Coastal Watershed Institute

05/31/2026

The Western Flyer, of Ed Ricketts and John Steinbeck’s Log from the Sea of Cortez has had a rough go. She’s just now-finally-in dry dock in Port Townsend where there have been a steady parade of admirers. Bad news-her current owner is intending to dismantle her and take the wheelhouse to his restaurant in Salinas. Pictures are attached. REALLY too bad that the boat that has FINALLY landed somewhere she can be appreciated, is now going to be taken apart. So many better uses for such a famous vessel…

Keven Bailey, noted fisheries scientist and author, is writing a book on the Flyer entitled Steinbeck’s Porthole: the Saga of the Western Flyer’ which is about the environmental history of Pacific coast fisheries. You can find him on Facebook. Eric Eno Tamm’s Book, Beyond the Outer Shores’ is a great account of Ed Ricketts work in Washington and northern BC waters: http://www.beyondtheoutershores.com/. And Jacilee Wray, ONP, includes an account of Ed Ricketts working with the Makah Tribe in Neah Bay in the ‘Tide is Out’ paper (http://www.coastalwatershedinstitute.org/media/When$20the$20Tide$20is$20Out.pdf).

The boat is on the south end of the dry dock in Port Townsend if you want to see it-make it sooner than later….

05/27/2026

World Fish Migration Day was 23 May 2026 and blew by us before we could get a word in this year- CWI's been literally up to our necks in the nearshore as our field season gets well underway. Chum, the once backbone of the Elwha nearshore, along with Chinook and coho smolts (and redside shiner hooray) were in the Elwha lower river this month. We spent a great morning with them and a talented mix of old and new CWI folks, including Nicole Harris, Janis Brady, and William Plasch, Brad Baker, Madison Vincent, (field lead) Annie ByrneStrong, Alex Avila, Tyler Williams, and Dave Parks doing the heavy lifting.

The Elwha coastal beaver are rumored to be active in the Place Pond these days but they're clearly not utilizing the alder along the west Place d**e (maybe with the lovely mature riparian zone along the lateral bar now the beaver are bypassing the less desired alder and high grading willow along the river instead? We don't know). A 'full circle' perspective of the Elwha delta and nearshore this World Fish Migration Day 2026 is here : https://kuula.co/share/LvLLf?logo=1&info=1&fs=1&vr=0&sd=1&thumbs=1.

Continued gratitude for this beautiful place, time, and the hardworking souls that are the core of our decades long work in the nearshore 2026. Happy World Fish Migration Day from all of us!

05/25/2026

For as long as scientists have been watching, the world’s largest herring population has migrated up to 800 miles every year from wintering areas in northern Norway to spawning grounds along the country’s southwest coast. The herring larvae grow faster in the warmer southern waters, feeding off the rich zooplankton that thrives there.

But a few years ago, scientists noticed something odd. When the spring rolled around in 2021, instead of heading all the way south, the adult fish migrated a few hundred miles to Lofoten in northern Norway and then stopped, and they’ve largely stuck around there ever since, says Aril Slotte, a fisheries biologist at Norway’s Institute for Marine Research. The scientists track the fish’s movements with radiofrequency identification tags and other methods. “This is the first time something dramatic like this has happened,” says Slotte.

Like many fisheries, the region’s herring operations target the large—and hence, old—fish that fetch higher prices on the market, selectively harvesting at times and in places where the older fish tend to hang out. Scientists have long worried that this tendency could have outsized impacts on the population because the old individuals are thought to pass on knowledge of migration routes to the young herring. Researchers believe that when the young herring first swim south into the Norwegian Sea—after spending three or four years of their early lives in the Barents Sea in the north—they mix with schools of older fish, who lead the way to the spawning grounds that lie farther south. “The young ones will tend to follow the leaders that are very clear on where to migrate,” Slotte says.

05/21/2026

Beavers are often called one of nature’s greatest engineers, and their work has a remarkable impact on ecosystems. By building dams and slowing water flow, they create wetlands that retain moisture, support biodiversity, and reduce the spread of wildfire. Areas shaped by beavers can remain green and alive even after surrounding land has burned.

Many Indigenous communities have long understood the importance of working with nature rather than against it. Healthy ecosystems depend on balance, and animals like beavers play a role that modern development often overlooks. Their ponds help recharge groundwater, create habitats for countless species, and strengthen the resilience of entire landscapes.

As climate change increases the severity of droughts and wildfires, lessons from the natural world are becoming more important than ever. Sometimes the answers humanity searches for already exist in the systems the Earth created long ago. Protecting ecosystems often begins with respecting the species that help sustain them.

05/19/2026

While BC salmon farmers tell Canadians that 'land-based closed containment salmon farming doesn't work, is experimental, or isn't cost effective', Proximar Seafood tells the world they're, "Farming the first Atlantic Salmon in Japan using proven and robust technology by the foot of Mount Fuji". Proximar is part-owned by the Grieg family—the same family whose corporate holdings included Grieg Seafood Ltd. of British Columbia until they sold out to Cermaq last year.
https://www.proximarseafood.com/our-farming-facility

05/19/2026

There have been campaigns for similar energy sources in the PNW including a new owner for a PA plant that has a rumored proposal to use the local biomass facility for jet fuel production. We are going backwards at lightening speed. Stop this.

Forests across the southeastern U.S. are being clearcut for wood pellets burned as biomass energy. 🪵 These pellet mills don't just harm forests, they harm the communities living near them, exposing residents to hazardous air pollutants and threatening the these landscapes sustain. The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) is fighting back in North Carolina to block Enviva's proposed expansion of its Northampton County mill through regulatory advocacy and legal action.

Across the Atlantic, SELC's work is helping turn the tide on European biomass subsidies, reshaping energy policy that has long driven demand for wood pellets. We're proud to support SELC in defending forests and the communities that depend on them. 🌲⚖️ Learn more at https://www.selc.org/

05/15/2026

Eelgrass is an intertidal seagrass species that provides a plethora of ecosystem services.

Rich with zooplankton and invertebrates, eelgrass meadows are the perfect foraging habitat for a variety of species—including juvenile Pacific salmon! 🐟

These meadows are also known as “blue carbon” sinks. Eelgrass captures carbon through photosynthesis that is then stored in the roots, removing carbon dioxide from the ocean.

Here in the Clayoquot Sound, the mudflats support the largest cover of eelgrass on the west coast of the Vancouver Island. 💙

📸 Tavish Campbell