Our Wild Puget Sound

02/07/2025

We've loved the ability to connect on Facebook and other Meta platforms for years, but as things change we've been brainstorming with other organizations to find a way to stay connected in a more organized way and have started a collaborative Discord server to connect across the entire Salish Sea.

If you're as obsessed with the Salish Sea as we are, from the orcas to the tide pools + everything in between, come hang out, share your stories, and connect there, too! 💕

Check out the Salish Sea Community Hub community on Discord - hang out with 114 other members and enjoy free voice and text chat.

01/07/2025

“A ban on commercial net pen fishing passed through the state Board of Natural Resources on Tuesday morning. This means "Commercial finfish net pen aquaculture" (CFNPA) operations will not be allowed to lease state-owned aquatic lands…”

🥳🥳🥳

The ban was proposed due to the fallout of the 2017 Cypress Island net pen collapse, which released 250,000 non-native Atlantic salmon into the Puget Sound.

01/06/2025

Washington Friends:

Tomorrow the Board of Natural Resources is voting on whether to turn an order banning commercial net pen aquaculture in Washington into statute, essentially making it much harder to reverse.

There's a petition below that will be brought to the meeting. Also contact info for the board + the location of the meeting if you're in Olympia tomorrow 💕🐟

Take action

01/02/2025

It’s been a heavy couple of weeks in the whale community here in Puget Sound as the excitement of a brand new endangered Southern Resident Killer Whale calf quickly turned to heartbreak as it became clear that the little one, J61, wasn’t going to make it.

There are some moments in life where death is followed quickly by new life and acts as a salve of hope exactly when we need it and that’s certainly what’s happened here as, before anyone was able to catch their breath and process the tragedy of J61 this bounding new baby, J62, came storming onto the Sound as a complete surprise.

Everything culminated yesterday at Point Robinson as J62 came parading past surrounded by family (seen here in this photo. Zoom in on that sweet little face if you need a dose of joy). Dozens of J Pod + K Pod whales followed, and then J35/Tahlequah came past in the last group, carrying J61.

It was heartbreaking, and awe-inspiring, and it was representative of life at both its most joyful and its most devastating, which is as honest of a depiction of reality as I can think of.

It was also a poignant reminder of community as so many people that have fought for decades to save these whales stood on the beach together for hours afterwards to process what had just happened. A somber moment, but also a complete honor to be able to be in that moment together, with people that deeply understood all of the layers involved.

We’re holding J35 in our hearts as she processes this grief once again. Rest easy, sweet J61, and live well sweet J62. We’re all pulling for you and are ecstatic that you’re here. 💕🐬

01/01/2025

The latest information about J61 and J62, the newest Southern Resident Killer Whale calves spotted recently.

There’s so much information flying around when major events like this happen. Thank you to the Center for Whale Research for gathering all of the details and providing us all with a clear, data-driven + fact-checked official record of this population that we all love so much. 💕

New Year’s Eve 2024 was a day of extreme highs and lows. We have confirmation of another new calf in J pod, but sadly, this was combined with the devastating news that J61 has not survived.

We received reports on the evening of 12/30 that a new calf may be traveling with the J19s and J16s. Yesterday morning, our colleagues Maya Sears, Mark Sears, Candice Emmons, and Brad Hanson got on the water with J pod and confirmed this new calf, designated J62. The calf was amongst multiple females throughout their encounter, so more observations are needed to verify who the mother is. The calf’s s*x is not yet known but the team reports that the calf appeared physically and behaviorally normal.

Sadly, this was followed by the team finding that the other recent J pod calf, female J61, had not survived. Researchers from CWR, NOAA, and other research groups will conduct follow-up observations of J35, as well as new calf J62 when conditions and the movements of the whales allow. We are very grateful to our colleagues in Puget Sound who have been conducting fieldwork and sharing their observations with us.

The death of any calf in the SRKW population is a tremendous loss, but the death of J61 is particularly devastating, not just because she was a female, who could have one day potentially led her own matriline but also given the history of her mother J35 who has now lost two out of four documented calves – both of which were female. The entire team at the Center for Whale Research is deeply saddened by this news and we will continue to provide updates when we can.

Update: The Center for Whale Research has received additional information that as of 1/1/25, J35 has been seen carrying the body of the deceased calf (J61) with her. This behavior was seen previously by J35 in 2018 when she carried the body of her deceased calf for 17 days. We hope to have more information on the situation through further observation and will provide more details at that time.

Photo of J pod’s new calf, J62, traveling with the J19s
Taken by Maya Sears, NMFS/NOAA Permit 27052

12/22/2024

💕🐬

11/17/2024

A dreamy little moment on the Sound ✨

09/13/2024

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07/08/2024

"Rain poured down from the cloudy gray skies above as community from the Cowlitz Indian Tribe gathered at the tribe’s property on the Cowlitz River. The smell of fire smoke wafted through the air, mingling with the delighted screams and laughter of young children.

Welcome to the First Salmon Ceremony, an important and long-standing tradition for the Cowlitz Indian Tribe – one that took on added significance after the tribe regained federal recognition as a sovereign nation in 2002..."

Nika Bartoo-Smith | Underscore News

Gathered at Cowlitz Landing the first weekend in June, Cowlitz Indian Tribe citizens taught the younger generations how to prepare and cook the first salmon of the year.