Acknowledgments

The author would like to extend special thanks to the resource managers and marine resource committee members who helped make this report possible with their contributions of time, information, and comments, In particular, I thank the following persons for their special contributions and effort.

Joe Breskin - EnviroSearch

Judy D'Amore - Port Townsend Marine Science Center, Jefferson County MRC

Tim Determan - Washington State Department of Health

Larry Lawson - Jefferson County MRC

Mary Mahaffy - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Lauren Mark - University of Washington, Wetland Ecosystem Team

Michelle McConnell - MRC Early Action Project Manager

Tom Mumford - Washington State Department of Natural Resources

Anne Murphy - Jefferson County MRC, Port Townsend Marine Science Center

Michael Murray - Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary

Linda Newberry - Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe and Jefferson County MRC

Jan Newton - Washington State Department of Ecology

Jim Norris - Marine Resources inc.

David Nysewander - Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

Andy Palmer - Jefferson County MRC

Wayne Palsson - Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife

Dan Penttila- Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife

Kevin Ryan - US Fish and Wildlife Service, Protection Island National Wildife Refuge

Anne Shaffer - Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

Deborah Siefert - Jefferson County MRC and NOAA

Charles Simenstad - University of Washington, School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences
 
 
 
 
 

1.BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE	7
Introduction and Methods	7
2.OCEANOGRPAHY, WATER, AND SEDIMENT QUALITY	9
Characterization of the Resource	9
Basin	9
Circulation	9
Water Quality	10
Monitoring	10
Monitoring Results	11
Dissolved Oxygen	11
Nutrients	12
Fecal Coliform Bacteria	12
Eutrophication	12
Sediment Quality	13
Monitoring	13
Monitoring Results	14
Contaminant Compounds	14
Biologic Contamination Assessment	14
Industrial Contamination	15
Data Gaps and Research Needs	16
Water Quality	16
Sediment Quality	16
3.NEARSHORE HABITATS	17
Characterization of the Resource	17
Habitat types	19
Rocky-Bottom Habitats	19
Substrate	19
Wave Energy	19
Vegetation	19
Soft-Bottom Habitats	20
Sand-Eelgrass	20
Substrate	20
Wave Energy	21
Vegetation	20
Mud-Eelgrass and Salt Marsh	21
Substrate	21
Vegetation	21
Status of Resource	21
Mapping Nearshore Habitats	21
Status Reports	23
Marsh Areas	23
Seaweed Harvesting	25
Protection and Restoration Efforts	25
Data Gaps and Research Needs	25

 

4. FISH	26
Characterization of the Resource	26
Forage Fish	28
Groundfish	33
Management	39
Pacific Salmon	40
Habitat	42
Restoration	43
Identified Anthropogenic Stressors	43
Habitat Loss	44
Harvest Impacts	44
Data Gaps	44
5. INVERTEBRATES	45
Characterization of the Resource	45
Classification of Shellfish Areas	46
Commercial	47
Recreational	47
Contaminants and Impacts	47
Fecal Coliform	47
PSP Impacts	47
Toxic Contaminants	49
Non-indigenous Species	48
Data Gaps	50
6. BIRDS	50
Characterization of the Resource	50
Data Gaps	56
7. MARINE MAMMALS	57
Characterization of the Resource	57
Data Gaps	59,60, 62,63, 65
CITATIONS	66
APPENDIX A
Figure 1 PSAMP Puget Sound Stations - Dissolved Oxygen Measures
Figure 2 PSAMP Puget Sound Stations - Ammonium-N Concentrations
Figure 3 PSAMP Puget Sound Stations - Fecal Coliform Counts
Figure 4 WDOH Shellfish Classification Areas
Figure 5 DOE Marine Sediment Monitoring Stations
Figure 6 DOE Marine Sediment Study Areas
Figure 7 DOE Contaminated Monitoring Sites
APPENDIX B
Table 1 Estuarine and Marine Classification - Natural Heritage Program
Table 2 Nearshore Habitat Classification - Jefferson County MRC waters

1. BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THIS REPORT

INTRODUCTION

The Jefferson County Marine Resources Committee is a citizen-based group formed to identify regional marine issues, foster community understanding and involvement, recommend positive action, and develop support for various protection and restoration measures.

There is ample evidence that the Northwest Straits marine ecosystem and much of its marine resources are in serious decline with problems crossing geographical and jurisdictional boundaries. Bottom fish, forage fish, salmon, sea birds, invertebrates and some populations of marine mammals have declined precipitously since 1980. This depletion of marine resources has hurt economics and communities around the Northwest Straits. Existing management strategies, while sufficient in terms of legal authority, have failed to achieve the coordination and focus necessary to change these trends (British Columbia/Washington Environmental Coop. Council 1994; Wilson et al. 1994; Strickland et al. 2000).

This report summarizes the results of the Jefferson County Marine Resources Committee literature review and data search as to the status of marine resources in Jefferson County. Marine resources are separated into six categories:1) oceanography, water and sediment quality; 2) nearshore habitats; 3) fish; 4) invertebrates; 5) birds, and 6) marine mammals.

METHODS

This literature review and data search was compiled using a preliminary list of information topics and sources taken from a review of the Northwest Straits Overview prepared by Washington Sea Grant for the Northwest Straits Commission and the Status of Marine Protected Areas in Puget Sound, Volumes 1 and 2, prepared by Michael Murray (1998). Information was then collected from a review of the following databases for literature and data specific to the boundaries of the Jefferson County Marine Resources Committee. These include but are not limited to the following sources.

• NOAA Protected Resources Publications,
• Puget Sound/Georgia Basin Transboundary Bibliography,
• A collection of local and regional marine protected bibliographies,
• Washington State Department of Ecology water and sediment quality bibliographies, database, and monitoring results reports,
• NOAA Seattle Regional Library,
• NMFS status reviews,
• Washington Sea Grant Publications,
• Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife forage fish and groundfish fact sheets and related reports,
• Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Abstracts (ASFA),
• UW Fisheries Research Institute Reports,
• National Technical Information Service (NTIS), and
• University of Washington Library databases.

2. OCEANOGRAPHY, WATER, AND SEDIMENT QUALITY

CHARACTERIZATION OF THE RESOURCE

Basin

The Jefferson County MRC boundaries include those marine waters defined as the Northwest Straits pursuant to the Murray-Metcalf Initiative. The boundaries of the Jefferson County area of the Northwest Straits include Olele Point at the south end in Hood Canal, San Juan County at the northernmost boundary; Island County at the eastern boundary, and Clallam County at the western boundary.

Figure 1. Northwest Straits Region (Source: People for Puget Sound)

Circulation

Water circulation is driven, in major part, by two different 'layers' of water. These are lower-salinity, warmer waters from rivers that flow seaward at the surface and the higher-salinity, colder water originating from the Pacific Ocean that flow landward along the bottom. The combined forces of lunar influence, climatic conditions and bathymetry determine the extent to which these layers are mixed. During neap tides, when the moon is in the first and last quarters and the tidal range is least, seawater intrusions and the influx of saltier water to lower Puget Sound is greatest. During periods of spring tides, new and full moon, seawater intrusions into lower Puget Sound are less due to the increased mixing of freshwater with saltwater during high amplitude tides. Temperature, salinity and density differences between freshwater runoff and nutrient upwellings from ocean waters determine the extent of mixing which is influenced strongly by the surface force of wind (Cannon 1999). These forces combine to make the Strait of Juan de Fuca a well-mixed and wind-dominated system. Strong winds, deep waters, ocean intrusions, and currents coupled with riverine inputs result in the straits being well mixed, cold, and nutrient rich waters year-round. The presence of a shallow sill at the entrance to Admiralty Inlet, the narrow opening of the inlet, and the large volume of water passing through the inlet, magnifies the extent of this mixing. Strickland (1983) describes the sill at Admiralty Inlet as obstructing the continuous inflow of deep water thereby producing one of the dominant areas of mixing in the entire Puget Sound. It disrupts the inflow of seawater from the straits and diverts surface outflow back into the sound. For example, water entering the sound at a given river mouth might receive an infusion of ocean water at Admiralty Inlet. It may then be diverted back through the cold, dark depths of the main Puget Sound basin to the Narrows and spurt to the surface at that location. This could be repeated several times before the river outflow finally exits seaward. This strong mixing component produces well-mixed waters in Port Townsend Bay with higher dissolved oxygen levels than those smaller inlets and bays that do not receive the mixing forces of Admiralty Inlet (Strickland 1983).

In contrast to the mixing dynamics of Admiralty Inlet, water entering Discovery Bay is persistently stratified with colder, saltier, and denser water near the bottom and lower salinity and warmer waters at the surface. The combined effect of bathymetry, low wind-mixing, and low current exchange produces the seasonally stratified and poor flushing characteristics of Discovery Bay. This weak mixing and flushing produces conditions of low nutrient levels near the surface and low oxygen levels near the bottom (Newton 1998, Strickland 1983).

WATER QUALITY

Monitoring

The Washington State Department of Ecology (DOE) evaluates marine water quality by measuring parameters such as depth, temperature, salinity, density, pH, fecal coliform, dissolved oxygen, light transmission, chlorophyll, phaeopigments, nitrites and nitrates, ammonium, orthophosphate, and fecal coliform bacteria levels. The DOE monitors water quality at three stations in the Jefferson County portion of the Northwest Straits. One site is located just north of the entrance of Admiralty Inlet, one site is located in Port Townsend Bay and a third site is located just off of Mill Point in Discovery Bay. Both the Port Townsend Bay site and the Admiralty Inlet site are core sites monitored once per month every year. There are sixteen to nineteen such core monitoring stations in Puget Sound and six to thirteen rotational stations. Rotational stations are monitored on a prioritized basis based upon: suspected problems and insufficient data; lack of data in the presence of environmental and land-use features indicating potential problems; and by specific requests to aid environmental data or update outdated data. Discovery Bay is one of these rotating monitoring sites. It was monitored in 1997 and is now monitored in 2000 due to low dissolved oxygen findings in late summer and early fall of 1997. The sites at Admiralty Inlet and Discovery Bay are classified as seasonally stratified while the stratification of the site in Port Townsend Bay is classified as weak. A Jefferson County study reported that the source of 99% of the suspended sediments entering Discovery Bay were from Snow Creek and that most of the sediment loading occurs during large storm events (Parametrix 2000). The Washington State Health Department (DOH) also monitors marine water quality through the sampling of shellfish in areas where shellfish are harvested for commercial and recreational purposes.

The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) and the Jefferson County Conservation District (JCCD) also monitor water quality in a number of streams draining into Hood Canal, Port Townsend and Discovery Bays. Those results have been consolidated into a technical assessment report (Parametrix 2000).

Joint Effort to Monitor the Strait (JEMS) - The Joint Effort to Monitor the Strait (JEMS) is a new DOE water quality monitoring program. The JEMS has three sampling stations located along a ship transect south of Cattle Point, across the strait towards Protection Island. These JEMS stations will help monitor conditions in the strait relative to conditions in Puget Sound and other embayments such as Discovery Bay. The results are expected to reflect conditions in the nearby strait that correspond to conditions in adjoining waters (Newton 2000).

