Puget Sound

Reducing collisions between ships and whales? There are apps for that — but they need work

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 or slow down when there are whales nearby. A recent ride-along on a big container ship demonstrated that real-time whale alerts are still a work in progress.

Rising tide: Pacific Northwest could soon double or triple its small number of seaweed farms

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.

Environment

Fishing boat that sank in orca waters ran into trouble 24 hours earlier

The fishing boat that sank off San Juan Island in August had run into trouble – apparently running aground – the previous day.

Environment

Swinomish Tribe builds US’s first modern ‘clam garden,' reviving ancient practice

By the time you read this story, what it describes will probably have disappeared beneath the waves. That’s how it was meant to be -- and how it used to be.

Environment

Deepwater diesel cleanup stalls at San Juans shipwreck

U.S. Coast Guard officials say divers won’t be able to reach the Aleutian Isle, a sunken fishing boat off San Juan Island, until next week.