, promoting science, technology, engineering, math and marine studies.
SEATTLE – More than 100 emerging young oceanographers and marine biologists from high schools around the state gathered around a giant inflatable orca at University of Washington (UW) Fishery Sciences Building just moments before kicking off the 21st annual Orca Bowl competition this past Saturday, February 24, 2018. Thirteen teams met to vie for a ...
Read MoreJanuary 18, 2018
For decades, resource managers agreed that removing the two dams on the Elwha River would be a big win for the watershed as a whole and, in particular, for its anadromous trout and salmon. The dams sat on the river for more than 100 years, trapping approximately 30 million tonnes of sediment behind their concrete walls. As the dams were removed between 2012 and 2014, much of this sediment was released downstream — and ...
Read More(Header photo: Allen Pleus, Aquatic Invasive Species Unit Lead for Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife with one of the green crab captured in Padilla Bay during the collaborative assessment trapping effort in 2016.)
February 6, 2018
The very first publication by Crab Team was just released in Management of Biological Invasions this week (you can read it), and while there are six authors listed, it was a contribution made by hundreds. The paper had two ...
Read MoreHeader photo: assisting with the Cape Eleuthera Institute’s green sea turtle research.
January 17, 2018
Hello, Crab Team community! My name is Kelly Martin and I am thrilled to be joining the Washington Sea Grant Crab Team this year as a program assistant! I am currently a first-year graduate student at the University of Washington School of Marine and Environmental Affairs interested in bridging the gaps between scientists, policy makers, and the general public. ...
Read MoreJanuary 3, 2018
Commerical fishermen, don’t sacrifice sleep to bring in a good catch. Fatigue increases your risk of vessel incident. For one man, fatigue cost nearly $70,000.
Read MoreDecember 20, 2017
Ocean acidification is threatening ecosystems, cultures and economies in Washington State – today. In 2012, Governor Jay Inslee recognized the importance of developing a strategy to address these challenges by creating the Washington State Blue Ribbon Panel on Ocean Acidification. After reviewing the scientific literature, the panel outlined a plan in its seminal report, Ocean Acidification: From Knowledge to Action.
The science on ocean acidification has come a long way over the last five years. Today, the Marine ...
Read MoreDecember 12, 2017
Four graduates of the University of Washington (UW) have been selected for the National Sea Grant College Program’s prestigious John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship for 2018 to study, develop and implement policies addressing issues in ocean and coastal management, fisheries and marine resources. The one-year fellowship pairs motivated, forward-thinking graduates with legislative and executive host offices in Washington, D.C.
The Knauss Fellowship honors the influential legacy of the late John A. Knauss, who was an internationally-renowned ...
Read MoreNovember 21, 2017
One strength of the Crab Team protocol is that it enables us to confidently compare findings among sites, and track changes over time – even if different people are doing the sampling. With sampling on this scale, even the small steps can be important to what we learn from the data. Protocol in Focus allows us to expand on these details, and offer an opportunity to see all the behind-the-scenes planning that goes into methodology.
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NOV
2017
February 5, 2018: CORRECTION
Since this report was made, we have determined that the evidence originally submitted of the crab’s identity was not verifiable as a direct observation of the crab. Because European green crab is currently very rare in Washington’s Salish Sea, the majority of reports are of mistaken identity. This is why photographs of the crabs captured are required before we can confirm a sighting. It is therefore with some relief that we retract this ...
Read MoreNovember 7, 2017
Five years ago, the state legislature allocated funding for the development of a marine spatial plan (MSP) for Washington’s coast. A MSP is a public process of analyzing and allocating the spatial and temporal distribution of human activities in marine environments to achieve ecological, economic and social objectives. The Washington coast plan outlines a strategic approach to incorporate new uses in coastal waters by identifying ecologically important areas and areas in which current ocean uses takes place. It ...
Read MoreNovember 3, 2017
Aquaculture has been a mainstay of Washington’s economy since the state’s founding, and there is still potential for more growth. Three federal grants announced this week will provide total funding of $1.1 million to Washington Sea Grant, based at the University of Washington’s College of the Environment, for research that will sustainably further shellfish and finfish aquaculture in the state. The organization is among 18 Sea Grant programs around the country that have been ...
Read MoreHeader image courtesy of Zach Moore/USFWS
October 25, 2017
At the end of August, Crab Team received an email on our “tip line” from a beachwalker who had spotted a European green crab near Hobuck Beach in Makah Bay. The photograph submitted enabled us to immediately confirm the sighting, which was a new record for that area. The crab was located on Makah tribal land, and the Makah subsequently undertook a rapid assessment trapping effort to determine the extent of any green ...
Read MoreOctober 12, 2017
Following the recent capture of a single European green crab at Lagoon Point, on Whidbey Island (read more), Crab Team staff and volunteers, in consultation with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), headed back to the site last week to carry out assessment trapping as an expanded early detection effort. Over three days, the group conducted 114 trap sets, and captured only one additional European green crab.
This type of assessment trapping is the first step ...
Read MoreOctober 4, 2017
A new paper suggests using streamer lines and fishing at night are good albatross bycatch prevention options for longline fishermen in California, Oregon and Washington
Longline fishing is a technique that involves deploying a long line with baited hooks attached at intervals behind a boat. It’s a common technique used to catch many high-value species including halibut, tuna and sablefish. However, those fish are sometimes caught along with unintended targets—known as bycatch—including about 160,000 seabirds a ...
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