With help from Whatcom MRC, WA Department of Fish and Wildlife, and WA Sea Grant, we have started our green crab removal efforts in Drayton Harbor, near Blaine, WA. This is about two months earlier than we were able to start last year and already we’ve captured 15 green crabs! Finding and removing green crabs is especially important in Drayton Harbor as this area had one of the worst infestations in the Salish Sea last year. Green crabs can destroy eelgrass meadows, decimate shellfish beds, and fight with juvenile Dungeness crabs for habitat – all of which are present in Drayton Harbor. 

We’ve formed a stellar field crew this year whose main goal is to trap and remove as many green crabs as possible. “It’s been a great start this season, with nice weather and early timing on our side” commented Jonathan Hallenbeck, the Marine and Nearshore Technician for the Commission and an integral member of the field crew. “I feel like we’ll be able to get a good idea about what’s happening in Drayton Harbor as far as green crabs are concerned.” 

Click here to learn more about our work to control the spread of green crab. 

Snohomish MRC hosted a shoreline cleanup with WSU Snohomish County on Earth Day, where volunteers picked up over 900 pounds of litter! Much of what was picked up were plastic bottles and aluminum cans. Food packaging, dog poop bags, and face masks were also documented. The data collected by the MRC will be shared with local partners in an effort to document to types of debris impacting our waterways.

In San Juan, community members continue to sign up as beach stewards through the MRC’s Plastic Free Salish Sea “Adopt a Beach” campaign. In partnership with the National Park Service, three popular beaches in American Camp are now included in the initiative. The Spring Great Islands Clean-Up event on April 24 brought out San Juan MRC members and beach stewards around the county for a big day of debris removal.

Island MRC worked with the Seahorse Siesta community to organize a cleanup of tires and marine debris along the shoreline west of the Seahorse Siesta restoration site. Volunteers gathered 70 tires along with a broken kayak, rebar, and other debris. Washington Department of Natural Resources marine debris removal program will dispose of the debris when higher tides allow them to access the site.

Thanks to the many volunteers for being part of these cleanup efforts!
 

Island MRC and Sound Water Stewards hosted a training on how to use the MyCoast app, a smartphone app to track and report beach change and nearshore hazards to enhance awareness among decision-makers and stakeholders.
 
If you’ve been interested in helping to report marine conditions, such as derelict vessels and creosote debris, this recorded training will help orient you to using the app, and you can use it whenever you head to the beach. Learn more about MyCoast at www.mycoast.org/wa. 

 

Pinto abalone restoration and monitoring efforts in Skagit County began anew this season with an exciting discovery: project partners, WA Dept. of Fish and Wildlife and Puget Sound Restoration Fund divers, found lots of juvenile pinto abalone at two sites previously thought to have very low survival rates! Those two sites have been added back on the list for future population restoration by continuing to outplant juveniles.

Other good news for 2021 is that this year was a bumper crop for hatchery abalone, so there will be about twice as many outplanted as proposed this year for four restoration sites in Skagit County. 

Read more about Skagit MRC's role in bringing back this state endangered species. 

 

Welcome, new members
On the Skagit MRC, Catey Ritchie will replace Todd Mitchell as the representative for Swinomish Indian Tribal Community. In Whatcom, new member Kathy Ketteridge was appointed to fill a Citizen-at-Large position. Welcome!

Bob Campbell, former Clallam MRC chair, passed away on March 21. As facilities director at Feiro Marine Life Center, Bob oversaw everything to do with the well-being of the animals in his care and encouraged kids’ exploration of the marine environment. In 2012, the Puget Sound Partnership recognized Bob as a Puget Sound Champion for his work in stewardship and education. Those who knew him will remember his delighted, infectious laugh. Read his obituary here.