Puget Sound Archives - Northwest Public Broadcasting

Shellfish harvesters are having to consider biotoxins later into fall and winter

By Lauren Gallup August 13, 2024

A man in a bright, orange jacket is pictured on the beach. He is pulling a large geoduck out of the sand.

It used to be the case that people who harvest shellfish could breathe a sigh of relief in late autumn. Spring, summer and even early fall have long presented the right conditions for harmful algae to grow and produce biotoxins in waters along the Washington state coast and into Puget Sound. But in recent years, recreational and commercial harvesters, state agencies and Read More

Remembering a South Sound radio icon

By Connor Henricksen August 1, 2024

John Mangan ran I-91, KVTI for nearly 30 years. (Credit: Kevin Mangan) Listen (Runtime 4:01) Read In the spring, the South Sound lost an airwaves icon. John Mangan ran the […]Read More

New flood management plan considers more flooding types

By Lauren Gallup October 19, 2023

In Pierce County, levee setbacks have been completed along rivers, including the Puyallup. This picture shows the river running near the Orville Road Setback Revetment. Projects like these are included in the new flood hazard management plan. (Credit: Lauren Gallup / NWPB)

After about five years in the works, the Pierce County Council adopted a new Comprehensive Flood Hazard Management Plan that broadens the scope of what kinds of flooding the county will plan for – from coastal to urban flooding. Angela Angove is the floodplain and watershed services manager with Pierce County Planning and Public Works. She said different types of Read More

A blossoming success: Federal protections removed for once-threatened NW prairie flower

By Courtney Flatt July 20, 2023

The golden paintbrush, a bright yellow flower found in Oregon and Washington, no longer needs federal protections. ( Courtesy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) Listen (Runtime 0:57) Read […]Read More

Swelling school of seaweed farmers looking to anchor in somewhat choppy Northwest waters

By Tom Banse December 15, 2022

Workers harvest kelp in Hood Canal at Washington's first commercial seaweed farm, Blue Dot Sea Farms.

Prospective kelp growers who want to join the handful of existing commercial seaweed farms in the Pacific Northwest are having to contend with a lengthy permitting process. It's gotten contentious in a few cases, but even so, at least a couple of new seaweed farms stand on the cusp of approval. Their harvests could be sold for human food, animal feed or fertilizer.Read More

Captains of big ships eased up on the throttle during trial slowdown to help endangered orcas

By Tom Banse December 11, 2022

Many captains of large commercial vessels agreed to slow down in a stretch of northern Puget Sound shipping lanes where endangered orcas are frequently seen in the fall.

The majority of captains of big commercial ships entering and leaving Puget Sound are cooperating with a request to slow down temporarily to reduce underwater noise impacts to the Pacific Northwest's critically endangered killer whales. The duration of the experimental slowdown – modeled on a similar project in British Columbia – will be extended into the new year, Read More

Reducing collisions between ships and whales? There’s apps for that, but they need work

By Tom Banse November 8, 2022

A way to prevent large ships from striking and killing whales is to transmit alerts to the officers at the helm when whales are nearby.

Fortunately, it doesn't happen very often in the Pacific Northwest that ships collide with whales. But when it does, it's upsetting, tragic and the whale probably dies. Three separate teams have developed smartphone-based systems that can alert commercial mariners to watch out, slow down or change course when whales have been sighted nearby. A recent ride-along on a big Read More

Rising Tide: Pacific Northwest Could Soon Double Or Triple Its Small Number Of Seaweed Farms

By Tom Banse September 26, 2022

Lummi Island Sea Farms proposes to grow sugar kelp during the cool part of the year on part of the marine footprint used in summer by anchored reefnet fishing gears in Legoe Bay

There's a rising tide of interest in opening seaweed farms in the Pacific Northwest. If even half of the current applicants succeed, it would more than double the small number of commercial seaweed growing operations in Oregon and Washington state.Read More

No More Dumping In Puget Sound

By Lauren Gallup February 16, 2022

A handful of people standing on the beach who participated in the Puget Plunge after the EPA Region 10 first approved the No Discharge Zone for the sound in 2018.

