Orcasphere

Persistent organic pollutants as chemical tracers for Puget Sound marine biota, Gina Ylitalo Chemical tracers can be used to determine geographic ranges.  Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) like PCBs and PDBEs in Salish Sea herring (3 yr old males collected ’99 and ’04) showed elevated levels in Puget Sound relative to Georgia Strait, though difference was [...]

Tina Wyllie-Echeverria Collaboration with Eric Beamer and Kurt Fresh (tows), and many students/volunteers 1950-2006, about 50 sites around the San Juans have been sampled and have found juvenile salmon.  Of 656km of SJI shoreline, 430km is rocky beach.  Tow nets (164 tows at 37 sites, monthly from Apr-Sep) caught juveniles of 5 species and 785k [...]

Eric Beamer, Juvenile Chinook salmon use of small non-natal estuaries  in the Whidbey Basin, eastern Admiralty Inlet, and the San Juan Islands Most of our juveniles are coming from the Skagit, accumulating early in the year (feb-may, some years as early as december, often associated with floods).  Pocket estuaries are safer places (most fish are [...]

We have a great op in the San Juan Islands to compare marine reserves set up in ~1990 (mandatory) with bottomfish recovery zones (BRZ) were established ~7 years later (voluntary).  Overall, regulations have changed over time, essentially getting more restrictive. Methods: 300 dives since 1997; transects to compare recovery zones with paired (nearby) reserve lingcod [...]

What are the interacting relationships between rockfish, the lingcod that eat them, and the fishers who take lingcod (and rockfish)?  In reserves we can look at predatory role of lingcod without fishing pressure.  We can also look at differences in lingcod population structure and feeding between non/reserves. Most samples from central San Juan Channel in [...]

Changes in marine mammal populations of the Salish Sea: What will the future look like? Pinnipeds Harbor seal populations have stabilized — probably at historical levels –  in all areas of Washington after rising from lows of the 70s and 80s, often generating (old) conflicts with human fishers… Many haulout areas were actually dynamited, so [...]

Implementation of the recovery plan for SRKWs Section 7 consultations: Looking at Federal actions (funding, permiting, regulating) that might affect hydropower (hatchery production), water treatment plants, sewer outfalls, in-water construction, upland projects, habitat restoration, research, tidal and wave energy, etc. Recovery plan implementation: started in 2003 really with funding before plan was final (research, enforcement [...]

Andrea Copping, Chief Leah George-Wilson, Richard Beamish, Mary Ruckelshaus, Joel Baker Richard Beamish: State of the Salish Sea (Richard Beamish) Warming trends over last 30yrs  in Strait of Georgia [SoG] (steady) and Puget Sound (slower) Decline in % early marine survival of Coho from 15% down to 1% since 1996 (entrance to SoG through Sept [...]

Andrew Rosenberg from U of New Hampshire speaking on “Ecosystem-based Management:developing a framework for implementation” at 9:25am PST. Evidence for ecosystem effects: We know ecosystem-level impacts occur (from scientific and traditional knowledge) We know regine shifts occur and that our perception change with shifting baselines Keep in mind that we are approaching theoretical limits of [...]

Last weekend was the beginning of blackmouth season in Marine Area 7 (the San Juan Archipelago and vicinity).  I’ve been wondering if WDFW should encourage fishing for Puget Sound resident Chinook as there are some indications that resident Chinook are loading up J pod with persistent pollutants, while decreasing fishing pressure on Fraser River Chinook [...]