Results of Monitoring

Dissolved Oxygen - The condition of low dissolved oxygen (DO) also known as hypoxia is that level that is deleterious to many organisms. This is typically 0.5-3.0 mg/l or between 0.2-2.0 mg/l. However, as given the evidence that the behavior or fish, larvae and other organisms can be negatively affected by concentrations as low as 4-4.5mg/l, the level of 5 mg/l is considered the upper limit for biological stress due to low DO (Newton et al 1998). In 1997, Discovery Bay was one of five Puget Sound sites with DO levels falling below 3 mg/l. As a consequence of this low DO level, the bay is presently being monitored again for the year 2000. It is being monitored from Mill Point. It is believed that the highly stratified waters and high levels of biological productivity of Discovery Bay are major contributing factors producing these low DO levels. Newton (1998) reports that the human-caused impacts to this DO level are unknown but that the persistence of this low DO should be regarded with caution when evaluating further anthropogenic activities within the area.

Monitoring results indicated low DO levels (less than 5 mg/l) at both Admiralty Inlet and Port Townsend Bay stations during July through September 1997. However, these levels are typical for the Admiralty stations due to the influence of naturally low-oxygen ocean upwellings that flow eastward through the straits. It is a natural condition for deep oceanic water to measure low in DO due to isolation from the surface interface with oxygen and the consumption of oxygen in plant and animal respiration processes (Newton et al. 1998). Both of the Admiralty stations are located in deep water at approximately 80-100 meters below the surface. The station inside Admiralty Inlet shows low DO levels much less frequently than the station outside the area. This is likely due to the mixing and aeration of water masses as water flows past the sill. See Appendix A Figure 1 for a map of dissolved oxygen results at Puget Sound monitoring stations.

Nutrients - Dissolved inorganic nutrients, such as forms of nitrogen and phosphorus (i.e. ammonium NH₄, nitrate NO_3, nitrite NO₂ and orthophosphate OPO₄^3-), are important to the entire marine ecosystems due to the contribution of these nutrients in accelerating primary productivity or plant growth. High Nitrite-N concentrations can also be indicators of high eutrophication levels. Dissolved inorganic nitrogen is considered the limiting nutrient in marine systems. Monitoring the levels of nitrogen, which reflect phytoplankton growth patterns, provides a baseline profile against which to compare changes over time and predict possible influences responsible for changed readings. Neither of the sites at Admiralty Inlet nor Discovery Bay sites indicated a limitation of nitrogen.

High ammonium-N concentrations are usually caused by anthropogenic inputs, such as sewage input from failing septic systems. In 1997, the Admiralty Inlet sites did not reflect high ammonium-N. However, the Discovery Bay site did reflect high ammonium-N concentrations. The causes for these high levels in Discovery Bay are still unknown. See Appendix A, Figure 2 for a map of ammonium-N findings.

Fecal Coliform Bacteria - Although not necessarily harmful in and of themselves, the presence of high levels of fecal coliform bacteria can be an indicator of the potential presence of pathogenic bacteria or viruses. Therefore, marine environments receiving high inputs of the fecal coliform bacteria could have escalated levels of pathogenic bacteria and viruses. For marine systems, monitoring, measurements of 14 organisms/100 ml is interpreted to be an indicator of contamination concern and 50 organisms/100ml is in indication of potentially serious contamination (Newton et al. 1998). All of the Jefferson County sites reflected less than 14 organisms/100mL in1997 samples. See Appendix A Figure 3 for a map of fecal coliform findings.

The Washington State Department of Health participates in the Puget Sound Ambient Monitoring Program (PSAMP) efforts through the monitoring of marine water quality in selected shellfish growing areas. These include 21 stations in Discovery Bay, six stations in Port Townsend Bay, and 20 stations in Kilisut Harbor. See Appendix A Figure 4 for identification of commercial shellfish classifications in eastern Jefferson County. Also see discussions of shellfish status on pages 37-38 of this report (DOH 2000).

Eutrophication - A condition of eutrophication from increased nutrient supply to nutrient-limited stratified waters can result in large algal blooms and subsequent low DO levels in bottom waters. Continuous or intermittent hypoxic events can cause shifts in species composition with fish moving out of a low DO area or being more susceptible to disease (Smith et al. 1992).

The presence of stratification, low DO, and high nutrient levels are indicators of eutrophication status and eutrophication susceptibility. Discovery Bay is one of five Puget Sound stations showing hypoxia due to stratification, low DO and high ammonium concentrations (Newton et al. 1998). The stations on either side of Admiralty Inlet showed no susceptibility.

SEDIMENT QUALITY

Monitoring

Over the period of the last century, Puget Sound has been a major repository of municipal and industrial wastes, combined sewer overflows, storm drains, dumping operations, and chemical spills combined with urban and agricultural runoff. Such discharge and runoff sources have been found to carry heavy metals, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and chlorinated hydrocarbons.

The Marine Sediment Monitoring Program (MSMP), implemented in 1989, measures sediment contaminants, evaluates biological conditions, and assesses the potential for sediment toxicity. By combining the analysis of benthic community structure with laboratory toxicity bioassays, the biological significance of actual and potential contaminant levels can be assessed. For example, studies of benthic communities in contaminated areas such as Everett Harbor have reported lower total abundances of individual species, lower species richness of pollution intolerant species, and higher incidence of pollution-tolerant species than outer harbor uncontaminated control stations (Long, et al.1999). Chemical compounds and metals identified in these studies include lead, zinc, silver, copper, mercury, cadmium, chromium, arsenic, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (LPAH) polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), beta coprostanol, beta sitosterol, arsenic, copper, mercury, lead, zinc, anthracene, flouranthese, phenanthrene, pyrene, and DDT (Llanso et al. 1998).

Stations positioned pursuant to the Puget Sound Estuary Program (PSEP) recommended protocols that are deliberately located away from major sources of pollution and in shallow areas at depths of 20 meters or less. This allows the characterization of background conditions and the highest total abundance of benthic organisms (MMC, 1988). There are a total of 76 monitoring stations in the combined northern and southern Puget Sound monitoring program. This includes the San Juan Islands, the eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca to Port Angeles, and north to the Canadian border with 34 core stations sampled annually and 42 rotating stations sampled on a three-year schedule. Four monitoring stations are within the Jefferson County Northwest Straits boundaries. These include Discovery Bay near Contractor's Point, Port Townsend Bay between Glen Cove and Whalan Point, and Oak Bay on the southern end of Indian Island. The station in Port Townsend Bay is a core station and the stations at Indian Island and Discovery Bay are rotational.

Sediment Monitoring Results

Sediments were characterized by grain size, sulfide presence, and percentage of organic carbon content. Sediment oxygen depletion rates reflect the nature of chemical transformations and nutrient cycling occurring in particular sediments. Sediment organic carbon content reflects the ability of sediments to retain chemicals. The higher the percentage of organic carbon, the higher the capacity becomes to retain chemicals (Mitsch and Gosselink 1993). When water fills soil pore spaces, the rate at which oxygen diffuses through sediments is drastically reduced. The ability of soils or sediments to transfer oxygen is called the redox potential. This potential is reflected in the color of the soils with brown having a greater oxygen transfer potential and black having the lowest oxygen transfer potential. At the MSMP stations, Redox Potential Discontinuity (RPD) was estimated through measurements of the top brown layers of sediment ranging from less than 0.5 cm to greater than 2 cm. The thinner the brown layers of sediment the lower the RPD. The larger the brown layers, the larger the RPD. The Discovery Bay samples were composed of sand with a high redox potential of 3 on a scale from 1 to 4. The Port Townsend Bay site was composed of mud with a redox potential varying with the year from 3 to 4. The Oak Bay site, composed of mud, had a RPD of 2. None of the sediment samples taken at the Jefferson County sites had detectable hydrogen sulfide or high concentrations of organic carbon were not found at any of these sites. See Appendix A Figure 5 and 6 for maps of DOE marine sediment monitoring stations and study areas. Data from these stations will be summarized annually and analyzed every five years to determine changes in sediment chemistry, toxicity, and community structure.

Contaminant Compounds - The Port Townsend Bay station was one of ten stations in the entire study area identified as contaminated by having contaminant concentrations above determined biologic thresholds indicating the potential for adverse biological effects for any one year (Llanso et al. 1998). This was due to high concentrations of the phthalate ester compound, bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate, and dehydroabietic acid. The highest concentration of phthalate ester in the entire study area was found in Port Townsend Bay in 1989. The Port Townsend site also had high concentrations of arsenics in 1990 and 1994. Results from the Discovery Bay site showed arsenic in 1994. The Oak Bay site showed the presence of beryllium and nickel in 1995. In summary, the range of contaminant concentrations at current monitoring stations was concluded to be low. The MSMP is designed for monitoring of ambient conditions and changes over time. The MSMP is not designed to evaluate areas of highest contaminant concentration and therefore, should not be used to identify "hot spots".

Biologic Contamination Assessment - The Apparent Effects Threshold (AET) values were assigned to stations using the survival of the amphipods (rhepoxynius abronis) in tested sediments. Only sediments from Port Townsend and Port Susan were found to exhibit mortality above 24.5% in more than one year (the anomalous data of 1990 was excluded). Amphipod results are compounded by the fact that amphipod survivability is determined by percent silt and clay as well as the presence of contaminants (Llanso 1998). In consideration of this sediment type effect, only Port Susan and Dyes inlet amphipod mortality appeared to be related to contamination at the Puget Sound monitoring stations. Appendix A Figure 7 maps DOE Marine Sediment Monitoring sites exhibiting contamination with potential biological effects. Only stations with five or more compounds are shown. Port Townsend is one of the contaminated stations

Industrial Contamination - The Port Townsend Paper Corporation November/December 1993 Class II Inspection Report described discharges as lying well within all permit requirements. No pesticides or PCB compounds were found in the influent, effluent or outfall adjacent sediments. Five priority pollutant metals were detected in the effluent. Copper was found in an estimated concentration of over four times the DOE acute marine water criteria. Although Daphnia magna and rainbow trout survival tests revealed no acute toxicity in effluent, fathead minnow showed reduced growth and survival and bivalve larvae showed significant mortality and considerable abnormality. Such toxicity impacts to bivalve larvae are typically seen in pulp mill effluents. No toxicity was found by the Microtox test on sediment samples. However, the amphipod test showed significant toxicity near the outfall. As toxicity did not exceed 25%, the sediments were not designated as having an adverse effect. Significant toxicity in amphipod tests is typical of sediments near pulp mill outfalls. Recommendations from the study included taking steps to: 1) verify and assess copper levels in both effluent and receiving waters; 2) insure implementation of all maintenance protocol in sewage treatment activities, and

3) reduce chlorine residual in the sewage treatment plant effluent to a concentration less than or equal to 1.0 mg/l, if adequate disinfection is still attained.

