Puget Sound in trouble?

I just saw a very scary presentation.  Scary, that is, for oceanography wonks.

It looks like Puget Sound is changing in ways that people won't like.  Fewer fish, lower oxygen, more jellyfish.  Thanks to nutrients from sewage treatment plants and some surprising food web changes.

You'll know you're seeing it happen if the waters light up, bioluminescence from Noctiluca blooms, as in the funky YouTube video of waving a stick in water at night.  I know I do this all the time, don't you?

If you're interested in some hard-core oceanography that explains the hypothesis, check out this presentation.  Wow, I wondered why I've been seeing so many big jellyfish in the Sound on my twice-daily sampling cruises (ferry commutes).

For now, I'm going to go cry in my beer over the lost fish of Puget Sound.

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Restoration can't overcome loss of natural shoreline habitats

“My dear, here we must run as fast as we can, just to stay in place. And if you wish to go anywhere you must run twice as fast as that.”― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

Shoreline restoration in Puget Sound is failing to keep up with our ongoing development of shorelines.  Despite our best efforts at restoration, we're losing habitat because we won't stop doing the damage.  

I often wonder whether our visible restoration projects are actually solving the problem.  It's pretty clear the answer is no if we develop more shorelines than we restore.  This study only looked at part of Puget Sound, but I doubt the answer is much different elsewhere.

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When endangered species eat each other

What do you do when you have one endangered species eating another endangered species?

That's the dilemma facing officials who are hoping to protect orcas (killer whales) and endangered Pacific salmon. New science shows that orcas in Puget Sound seem to prefer to munch on especially rare types of salmon, much to the chagrin of those who want to save the salmon. We can't exactly go out and kill orcas to protect salmon.

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Ocean acid experiment

The great ocean acid experiment has a new front line...Puget Sound, near Seattle.

That's right, my home waters are going to show the world what an acidifying ocean means. Already, ocean waters in Washington are going more and more acid, thanks to the interaction of man-made CO2 and natural conditions.

By the way, oysters are having a hard time reproducing, there hasn't been a good spawn in more than 5 years. Tough news for an oyster-producing region and for oyster lovers everywhere (and who doesn't love a good oyster!).

But hey, let's just ignore it and go blithely ahead loving our fossil fuels. And maybe I can dip my silver spoons in Puget Sound for cleaning in a few years.

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Seattle's ocean wonderland

See Puget Sound like never before, and learn about the world-class ocean diving available right off the beaches of the Seattle area. And while you're having fun, learn about what makes our ocean so special.

All brought to you by Still Hope Productions with an underwater TV show, and a travelling event that will be on Bainbridge at Islandwood Feb 1, 2009 and REI in Seattle April 2, 2009, 7-9 pm. Check the Still Hope website as more events will be added.

Or if you can't make any of that, you can buy an amazing DVD, I have a copy of Return of the Plankton, it's unbelievable and I'll be buying it as a gift for friends.

Did you know that there are colorful fish and invertebrates in Puget Sound that rival tropical reefs for beauty? Get a DVD and see for yourself!

image: low-res sample from StillHopeProductions.com

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Oysters to the rescue

Puget Sound needs oysters like a car in Seattle needs windshield wipers. Once upon a time, oysters filled the Sound and filtered and cleaned the water.

Too bad we ate most of our oysters and killed the rest with water pollution. But wait, maybe it's not too late. The Nature Conservancy, the Puget Sound Restoration Fund, and volunteers are trying to restore our native Olympia oyster by building them new homes.

It's a great example of ocean restoration done right, because the new homes are nothing more than old oyster shells put back into the Sound. Baby oysters grow best on old oyster shells, making huge oyster reefs a normal part of a healthy bay.

The program will rely on natural reproduction to reseed the bays, so there are no worries of planting the wrong oysters from hatcheries. The Sound seems clean enough for oysters to thrive now, so it's worth a try.

Some people say the small native Olympia oysters taste better than the exotic imports now common in oyster farms. Maybe someday the world will know about Puget Sound's famous Olympia oysters.

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New effort to restore Puget Sound, MudUp!

I attended a meeting last night where Kathy Fletcher of People for Puget Sound explained the new Puget Sound Partnership formed by our Governor and legislature.

And she mentioned an exciting new campaign that went live yesterday, MudUp Check it out, and get dirty for Puget Sound. You can do it even if you don't live here, we're going to need all the help we can get.

I'm optimistic that this new effort will actually learn from past mistakes and make good progress on the big issues facing us, like shoreline protection, non-point source runoff, sewage systems and leaky septic tanks, etc. Will it make headway on our transportation system? That's a real weak point for Seattle and the Puget Sound area, so we'll have to wait and see. Or...better yet...get active and help push that boulder uphill.

Thanks to Kathy, People for Puget Sound, Governor Gregoire, State Senator Rockefeller, and the countless others involved.

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Ocean returns our foul gifts

In a foul turnabout, people are complaining about the ocean polluting their environment. Rotting sea lettuce, gorged on sewage and nutrient runoff, is piling up on beaches and angering beach-front residents.

It's an ironic reversal to see the results of human pollution create a nuisance for the owners of prime beachfront property. Since people have more votes than fish, maybe this will get things moving in a way that never happens when fish are the only victims.

Finally, the ocean is learning to communicate effectively. I wonder what's coming next?

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More girlie-men fish in Seattle

Metrosexuals? Or maybe just the unfortunate victims of industrial disease? Either way, the boys are not alright if you're talking about male fish that live around Seattle.

Male English sole are producing egg proteins in their bodies, and the problem is worse than we thought when Blogfish first brought you the news. It's not just the guys having trouble, females are producing eggs in the offseason and becomming sexually mature at younger ages.

