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Plastic Free Salish Sea Initiative launched!
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San Juan MRC is focused on a vision of eliminating plastic waste in the county, and this month they've shared a great new community resource this month with the official launch of their Plastic Free Salish Sea Initiative. This initiative is spearheaded by the San Juan MRC, and they've partnered with organizations and individuals around the county to change the way we view plastic and to clean up local beaches.
Even if you don't live in or visit the San Juan islands, you can find useful information, resources and toolkits to consider for your own community. Check out the website at http://plasticfreesalishsea.org/
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Resourceful MRC volunteers invented a new device to help with forage fish spawning surveys. Photo: Pete Haase
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Meet the newest addition to Team Forage Fish: a tool, seen in the picture above, affectionately known as the "Skagit Surf Smelt Survey Squad Socially Correct Sieve-Sloshing-Wand"! The name - and distance between volunteers - is thanks to the clever apparatus designed by super volunteer Tom Flanagan.
Forage fish spawning surveys are best collected and processed by a team of at least two people. Not only for the camaraderie, but because the process requires an extra set of hands to slosh the sieve while running water through the sediment sample to sort out the fine sediments and hopefully forage fish eggs.
This new invention allows these volunteer teams to get back on the beach and process their samples while staying safe. We're always impressed by the innovation and dedication of MRC volunteers. Great job!
You can't see it, but they are smiling behind those masks! Learn more about forage fish surveys here.
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European green crab update
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Malise Yun (Puget Sound Corps) and Lindsey Parker (WDFW) checking traps for green crabs. Photo: Allie Simpson
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Considered one of the world's worst invasive species, European green crabs can cause a lot of ecological and economic damage. The Commission is excited to join a collaborative team with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and Washington Sea Grant to continue their removal efforts in the green crab hotspot in Drayton Harbor, WA. The team has now found more than 90 green crabs in the area since trapping began in early June.
All of those green crabs wouldn’t have been found without support from others. Crew members from the Washington Conservation Corps and Puget Sound Corps have been instrumental in helping with trapping efforts around Drayton Harbor. With their help, the team was able to explore more potential habitat in Drayton Harbor and set more traps to remove as many green crabs as possible.
In coordination with the Whatcom County MRC, the Commission, WDFW, and WA Sea Grant will host a webinar about green crab management in Drayton Harbor on August 12 from 5pm – 6pm.
Learn more about green crab management in Drayton Harbor in the WA Sea Grant two-part series: part one and part two.
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Birdwatching on the beach
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Pigeon guillemot at the water's edge. Photo: Clallam MRC
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In May, more than 2,500 people saw Clallam MRC's announcement looking for volunteers to do pigeon guillemot breeding surveys this summer, and now there are more than 30 enthusiastic volunteers signed up and conducting weekly surveys at 11 sites between Bachelor Rock (in Freshwater Bay) and Mussel Beach in Clallam County.
The charismatic birds are active delivering fish to their burrows in the bluffs, and they tend to swim close to shore with the fish in their bills before flying to the burrows to feed their young. Pigeon guillemot parents fly to deliver prey to their offspring, but their greatest finesse is their underwater swimming: they are excellent underwater hunters!
The pigeon guillemot, in addition to being a charming marine bird, is a valuable indicator species for the overall health of nearshore marine ecosystems. While not a threatened species, surveys help monitor fluctuations in the balance of other marine species, which make up the food chain and interact with the guillemot.
Birdwatchers find an ideal place beneath a rocky cliff. Photo: Clallam MRC
Learn more about Clallam's pigeon guillemot surveys here, or if you’d like to see pigeon guillemots for yourself while they’re nesting, head out to a beach with some rocky cliffsides one morning this summer and find a quiet place to sit and observe.
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Bob Vreeland conducting a shellfish biotoxin survey at Pillar Point. Photo: Clallam MRC
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If you enjoy harvesting shellfish in Clallam County, join us in sending a thanks to the Clallam MRC and volunteer Bob Vreeland for conducting bi-monthly shellfish biotoxin surveys at Pillar Point throughout the summer. These surveys are extremely important in determining whether shellfish collected from the area are safe for human consumption.
Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning, or PSP, can be present in clams, oysters, and mussels due to toxic algae blooms, and eating contaminated shellfish can be fatal.
For each survey, Bob collects three or four large clams of a targeted species, rinses and packages them, and sends them to a lab for specialized testing. Butter clams and varnish clams are known to retain toxins longer than other species of shellfish. If lab results show the presence of a concerning concentration of any toxin, WA Department of Health will close the beach for shellfish harvesting.
If you are gathering shellfish, please monitor the status of the beach where you are harvesting to avoid becoming ill! For more information and a shellfish safety map, visit: https://www.doh.wa.gov/communityandenvironment/shellfish
Shellfish should not be collected and/or eaten from any closed beach, meaning all clam species including geoduck, as well as oysters, mussels, and all other invertebrates.
Visit the Clallam MRC website to learn more about their efforts to ensure safe shellfish harvest.
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Update from the Northwest Straits Foundation
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Paella is a tasty outcome of successful habitat restortation. The second episode of the Salish SeaFresh series digs in! Photo: Northwest Straits Foundation
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The Northwest Straits Foundation is proud to present their second episode of Salish SeaFresh, a video series exploring the relationships among habitat restoration, sustainable seafood and local businesses.
In the newest episode, we learn about the Olympia Oyster, the only oyster native to the West Coast. Watch to find out more about oyster restoration and why Olympia oysters are an important species to prioritize recovering in Puget Sound.
Thank you to Taylor Shellfish Farms, the Jefferson and Skagit Marine Resources Committee and others for their commitment to Salish Sea restoration, which has helped bring millions of Olympia Oysters back to Fidalgo Bay and the north Puget Sound.
We hope you enjoy this story. Stay tuned for upcoming episodes as we have fun visiting with fishers and restaurants throughout the Salish Sea. Please like and share the video with your friends, and on social media!
Engage with the Foundation on social media. You can find them at @nwstraitsfnd.
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