CITIZEN SCIENTISTS IN Jefferson and Clallam counties can train to become a crustacean detective of sorts on the lookout for populations of invasive European green crab through a public volunteer-based early detection program offered by Washington Sea Grant and Washington State University Extension.
Molt Search aims to support broader participation in early detection along inland shorelines by teaching volunteers simple, standardized steps for searching and reporting on the presence of European green crab molts.
Molts can serve as an early indicator of the presence of European green crab in a new area.
They were first detected on the North Olympic Peninsula at Dungeness Wildlife Refuge in 2017 and have spread along the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Puget Sound and the Pacific coast.
A training session is set for the Port Townsend Marine Science Center’s Aquarium Classroom on the pier at Fort Worden State Park from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. June 12.
Another training will be held at Feiro Marine Life Center, 315 N. Lincoln St., in Port Angeles.
To register for either training session, visit https://tinyurl.com/PDN-GreenCrab24.
Aurora watch
Look to the skies late tonight and again through Sunday and you may be rewarded with a glimpse of the Aurora Borealis, the northern lights.
At least five coronal mass ejections of solar material are streaking toward Earth and geomagnetic storms are a likely result.
NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center has issued the first Severe Geomagnetic Storm Watch (G4) since January of 2005 and a vast swath of the U.S., including our area, may see the lights.
Lucky for us, our weather forecast is for clear skies.
Visit the cool-sounding website, https://www.spaceweather.gov for more information.
Anglers talk trash
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration biologist Andrew Mason will provide an overview of the impacts of man-made debris in the world’s oceans, including contaminants in the waters of the Pacific and Puget Sound, at the North Olympic Peninsula chapter of Puget Sound Anglers monthly meeting on Wednesday.
The meeting is open to the public and will be held at the Sequim Elks Lodge, 143 Port Williams Road, with doors at 6:30 p.m. and the meeting starting at 7 p.m.
Mason is the Pacific Northwest Regional Coordinator and Pacific Region team lead for NOAA’s Marine Debris Program and has been conducting research for the agency on marine issues, including debris, since 2002.
Marine debris unfortunately, is a common problem that impacts marine species and human use of our oceans every day. The Puget Sound is no exception and has its own unique marine debris challenges as evidenced by the derelict crab pot issue initiated by the area Anglers’ chapter in Sequim and Dungeness bays over the last two years.
A short business meeting, fishing reports and raffle drawings will follow Mason’s talk.
The big ticket raffle will be for a Tanacom 750 electric reel and a halibut rod. All raffle drawings are for members only. Join that night to participate in the raffle.
An annual individual membership is $25, and a family membership is $35 and also includes The Reel News monthly newspaper.