It's not just happening in Seattle, and it's not just happening to fish. One doctor goes so far to suggest that some widespread changes in our culture may be caused by the same feminizing process that is affecting Seattle's fish. Now that's a big idea.

Birth control pills, detergent, plastic bottles, and yes, makeup all contribute to the problem, which is at it's worst where a sewage outfall dumps into Elliot Bay.

King County is planning to sell treated wastewater to a golf course, I wonder if the golfers are keen on the idea? Maybe cosmetic sales will go up in the pro shop.

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What's black and white and brings hope of ocean renewal?

The new baby orca in Puget Sound’s L-pod spouts hope and optimism of renewal in a troubled sea.

The endangered orcas (killer whales) of Puget Sound have it rough. They have scary levels of toxic chemicals in their bodies, reduced food supplies thanks to our overfishing, and a nearly endless list of other major and minor complaints. But today, with a new birth, we can dream of a better future.

The first sighting of the new baby orca was near Monterey, CA, with the L-pod vacating Puget Sound to forage in greener pastures elsewhere. The orcas are known as Puget Sound orcas because they spend 6 months or more in Seattle's inland sea.

Baby orcas have such a tough time that the only name for the new one is L-109. It will get a more frinedly name if it survives beyond 1 year.

Scientists are trying to identify the mother, since firstborns tend to get most of the toxins from their mother's body and have only a 50-50 chance of survival. There have been 5 deaths in the L-pod this year, including two young calves.

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Scary ocean blob creature invades Seattle

What's slimy, comes from Seattle, and smothers all competition? It's the scary blob alright, but it doesn't sell software or coffee. It's called a tunicate, and it's threatening ocean ecosystems.

Tunicates are encrusting invertebrates, which means they are blanket-like blobs that can cover anything solid. They thrive as invaders and they're turning up in more and more ocean places.

Blogfish raised the ocean blob alarm last year, and things are only getting worse. The Blob was doing well in Hood Canal last year when nearly everything else was dying from low oxygen. There's a blob alert website with info on identifying the blob and advice on what to do if you find one.

The best tip? Get ready for Soylent taupe.

Photo: USGS/NOAA

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Christmas in the ocean

How can you tell when it's Christmas in the ocean? By the cinnamon & vanilla flavoring the water. Holiday cookie baking shows up in Puget Sound, after the cookies are eaten and...well...processed.

Digging deeper, researchers estimate that Seattle desert lovers ate about 200,000 cookies per day containing cinnamon & vanilla.

It's incredible how our habits influence oceans, even our cookie habits. Previously, we've heard about caffeine, antidepressants, birth control hormones, and antibiotics showing up in Seattle-area streams, with possible effects on fish and other animals.

Do the cookies matter? Smell is important to some fish, and spices are used because of their pungency, so who knows? Fish probably appreciate the end of the season and the seasoning.

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Can we restore coastal oceans?

Guess which of Seattle's two coasts is clean--the urban lake or the ocean? Despite massive hurdles, we have perhaps the cleanest urban lake in the world. Now it's time to fix Puget Sound.

Past restoration has built local pride in sparkling Lake Washington, so we have a model of what's needed. Read about how science and public action combined to restore Lake Washington, as told by the late UW Professor W.T. Edmondson in "The Uses of Ecology." It's a fascinating and inspring story.

Lake Washington was not an easy fix. The water in Lake Washington has a residence time of 2.3 years. Puget Sound should be easier, tidal flushing means the residence time for water in Puget Sound is only a few days to a few months (depending on location).

Can we show the world how to restore coastal oceans? We're making a start. The Governor is pushing Puget Sound cleanup, the state has a budget surplus, and the EPA has pledged to help. We've seen fines for oil spills and dumping cruise ship waste. Let's show the world how it's done!

Check with People for Puget Sound for updates...

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Puget Sound ocean life disappearing

Here in Seattle we fancy ourselves ocean lovers, but our coastal ocean is dying. Oops, I guess we've been too busy sipping lattes and blogging from wirless hotspots.

Ocean life is disappearing, here and there and everywhere. From eelgrass beds to crabs to herring, it's getting harder to find the abundance we smugly take for granted. And that's before we even start with the troubles we've inflicted on our signature salmon and orcas.

Who's spreading such difficult news? Some biting new media? A series in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, printed on paper every day and sold from boxes. They've put the pieces together and it's not a pretty story.

Governors and task forces continue to work on solutions, but progress is lacking. Will we find the wherewithall to reverse the trend? Or accept a sad decline to where we said we'd never go, the ugly bland life of an urban port like *shudder* Long Beach.

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Low oxygen kills fish in Washington

Who says dead fish tell no tales? These dead fish have a tale to tell indeed, a tale of a waterway in decline.

Hood canal in Western Washington was the site of a major fish kill this week. Divers observed dying fish swimming near the surface, gasping for oxygen. Failing, they expired in front of the shocked eyes of the divers.

Hood canal is not near a major population center; humans are fairly sparse on the shore. This fishhook shaped fjord was once home to fabulous ocean ecosystems, and my father used to drive hours to dive in it's rich underwater worlds. Now all that's left is a sad reminder. Go here for a Hood canal map.

How did we get in this mess, and what's to be done? There are no easy answers, since the major problem seems to be non-point runoff of nitrogen from dispersed human sources. Leaky septic tanks, lawn fertilizer, and modest waste like grass clippings and food thrown to seagulls are blamed, and it's a big effort to tidy up all of that.

One of the main things we must do is mourn the decline of a place once-great, so we don't forget what we've lost. Otherwise, we'll see things get worse and we'll accept a pathetic fishless place as just the way things are.

photo: Erika Schultz/Seattle Times

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