Speed boats, tugboats, cruise ships and any other watercraft operating in Puget Sound will soon have to comply with a new federal No Discharge Zone.Read More

A Group Of Gray Whales Survives Die-Off With An Annual Detour To Puget Sound

By Bellamy Pailthorp June 9, 2021

The gray whale known as Dubknuck has been coming to Puget Sound since 1991. Scientists believe a small pod of these whales has survived several die off events by developing a new feeding strategy. Parker Miles Blohm/KNKX

If you take a beach walk in springtime around Whidbey or Camano Island, north of Seattle, there's a good chance you could spot a 40-foot-long gray whale, feeding in the shallows just offshore. Or you might just see a fin or part of one's tail bobbing along the waterline.Read More

New Washington Whale-Watching Boat Rules To Help Struggling Orcas Take Effect In 2021

By NWPB News December 26, 2020

An endangered female orca leaps from the water while breaching in Puget Sound west of Seattle. The orca is from one of three groups of southern resident killer whales that frequent the inland waters of Washington. CREDIT: ELAINE THOMPSON/AP

According to the rules approved by the commission last week, from July through September, commercial whale watching companies can view endangered Southern Resident orcas during two, two-hour periods daily, The Skagit Valley Herald reported.Read More

Pandemic Hasn’t Interrupted Alaska’s Resupply Lifeline From The Northwest, And Woe If It Does

By Tom Banse August 2, 2020

Western Towboat tugs depart Puget Sound every week of the year to deliver essential supplies to Alaskan towns by barge.

The coronavirus pandemic has served to remind many of us how much we count on strangers staying healthy so we can restock our cupboards and go about daily life. That's especially true for Alaskans who depend on a marine cargo lifeline from the Pacific Northwest for the majority of their goods.Read More

Washington State Ferries To Stay On Reduced Schedule As Summer Begins

By Tom Banse June 19, 2020

Washington State Ferries is only using one of the two boats it normally assigns to the Port Townsend-Coupeville route in summer, as is the case on routes to downtown Seattle as well. CREDIT: Tom Banse/N3

Summer officially begins on Saturday, but it still feels like winter if you study the sailing schedule of Washington State Ferries. With ridership depressed by the ongoing pandemic, the nation's biggest ferry system is sticking to a reduced schedule through what would normally be its busiest season.Read More

Pandemic Gives Pacific Northwest Whales A Respite From Din Of Underwater Noise

By Tom Banse May 13, 2020

Underwater noise impacts on endangered orcas were already under study before the coronavirus pandemic opened the door for a natural experiment.

American and Canadian marine scientists -- and one talented dog -- are seizing an unexpected opportunity presented by the coronavirus pandemic. They are trying to establish whether Pacifc Northwest whales benefit from the current drop in boat traffic and underwater noise.Read More

Federal Managers Propose Northwest Habitat Protections For Orcas And Humpback Whales

By Jes Burns November 11, 2019

Aerial photograph of adult female Southern Resident killer whale J16 with her calf J50 in 2015, when the calf was in its first year of life. CREDIT: JOHN DURBAN (NOAA FISHERIES), HOLLY FEARNBACH (SR3) AND LANCE BARRETT-LENNARD (VANCOUVER AQUARIUM), TAKEN BY AN UNMANNED HEXACOPTER DURING RESEARCH AUTHORIZED UNDER NMFS PERMIT #16163

One of the habitat designations is specifically for Southern Resident Killer Whales, which spend about half the year in the Salish Sea north of Seattle. They feed on salmon. There are fewer than 80 of these orcas remaining. Read More

Welcome To…Tac-Oly? Hunt Is On For Additional Commercial Airport To Serve Puget Sound Region

By Tom Banse October 30, 2019

The hunt is on for a second major airport to serve Western Washington after Sea-Tac Airport reaches capacity. CREDIT: Tom Banse/N3