The 1998 DOE Washington State Dioxin Source Assessment Report defined dioxin sources as facilities engaged in incineration or wood-treating with pentachlorophenol, municipal and medical waste incinerators, municipal wastewater treatment, bleached pulp processes, cement kilns, use of hog-fuel boilers, and activated carbon regeneration. Municipal wastewater treatment plants can pass on dioxins in discharge from sources discharged to the plant. The report reviews the structure of such chemicals and the process of dioxin incorporation into the human and animal food web. Port Townsend Paper Corp. is listed as a potential source due to its operation as a hog-fuel burning facility. This potential as a dioxin source is somewhat magnified due to the implication of burning salt laden hog fuel derived from logs rafted on salt-water (Luthe and Prahacs 1993). EPA (1994) ranks wood waste boilers as the fifth largest dioxin producers among source categories. In Washington State, it is likely that this category is more important due to:1) timber-related industries representing a much larger portion of Washington commerce compared to other regions nationally; 2) the increased regional potential to use salt-laden hog fuel, due to the practice of rafting logs on salt-water; 3) the prevalence of burning other fuels in wood waste boilers, and 4) the use of chipped tires and used oil as fuel (Yake et al. 1998).

DATA GAPS and RESEARCH NEEDS

Water Quality

Further information identifying industrial contaminant inputs to Port Townsend Bay is required to accurately assess the sources of the identified metals load to the bay (Appendix A. Figure 7) and the potential of dioxin loads from the Port Townsend paper mill and other industrial sources. This should include both water quality and air emission inputs.

Long term monitoring in conjunction with the JEMS program monitoring in the straits is required to compare long-term trends in the straits to Admiralty Inlet, Port Townsend Bay and particularly Discovery Bay to further identify underlying factors in observed monitoring samples (Newton 2000).

The Port Townsend Marine Science Center (PTMSC 2000), with the participation of Port Townend High School District's eighth grade class, has been monitoring water quality, temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen concentrations at four sites in the Port Towsend Bay area for the last five years. These sites are Indian Point, Admiralty Inlet, South PT Bay, and Kilisut Harbor. PTMSC has also collected fecal coliform counts for Pt. Hudson and the Port of Port Townsend Boat Haven over the past five years. The results obtained from the water quality site at Admiralty Inlet and Kilisut Harbor are generally consistent with DOE monitoring results at Admiralty Inlet indicating that Port Townsend Bay meets Washington State marine water quality standards for temperature and DO with the exception of natural occurrences of low DO due to deep water oceanic upwellings at Admiralty Inlet and low DO and high temperatures occasionally at the Kilisut Harbor site due to sun energy transmission into shallow waters and little mixing due to limited circulation in the embayment. Such conditions can naturally produce warmer temperatures with warmer temperatures resulting in lower DO levels.

However, low DO and high temperatures at the Indian Point monitoring site between the ferry terminal and the Port of Port Townsend Boat Haven likely reflect anthropogenic impacts warranting further monitoring. The high fecal coliform counts measured at Pt. Hudson Marina and the Port of Port Townsend Boat Haven also indicate anthropogenic influence and provide further reason for continued contamination monitoring to track health risks associated with high bacterial counts Norris (1997; PTMSC 2000).

Sediment Quality

Several more years of monitoring is required to identify trends in sediment chemistry. Chronic effects with long-lasting consequences for the biological communities have not been assessed (Llanso et al. 1998).

Industrial Contamination - Further testing is needed to measure dioxin levels at potential source generators statewide to more accurately assess actual dioxin emission levels. The importance of obtaining additional data on hog-fuel burning sources is ranked high due to the combination of little data, high number of hog-fuel burning facilities and the high variability in factors that lead to dioxin formation and control. Port Townsend Paper Mill is not one of the few for which dioxin load data is available (Llanso et al 1998).

3. NEARSHORE HABITATS

CHARACTERIZATION OF THE RESOURCE

Marine and estuarine waters consist of varying localities and environmental conditions referred to as "habitats" in which specifically adapted organisms reproduce, feed and take shelter. Seasonal variation in primary and secondary productivity, wave energy, and variations in animal life-history stages combine to determine the ability of any one habitat to support a given species at any one time.

Photosynthetic production of new plant material is the first link in plant and animal food chains. Primary producers such as diatoms and phytoplankton support juvenile salmon, who prey on small copepods feeding on the diatoms and microbial colonizers associated with microalgae and detritis (Cordell 1986, D'Amours 1987). Light provides the essential energy that drives plant photosynthesis. A plant's ability to utilize light energy is defined by the structure and pigments of its chloroplasts, which are the sites of photosynthetic reactions (Lobban et al.1985). Light is the most important factor affecting plants. The photosynthetic process converts solar energy into photochemical energy through an oxidation-reduction reaction. Basically, in green plant photosynthesis, CO₂, H₂0, and light energy are the reactants and O₂ and CH₂O are the products. The photochemical process of light trapping increases linearly as irradiance increases until a maximum photosynthetic "saturated" rate is reached for a given plant. At that saturation point, increased irradiance no longer results in increased production. Essentially, growth takes place when enough light energy is received and stored to support the initial electron transfers of the reaction process, the creation of new plant tissue and the subsequent cellular respiration process that uses O₂ and releases CO₂. During spring and summer, nutrients imported to Puget Sound through watersheds and oceanic upwellings and the increased light availability due to the combination of the seasonal angle of the sun to the earth and low tides during daylight hours sets the stage for peak levels of primary productivity. This primary productivity is further enhanced by the prior mixing of waters during winter storms and the lack of growth and subsequent respiration processes occurring over the winter season (Simenstad et al 1999). It is this primary production, particularly in the shallow nearshore habitats that supports large numbers of juvenile fish and shellfish in estuarine and marine habitats.

Shallow nearshore marine habitats provide important passage for juvenile fish, larvae, and ocean water. Protecting and conserving these important habitats is key to protecting the future of important fish and shellfish stocks and species diversity. In Washington, habitat loss has been identified as the most serious threat to the marine ecosystems of Puget Sound and the Northwest Straits. The British Columbia/Washington Marine Science Panel (1994) assigned nearshore habitat this priority based upon: 1) the importance of such habitat for the survival of valued species; 2) the region's current and projected rapid increase in human population and its projected effects on natural habitats, and 3) the known irreversibility of habitat alteration and loss. Due to their proximity to urban development and their limited areal extent, nearshore marine habitats are particularly vulnerable to loss and degradation (Norris 1991a; Doty and Landry 1990). The importance of shallow nearshore vegetated habitat has been well documented. Habitats previously assumed to be unproductive are now recognized as important nurseries (Bennett 1989). The limited extent of a given habitat utilized during a particular life stage is theorized to cause a "bottleneck" in the ability of the species to produce viable adult populations (Wahle and Steneck 1991). Alarming declines in plant and animal populations in Washington's inland marine waters (Wright 1999) have magnified the need to identify and avoid stressors to the nearshore fauna. Fish populations suffering from significant anthropogenic stresses in need of special consideration for protection include Pacific salmon, Pacific herring, Pacific cod, walleye pollock, Pacific hake, and three species of demersal rockfish (Wilson et al. 1994, West, 1997). Other nearshore fishes, critical to these species are forage fish such as herring, sand lance, and surf smelt. At some point in their juvenile rearing stage, each of these species rely on nearshore vegetated habitat to meet critical rearing needs in a habitat rich in both prey resources and shelter.

Areas from above the highest tideline and out as far as 15 m MLLW are important to the recruitment and survival of some of the region's most important fish and shellfish. Above the tideline of vegetated habitat, in the area between higher and lower high tidelines, sandy beaches provide spawning grounds for important forage fish, such as sand lance and surf smelt. The marine riparian vegetation above the highest high tide line plays a significant role in determining egg survival during periods of high temperatures. Intertidal habitat, areas between mean high tide and lower low tides, are used by herring and lingcod for spawning. Pacific herring and sand lance are principal food organisms for many recreationally and commercially important fish species (Simenstad et al.1979a,1979b). Herring have been found to comprise the following diet percentages of specific fish species: Pacific cod (42%), whiting (32%), lingcod (71%), halibut (53%), coho (58%) and chinook (58%) (Environment Canada 1994). Mean high tide areas are also important nursery areas for a variety of juvenile fish including salmonids, cod, herring, sand lance, surf smelt, sole and pollock. In the lower tide areas from mean low tide to the lower low tide and out as far as -40 feet are important nursery areas for a variety of juveniles. These include salmon, lingcod, tomcod, hake, walleye pollock, herring, a variety of rockfish, and shellfish (Simenstad et al 1979a; Matthews 1989; Palsson 2000; Haldorson and Richards 1987). Substrate type, depth, light, and wave energy are physical factors determining the nature of the biological assemblages found in these environments. Water quality also influences the nature of these habitats with the presence of contaminants and excess nutrients degrading the habitat's ability to support important plant and animal species.

HABITAT TYPES

Rocky-Bottom Habitats

Rocky bottom habitat is found in a variety of locations throughout the Jefferson County MRC area. Beaches on the west side at the northern end of Discovery Bay and along the Strait of Juan de Fuca between Point Wilson and McCurdy Point are composed of mixed cobble, small boulders and gravel. Similarly, boulder and cobble piles left by receding glaciers in the straits provide subtidal rocky reef habitat at Smith Island and Partridge Bank just north of Admiralty Inlet.

Substrate - These rocky-bottom habitats support kelp and other vegetation that require hard surfaces for holdfasts and rock surface area for benthic microalgae. These hard surfaces also provide attachment sites for barnacles, mussels, chitons, tube worms, seastars, and anemones and crevices for small crustaceans and annelids (Shaffer 1999). Rocky reef habitat north of Port Ludlow near Mats Mats Bay, a lone stack of boulders and a sunken vessel in Discovery Bay support documented rockfish populations (Palsson 2000).

Wave Energy - The steep gradient and well-flushed character of rocky outcrops in deep, high energy areas such as the Strait of Juan de Fuca, provide animals in the kelp beds with access to large neritic organisms found in deeper waters. These are the habitats that support adult rockfish, lingcod, kelp greenling, cabezon, salmon and cetaceans. The lower energy cobble rocky-bottom habitats of the intertidal area support a detrital food web. This food web includes those crustaceans brought in with the tide that support sculpins, snailfish, and prickleback fish species.

Vegetation - While the bottom sediments of these rocky habitats are not capable of supporting the large number of infauna found in soft-sediments, many crustaceans such as mysids, crab, epibenthic shrimps, amphipods, isopods and copepods occupy the kelp microhabitats. Kelp and other primary producers provide food supply for these smaller organisms which in turn become prey resources for those fish occupying these habitats while providing shelter for fishes while they feed on these invertebrates. Rocky habitats of Smith Island and Partridge Bank, north of Admiralty Inlet, are some of Washington's largest kelp beds (Mumford 2000). These habitats support lingcod, rockfish, halibut, kelp greenling, cabezone, salmon, and large cetaceans (Palsson 2000).

In the cobble littoral habitats between Point Wilson and McCurdy Point on the Strait of Juan de Fuca, grazers are sustained by the seasonal breakdown of macroalgae coupled with the grazing action of chitons, limpets, sea urchins, and snails. This macroalgae breakdown also supports crab and fish species, such as sculpin and snailfish. These habitats are some of the most productive due to these on-the-rock and beneath-rock habitats.

