Voluntary Eelgrass & Shellfish Protection No-Anchor Zones: Updated Buoy Design & Liability Coverage - Jefferson County Marine Resources Committee ...
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Voluntary Eelgrass & Shellfish Protection No-Anchor Zones: Updated Buoy Design & Liability Coverage Jefferson County Marine Resources Committee June 25, 2021
Project Goals To protect eelgrass ( ) and shellfish ( ) beds by encouraging boaters to respect voluntary no-anchor zones
Site 1: Port Townsend Bay ● In 2004, the Jefferson MRC established a "No-Anchor Zone" along the Port Townsend waterfront. ● In 2015, this zone was expanded (13 buoys total) to protect a total of 52 acres of eelgrass.
Site 2: Port Hadlock Bay A no-anchor zone marked by 4 buoys in Port Hadlock protects 8 acres of shellfish beds.
Site 3: Mystery Bay A no-anchor zone marked by 7 buoys in Mystery Bay protects 50 acres of shellfish beds.
Buoys require ongoing maintenance Long-term funding for contracting divers and/or dedicated volunteers (with liability coverage)
Updated buoy design
Key considerations:
• Ensure you have accurate GPS coordinates
(using consistent format) when the anchors
are installed
• If a buoy is lost, to search for the anchor,
drop a weight over the GPS coordinates &
swim around it
• Work on calm days at low tides
1/2” shackle
1/2” braided nylon rope
Everything is secured with zip ties
1/2” shackle
6-8” plate, 5’ galvanized helical screw anchor
County Volunteer Liability
• MRC members and others volunteering on MRC
projects are county volunteers
• USL&H does not cover volunteers and so it falls back
on L&I
• Diving and all other activities are covered for volunteers
(for medical costs only and not time lost from work)
• Report hours to L&I under risk class code 6901-00
• County should use a dive liability waiver that properly
informs volunteers of the potential risks and should
maintain a dive safety manual with:
• safety procedures and checklist, including pre-dive
procedures and emergency aid list
• assignments and responsibilities of dive team members
• equipment procedures and checklists
• emergency procedures
• recordkeeping requirements
• a copy of WAC 296-37 (commercial diving)
Looking Ahead • Approval and adoption of the MRC dive safety manual • 2022 eelgrass surveys in PT • Partner with local companies to help maintain PH & MB buoys • Continue to maintain buoys, monitor compliance, & educate boaters
(Cory and Catska Ench)
Kids on the Beach and Salish Sea Stewards
Adapting Padilla Bay MRC programs to the virtual world
Dr. Jude Apple Sara Brostrom Annie England
Director CTP Coordinator Environmental EducatorMRC programs at Padilla Bay Skagit MRC and the Padilla Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) partner on many programs. • Salish Sea Stewards: Volunteer training program to support MRC and other volunteer-supported projects in Skagit County. • Kids on the Beach: Hands-on, experiential learning program designed to get middle school students in the field conducting marine research. Focus of today’s presentation • How did we adapt these programs to the virtual world? • What does next year hold in store?
40 hours of training for 40 hours of volunteer work
In-person, hands-on training
Zoom, shorter sessions, Google Drive
Lessons Virtual programing was not rejected by our participants. Networking and hands-on learning should be in person. Consider a blended approach to implementation.
Kids on the Beach Photo Credit: Tracy Alker
Photo Credit: Tracy Alker
KOTB Schools
SCHOOL: Sedro-Woolley
SCHOOL: Concrete
TEACHER: Charlie
Huddleston TEACHERS: Sacha Buller and
Elliott Weyand
GRADE: 6th GRADE: 7th/8th
# of STUDENTS: 75 # of STUDENTS: 60
SCHOOL: Conway SCHOOL: LaConner
TEACHER: Ron Haywood TEACHER: Jennifer Willup
GRADE: 8th GRADE: 9th
# of STUDENTS: 55 # of STUDENTS: 14Teacher Comments Jill Willup with Swinomish Between Two Worlds Program: The in-person aspect was great, our students got a chance to have hands-on experiences to learn how microscopes work. All of our students also got a chance to learn how to make graphs, with really great directions from the KOTB staff! Sacha Buller with Concrete: The first Zoom lesson provided a great overview of forage fish habitat. I think this was very useful for students in engaging with the forage fish egg exercise. They also liked the hands-on activity of collecting data on the forage fish eggs. The handouts and lab instruction did a great job of supporting students in make sense of the forage fish observations.
Next Year?
Fall Forage Fish for Middle School
Spring Batillaria for Middle School or High School
Spring Fish Seines for Elementary School
Photo Credit: Tracy AlkerLessons learned
• MRC/Padilla Bay collaborations are productive and valuable
• Blended training improves accessibility (for participants AND speakers)
• Hands-on, experiential learning is essential for both KOTB and SSS
• Social interactions and in-person networking are an important part of SSS
• Kids (and grown ups) need to get outside and do real science!
Any Questions?A Proposal from Whatcom MRC
to the
Northwest Straits Commission
June 25, 2021
by
Mike MacKay, MRC Scientific Interest RepresentativeProject Description
An Education – Outreach Project
For Elementary – High School Students
Observe how a beach seine operates and see the catch!
Events planned for three separate dates each year
during the peak juvenile salmon outmigration period April
– July
25+ Students at each event
Students from Bellingham and Lummi Tribal Schools
Guest speakers: Tribal Elder and/or marine scientist
speaker
Briefing prior to seining:
What is a beach seine and why is it used?