As many travelers can attest, phenomenal growth at Sea-Tac Airport is pushing against the physical limits of the terminal and airfield. That is why Washington state legislators earlier this year voted to create a siting commission to get the ball rolling on building a new primary airport.Read More

‘Humpback Comeback’ Delights Whale Watchers As Rescuers Study Surge And Warn Of Risks

By Tom Banse August 14, 2019

A humpback whale breaches in the Salish Sea. CREDIT: ISLAND ADVENTURES WHALE WATCHING

Humpback whales are resurfacing in big numbers in the Salish Sea, the Columbia River mouth and the Northwest coast. Along with excitement over the humpbacks' return comes concern about ship strikes and entanglement in fishing gear.Read More

Puget Sound Whale Watchers Accused Of Loving Endangered Orcas To Death

By NPR News June 18, 2019

The question of whether boat-based watching tours are really harmless has become more urgent in Washington state, where Southern Resident killer whales have been declining since the 1990s.Read More

Whale Strikes In Puget Sound Could Get More Common As Humpback Numbers Grow

By Anna Boiko-Weyrauch May 30, 2019

The diesel-powered jumbo ferry M/V Puyallup is in line for conversion to hybrid-electric propulsion. CREDIT: TOM BANSE/NW NEWS NETWORK

A launch, a thud, a trail of blood. NOAA believes it was a juvenile humpback whale that a Bainbridge Island-bound ferry hit in Elliot Bay a few minutes after its 8:15 p.m. departure Tuesday night.Read More

Tougher Rules Aim To Save Salmon Habitat For The Good Of Puget Sound Orcas

By Eilís O'Neill April 8, 2019

A view of the new seawall being installed on the Seattle waterfront. It's designed to help juvenile salmon.

The state legislature is considering a bill that aims to help southern resident killer whales by protecting shoreline salmon habitat. But soon it might be more difficult to build a seawall on Puget Sound.Read More

Canadian Regulators OK Trans Mountain Pipeline, With Impacts On Traffic Through Washington Waters

By Paige Browning February 25, 2019

A protester holds a sign stating during a Kinder Morgan (Trans Mountain) Pipeline rally on Sept. 9, 2017 in Vancouver, Canada. CREDIT: WILLIAM CHEN/WIKIMEDIA/CREATIVE COMMONS

On Friday, Canadian regulators endorsed the long-fought oil pipeline, which would bring more oil vessels through Washington state waters. The Canadian government proposal would lengthen the Trans Mountain Pipeline, which would allow the country to ship more oil overseas and bring in higher prices. Now, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is widely expected to approve it.Read More

Whale Researchers Rejoice: New Calf Born To Endangered Puget Sound Orcas, But Odds Are Tough

By NWPB News January 12, 2019

Baby orca L124 was spotted Jan. 11, 2019 with its mother, L77. CREDIT: CENTER FOR WHALE RESEARCH

Researchers say there's a new calf among the population of critically endangered killer whales that live in the waters between Washington and Canada.Read More

Another Endangered Puget Sound Orca Suffering From ‘Peanut Head’

By John Ryan January 3, 2019

Orca J17 in Haro Strait on Dec. 31, 2018. CREDIT: MELISSA PINNOW/CENTER FOR WHALE RESEARCH

A southern resident orca appears to be emaciated, suffering from the disfiguring condition called “peanut head.” Whale researchers encountered the southern resident orcas' J-pod on New Year's Eve as they swam in Haro Strait.Read More

Washington Tribes Oppose Canadian Pipeline, More Oil Tankers In Salish Sea

By John Ryan December 1, 2018

Representatives of Washington tribes perform a "paddle song" at the start of a hearing in Victoria, B.C., on the Trans Mountain Pipeline. CREDIT: NATIONAL ENERGY BOARD

Tribal leaders and members from Washington state crossed the Salish Sea to oppose a pipeline that could bring more oil tankers to waters on both sides of U.S.-Canada border. The Canadian government wants to expand the Trans Mountain Pipeline and triple the flow of oil from Alberta to the Pacific coast.Read More

