Salish Sea News Week in Review October 14 2022

 

Aloha Winnie-the-Pooh Friday!
On this day in 1926 Winnie-the-Pooh made his literary debut. The popular children’s book character was created by British author A.A. Milne and first appeared in a collection of short stories called Winnie-the-Pooh. Winnie, a teddy bear, lives in Ashdown Forest, Sussex, England. The book followed his adventures in the forest with his friends Piglet, Owl, Rabbit, and Eeyore.

Why the country’s largest shellfish farm is struggling to hire and retain workers
It used to be that [Taylor Shellfish] could fill a job opening within a few weeks. Now, amid a remarkably tight labor market, that process can take four months.

Historic drought behind B.C. wildfires, salmon die off could continue, experts say
Thousands of dead fish, a prolonged wildfire season and intense water shortages leading to ice rink closures are all symptoms of record-setting drought in parts of British Columbia. The Lower Mainland, Sunshine Coast and West Vancouver Island areas are experiencing Level 5 drought conditions — the most severe in the province's classification scale.

Conservation concerns cancel Alaska’s Bering snow, king crab seasons
Alaska officials have canceled the fall Bristol Bay red king crab harvest, and in a first-ever move, also scuttled the winter harvest of smaller snow crab. The move is a double whammy to a fleet from Alaska, Washington and Oregon pursuing Bering Sea crab in harvests that as recently as 2016 grossed $280 million. 

West Coast gray whale population continues to decline but scientists remain cautiously optimistic
U.S. researchers say the number of gray whales off western North America has continued to fall over the last two years, a decline that resembles previous population swings over the past several decades. 

Seattle’s record-setting warm and dry weather is both random and a dress rehearsal, experts say
Seattle’s identity has been synonymous with drizzle, moss and the angsty grunge music and compulsive coffee drinking that’s fueled by its notoriously damp, gray weather. But this year’s summer and start of fall are threatening to wring those traits from the city’s long-held character.

Puget Sound salmon habitat restored with tribes leading the way
Reconnecting estuaries — the place where fresh and salt water meet — is an effort largely led by Washington’s tribes and backed by local and state leaders... At 353 acres, the Port of Everett’s Blue Heron Slough restoration project is among the largest along the Puget Sound.

We need to talk about B.C.’s drought
In the depths of this record-breaking B.C. drought, pretty much everyone I know is tormented by two opposing sentiments: 1) Overwhelming joy at the endless summer we’re having and 2) A growing sense of anxiety about how nearly three months with no rain in much of B.C. is impacting, well, all other living things. 

Groups working to remove thousands of tires from Puget Sound
The Washington Scuba Alliance (WSA) has teamed up with Coastal Sensing and Survey to locate 500,000 tires that were put underwater in Puget Sounds and Hood Canal in the 70s to create fish habitat. The organization said a recent study revealed the decomposing tires are poisoning sea life including Coho salmon.

These news clips are a selection of weekday clips collected in Salish Sea News and Weather which is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe at no cost to the weekday news clips, send your name and email to mikesato772 at gmail.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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