Boating

Washington Clean Vessel Act Program expands pumpout options for boaters

May 22, 2025

With the boating season officially underway, it’s time for Washington boaters to brush up on their knowledge for leaving a healthy wake for all to enjoy. This includes being able to safely and effectively dispose of sewage from a boat’s holding tank.

With more options for pumping out — including more mobile pumpout boats — properly disposing of onboard waste is easier than ever.

As recreational boating continues to become more popular in the state, Washington State Parks’ Clean Vessel ...

22
MAY

0

Celebrating 20 Years of the Clean Marina Washington Program

May 14, 2025

By Luciana Calle, WSG Science Communications Fellow

On a sunny Wednesday morning, Aaron Barnett and Bridget Trosin, who manage the Clean Marina Washington Program, walked on the deck of Boat Street Marina, admiring one of the many marinas helping to protect Washington’s waters and marine life. In this marina, small black ducks swam between parked boats while geese sunbathed on the warm wooden panels of the deck, carefully preening their backs with their ...

14
MAY

0

Boating, Outreach, WSG News Blog

Washington’s Clean Marina Program celebrates Leschi and Lakewood Marinas’ Clean Marina certification

July 15, 2024

The Northwest Marine Trade Association (NMTA), Washington Sea Grant and others today announced the certification of Leschi and Lakewood Marinas, managed by Marina Management LLC, as Clean Marinas. The prestigious Clean Marina certification, established by NMTA in partnership with Sound Keepers, requires marinas to undergo a rigorous assessment of their environmental practices and plan improvements for the future.

“Recently our marinas at Leschi and Lakewood on Lake Washington were awarded the Clean Marina certification. This acknowledgement serves as a ...

15
JUL

0

Local marinas help to keep Washington’s waters clean

July 1, 2024

Thirteen Washington marinas have recertified under the state’s Clean Marina program so far in 2024.

To become a certified Clean Marina, a marina must meet a set of minimum pollution prevention requirements, identify sustainability goals and activities, and create a plan to achieve them over a three-year period. For example, a ...

1
JUL

0

Boating, WSG News Blog

Mobile pumpout boats gain popularity, continue to expand throughout Puget Sound

May 1, 2024

Mobile pumpout boats improve water quality in the Puget Sound and provide options for recreational boaters with bilges.

Puget Sound — Options for recreational boaters to pump out boat sewage safely and efficiently are expanding throughout Puget Sound as the number of traveling “pumpout boats” grows.

When combined with stationary pumpout units at marinas, these grant-funded mobile pumpout boats keep an estimated 8-10 million gallons of sewage out of Puget Sound annually, protecting shellfish beds and improving overall water quality. Recreational boating ...

1
MAY

0

Who was Marc Hershman?

In addition to his academic and policy achievements, Hershman is remembered for being an exceptional mentor

From the Winter 2023/2024 Sea Star

Marc J. Hershman has been credited with turning coastal management into an academic field of study. He taught coastal and ocean law, seaport management and coastal management at the University of Washington (UW) for over 30 ...

11
MAR

0

The Washington Sea Grant Hershman Fellowship has a track record of launching recent graduates into marine policy careers

Many Hershman alums find themselves coming back full circle as they mentor the next generation of fellows

From the Winter 2023/2024 Sea Star

By Samantha Larson, WSG Science Writer

Since 2008, Washington Sea Grant (WSG) has placed recent graduate students in offices across the state to spend a year working on ocean and coastal science and policy issues. Over that time, the WSG Hershman Fellowship has grown into a highly respected, sought-after opportunity for students and host offices alike.

5
MAR

0

Twenty years of NOAA Science Camp

NOAA Science Camp has brought a breadth of marine programming to middle and high school students since 2003

From the Winter 2023/2024 Sea Star

By Samantha Larson, WSG Science Writer

Minutes away from Seattle’s Space Needle and skyscrapers, a pocket beach along the waterfront hosts an abundance of marine life. On a warm day in July this past summer, about two dozen middle schoolers poked through these tidepools, uncovering animals many of the students had never even heard of before — ...

5
MAR

0

How to save the pinto abalone

New research informs future restoration efforts for endangered pinto abalone populations in the Pacific Northwest

From the Winter 2023/2024 Sea Star

By Emma Duckworth, WSG Science Communications Fellow

The pinto abalone is a crucial organism in Puget Sound. “They are the Roomba of the rocky intertidal,” says doctoral student Eileen Bates.

Abalone are key grazers that feed on the rocks of the intertidal, which allows for the natural succession of other species in the habitat and keeps the entire ecosystem ...

4
MAR

0

The pulse of the ocean

UW and Smithsonian researchers develop DNA identification methods for monitoring Salish Sea planktonic communities

From the Winter 2023/2024 Sea Star

By Katalin Plummer, WSG Science Communications Fellow

Sometimes it’s the smallest living things that can tell us the most about the state of the ocean. For decades, scientists have tracked the diversity and abundance of plankton — microscopic organisms that include larval fish (ichthyoplankton), other small animals (zooplankton), and photosynthesizing bacteria and protists (phytoplankton) — on the surface of the ocean. Traditionally, this ...

5
FEB

0

After nearly 40 years of sharing life-saving skills, Sarah Fisken retires

As a WSG marine operations specialist, Fisken grew the organization’s marine workshop program and forged trust and community across the state in the process

From the Winter 2023/2024 Sea Star

By Samantha Larson, WSG Science Writer

The first time Sarah Fisken put on a survival suit, she was immediately thrown overboard. She was on a boat anchored out in Southeast Alaska, as she was spending the summer commercial fishing for salmon. There was another boat anchored nearby that she ...

8
JAN

0

The Port of Port Townsend’s new pumpout unit models an innovative design to help keep our waters clean

October 3, 2023

Port Townsend is getting a clean water boost with a new solar-powered pumpout unit that will help provide more options for boaters to properly dispose of their sewage.

The unit was commissioned by the Port of Port Townsend and built by the nearby Northwest School of Wooden BoatBuilding. The equipment is a self-contained module ...

3
OCT

0

Congratulations to three Washington Clean Marina recertifications

July 11, 2023

Port of Everett, Semiahmoo and Narrows Marinas take on water pollution

Three Washington marinas were recertified as part of Washington’s Clean Marina program. Port of Everett Marina, Semiahmoo Marina, and Narrows Marina surpassed the minimum pollution prevention requirements by a wide margin and successfully passed ...

11
JUL

0

Mobile pumpout boats gain popularity, expand throughout Puget Sound

May 23, 2023

Mobile pumpout boats provide options for recreational boaters while improving water quality

Amazon Prime, Uber Eats, Instacart: All of these services get delivered directly to you these days. Now, pumpout services for your boat are joining that list. Options for recreational boaters to pump out boat sewage safely and efficiently are expanding throughout the Puget Sound. Traveling “pumpout boats” that come to where the boaters are is a service that more and more marinas and ...

23
MAY

0

Attention boaters! Send your feedback on new map showing real-time locations of mobile pumpout vessels

May 5, 2023

With the opening day of boating season upon us, it’s time for boaters to brush up on keeping our waters clean. Mobile pumpout vessels make it easier to dispose of onboard sewage — in order to use pumpout services, however, boaters need to know when and where they are available.

5
MAY

0

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