Super Bacteria In Puget Sound Wildlife Could Endanger Humans

By John Ryan November 27, 2018

Transient whales are shown on Friday, August 10, 2018, as crews attempt to locate the JPod. (Image taken under the authority of NMFS MMPA/ESA Permit No. 18786-03) CREDIT: KUOW PHOTO/MEGAN FARMER

Last year, researchers reported finding 35 kinds of multi-drug-resistant bacteria in the exhaled breaths of killer whales off the San Juan Islands. Sewage treatment plants are usually effective at getting rid of bacteria — that’s their main purpose — but they fail to screen antibiotics and other pharmaceuticals from reaching otters or other aquatic organisms.Read More

Another Puget Sound Orca Struggles, But 3 Others Are Pregnant

By John Ryan September 30, 2018

Drone photography reveals the bulging midriffs of pregnant orcas in 2015 and 2018. NOAA/SWFSC

The lean profile of the whale known as K25 is yet another sign of trouble for the region’s endangered orcas. Since last November, three members of the long-endangered population have died, most recently an emaciated young female known as J50.Read More

After Dramatic Weekend For Orca Biologists, New Attempts To Help J-50

By Paige Browning September 5, 2018

Southern Resident killer whale J50 and her mother, J16, off the west coast of Vancouver Island near Port Renfrew, B.C., on August 7. CREDIT: BRIAN GISBORNE, FISHERIES AND OCEANS CANADA

Veterinarians are again trying to help the emaciated young orca named J-50, after a dramatic turn of events over Labor Day weekend.Read More

Recycling Washington Ghost Ships Could Turn Trash Into Treasure

By NWPB News August 29, 2018

R/V Hero, a 125-foot wooden-hulled Antarctic research vessel, sank in March 2017 on the Palix River near Bay Center, Washington. Built in 1968, she was fitted with sails and labs for wildlife research but now poses a threat to oysters, other wildlife and navigation. CREDIT: MATT M. MCKNIGH

There’s an old saying that a boat is simply a hole in the water into which you dump your cash. They can be cheap to buy, but are expensive to maintain, insure, berth, repair and operate. They age, they weather, they often sink. When they do, they create another kind of money hole. The solution? Recycling.Read More

UPDATES: Man Steals Horizon Air Plane From SeaTac Airport, Crashes On South Puget Sound Island

By NWPB News August 10, 2018

Ketron Island in the south Puget Sound, site of where a stolen Horizon Air turbo prop plan crashed on Friday evening, Aug. 10, 2018. CREDIT: The News Tribune

The latest on a plane stolen from Sea-Tac International Airport Friday, Aug. 10. Officials say the plane was empty except for the man who stole it, and it had crash landed on the small Ketron Island in south Puget Sound.Read More

Can Washington Make A Plan To Save The Orcas?

By Eilís O'Neill August 8, 2018

Protesters call for the removal of dams on the Snake River to help salmon spawn — and consequently feed Puget Sound orcas. The protest came outside a meeting of the governor’s orca task force in Wenatchee on Tuesday. CREDIT: ELLIS O'NEILL/KUOW/EARTHFIX

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee's orca task force met in Wenatchee this week to come up with a long-term plan to help the recovery of the orca population that spends much of its time in or around the Puget Sound.Read More

Veterinarians Grapple With How To Save Puget Sound Orca: Salmon Laced With Meds Or Syringe?

By Tom Banse August 6, 2018

An emaciated orca from the Pacific Northwest’s critically-endangered resident killer whale population could get a pole injection of medicine under the latest preferred option of an emergency response team. Officials with the lead federal agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, described the changing situation Monday morning.Read More

Group Hatches Plan To Save Emaciated And Endangered Puget Sound Orca

By Tom Banse August 5, 2018

This picture from July 21 shows shrinkage around orca J50's head from weight loss, aka "peanut head syndrome." CREDIT: KATY FOSTER/NOAA

