Environmental Threats

Community Science Volunteers are as Important as Ever During the COVID-19 Pandemic

June 17, 2020

By Brandon McWilliams, WSG Science Communications Fellow

On a normal spring day along the Puget Sound, chances are good that one of the people enjoying the coast is also doing scientific research. Many projects at Washington Sea Grant (WSG) rely on dedicated teams of volunteers to keep tabs on conditions along our coast. These volunteers do everything from monitor invasive European green crab populations with WSG Crab Team, to checking toxic algae ...

17
JUN

0

New Videos to Help Boaters Pumpout

May 14, 2020

We know many boaters haven’t been out on the water for a while, or perhaps you are new to boating entirely. Either way, here are some videos to remind everyone of the importance of proper sewage disposal while on the water. Pumpout Washington is a program which provides boaters with designated pumpout stations to dispose of their sewage safely and efficiently. We all share these waters, and get our food from them, so remember, pump- don’t dump!

Check ...

14
MAY

0

WSG Crab Team Receives 2020 Salish Sea Science Prize

WSG Crab Team Receives 2020 Salish Sea Science Prize

April 22, 2020

The SeaDoc Society announced Washington Sea Grant Crab Team as the 2020 winner of the Salish Sea Science Prize. The SeaDoc Society, a program of the UC Davis Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center, awards the Salish Sea Science Prize every two years in recognition of scientists whose work results in the improved health of fish and wildlife populations in the Salish Sea.

The Sea Doc Society recognized the Crab Team for their use of science to improve the health of the Salish ...

22
APR

0

Green Crab Monitoring, WSG News Blog

New Study Aims to Examine Diet of West Coast Pinnipeds

March 11, 2020

By Bobbie Buzzell, WSG Science Communications Fellow

Ocean food webs are complex and often difficult to study — but breaking down every connection is important to understanding all predation pressures acting on a single species. These pressures often butt heads with commercial and recreational fisheries, and Pacific salmon have a history of such contention. Off the coast of Washington, salmon are predated on by Steller sea lions, harbor seals, and endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKW). Previous research on ...

11
MAR

0

Makah Tribe, pinnipeds, salmon, washington coast, Western Washington University

Director’s Note: Hui Malama Loko l’a Indigenous Aquaculture Gathering

20
FEB

0

Director’s Note: The Pull of King Tides

16
JAN

0

New Report: Puget Sound Marine Waters See Effect of Climate Change in 2018

December 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 ...

20
DEC

0

How Your Sunscreen Harms Water Quality

August 20, 2019

While you’re washing away the lingering sunscreen from the last beach day of summer, you’re probably reminiscing about carefree time with family and friends, and daydreaming about the sights and smells at the water’s edge. But have you ever thought about your sunscreen’s impact on water quality?

Summer brings a whole host of human-made threats to water quality. Sewage, oil and debris get most of the press, but the products we use on our skin, ...

20
AUG

0

WSG’s Meg Chadsey on the Impacts of Ocean Acidification to Seafood Security in Puget Sound

August 8, 2019

Last month WSG’s Meg Chadsey spoke to the Van Alen Climate Council — a group of built environment designers — about ocean acidification’s impacts to local seafood

With bustling waterfronts, famous seafood markets, a robust culinary scene, and an estuary rich with marine life, the Puget Sound region seems to be the picture of seafood security. But look closer at the web of people, the sea, and the climate, and the fragility and vulnerability of ...

8
AUG

0

New pumpout facility serves recreational boaters in the San Juan Islands

August 1, 2019

Facility funded by State Parks’ Clean Vessel Act program

OLYMPIA – A new sewage pumpout for recreational boaters is now open at the Shaw Island General Store in the San Juan Islands. The facility is expected to serve hundreds of boaters this summer.

The idea to install a pumpout facility came from Terri and Steve Mason, longtime island residents and owners of the Shaw General Store.

“I grew up on Orcas ...

1
AUG

0

Joint WSG, CIG and ESS Team Recognized for Outstanding Community Impact

May 8, 2019

The joint team from Washington Sea Grant (WSG), Climate Impacts Group (CIG) and Earth and Space Sciences (ESS) that released a report containing the best sea level rise projections yet for Washington’s coasts last summer received the UW College of the Environment Award for Outstanding Community Impact. The report is part of the Washington Coastal Resilience Project, a three-year effort funded in 2016 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“The team has been instrumental in helping ...

8
MAY

0

King Tides Help People Visualize Sea Level Rise Around Coastal Washington

March 26, 2019

Washington Sea Grant held viewing parties in Oak Harbor and Raymond in January to help local residents understand the effects of sea level rise

Sea level rise has major implications for coastal Washington. The recent projections released by Washington Sea Grant, WA Department of Ecology, UW Climate Impacts Group, The Nature Conservancy, and other partners predict approximately one foot of sea level rise by 2050, and up to two feet by 2100.

Bridget Trosin, Coastal Policy Specialist at ...

26
MAR

0

New Study: How to Save a Seabird

In the 1990s, the endangered status of the short-tailed albatross catalyzed efforts to reduce the number of birds accidentally killed as bycatch in Alaska, home to the country’s biggest fisheries. Marine fisheries scientist Ed Melvin, at Washington Sea Grant at the University of Washington, and research associate Kim Dietrich, an independent contractor, were at the forefront of a collaborative research effort that led to Alaska’s longline fisheries adopting streamer lines in 2002, a technology that is towed behind vessels ...

20
FEB

0

Salmon may lose the ability to smell danger as carbon emissions rise

December 18, 2018

The ability to smell is critical for salmon. They depend on scent to avoid predators, sniff out prey and find their way home at the end of their lives when they return to the streams where they hatched to spawn and die.

New research from the University of Washington and NOAA Fisheries’ Northwest Fisheries Science Center shows this powerful sense of smell might be in trouble as carbon emissions continue to be absorbed by our ocean. Ocean ...

18
DEC

0

Invasive green crabs poised to move to South Sound

King5 News covered the spread of invasive European green crab in a recent article.

“Since the first spotting in 2016, green crab have now been located at seven different sites. McDonald and others are worried that the crabs will get more challenging to remove if they’re able to make it to the south Sound, because the offspring in the area would likely stay in the area.”

Read more in the article.

13
NOV

0

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