The kelp beds at Smith Island that extend into Jefferson County represent one of the largest kelp beds in the state of Washington (Mumford 2000). A second large kelp bed is located in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and is bisected by the Island and Jefferson County boundary line. Ten years ago rich kelp beds existed on the western side of Protection Island. These kelp beds began gradually disappearing in 1990 and completely disappeared by 1996. Figure 2 depicts kelp changes on Protection Island over time. However, a large, rich eelgrass bed is now located on the northwest side of Protection Island (Bookheim 2000). The disappearance of kelp around Protection Island is an unexplicable mystery at this point in time.

Figure 2. Protection Island Kelp Distribution Changes

Source: Mumford, Tom, DNR, Nearshore Habitat Program

Soft-Bottom Habitats

Sand-Eelgrass

Soft-bottom habitats include sand-eelgrass, mud-eelgrass, mud and sand flats, and salt marshes. Sand-eelgrass habitats in northern Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca are shallow, semi-enclosed embayments with low-to moderate-energy beaches, which allow sand and mixed fine gravel to accumulate and stabilize.

Substrates - These stable substrates support particularly high abundances of benthic and epibenthic crustacean communities for juvenile salmon and demersal fish seeking refuge and prey in eelgrass beds. Eelgrass shoots increase the substrate available for the epiphytic algae and associated fauna, thereby increasing the abundance of prey resources, such as the harpacticoid copepods, tanaids and cumaceans available as prey to juvenile fish (Simenstad et al. 1979a, 1979b).

Wave Energy - Eelgrass beds reduce wave and current action and trap sediments and detritus. Through photosynthetic activity, eelgrass beds have been found to maintain high dissolved oxygen concentrations and minimize fluctuating temperatures (Gayaldo 1999).

Vegetation - Through autumn die back and atrophy of the emergent growth, eelgrass provides great quantities of detrital carbon to the nearshore system. This eelgrass-derived detritus provides energy to both detritivores consuming the vegetation and carnivores consuming animal organisms.

Mud-Eelgrass and Salt Marsh

In terms of community and food web structure, the most complex and highly connected habitats are the mud/eelgrass and associated salt marsh habitats. These communities contain the highest diversity and abundance of food web linkages ranging from detritivores to carnivores. Much of this increased food web complexity is due to the presence of benthic-feeding shorebirds such as the saderling, longbilled dowitcher, shorebilled dowitcher, yellowlegs, the great blue heron who preys on a number of demersal fishes. Although this habitat supports many of the same species as sand/eelgrass habitat, it provides higher densities of each taxon (Simenstad et al. 1979a).

Substrates - The small fine-sized substrates of mud and eelgrass habitats consist of combined mineral and organic soils transported by streams and open marine waters into protected embayments. The high levels of plant production in adjacent salt marshes and marine waters combined with the material transport and entrainment processes endemic to the area create the fine organic and mineral substrates that support the rich benthic diversity of these habitats.

Vegetation - Vascular marsh plant detritus tends to accumulate and decompose in the mud flats as a result of spring runoff and spring tides. The protected nature of these embayments result in reduced indications of seasonal change in habitat food web structure and diversity (Simenstad et al. 1979a).

STATUS OF THE RESOURCE

Mapping Nearshore Habitats

In 2000, the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Point No Point Treaty Council each undertook regional mapping efforts using aerial multispectral digital imagery technology to map nearshore habitat specific to the region. These mapping efforts identified substrate and vegetation types throughout the Jefferson County MRC region through the combination of interpreting aerial multispectral data and correlating it to simultaneous on-the-ground sampling efforts. The data from both mapping efforts will be compatible and are expected to be available by 2001. The WDNR inventory data is to be classified by segment according to the following categories: shoreline type, eelgrass/surfgrass, patchy or continuous; kelp (Nereocystis), patchy or continuous; kelp (Macrocystis), patchy or continuous; other flora/fauna; segment length (feet); sediment source; sediment abundance; sediment transport direction; stability; natural resources damage assessment classification; energy exposure; oil residence index, and supra and intertidal forms and materials. The primary goal of this mapping program is to catalogue shore-zone features for resource management. It is designed to capture key ecological features of the shore-zone. The Point No Point Treaty Council study will complement the WDNR data with identification of specific vegetation and substrates resulting from intensive groundtruthing efforts.

Additional information on net shore drift specific to Jefferson County is found in Johannessen (1992), Net Shore-Drift of San Juan, and Parts of Jefferson, Island and Snohomish Counties, Washington and the USGS Map of Shoreline Coastal Erosion, Sediment Supply and Longshore Transport in the Port Townsend I-1198-E 30- by 60-minute quadrangle. Together these reports map out net shore-drift within the Jefferson County MRC boundaries.

Jim Norris with Marine Resources Consultants has been surveying eelgrass using underwater videography throughout Port Townsend Bay for several years. His reports document eelgrass encircling Port Townsend Bay at subtidal depths varying form 3 ft MLLW to as deep at 38 feet MLLW (Norris1995, 1997, 1998).

Critical habitats from Tala to Kala Point have been comprehensively surveyed, mapped, and identified in terms of drift cell processes, eelgrass presence, marsh habitat, and forage fish and salmonid use. Such documentation has enabled protective shoreline designations pursuant to the local shoreline management planning (Hirschi 1999; Johannessen 1999).

Nearshore habitats are distinguished by important variations in habitat characteristics and the plant and animal assemblages associated with particular habitats. Recent shoreline mapping efforts and scientific analyses use the Natural Heritage Program: Marine and Estuarine Habitat Classification System. This system classifies habitats by the physical components controlling habitat characteristics. Such physical parameters constrain the distributions and interactions of marine plants and animals associated with these habitats. These basic controlling factors are substrate type, wave energy, depth, and salinity. Knowing these physical factors, distinct and recurring plant and animal assemblages associated with each other and a particular physical environment (Dethier 1990) can be predicted. In place of using a salinity-based cutoff, nearshore habitats west of Pt. Wilson and those south of Admiralty Inlet are classified as marine, while habitats south of Admiralty Inlet are considered estuarine. In Appendix B, Table 1 categorizes general marine and estuarine nearshore habitats and identifies plant and animal species commonly associated with those habitats. In Appendix B, Table 2 classifies Jefferson County System and Subsystems based upon DNR survey data (Dethier 1990).

Status Reports

Marsh Areas

Northwest Environmental consultants (1976) prepared a report for the Jefferson County Planning Department describing the location, size, features and ownership of each tidal marsh of Jefferson County. The 13 marshes lying within MRC boundaries between Olele Point and Discovery Bay described in that report are listed in Table 1.

Table 1. Jefferson County MRC Marsh Areas
 

Marsh	Marine/Estuarine Area	Size
Gardiner	Discovery Bay	5.7 acres
Chevy Chase S.	Discovery Bay	2.7 acres
Chevy Chase N.	Discovery Bay	1.5 acres
Beckett Point	Discovery Bay	6.6 acres
Discovery Junction	Discovery Bay	3 marshes
Kala Point	Port Townsend Bay	8.5 acres
Chimacum Creek	Port Townsend Bay	35 acres
Hadlock	Port Townsend Bay	1.3 acres
Oak Bay	Oak Bay	10.3 acres
South Indian Island	Oak Bay	11.1 acres
Olele Point	Oak Bay	2 marshes
Indian Island	Kilisut Harbor
Scow Bay	Kilisut Harbor	7.8 acres
Total Acres		>70 acres

Spartina Invasions - The Washington State Department Agriculture (WSDA) 2000 Spartina Management Plan for the Straits of Juan de Fuca/Pacific Ocean describes the status of spartina invasion in marshes located within the Jefferson County MRC boundaries and the restoration activities planned to counter this invasion. The following activities are planned to restore and protect marshes from spartina invasion.
 

Kala Point - The largest colony of Spartina anglica at this site is estimated to be 45,000 square feet with many smaller clones in a nearby lagoon. From 1996 Adopt-A-Beach volunteers and WSDA staff have worked with local landowners on treatment to remove the infestation. During this time it has been removed repeatedly and treated with herbicide, but it continues to grow and require additional treatment.

Oak Bay - This Spartina anglica infestation is located on both the east and west sides of Oak Bay. In 1997, the total area of spartina in Oak Bay was one half acre. Between 1996 and 2000, Adopt-A-Beach volunteers and WSDA staff have worked with landowners to treat and extract clones. Treatment has taken the form of mowing and manual removal. Following the 1999 removal, no signs of re-growth have occurred. WSDA staff and Adopt-A-Beach volunteers monitor the site for regrowth. Treatment will occur as necessary.

A marsh owned by Jefferson County on the northwest shore of Oak Bay is in need of restoration due to currents and wave action caused by the dredged channel between Indian Island and the Quimper Peninsula. Wave action deposits large woody debris upon the shore altering the marsh ecosystem (Shaffer 2000).

Scow Bay - In 1996, Adopt-A-Beach volunteers discovered a Spartina anglica infestation located in the south end of Kilisut Harbor. An Infestation size was estimated at 0.02 acres prior to the 1999 treatment. Between 1996 and 2000 WSDA staff and Adopt-A-Beach volunteers have been removing infestations. The site will continue to be monitored with treatment occurring as necessary.

Mats Mats - An infestation of Spartina anglica was discovered in 1996 with the estimated size at 0.02 acres. Between 1996 and 2000 Adopt-A beach volunteers and WSDA staff have been manually removing clones. The site will continue to be monitored with treatment occurring if necessary.

Whalan Point - Spartina altnerniflora was discovered in 1996 on Navy property. 15 to 20 clumps less than two feet in diameter were located between Whalan Point and Crane Point. Approximately 0.02 acres of infestation are estimated at this site. Between 1996 and 2000 the Navy has been working with WSDA to manually remove the infestation. The Navy will continue to survey the site and treat as necessary. Treatment will most likely be a combination of mowing and herbicide spraying.

Fort Flagler - An infestation of two small clones of Spartina anglica was discovered in 1999. WSDA and Adopt-A-Beach continue to monitor this site, manually removing infestations as they occur.

Indian Island - Indian Island has three infestations at sites on the north, east, and south sides of the island. The total size is approximately 0.6 acres. Between 1999 and 2000, WSDA and the Navy have manually removed, mowed and treated with herbicide infestations as they occur. This will continue as necessary.

Discovery Bay - Spartina Infestation has occurred in southern Discovery Bay.

Chimacum Creek - The Chimacum Creek marsh area is to be re-established and protected by Jefferson Land Trust and the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Seaweed Harvesting Report - Levings and Thom (1994) characterize areas with intertidal algae such as seaweeds and kelp, as being highly productive, containing a variety of species of algae that provide refuge and rich prey resources for several species of fish, including salmonids, rockfish, gunnels, greenling and lingcod. Norris et al. (1999) studied seaweed harvest impacts between 1996 and 1998. The study reported that an estimated 200-300 recreational seaweed harvesters removed 2,000 to 4,000 pounds of the seaweed Alaria from North Beach County Park on the Strait of Juan de Fuca. In 1996 and 1997, the percent cover of Alaria dropped by 35% from 50% cover to about 15%. Comparison of Alaria recruitment differences between a harvested and unharvested beach showed a sharp decline in the harvested beach, suggesting a dominant harvesting effect.

