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This week, our own Eric Wagner journeys into the Hot Zone to report on an avian flu outbreak on nearby Rat Island. A new strain of the virus has been killing thousands of seabirds around the world. Humans are also potentially at risk. eopugetsound.org/magazine/caspi…

‘Forever chemicals’ are eternal no more thanks to a pollution destroying device from Tacoma startup geekwire.com/2023/this-star… Via GeekWire

There has been a long-running debate over who gets to claim the title of 'the nation's largest estuary.' Some argue for Puget Sound (by volume). Others say it is Chesapeake Bay. The answer may surprise you. (Hint: Consider looking further north.) pugetsoundinstitute.org/2023/09/what-m…

Puget Sound is big, but is it really the largest estuary by volume in the United States? That has become a popular claim, but it doesn't take into account Alaska's Cook Inlet. Christopher Dunagan provides the numbers for the Puget Sound Institute blog. pugetsoundinstitute.org/2023/09/what-m…

This past summer, avian flu arrived at a colony of Caspian terns on Rat Island in the Salish Sea. The results were catastrophic for the colony and raised concerns for humans as well. Eric Wagner reports from the island for our magazine Salish Sea Currents. eopugetsound.org/magazine/caspi…

The Puget Sound Partnership Science Panel will meet in Bellingham on Oct. 11-12. A livestream will be available through TVW. Discussions will include marine heat and El Niño impacts in 2023 and 2024. Meeting materials are available at pspwa.app.box.com/s/kva1chwnrt8u…

Deadly bird flu jumps to harbor seals in Salish Sea, first for West Coast | The Seattle Times ⁦Lynda V. Mapes⁩ reports seattletimes.com/seattle-news/e…

Avian flu (H5N1) has been found in birds & seals in the Salish Sea. Human cases are very rare — mostly related to workers in contact w/sickened poultry. "Even so, the mortality rate for H5N1 in humans is over 50%," reports Eric Wagner in our magazine. eopugetsound.org/magazine/caspi…

The slowdown Is on! 🐌 🐌 🐌 Beginning October 12, The “Quiet Sound” 🔕voluntary slowdown in admiralty Inlet and north Puget Sound is in effect. Quieter waters give orcas better opportunities to hunt and communicate with their pod. ➡️ Learn more at bit.ly/46z0ymu

Southern resident orcas chase and sometimes kill porpoises. Why don’t they eat them? “Part of me really wants them to take a bite...and be less hungry,” says researcher Deborah Giles. Read the article from Sarah DeWeerdt in our mag. Salish Sea Currents. eopugetsound.org/magazine/south…

The Salish Sea Science Roundtable continues on 11/7 with a look at emerging science related to the health of coho salmon in Canadian waters. The virtual seminar focuses on coho #'s and 6PPDQ hotspots in B.C. Featuring speakers from DFO. 12:30-1:30 pm PT. pugetsoundinstitute.org/salish-sea-sci…

DNA shows where Washington culvert replacements helped spawning salmon washington.edu/news/2023/10/1… via UW News

Busting ghost nets ... Salish Sea Wild reports that > 5,000 lost fishing nets have been removed from the Washington waters of the Salish Sea over the last few decades. If left, those 'ghost nets' would have killed about 12 million animals every year. youtube.com/watch?v=X-VZuv…

Efforts to restore ecological health to Puget Sound have largely failed to meet recovery goals, yet fish and wildlife populations are still hanging on, according to the latest State of the Sound report from Puget Sound Partnership. Christopher Dunagan reports. pugetsoundinstitute.org/2023/11/puget-…

An estimated 70% of all the salmon in the North Pacific are pink salmon. Scientists say the extreme number of pinks could be causing a "trophic cascade" that is harming species across the food web. Eric Wagner reports for our magazine #SalishSeaCurrents. eopugetsound.org/magazine/pink-…

GAO report calls for strengthening of regulations on nonpoint source pollution. Story via the The University of Washington Puget Sound Institute blog. pugetsoundinstitute.org/2023/11/gao-re…

Join the Next Salish Sea Science Roundtable on December 5th from 12:30 - 1:30 PM (PST) for an update on the Salish Sea Marine Survival Project. Liz Duffy of Long Live the Kings and Isobel Pearsall of Pacific Salmon Foundation will present. Register at: washington.zoom.us/meeting/regist…

Scientists in a new report say that 2022 was an unusual 3rd consecutive La Niña year. Such events have happened "only twice previously in the last 50 years," according to the Puget Sound Marine Waters Overview which chronicles resulting conditions. eopugetsound.org/articles/puget…

We don’t always know what’s going on under the surface of Puget Sound, but a new report released today gives us a comprehensive look at marine conditions in 2022. ➡️ Full report at: tinyurl.com/mrxbdn6u. Puget Sound Partnership @UWnews @eopugetsound @pugetsoundinst