An emaciated, four-year-old Puget Sound orca is drawing alarm. Whale scientists and the federal agency NOAA are weighing what it means to provide food and medicine to this endangered orca. The declining health of the orca has become apparent as it swims and feeds in the border waters between Washington and British Columbia.Read More

A Baby Boom Is Helping West Coast Starfish Recover After Die-Off

By Cassandra Profita June 27, 2018

Malformed juvenile starfish in Puget Sound. CREDIT: KATIE CAMPBELL

Scientists say a starfish populations are recovering from a devastating die-off with help from a massive baby boom.Read More

Washington Tribes Vow To Fight Canadian Pipeline With ‘Brothers And Sisters In The North’

By John Ryan May 30, 2018

A member of Puget Sound's Swinomish tribe participating in a ceremonial salmon blessing. Northwest tribes hold vigils along the Columbia River to pray for the return of salmon. CREDIT: KUOW PHOTO/KATIE CAMPBELL

The government of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced that it is buying the pipeline from Texas-based Kinder Morgan. The pipeline, built in 1953, currently carries 300,000 barrels of heavy tar sands oil daily from Alberta to British Columbia and refineries in Washington state.Read More

This Orca Was Stolen From Puget Sound. The Lummi Nation Want Her Back

By Eilís O'Neill May 10, 2018

Tokitae, the performing orca known as 'Lolita' at Miami's Seaquarium, with a trainer in 2011. CREDIT: ANDY BLACKLEDGE

They threw noisemakers into the water to drive pods of orcas into the narrow cove, then blocked the way out and pulled the baby whales out of the water. Nearly 50 orcas from the Salish Sea’s population were captured this way. Today, only one of those whales is still alive.Read More

Tracking Whales In Puget Sound Is As Easy As Following Genetic ‘Bread Crumbs’ Left Behind

By Jes Burns April 22, 2018

Members of Puget Sound's south resident orca population. CREDIT: NOAA

Researchers at Oregon State University have worked out a way to detect and identify whales long after they move on — just by sampling the water.Read More

Butterfly Found Only In Washington’s San Juan Islands Headed To Endangered Species List

By Courtney Flatt April 12, 2018

The island marble butterfly is one of the rarest butterflies in North America. The federal government wants to add it to the Endangered Species List. CREDIT: KAREN REAGAN

There’s only one place you can find one of North America’s rarest butterflies: on a small patch of an island in Washington’s Puget Sound. And it’s in trouble. That’s why the federal government wants to add the island marble butterfly to the endangered species list.Read More

Not Too Late To Save Northwest’s Critically Endangered Orcas Say State Leaders And Feds

By Tom Banse March 15, 2018

An endangered Southern Resident orca pursues a coho salmon off San Juan Island. CREDIT: CANDICE EMMONS / NOAA FISHERIES/NORTHWEST FISHERIES SCIENCE CENTER

The Northwest’s beloved orcas will not survive unless humans do more to ensure adequate food and cleaner, quieter waters. That was one of the messages at a crowded signing ceremony in Seattle convened by Washington Gov. Jay Inslee. The population of genetically-distinct resident orcas has dwindled to a critically low level. Only 76 remain as of the last count.Read More

Washington Legislature Passes Atlantic Salmon Farm Ban

By Tom Banse March 2, 2018

What appears to be a destroyed net pen at Cooke Aquaculture's facility on Cypress Island is shown on Tuesday, August 22, 2017. CREDIT: MEGAN FARMER/KUOW

The Washington Legislature has approved a phase out of Atlantic salmon farming in state waters and sent the measure to the desk of Gov. Jay Inslee, who is expected to sign it.Read More

This Is Why You Don’t See People-Sized Salmon Anymore

By John Ryan March 2, 2018

Fisherman Tony Canessa with an 85-pound chinook he caught near Astoria, Oregon, in 1925. CREDIT: U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE

While the orcas of Puget Sound are sliding toward extinction, orcas farther north have been expanding their numbers. Their burgeoning hunger for big fish may be causing the killer whales’ main prey, chinook salmon, to shrink up and down the West Coast.Read More