PROTECTION AND RESTORATION EFFORTS

Chimacum Creek - Chimacum Creek has had significant habitat restoration in the freshwater areas upstream in the Chimacum Valley region to protect stream water quality from farming and livestock impacts. Efforts to remove riprap and fill at the mouth of Chimacum Creek are presently underway by WDFW, ACOE and the North Olympic Salmon Coalition (NOSC). A broad-based coalition of local groups, Wild Olympic Salmon (WOS), North Olympic Salmon Coalition (NOSC), Jefferson County Conservation District (JCCD), Washington State University (WSU), Jefferson Land Trust (JLT), Trout Unlimited (TU), and local tribes have been partnering over the last two years to protect and restore the marsh and estuarine shorelines of the creek mouth and its adjacent shorelines in Port Townsend Bay. Approximately 35 acres of estuarine shoreline and marsh habitat have recently been acquired by WDFW for protection. This is an important salmon migratory corridor for many species including the threatened species Hood Canal summer chum. Coho, steelhead, cutthroat, summer chum and fall chum spawn in Chimacum Creek and sand lance spawn on the beaches immediately adjacent to the creek mouth. Herring spawn on beaches north of the creek and surf smelt spawn further south of the creek mouth. NOSC is presently seeking funding for a prey base study along the shorelines adjacent to the creek mouth.

Salmon Creek - Freshwater habitat restoration is also being pursued by WDFW and NOSC to prevent potential lower creek sedimentation that can destroy the viability of summer chum spawning beds. WDFW is also examining the possibility of improving the habitat conditions in the Salmon Creek subestuary of Discovery Bay (Johnson 2000).

DATA GAPS and RESEARCH NEEDS

Comprehensive identification and mapping of critical nearshore habitats are needed for the areas from Kala Point north through Admiralty Inlet, and west to include Discovery Bay. A comprehensive approach should combine WDFW forage and groundfish survey work, the nearshore mapping products of both WDNR and the Point No Point Tribal Council, and USGS geologic drift cell information to provide comprehensive baseline data for shoreline planning and designation. For trend identification, it will be necessary to insure that replication of these efforts will occur on a minimum cycle of every 5 years.

4. FISH

CHARACTERIZATION OF THE RESOURCE

Washington State inland marine waters, including the Strait of Georgia and the Strait of Juan de Fuca support over 220 fish species. Under the Marine and Estuarine Habitat Classification System for Washington State (Dethier 1990), which is used by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, Puget Sound is defined as all of the inland U.S. marine waters east of the Bonilla-Tatoosh Line at Cape flattery and including the U.S. portion of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, U.S. parts of the San Juan Islands, Strait of Georgia, and all of Hood Canal. Puget Sound "proper" is defined as east of Deception Pass, south and east of Admiralty Head and south of Point Wilson on the Quimper Peninsula (Dethier 1990). The northern and southern regions of these inland waters are both geographically and oceanographically distinct. The narrow passage of Deception Pass and the Admiralty Inlet sill separates North Puget Sound from South Puget Sound. North Puget Sound receives strong storm and ocean influences and contains abundant rocky reef habitat. South Puget Sound has more freshwater influence, is more protected in nature, and contains less rocky reef habitat. Water circulation and entrainment of pelagic larvae have a determining effect on the distribution of fishes and shellfish. It is believed that the unique geographic and oceanographic conditions determining water movement and circulation patterns of this region limit gene flow between marine fish populations of the same species (Wright 1999). Similarly, the existence of three separate bodies of water in north Puget Sound (i.e. the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Strait of Georgia and San Juan Archipelago) and the fjord bathymetry of south Puget Sound likely contribute to the gene flow barrier between these regions. This notion of a gene flow barrier is supported by genetic studies of closely-related rockfish species showing significant differences between fish samples taken on opposite sides of the sills at Deception Pass and Admiralty Inlet (Seeb 1986;Wright 1999).

Under the influences of tide, wind and ocean-current-driven convergent zones, detached intertidal and subtidal vegetation form floating mats that move into open water pelagic systems. These floating mats provide cover for small fish along with high densities of planktonic organisms associated with the vegetation (Gorelova and Fedoryako1986). Such dislodged nearshore vegetation provides a link between pelagic and nearshore systems by providing a transportation corridor in the form of refuge and prey resources for small fish settling into or exiting from the nearshore environment. Small fish can use these mats for cover and food as they move under them to new habitats. This nearshore and pelagic mix creates a unique habitat offering components of both the nearshore vegetated habitats and open water pelagic systems. Depending on the season, such vegetation mats have been shown to provide higher abundances of species diversity and richness than is usually found in open water systems. In this way, the mats act as nutrient, larvae, juvenile fish and pollutant transportation systems between nearshore and benthic habitats (Johnson and Richardson 1977, Kulczycki et al. 1981, Kingsford and Choat 1985, Shanks 1987, Kingsford, 1992, J.A. Shaffer 1995). Such drift habitat may be a critical resource for many fish species in Washington coastal waters such as juvenile chum, pink, chinook and coho salmon, surf smelt, Pacific herring, and northern anchovy (Simenstad et al. 1991).

In June, 1999, in response to a petition by Sam Wright (1999), the National Marine Fisheries Service agreed to conduct a year-long biological "status review" of seven species of fish in Puget Sound in order to determine if protection is warranted under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The seven Puget Sound populations are Pacific herring, Pacific cod, Pacific hake, walleye pollock and brown, copper and quillback rockfish. This represents the largest number the federal agency has ever been asked to consider to date under the federal species-protection law. Table 2 lists those marine fishes currently under biological review for a listing determination.

Table 2: Puget Sound Marine Fishes Currently Under ESA Biological Review
 

Marine Fish Species

Pacific cod

walleye pollock

Pacific hake

Pacific herring

brown rockfish

copper rockfish

quillback rockfish

In addition to the above proposed listing of marine fish species in Wright's 1999 petition, two populations of Pacific Salmon are presently listed as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). These species are the Hood Canal summer chum and the Puget Sound chinook. The Evolutionarily Significant Unit (ESU) for a given population are prescribed geographically by the area specific to that population's spawning and early rearing habitat that has helped determine their genetic heritage. The Hood Canal summer chum ESU includes all summer chum populations in Hood Canal, all Puget Sound waters between Hood Canal and Admiralty Inlet, and west along the shores of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, including both Discovery and Sequim Bays (NOAA 1997). The Puget Sound chinook ESU includes all chinook runs in the entire Puget Sound basin northwest to the Elwha River and northeast to the North Fork of the Nooksack River (NOAA 1998).

With the exception of limited stream-specific variations, all native Puget Sound chinook are classified as ocean-type chinook that have evolved for early outmigration from their natal freshwater streams to utilize Puget Sound estuarine habitat for juvenile rearing (Myers et al. 1998). These populations also share a commonality in their coastally oriented ocean migration patterns. In contrast, stream-type chinook in larger rivers, such as the Columbia River, are likely to rear in their respective streams and outmigrate as yearlings with their ocean migration taking place far off-shore. Such genetically transferred biologic adaptation to the geomorphology of their specific regions determines their migration timing and patterns. These shared traits and behavioral patterns across runs in a given region define a given ESU (Myers et al.1998).

 Forage Fish

Forage fish, also known as baitfish, include herring, surf smelt, eulachon (Columbia River smelt) anchovy, and sand lance. They are small schooling fish that are important prey resources for commercially and recreationally harvested fish species, such as salmonids and groundfish. Herring have been found to comprise the following diet percentages of specific fish species: Pacific cod (42%), whiting (32%), lingcod (71%), halibut (53%), coho (58%) and chinook (58%) (Environment Canada 1994). On average, 35 % of juvenile salmon diets are comprised of sand lance). They are particularly important to juvenile chinook, with 60% of chinook diet compositions found to be sand lance. Similarly, juvenile coho and sockeye salmon diets were found to be composed of 19% and 53% juvenile sand lance, respectively (WDFW 2000). Forage fish are also important prey for marine seabirds and mammals. Their importance to the marine ecosystem, coupled with their susceptibility to commercial and recreational fisheries during spawning aggregations, and the lack of management and biological information concerning their abundance, mortality rates, and age composition, requires a precautionary ecosystem management approach to protect them from significant population declines.

Surf smelt (Hypomesus pretiousus) - Surf smelt spawn at the highest tide lines at high slack tide near the water's edge, on coarse sand or pea gravel. Egg development rate is temperature dependent, with marine riparian vegetation serving to maintain lower temperatures during high temperature periods. The smelt life-span is thought to be at most 5 years in length. The adults feed primarily on planktonic organisms but their movements between spawning seasons are basically unknown. They are known, however, to be a significant part of the Puget Sound food web for larger predators. Recent surveys document 205 miles of surf smelt spawning habitat in Puget Sound. Inside Puget Sound, they spawn at the high-high water line. While on the coast, they spawn at lower tidal elevations corresponding to accessibility to fine gravel substrates. Spawning in northern Puget Sound occurs year-round, spawning in central and southern Puget Sound occurs in fall and winter, while coast and straits spawning occurs in summer months. As spawning typically occurs in coarse sand and pea gravel, this suggests that substrate is the primary factor in spawning site selection. The limited extent of surf smelt spawning grounds makes them quite vulnerable to shoreline development and construction activities with some spawning grounds being mere remnants of their historical extent (Penttila 2000). Their spawning grounds have been mapped and are protected by state law. Surf smelt spawning beaches in Eastern Jefferson County, within the Northwest Straits area, include the shorelines of Port Ludlow Bay, Hadlock, Port Townsend Bay, Kilisut Harbor, and Discovery Bay. Figure 3 maps surf smelt in the Puget Sound region (Penttila 2000, WDFW 2000).

Figure 3. Surf Smelt Distribution in the Puget Sound Region

(Source: WDFW 2000)

Sand lance (Ammodytes hexapterus) - Sand lance spawning occurs in the upper intertidal on sand and sandy gravel beach material during high tide periods. The eggs are coated with sand grains that may serve to assist in moisture retention when exposed during low tides. In Puget Sound, the spawning season is November 1 through February 15. After hatching, larvae and young-of-the-year rear in bays and nearshore waters. Adult movement and age structure are currently unknown. They feed in open water in daylight and burrow into the bottom substrate at night to avoid predation. They are a significant food source of many economically important resources in Washington such as juvenile salmon. It has been found that 35% of juvenile salmon diets are known to be sand lance. They are particularly important to juvenile chinook, with 60% of the juvenile chinook diet represented by sand lance. Their habit of spawning in upper intertidal zones of protected sand and gravel beaches makes them particularly vulnerable to the cumulative effects of shoreline development.

