"> A juvenile humpback whale entangled in more than 200 feet of rope and then freed earlier this month has been spotted off Galiano Island in British Columbia, prompting cautious relief among biologists who are monitoring the whale’s recovery. The whale, named Starry Knight, was seen by whale watchers last Friday, and was breaching and appeared […]
July 16, 2025
"> Annual orca count grows by one, as the Puget Sound whales stay on the hunt for food
Although an official census report is not due until October, it appears that the population of our southern resident killer whales has increased by one over the past year. That slight increase is the net result of four births and three deaths, according to the Center for Whale Research, which is responsible for the annual […]
July 7, 2025
"> A photographic tour of the entire Puget Sound shoreline by watercraft and aircraft
Kayaker-scientist Brian Footen is back on the waters of Puget Sound this summer, paddling through inlets and circling islands on a 2,700-mile journey to photograph the shoreline and document natural and human-caused changes to the habitat. This state-funded project is Brian’s second photographic trip along the sinuous shoreline throughout the entirety of the Sound, from […]
July 3, 2025
"> August 4: Kelp & eelgrass risk assessment results workshop
Monday, August 4 from 1:00 – 2:30 pm PT UW Puget Sound Institute and the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife are leading a spatially explicit risk assessment of the current and future threats to eelgrass and floating kelp habitats in Puget Sound that can be used to evaluate the distribution of burdens associated with […]
June 12, 2025
"> Low oxygen challenge, part 4: Many actions may be needed to improve Puget Sound waters
A grand plan to reduce human sources of nitrogen in Puget Sound started coming into focus in 2019 when the issue of regulations reached a decisive point. After years of study and advances in computer modeling, experts at the Washington Department of Ecology were beginning to see what it would take to reduce human sources […]
June 12, 2025
"> Low oxygen challenge, part 3: Computer models spell out the extent of the water-quality problem
After more than eight years of study amid ongoing discussions, the Washington Department of Ecology has made public a far-reaching plan for reducing human sources of nitrogen that contribute to the destructive low-oxygen conditions in Puget Sound. The plan, called the Puget Sound Nutrient Reduction Plan, calls for reductions in nitrogen from sewage-treatment plants, agricultural […]
June 12, 2025
"> Low oxygen challenge, part 2: Water-cleanup plans and the search for ‘reasonable’ actions
On a clear autumn day, the blue waters of Budd Inlet reflect the distant snow-capped Olympic Mountains. From the water’s surface, nobody can tell if low-oxygen conditions might be lurking below, as they often do, creating a stressful or even deadly environment for sea life. The fact that beauty can disguise the harsh reality of […]
June 12, 2025
"> Low oxygen challenge, part 1: The debate over oxygen in Puget Sound
In Puget Sound, low oxygen levels are a proven threat to marine creatures, from fish to shellfish and even tiny organisms. This threat has long been recognized by scientists — particularly within slow-flushing bays and inlets where low levels of dissolved oxygen can impair sea life and occasionally create deadly conditions in late summer and […]
June 9, 2025
"> Follow the herring: Why sea lions have been calling Shilshole Marina home
For the past three springs, Shilshole Bay Marina has been contending with droves of California visitors occupying their guest boater moorages––California sea lions that is. To Shelby Allman, Port of Seattle Harbor Operations Supervisor, it seemed like the furry visitors arrived almost overnight. By mid-May nearly 120 animals had hauled themselves onto five “finger” docks […]
June 6, 2025
"> July 8 roundtable will dig into assessing effects of multiple climate change stressors on marine invertebrates and developing mitigation techniques to minimize impacts
Co-hosted with Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) Climate change is leading to increasingly warmer oceans that are also more acidic, less oxygenated, and with lower salinity (among other changes). The resultant impacts on marine organisms will depend on the rate, level, and variability of change of individual stressors and how effectively the animals can deal […]