Featured Project

Northwest Straits Initiative’s Derelict Gear Mortality Study

The Northwest Straits Initiative recently completed a research study to estimate how much marine life is being killed by derelict fishing nets over time and to determine how quickly animals killed in derelict fishing nets decompose. This information is critical to understanding the long-term impact of derelict fishing nets on marine species in Puget Sound. Click here for more information or to read the final report, Rates of Marine Species Mortality Caused by Derelict Fishing Nets in Puget Sound, Washington.

News Items

Emerging Issue: Ocean Acidification

Senator Maria Cantwell hosted a Senate field hearing in Seattle on May 27 at the Seattle Aquarium. Representative Jay Inslee participated and asked questions of the panel of experts that included Dr. Terrie Klinger from University of Washington School of Marine Affairs and Northwest Straits Commissioner. The hearing brought attention to the issue of carbon sequestering in the oceans which is causing an increase in acidity that is certain to have serious environmental impacts. Read more...

Combined Fund Drive

If you or someone you know is a public employee in Washington, you can now donate to the Northwest Straits Foundation through the Combined Fund Drive. Click the link below to go to their web site. The Foundation is charity #1478202, or search for “Northwest Straits”. Link: http://www.cfd.wa.gov/ . For those who aren’t a public employee, you can still make a tax deductible donation through Network for Good.

Northwest Straits Foundation News

Northwest Straits Foundation receives grant from Conoco Phillips

The Northwest Straits Foundation recently was awarded a grant from the Conoco Phillips Spirit of Conservation Migratory Bird Fund to remove derelict fishing gear from marine waters of the San Juan Islands. The project will include 30 days of gear removal operations. The grant program is a partnership between Conoco Phillips and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The local Ferndale Conoco Phillips refinery played an important role in helping the Northwest Straits Foundation obtain this funding.

Northwest Straits Commission Highlights

Plastics in the Marine Environment

At the May 30 Commission meeting Anne Murphy gave a presentation on Plastics in the Marine Environment. Anne explained that in 2004 she and her staff discovered tiny plastic balls on the beach that looked like they could be mistaken for fish eggs. They began to research them, working with Charles Moore, founder of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation in Long Beach, CA. Charles was doing research on what he called ‘nurdles’ and plastics in the marine environment. They use Algalita’s protocols to collect samples that can then be sent to Dr. Hideshige Takada as part of the International Pellet Watch to identify their source.

Thank you to Phyllis

Photo by Dan Peterson Each year in April the Northwest Straits Commission elects officers to serve as the chair and vice-chair. It is customary for the vice chair to move on to the position of chair, making this a two-year commitment. Island MRC representative Phyllis Kind has just completed her term as chair, and we would like offer sincere thanks for her outstanding leadership. Phyllis personifies the bottom-up nature of the Initiative. As a leader and spokesperson, she served the MRCs and the Commission well. As Commission chair in a year when the Puget Sound Partnership was established and tasked with reaching the local citizens, Phyllis let the Leadership Council know that “we are the people!” The Commission could not ask for a better representative of the power of local communities to accomplish great things. Thanks, Phyllis, for all you have done on behalf of the Northwest Straits Initiative!

Field Trip

The Commission took a short walk for a site visit to the Port Townsend Marine Science Center pier, the location of a Jefferson MRC project to restore drift cell function by removal of creosote pilings and a redesigned boat ramp. The MRC will complete a feasibility study in the coming year for this project.

KOMO News Clip

See the KOMO News story on Derelict Fishing Gear.

On the Horizon

MRC Conference Session Ideas

At the Northwest Straits Commission meeting on June 26, we’ll spend some time brainstorming session ideas for the November 7-8 MRC Conference in 2008. The conference is all about MRCs, so help us to design what you’d most like to see. Please send your ideas directly to Commission staff or pass them along to your MRC representative.