Sand lance spawning beaches have been identified in Kilisut Harbor, Irondale, Hadlock, south and west sides of Indian Island, south and east sides of Marrowstone Island, Port Ludlow, Oak Bay, along the shorelines between Kala Point and Glen Cove, along the Port of Port Townsend beach above the derelict transfer span structure, along the Fort Worden shoreline in Port Townsend Bay and throughout Discovery Bay, including the southern Discovery Junction area (Penttila 2000). Port Townsend provides a rich opportunity to observe the full variety of sand lance life history phases, from spawning along shoreline beaches and juvenile use of nearshore habitat to their adult pelagic movements in large schools where they attract clusters of avian and fish predators (Penttila 2000). Their spawning habitat is protected by the state law. See Figure 4 WDFW mapping of sand lance spawning beaches in the Puget Sound region (Penttila 2000; WDFW 2000).

Figure 4. Sand lance distribution in the Puget Sound Region

(Source: WDFW 2000)

 Pacific herring (Clupea harenus pallasi) - Pacific herring are found to be the predominant species in Northern Puget Sound's neritic fish assemblage (Fresh 1979), utilize nearshore habitats for spawning and juvenile rearing. Typically spawning occurs in early spring from January through early April; the female deposits eggs on nearshore vegetation, such as the native eelgrass and the red alga Gracilariopsis, between 0 and -40 feet in tidal elevation (Penttila 2000). Some stocks migrate annually from these inshore spawning grounds to open ocean feedings areas. Studies in northern Puget Sound (Simenstad et al. 1979a) have found juvenile Pacific herring to primarily feed on planktonic organisms with herring in turn serving as an important food source for many marine organisms. Annually, it is estimated that 50-70% of adult herring fall to predation.

The Discovery Bay stock, historically one of the larger stocks in Washington, is currently at a critically low abundance level. The reason for this is unknown at this time. There appears to be no fishery interception or easily recognized habitat degradation, yet they have suffered a serious decline from over 3000 tons in 1980 and 1981 to a run size of zero in 1998 (Penttila 2000). Discovery Bay spawning grounds occur along both shorelines of the southern half of Discovery Bay. The prespawner holding grounds extend from just south of Protection Island in the Strait of Juan de Fuca to the middle of Discovery Bay. The other Jefferson County stock in the MRC region is the Kilisut Harbor stock. This is a small Puget Sound stock with most spawning occurring inside Kilisut Harbor. Spawning also occurs from the mouth of Chimacum Creek north to Glen Cove with the adult prespawner holding areas being in Port Townsend Bay. Data on this stock are insufficient to establish trends over the past 5 years (Lemberg et al. 1997).

Figure 5. Herring distribution in the Puget Sound Region

(Source: WDFW)

 Groundfish

Groundfish, also known as bottomfish, are legally defined as food fishes. They spend their lives near or on the bottom. Eighty-six species recorded in Puget Sound fall under the legal definition of bottomfish, with 36 of these species commonly occurring in recreational or commercial fisheries. Many of these species have been suffering serious declines since the early 1980's. Important Puget Sound groundfish species, stock status, fishery impacts, and trends are listed in Table 3. Only 28 of these stocks have information sufficient to determine stock status and trends. Thirteen of these 28 stocks have been found to be in decline while eight are increasing (Palsson et al. 1997).
 
 

Table 3. Important Puget Sound Bottomfish/Groundfish
 

Species	North Sound	North Sound Stock Status
Spiny dogfish	depressed	average
Skates	above average	unknown
Spotted ratfish	unknown	unknown
Pacific cod	depressed	critical
Walleye pollock	critical	critical
Pacific whiting (hake)	depressed	critical
Rockfishes	depressed	depressed
Sablefish (black cod)	above average	unknown
Greenlings	unknown	unknown
Lingcod	depressed	above average
Sculpins	unknown	unknown
Pacific halibut	above average	above average
Rock sole	depressed	unknown
Dover sole	above average	unknown
English sole	above average	unknown
Sand sole	above average	unknown
Surfperches	unknown	average
Starry flounder	above average	unknown

Source: 2000 Puget Sound Update. PSWQAT.

Pacific cod ( Gadus macrocephalus) - Cod live near the bottom over soft sediments. They feed on sand lance, herring, pollock, sculpins, flatfishes and invertebrates such as euphausids, crabs and shrimp (Albers and Anderson 1985, Jewett 1978, Blackburn 1986, and Westrheim and Harling 1983). As adults, cod are a demersal fish, found primarily at depths from 50 to 200m (Matthews 1987). They spawn in the winter and following spawning migrate to feed in deeper, cooler waters. Their spawning occurs in shallow waters during the winter (Westrheim and Tagart 1984). They are broadcast spawners with the largest females producing millions of eggs. Following spawning, the eggs sink to the sea floor and adhere to substrate particles. Upon hatching, larvae 3-4mm in length rise to a depth of 15-30 m in the water column. After several months in the water column, they metamorphose into their juvenile form. In late summer, the juveniles settle to shallow sand-eelgrass habitats where they find shelter and rich abundances of prey resources in the form of copepods, amphipods and mysids.

In Puget Sound, cod are found to concentrate in shallow embayments such as Port Townsend Bay and Agate Passage during the winter but disperse to deeper waters during the remainder of the year (Walters 1984, Bargmann 1980). Stomach content analyses have demonstrated that Pacific herring are main prey items (Palsson 1990). Walters (1984) found that as juveniles, Pacific cod hatched during winter in Port Townsend Bay, remained in the shallow areas until June, and then left the shallow water in June. Westrheim (1983) distinguished four cod stocks in inland marine waters of British Columbia consisting of three resident stocks and one highly migratory stock with documented migration and straying between British Columbia and Washington waters. Water temperature and the presence or absence of herring have been found to affect cod recruitment and abundance in British Columbia (Palsson 1990). Walters et al. (1986) found when herring abundances are low, that cod are likely to move to other feeding grounds or suffer from reduced egg production due to the lack of prey resources.

Karp and Miller (1977) found cod in high abundance in Port Townsend Bay, particularly during their December to March spawning period. During the remainder of the year the stock was distributed over a wider area with reduced densities in the bay. Observations and reports indicated that the Port Townsend population likely spawned in the vicinity of Whalan Point on Indian Island. In 1977, the observed growth rates of the Port Townsend Pacific cod were high. This is expected of a species near the southern limit of its range. The very high abundance of eggs and larvae at the Port Townsend site indicated that the harbor was once an important rearing area. Trynet catches indicated the presence of a substantial Pacific cod nursery located in the northern portion of Kilisut Harbor. It was concluded that the shallow inshore waters north and south of Whalan Point could be important as nursery grounds and could be impacted by the Navy's ammunition dock proposed for Whalan Point. Since the survival of juveniles is often a significant factor in determining recruitment success, these areas could be vitally important to sustaining the Port Townsend Bay Pacific cod fisheries. The large catch of one-year-old pre-recruit Pacific cod provided substantial support for the argument that this population spends a substantial part of its early life in the bay itself (Karp and Miller 1977). During 1977-78, the Navy constructed a two-berth ammunition-loading pier extending 300 m into Port Townsend Bay from Whalan Point.

Since the 1920s, a trawl fishery for Pacific cod existed in this area. In February 1975, a set net fishery was also established in Port Townsend. Karp and Miller (1977) found the cod caught by the trawl method to be relatively small, while the set net fishery in Port Townsend Bay consistently landed cod of greater average length than the trawl fishery. Karp (1977) interpreted this to reflect that only a limited proportion of the spawning population, two and three year olds, were available to the trawl fishery while the set net fishery was taking four and five year olds. While the older fish seemed unavailable to the trawl fishery either by avoidance or location, they were not able to escape the set net fishery.

By 1991, Pacific cod in Port Townsend Bay disappeared. Despite prohibitions imposed on cod fishing in Port Townsend Bay listed in Table 5, the populations have not returned (Palsson 2000). This lack of return is likely due to climate change producing a warmer temperature regime. The presence of Pacific cod in Port Townsend Bay is particularly susceptible to shifts to warmer temperature regimes as Port Townsend represents their southernmost boundary (Palsson 2000). See Figure 13 for WDFW 2000 trawl survey results identifying the presence of cod in the Port Townsend and eastern Jefferson County area (Palsson 2000).

Pacific hake and walleye pollock (Merluccius productus and Theragra chalcogramma - Hake and pollock migrate to inshore, shallow habitats for their first year and move back to deeper water in their second year. As adults, hake and pollock are midwater schooling codfish with small resident populations in Puget Sound. Born as free-swimming pelagic larvae and after metamorphosing to juveniles, they settle to eelgrass and kelp beds. Like salmon, nearshore nursery habitats provide prey and refugia while they undergo extensive physiologic changes and become oriented to solid substrates. Their final adult habitat is in the water column above or on sand and mud basins.

English sole (Parophrys vetulus) - English sole are a common offshore species that utilize a variety of nearshore habitats as juveniles. Miller et. al (1976) found juveniles in gravel, sand-eelgrass and mud-eelgrass habitats. Larvae were found in nearshore habitats between March and May and juveniles were found throughout the year in eelgrass habitats feeding on annelids. English sole spawn offshore between September and April (Kruse and Tyler 1983). Following a pelagic early larvae stage, they move into the benthos of coastal and estuarine areas where they assume a demersal existence for the remainder of their lives (Tasto 1983; Stevens and Armstrong 1984; Krygier and Pearcy 1986; Boehlert and Mundy 1987). English sole larvae of 15mm in length settle to the substrate and at times burrow into it. Gunderson et al. (1990) found that as the fish reached 55m in length with the majority found in estuarine waters. Emigration from the estuaries was found to begin at 75-80mm with fish greater than 125mm having emigrated from the estuaries. Gunderson et al. (1990) found this migration in and out of estuaries to be length-dependent. The estuaries provide juveniles with prey resources and refuge. The disproportionately high settlement in estuaries and larval distribution patterns (Reilly 1983; Boehlert and Mundy 1987; Jamieson et. al.1989) suggest an active migration or directed transport to estuarine areas for settlement. This finding is consistent with a wide variety of fish and crustacean studies that describe the importance of specific larval behavior patterns and interactions with physical processes that can assure recruitment to estuaries (Gunderson et al. 1990; Rothlisberg 1982; Rothlisberg et al. 1983; Epifano et al. 1984; Johnson et al. 1984; Sulkin and Epifano et al 1986; Boehlert and Mundy 1988; Epifanio 1988; Shenker 1988).

Gunderson et al (1990) states that clearly prey availability is of major significance in evaluating the advantages of an estuarine existence. In studies off the Oregon Coast, English sole 17-35mm fed primarily on polychaete palps, juvenile bivalves, and harpacticoid copepods. Juveniles 35-82 mm fed on the larger amphipods and cumaceans (Hogue and Carey 1982). Toole (1980) found English sole in Humboldt Bay estuary to feed almost exclusively on harpacticoid copepods and the diet of 66-102mm sole to be dominated by polychaetes. Buechner et al (1981) found the diet of English sole in Grays Harbor to be dominated by harpacticoid copepods and gammarid amphipods in April through August and polychaetes predominating in October.

