January 9, 2026
Washington Sea Grant (WSG) is excited to welcome Stuart Thomas as a new aquaculture specialist!
Stuart brings more than 17 years of experience across aquaculture, fisheries, seafood science, and environmental restoration in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska to WSG. Originally from the United Kingdom, Stuart earned a BSc (Hons) in Marine Biology ...
Read MoreDecember 19, 2020
It’s almost the new year, and our beautiful 2026 Washington Sea Grant calendar is here! If you would like to receive a calendar, please fill out this form: bit.ly/wsg-mailing-list
A favorite tradition at WSG, our calendar shares both the work of local artists and the ways in which WSG ...
December 19, 2025
By Madeleine Lucas, WSG Coastal Resilience Fellow
On October 16 at 10:16 a.m., Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe (SBIT) community members and staff participated in the Great ShakeOut Drill by practicing “Drop, Cover, and Hold” and walking their tsunami evacuation routes.
The Great ShakeOut is an international drill where people living in earthquake country around the world practice what they would do in a real earthquake and/or tsunami emergency. This year, over 58 million people participated in the ShakeOut worldwide, including ...
Read MoreDecember 15, 2025
In August 2022, the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community laid the foundational rocks of what would become the first modern-day clam garden in the United States. This revival of an ancient Indigenous mariculture practice can boost clam production and species diversity, enhance food sovereignty, increase resilience, and also provide a cultural space for community knowledge sharing and connection.
Before those first stones were set, the Tribe had engaged in years of planning and preparation. This included the work of researchers ...
Read MoreNovember 25, 2025
La Conner, Wash. — In late September, the molt from a European green crab was found at Similk Beach, on the northern end of the Swinomish Tribal Reservation. This was the first detection of the highly invasive species in the northern Whidbey Basin, which includes Skagit Bay.
Community member Shirley Hoh made the discovery while participating in a routine search as part of Molt ...
Read MoreNovember 19, 2025
King tides are the annual extreme-high tides that occur whenever the moon is closest to Earth. They are a dramatic feature of Washington winters – and a glimpse of what our future along Washington’s coasts may look like as sea levels rise.
Washington Sea Grant invites you to join us at two free king tides viewing parties in December: at Bendiksen Landing in South Bend on December 5 and at Percival Landing Park in Olympia on ...
Read MoreNovember 10, 2025
By Mel Lemke, WSG Science Communications Fellow
Hatching from their eggs into the waters of the Stillaguamish River, Chinook salmon begin their lives as tiny freshwater fry. No more than a few millimeters long at hatching, these tiny babies spend their early weeks of life nourished by their yolk sacs before they begin feasting on small freshwater invertebrates like bugs, snails and larvae. Carried by the river’s flow, they ...
Read MoreOctober 30, 2025
The first series of king tides, the highest high tides of the year, is set to reach Washington shores November 5-9. Residents and visitors to Washington’s coast are invited to capture these high water events in photos and upload them to the MyCoast website or phone app.
King tide events give us the opportunity to peek into the future and see what the impacts of sea level rise could ...
Read MoreOctober 28, 2025
By Mina Orlic, California Sea Grant Science Communications Associate
View the original post on California Sea Grant’s website.
From wild-caught salmon and Dungeness crab to farmed oysters and mussels, West Coast seafood choices are vast, healthy and delicious. But many consumers who want to eat local seafood and support coastal economies are unsure how to choose and ...
Read MoreOctober 13, 2025
By Kevin Decker, WSG Coastal Economist
For a long time, Washington’s rural coastal counties – such as Grays Harbor, Pacific, and Wahkiakum counties – had higher unemployment than the state average. This was largely due to their reliance on a few industries and their distance from the I-5 corridor. However, following the COVID-19 pandemic, new data indicate that these counties are now more aligned with state and national economic trends. When this occurs, economists refer to it as convergence.
October 7, 2025
We are excited to announce that Gabe Diephuis and Isaac Olson have been awarded the new WSG Puget Sound Science Research Fellowship!
Launching this year, the WSG Puget Sound Science Research Fellowship aims to support graduate students conducting research that advances Puget Sound recovery and to prepare them as the next generation of science leaders in the region. WSG administers and manages the fellowship program with funding from the ...
Read MoreSeptember 30, 2025
In July, Washington Sea Grant (WSG) shared that Kate Litle, WSG interim director, had been nominated for the prestigious 2025 Washington Governor’s Outstanding Leadership Award. Now, we are so excited to say that Kate is a recipient of the award!
Along with 23 other dedicated public servants, Kate was recognized by Governor Bob Ferguson at a ceremony at the Governor’s Mansion on September 23. The ...
Read MoreSeptember 29, 2025
By Mel Lemke, WSG Science Communications Fellow
Basket cockles (Clinocardium nuttallii) are saltwater clams native to the Pacific Northwest. With their charismatic ruffled shells and colorful banding, they are easily recognizable at low tide, peeking out from their fine-sediment habitats among eelgrass beds. These clams are more than just beautiful: as a preferred First Food (a food gathered and consumed since time immemorial), they hold significant cultural and nutritional value for the Suquamish ...
Read MoreSeptember 22, 2025
For more than 20 years, Washington Sea Grant’s NOAA Science Camp has offered hands-on science-learning opportunities for middle and high school students. This year NOAA Science Camp looked a little different: find out more about this year’s aquaculture spin with the following photo story.
Find the original post on NOAA Fisheries.
By Megan Ewald, NOAA Fisheries
Everyone in the aquaculture industry was once a ...
Read MoreSeptember 17, 2025
We are pleased to announce that recent graduates Anabel Baker, Elyse Kelsey, Madeleine Lucas and Rich Desanto have been awarded the Washington Sea Grant (WSG) Coastal Resilience Fellowship for 2025–2027.
This is the inaugural cohort of the new WSG Coastal Resilience Fellowship, a unique educational opportunity for early or shifting career professionals to provide additional capacity for coastal communities around coastal resilience. A two-year, paid fellowship ...
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