Salish Sea News Week in Review March 24 2023

 

"We've fetched up, ah, hard aground, north of Goose Island, off Bligh Reef and, ah, evidently leaking some oil and we're gonna be here for a while and, ah, if you want, ah, so you're notified."- Capt. Joe Hazelwood, 12:26 a.m., March 24,1989.

Remember Exxon Valez Friday
The Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred in the Prince William Sound, Alaska, on March 24, 1989. Exxon Valdez, an oil supertanker owned by Exxon Shipping Company bound for Long Beach, California struck Prince William Sound's Bligh Reef, 1.5 mi (2.4 km) west of Tatitlek, Alaska at 12:04 a.m. and spilled 10.8 million US gallons (257,000 bbl) (or 37,000 tonnes) of crude oil over the next few days. (Wikipedia)

‘Filthy Four’ — state targets Tacoma site with 1,200 polluted pilings for cleanup
The Dickman Mill site in Tacoma is one of the so-called “Filthy Four” that DNR has put on top of their clean-up to do list. The other three are Ray’s Boathouse pier in Seattle, the Triton-America pier in Anacortes and the High Tides Seafood pier in Neah Bay on the Makah reservation.

Inbreeding hinders population recovery among endangered Southern Resident killer whales
While a scarcity of Chinook salmon and other environmental factors may be pushing the Southern Resident killer whales toward extinction, a new genetics study has revealed that inbreeding has been exerting a powerful, overriding influence upon the small, genetically isolated population.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada faces deluge of calls to improve ‘suspect’ science
A parliamentary committee investigation ended with 49 recommendations to address concerns about how DFO science is presented to the fisheries minister and the public before important political decisions are made — particularly those involving B.C. salmon farms or commercial fisheries on either coast.

What to know about the Swinomish oil train suit as federal trial begins
A civil trial began in a federal courtroom in Seattle on Monday to determine if BNSF in 2012 began transporting 100-car trains of highly combustible crude oil willfully, consciously or knowingly trespassing over the reservation and whether it intentionally breached a 1991 easement agreement.

Cruise Ship Invasion
Take a typical Alaska cruise and see the damage in its wake. The evidence is clear: the industry needs an overhaul.

'Build in Washington' rule may be cast overboard to obtain new ferries affordably and quickly
Every new car ferry added to the Washington State Ferries fleet over the past fifty years was built at a Puget Sound shipyard. Now, state lawmakers are considering a break from past policy in order to obtain new vessels faster and cheaper for the troubled state ferry system.

Fish farmers launch legal challenge of fish farm closures
Three salmon farming companies and two First Nations that support fish farming are challenging federal Fisheries and Oceans Minister Joyce Murray’s decision last month not to renew federal licences for 15 salmon farms in the Discovery Islands.

Safety device, human error derailed Anacortes train, federal officials say
The Federal Railroad Administration has confirmed KUOW reporting that a safety device meant to keep trains from plunging into Puget Sound knocked a train off the tracks and onto the Swinomish Reservation early Thursday morning.

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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