Rockfish (sebastesspp) - Rockfish inhabit rocky reef habitats as adults but use the nearshore habitat to meet juvenile rearing needs. As adults, they do not venture outside of 50m² from their preferred habitat. Born around April as free-swiming pelagic larvae, rockfish spend four months in open water (DeLacey et al. 1964). During their first year, juveniles settle into shallow habitats vegetated by bull kelp, macroalgae and eelgrass to meet critical juvenile rearing needs (Miller et al 1976, 1978; Phillips, 1984; Stober and Chew, 1984; Haldorson and Richards, 1987; Matthews, 1990; Norris 1991a). These nearshore habitats provide juvenile rockfish shelter from predation and increased access to prey resources. Juvenile survival is likely dependent upon the availability of suitable refuge habitat provided by nearshore environments (Norris 1991a). In addition to vegetated nearshore habitats, the habitats most utilized by juvenile rockfish are gravel habitats providing benthic crustacean prey resources (Miller et al.1975). Copper, quillback and brown rockfish generally eat small fish and epibenthic prey with their seasonal distribution likely reflecting prey presence. Summer feeding plays an important role in providing food for storing fat reserves for winter maintenance. Even though rockfish are a vivaparous species reproducing pelagically, pregnant rockfish make use of rocky reef and vegetated habitats to provide protection during the spring parturition period. It is likely that it is the availability of juvenile habitat and not local adult density that predicts local recruitment success. These early nursery habitats likely determine fish stock density through prey resource access and protection from mortality. Limited availability of such habitat is thought to impose a demographic bottleneck on stock recruitment (Wahle and Steneck 1991; West et al. 1995). The seasonal variation in vegetated habit is reflected in dramatic density differences (Buckley, R.M.1997). Matthews (1989) found the highest fish densities in low-relief rocky reef and sand-eelgrass habitats occurring in summer with fish densities declining in these habitats consistent with vegetation die-back. This is likely due to the lack of places for fish to hide in these habitats when vegetation disappears (Matthews 1989; Quast 1968; Stephens et al. 1984; Ebeling and Laur 1988). While winter fish densities in high-relief habitat is likely correlated to the presence of holes and crevices for fish to hide in, temperature also affects juvenile rockfish growth during their first year. Warmer temperatures, such as those found in the nearshore areas, can produce higher growth rates by possibly increasing fish food assimilation efficiency (Buckley, 1997;Love et al. 1991). Some juvenile rockfish utilize drift habitat formed by macrophytes and seagrass for prey resources and protection from predation while moving between pelagic and nearshore habitat (Buckley 1997; Bohlert 1977).

As adults, rockfish require complex, high relief substrate such as rocky or artificial reefs, slopes, pinnacles, pilings or submerged debris. Their home range is small (approximately 30-50 m² ) with little migration once they find suitable adult habitat. This site and habitat specificity makes them particularly susceptible to rapid overfishing. This small home range and their long life span of 60-90 years, coupled with late maturation results in a long recovery period following over-harvest.

Lingcod (Ophiodon elongatus) - Lingcod typically have a relatively small home range. They spawn between December and March laying eggs in rocky crevices in shallow areas with strong water motion. Eggs are then fertilized with the nests vigorously defended by the males. After dispersing from their nests, larvae spend two months in pelagic habitats as surface-oriented larvae. In late spring-early summer, juveniles move to benthic habitats, settling in shallow water, vegetated habitats (Buckley et al. 1984; Cass et al. 1990; West 1997). It is likely that juveniles use nearshore habitats for shelter and feeding. In their first fall season, juveniles move to flat, featureless bottoms where they will spend a year or two growing to a size large enough to avoid predation by other reef-dwelling species (i.e. rockfish, cabezon, larger lingcod) and move to their adult rocky reef habitat.

In studies of demersal fish populations in Port Townsend Bay, Norris caught only three juvenile cod and no adult Pacific cod in the 1991 study trawls and only one juvenile cod and no adults in the 1992 study (Norris 1991b; 1992). In general, catches of the ten most abundant species were significantly lower in 1992 than 1991. Norris' 1991, 1992, and 1997 abundance surveys report a significant difference in species compositions in the northern and southern portions of Port Townsend Bay. He attributes these differences to oceanographic and fauna differences between the two regions with considerable upwelling with flood tides occurring in the northern region of the bay. Table 4 reports Norris' 1991 and 1992 trawl results.

Table 4. Port Townsend Bay Demersal Fish Abundance-10 most Abundant Species 1991- 1992
 

Trawl Year	Pac. tomcod juv	Snake prickleback	Pac. herring	Shiner perch	blackbelly eelpout	Eng. sole	Flathead sole	Spotted ratfish	Pac. tomcod	shortfin eelpout
1991	1,403,655	100,964	55,505	44,436	39,588	36,544	32,894	26,994	24,156	17,874
1992	456,832	163,762	93,674	88,518	57,329	47,466	43,712	33,392	29,374	26,494

Source: Norris Abundance Estimates for Demersal Fish Populations in Port Townsend Bay, WA 1991;1992

Rend years' catch records for harvested marine fishes show substantial declines even given concomitant increases in fishing activities (Schmitt et al. 1994). To what degree harvest has contributed to the decreased abundance of some of these species is unknown. However, the life-history strategies of these fish make them particularly susceptible to harvest impacts to fish size, stock recruitment, and abundance. West (1997) describes "growth" overfishing as ultimately having the impact of reducing the average size of fish in a given population. This occurs by chronically harvesting the largest fish. This, in turn, profoundly effects fecundity and egg quality as smaller and younger marine fish tend to produce fewer larvae. Fecundity has been found to increase exponentially with increased size in species such as rockfish and lingcod. Therefore, limiting the size of the reproducing fish is likely to limit its fecundity or reproduction capacity.

Management

Since 1970, those major regulatory changes in commercial and recreational fisheries listed in Table 5 have impacted fishery effort trends. Following the Boldt decision and its salmon harvesting reallocation that designated 50% of the region's salmon harvest to native salmon fisheries, non-native fishers turned to increased fishing of groundfish. The detrimental effects this would impose on groundfish populations were basically unknown at that time (Palsson 2000). Since that time and in the face of declining runs, resource managers have imposed a variety of limitations on groundfish harvest. In North Sound, trawling increased from 10,000 hours to as high as 19,000 hours from the late 1970's through the1980's then declined to less than 12,000 hours since that time. In South Sound, trawling was relatively constant between 1970 to 1989 at 4,000 hours per year. From 1989 to 1993, bottom trawling was restricted to Admiralty Inlet, since 1994. Since 1994 it has been prohibited in Admiralty Inlet and the straits (Palsson et al. 1997).

Table 5. Groundfish Harvest Management
 

Year	Regulation
1978	Lingcod moratorium in South Sound south of Admiralty Inlet
1982	4.5 inch mesh size requirement for bottom trawls.
1983	Lingcod moratorium ends. Six week lingcod season in South Sound. Institution of ten fish bag limit of rockfish for recreational anglers in North Sound, five fish in South Sound. Twelve inch minimum commercial landing size for English sole. Fourteen inch minimum commercial landing size for starry flounder.
1984	Permanent closure in San Juans to bottomfish jig and troll gears.
1985	Limited entry for trawlers fishing for Pacific whiting in areas of South Sound. Depth and area restrictions for the bottom trawl fishery.
1987	Closure of the commercial fishery for Pacific cod.
1989	Bottom trawling south of Admiralty Inlet banned by Washington Legislature.
1991	Agate Passage winter closure to protect Pacific cod spawning, daily bag limit reduced from fifteen fish to two fish. Directed commercial fisheries for rockfish and lingcod prohibited by banning roller gear on trawls. Winter closure of bottom trawl fishery near Port Townsend and Protection Island.
1992	Further lingcod restrictions including reduced season from seven months to six weeks in North Sound and minimum/maximum size limits. Reduction of daily bag limit for walleye pollock form fifteen fish to five fish. Ban on bottomfish jig and troll gears east of Sekiu enacted.
1994	Rockfish daily bag limit reduced to five rockfish in North Sound and three in South Sound. Bottom trawling prohibited in Admiralty Inlet, the eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca and the San Juan Archipelago.

Source: Palsson, W., J.C. Hoeman, G.G. Bargmann and D.E. Day. 1997. 1995 Status of Puget Sound Bottomfish (revised)

Pacific Salmon

Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.)depend upon a wide range of habitats throughout their life cycle. Eastern Jefferson County has at least sixteen salmon-bearing streams draining into the marine and estuarine waters in Hood Canal, Oak Bay, Port Ludlow Bay, and Discovery Bay. Seven of these streams support Hood Canal summer chum, presently listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) as "threatened". Four eastern Jefferson County streams also support runs of the ESA-listed Puget Sound chinook. These listed species, along with pinks, return to their Hood Canal streams to spawn in September and October. Their fry emerge from the gravels in early spring of the following year for spring and summer outmigration to the open ocean as fry and fingerlings. The pinks and summer chum outmigrate as fry, 35 mm, while the chinooks outmigrate to the marine waters of Hood Canal and Puget Sound as fingerlings, (60-90mm). All of these streams appear to support cutthroat trout with at least seven streams supporting steelhead. Coho and fall chum have a slightly different cycle with their return being between October and January. With some exceptions, the coho species in this region tend to rear in their natal stream for one to two years. The spring and summer outmigration of chum and pink fry and chinook fingerlings places them in the Puget Sound estuary during its peak period of primary production. Table 6 identifies salmon populations supported by Eastern Jefferson County streams that drain into Hood Canal, Port Ludlow, Port Townsend, and Discovery Bays.

 Table 6. Eastern Jefferson County Salmon Populations
 

Stream	Chinook	Summer Chum	Fall Chum	Coho	Pinks	Steelhead	Cutthroat
Big Quil	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Little Quil	X	X
Chimacum		X	X	X		X	X
Contractor's				X			X
Dosewallips	X	X	X		X	X	X
Duckabush	X	X	X		X	X	X
Eagle Creek	unk	unk	unk	unk	unk	unk	unk
Jackson			X				X
Ludlow			X	X			X
Salmon		X		X		X	X
Shine							X
Snow		X		X		X	X
Spencer			X				X
Tarboo			X	X		X	X
Thorndyke			X	X			X
Wolcott			X				X

Sources: WDF & WWTT 1992; Parametrix 2000; Correa 2000)

Habitat - Primary production fuels the juvenile salmonid food web. In marine and estuarine waters, juveniles prey upon the small copepods (i.e. secondary producers) that feed upon diatoms and other microbial colonizers associated with microalgae and detritus (Cordell 1986, D'Amours 1987). Studying migrating juvenile chum in Hood Canal, Simenstad (1980) found chum to selectively prey on the harpacticoid copepods found in very high quantities in eelgrass beds. Study findings suggest links between the availability of harpacticoid crops, migration speed, and fish size. Smaller crops of harpacticoids appeared to link to faster migration speeds and smaller fish size (Simenstad et al.1980). It was found that harpacticoid crops in eelgrass meadows average five to eight times the magnitude found in other nearshore habitats (Simenstad et al.1980). The affinity of the harpacticoid for eelgrass lies in the rich prey resources provided by epiphytic communities associated with the eelgrass shoots and rhizomes. The harpacticoid feed on diatoms, detritus, and microbial communities that make up the brown epiphytic felt accumulating on eelgrass shoots.