Field Form handout and how to fill outProject Goals Students and adults to develop Awareness of the importance of the Intertidal Zone to Juvenile Salmon and other marine life. Develop an understanding of how the Intertidal Migratory Corridor functions and the roll of small urban “Pocket Beaches”. Have appreciation for how Juvenile Salmon can avoid predation by staying in the shallow intertidal zone. Create a mental image of the Juvenile Salmon migratory corridor and its similarity to a pedestrian walkway along the shoreline for people.
Pink Chum Sockeye Coho Chinook
Zero-age Juvenile Yearling Juvenile
Chinook ChinookWhy the Beach Seine? Illustrates intertidal fish utilization Available from Whatcom MRC & LNR Established protocols (LNR) Requires small crew size Several proven accessible sites
The Beach Seine
Beach Seine Sample Processing
Beach Seine Sites Year One Sites (Elementary Students) Boulevard Park N. (LNR Site 224) Cornwall St. Beach (Site 220) Fairhaven Marine Park (Site 233) Year Two Sites (Junior / High School Students) • Gooseberry Pt. (LNR Site 507) • Neptune Beach (Site 710) • Gulf Road (Site 714)
2003 Chinook Catch / Beach Seine Set
Boulevard Park site #220
Proposed Project Partners
1. ReSources – Provides volunteer resources
2. Lummi Nation Natural Resources Department – Tribal
speakers & field crew / gear (optional)
3. Bellingham Public Schools – Provides student participants
4. Lummi Tribal Schools – Provides student participants
5. WDF&W – Provides expert speakers and sampling permit (if
LNR is unable to participate)
6. City of Bellingham – Park venue and public outreach
7. Port of Bellingham – Public outreach and beach accessHow Document Results? Annual Report Video production Catch Data Report
Example Data Form
Appendix A2
Date: ______________ Agency : LNR Estuary Beach Seine Data Crew: ___________________(circle recorder)
Net: _________ Max
Secchi Depth Set Uncliped AC clip Stickle- Starry
Set # Time Site # Site Name cm (cm) Qual ChinZ ChinZ ChinY Coho ______ ______ Back Flounder Sculpin ______ ______ ______
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Totals =
GPS#______ Sal. Temp Sal. Temp Wind Wind Set Notes: _______________________________________________________
Set # WP 20cm 20cm 100cm 100cm Dir. Sp. Sky Type _____________________________________________________________
1 _____________________________________________________________
2 _____________________________________________________________
3 _____________________________________________________________
4 _____________________________________________________________
5 _____________________________________________________________
6 _____________________________________________________________
7 _____________________________________________________________
8 HT Time
9 Tide: feet at
10 Tide: feet at
Sky code: C-clear O-overcast P-partly cldy R-rain F-fog S-snow Tide: feet at
Set Type: RS-right set LS-left set PAR-parellel RH-round haul 1/27/14Beach Seines catch many species Baitfish Species
Seasonal Catch Totals, 2003-2013
Salmonid Species Species Wtr Spr Sum Fall Total
Herring 3 349 795 0 1,147
Seasonal Catch Totals, 2003-2013 Surf smelt 837 1,658 748 176 3,419
Sandlance 41 6,046 3,277 109 9,473
Longfin smelt 68 155 151 34 408
Species Wtr Spr Sum Fall Total Shad 0 1 41 0 42
Anchovies 3 0 0 3
Chinook, total 896 6,313 2,678 20 9,907 Seine Sets 985 1,986 1,367 213 4,551
Chinook, marked 0 2,271 1,093 6 3,370 Other Species
Seasonal Catch Totals, 2003-20131
Chinook, unmarked 886 3,978 1,582 14 6,460
Chinook, yearling 10 64 3 0 77 Species Wtr Spr Sum Fall Total
Sclulpins, sp. 3,023 9,810 7,665 985 21,483
Coho, total 5 2,874 792 23 3,694 Stickleback sp. 916 3,695 6,326 7,310 18,247
Starry Flounder 822 3,566 4,101 271 8,760
Coho, marked 0 941 138 0 1,079 Perch sp. 84 1,962 2,973 930 5,949
Dace 107 56 38 26 227
Chum 75 34,452 533 1 35,061 Pipefish 18 105 19 15 157
Saddleback 0 17 25 49 91
Pink 57 2,657 2 0 2,716 English sole 4 47 11 62
Sockeye 1 77 5 0 83 Mt. Whitefish 23 4 27 1 55
Lampara 8 33 0 2 43
Char 1 13 40 0 54 Prickleback 35 1 36
Punkinseed 14 17 31
Trout sp. 29 69 64 25 187 Bass 0 5 2 7
Sucker 1 1
Seine Sets 985 1,986 1,367 213 4,551 Shrimp 1,098 2,726 466 58 4,348
D. crab 7 61 60 68 196
Seine Sets 985 1,986 1,367 213 4,551
1
No data for 2006-2009Key Messages 1. Intertidal corridors provide safe forage habitat for migrating juvenile salmon 2. Forage fish (herring, sandlance, surf smelt) depend on intertidal zone for spawning habitat and are essential elements of the food chain for Orcas. 3. These fishes depend on the inertial habitat to provide food, shelter, and spawning habitat (forage fish)
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