Given this reliance on nearshore estuarine habitat, they are particularly susceptible to productivity changes in those habitats. The period of estuarine residence is one of critical growth and high mortality risks for such salmonids (Bax 1983, 1981; Whitmus 1985). The stresses they encounter upon entering estuarine waters are immense. Their entry into saltwater triggers a series of hormonal and rapid physiologic changes transforming them into smolts and triggering physiologic adaptation to saltwater. Due to their small size and ongoing physiologic changes, their predation risk is high. Studies have shown that docks, bulkheads, and shoreline construction can reduce important marine productivity in nearshore habitat by limiting light, changing wave energy, and altering the type of available substrates (Simenstad. et al. 1999). Changes in the type and quantity of nearshore vegetation can reduce the abundance of small copepods that serve as prey for juvenile salmon. Simenstad (1979) found that the abundance of such prey determined the rate of juvenile growth.

In the mid-1980's, populations of Hood Canal summer chum began to seriously decline. This included the extirpation of the Hood Canal summer chum run in Chimacum Creek in Port Townsend Bay. The summer chum run in Salmon Creek in Discovery Bay declined to a critically low level during that time. In 1999, the Hood Canal summer chum and Puget Sound chinook were listed as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act. The factors specific to the decline of Hood Canal summer chum are well documented in the WDFW and Point No Point Treaty Tribes' Summer Chum Salmon Conservation Initiative (WDFW et al. 2000). Comprehensive life history, abundance and production information is also available in the NMFS/NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-NWFSC-32, Status Review of Chum Salmon from Washington, Oregon, and California (Johnson et al.1997). Similarly, NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-NWFSC-35 Status Review of Chinook Salmon from Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and California (Myers et al. 1998) provides the same scope of information specific to Puget Sound chinook. Detailed technical information on fresh and marine water quality, water quantity, habitat and stock assessment, instream flow, data quality, gaps and limitations for the entire eastern Jefferson County WRIA 17 is available in the Stage I Technical Assessment Water Resource Inventory Area 17 now in draft form (Parametrix 2000). This document is presently under review by agencies, salmon recovery, and water resource groups within the watershed area for accuracy. It is the most comprehensive document on this watershed published to date.

Restoration - In 1992, in response to these declines, WDFW and local volunteers began a broodstocking program operating two small hatcheries on tributaries to Salmon and Chimacum Creeks to supplement the Salmon Creek run and reintroduce the summer chum population to Chimacum Creek. This program continues as of 2000. The summer chum population began returning to Chimacum Creek in 1999. The supplementation at Salmon Creek has increased that run by eight to ten times in magnitude compared to their 1990 status.

Bahls (1996) found considerable salmonid habitat loss and degradation in the upper Chimacum Creek watershed. Since that time, considerable stream restoration and conservation work has been accomplished in the farmlands of Chimacum Valley through the partnership efforts of Jefferson County Conservation District, Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, the North Olympic Salmon Coalition, the Jefferson Land Trust, Wild Olympic Salmon, Washington State University, Trout Unlimited, Jefferson County, and local tribes. These efforts include stream reconfiguration and remeanders, plantings to restore a stream riparian system, placement of additional large woody debris, removal of fish passage barriers, removal of invasive plant species such as reed canary grass, and fencing livestock out of the stream. These fencing efforts appear to have improved water quality and marine shellfish resources by reducing fecal coliform loading to Port Townsend Bay.

IDENTIFIED ANTHROPOGENIC STRESSORS

Habitat Loss

Shallow nearshore marine habitats provide important passage for fish, larvae, and ocean water movement. Protecting these important habitats is key to protecting the future of important fish and shellfish stocks and species diversity. In Washington, habitat loss has been identified as the most serious threat to the marine ecosystems of Puget Sound and the Northwest Straits. The British Columbia/Washington Marine Science Panel (1994) designated threat based upon: 1) the importance of such habitat for the survival of valued species; 2) the region's current and projected rapid increase in human population and its projected effects on natural habitats, and 3) the known irreversibility of habitat alteration and loss. Due to their proximity to urban development and their limited areal extent, nearshore marine habitats are particularly vulnerable to loss and degradation (Norris 1991a; Doty and Landry 1990). The importance of shallow nearshore vegetated habitat has been well documented. Habitats previously assumed to be unproductive are now recognized as important nurseries (Bennett 1989). The limited extent of a given habitat utilized during a particular life stage is theorized to cause a "bottleneck" in the ability of the species to produce viable adult populations (Wahle and Steneck 1991). Alarming declines in plant and animal populations in Washington's inland marine waters (Wright 1999) have magnified the need to identify and avoid stressors to the nearshore fauna. Fish populations suffering from significant anthropogenic stresses in need of special consideration for protection include Pacific salmon, Pacific herring, Pacific cod, walleye pollock, Pacific hake, and three species of demersal rockfish (Wilson et al. 1994, West, 1997). Other nearshore fishes, critical to these species are the forage fishes, such as herring, sand lance, and surf smelt. At some point in their juvenile rearing stage, each of these species rely on nearshore vegetated habitat to meet critical rearing needs in a habitat rich in both prey resources and shelter.

Harvest Impacts

Commercial and recreational fisheries have impacted the status of these species through impacts to growth and recruitment. Overfishing occurs through the chronic harvest of the largest fish in a given population. This practice reduces the average size of the affected fish population producing a profound effect on population-level fecundity and egg and larvae viability (West, 1997; Ellertsen and Solemdal 1990). Palsson and Pacunski (1995) found rockfish in protected marine areasto be more abundant, substantially larger and more fecund than fish in nearby fished areas. Similarly, annual lingcod egg production in the marine protected area was as much as ten times greater than production in fish areas. Recruitment overfishing occurs when adult populations are so reduced that reproduction is insufficient to maintain stocks. Demographic overfishing has the effect of reducing the diversity of age classes leaving only a few year classes to maintain the fishery. This makes the stock more susceptible to collapse during naturally poor recruitment years. Pacific cod, hake, and walleye pollock are short-lived species with only a few year classes present at any one time. Overfishing such species leaves them more vulnerable to collapse during years of climate-related stock declines (West 1997).

Those species with small home ranges, such as the rockfish, who stay within 50m² of their home range, are also highly susceptible to targeted fishing in their home range (Matthews 1989). Furthermore, their exceptionally long life-span of 30-90 years, and late maturation in the Puget Sound range make their recovery a long-term effort once they are over-harvested (West 1997).

DATA GAPS

Further cataloguing and analysis of existing and future field survey sheets concerning juvenile and adult forage fish distribution and abundance could further identify trends in distribution and abundance. Since these species are of key importance to a wide variety of important fish, marine mammal, and bird populations, a database incorporating distribution trends across multiple species and life history stages could identify multiple population trends and ecosystem linkages in order to protect and restore critical life-support pathways in the marine ecosystem.

5. INVERTEBRATES

This section of the report focuses upon invertebrate resources within the boundaries of the Jefferson County Marine Resource Committee identified as stressed or threatened. These invertebrates are identified by the state as "classified" to include those species commercially and recreationally harvested, and as "unclassified" to include non-game invertebrates that are not formally managed, but that are still harvested.

CHARACTERIZATION OF THE RESOURCE

The combination of rocky reefs, swells, and substantial exposure to wind waves determine plant and animal asemblages occurring along the partially exposed cobble shorelines from Pt. Wilson to Cape George of North Beach. The frequent overturning by waves support particular plants and animals living just under the cobbles, and animals living in the sand under the cobbles. The dominant species for this habitat can vary dramatically with variation in the degree of exposure and the percentage of shelf in the sand and beach slope. The periwinkle (Littorina spp.) is a species typical to these environments along with the small crab (Hemigrapsusnudus), the clam (Macoma inquinata). Barnacles, the mussel (Mytilus edulis), the littleneck clams (Protothaca staminea) and the clam (Macoma balthica) are also common to these habitats. The porcelain crab (Petrolisthes spp.), the red crab (Cancer productus) and dungeness crabs (Cancer magister) are also common to these habitats. The seastar (Leptasterias hexactis) is the least conspicuous yet the most common seastar. It is particularly abundant on beaches with many loose rocks. This seastar feeds on limpets, snails, chitons, mussels and barnacles, all of which are found along the Strait of Juan de Fuca shoreline between Point Wilson and Point McCurdy. The brittle star (Amphipholis squamata) that feeds upon detritus and diatoms, are also common to these environments. The beaches along the Strait of Juan de Fuca near Point Wilson are documented surf smelt spawning beaches. Depending on the currents, surf smelt larvae could also be part of the summer nearshore ecosystem. In those lower zones offering finer substrates, ghost and mud shrimp populations may also be found. The marine intertidal habitat of Discovery Bay is a mix of semi-protected gravel and sand shoreline habitat that supports littleneck clams, Transennella clams, Crangon spp. shrimp, and dungeness crab (Cancer magister). In addition, forage fish larvae, including surf smelt, herring and sand lance larvae and eggs are found in spring and summer throughout Discovery Bay. The more protected intertidal estuaries of Port Townsend Bay, the west side of Marrowstone Island, Kilisut Harbor, and Oak Bay offer a variety of habitats for invertebrate communities. These habitats include the lagoon and salt marsh habitats at the mouth of Chimacum Creek and the north end of Oak Bay, the sand and eelgrass habitats lining the Port Townsend Bay shoreline, and the rocky intertidal habitats along the northwestern shores of Marrowstone Island.

Geoducks ( Panopea generosa) - The state has classified 23 geoduck tracts in the Puget Sound and Northwest Straits area during 1997-1999. These tracts are often offshore in waters greater than 18 feet below mean lower low water providing some protection from pollution sources (WSDOH 1999). The only classified tract lying within the confines of theJefferson County MRC boundaries is the tract on the northern side of Protection Island.

Olympia Oyster (Ostrea lurida) - The Olympia Oyster, a native shellfish of Washington State, once provided a thriving statewide industry with a rich bed in the southern end of Discovery Bay. Shaffer (1999) reports that Discovery Bay was the first place that non-native people found and ate the now rare, historically important Olympia oyster. Vancouver's crew sampled Olympia oysters at Discovery Bay in 1792. Miners of the California Gold Rush paid $20 a plate for Olympias shipped from Washington. However, by the 1940's, the Olympias were depleted. With water quality degradation and over-harvesting bringing it to its near demise, the Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) replaced it in world markets. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is developing an Olympia oyster stock rebuilding strategy to restore the native oyster to its historical geographic range (Shaffer and Cook 1998).

Table 7. Recreationally and Commercially Harvested Invertebrates
 

Phylum	Class	Major Species
Mollusca	Gastropoda	snails, abalones
Mollusca	Bivalvia	oysters, clams, geoduck, mussels, scallops
Mollusca	Cephalopoda	squid, octopus
Arthropoda	Crustacea	crab, shrimp, barnacles
Echinodermata	Echinoidea	Sea urchins (roe)
Echinodermata	Holothuroidea	Sea cucmbers

CLASSIFICATION OF SHELLFISH AREAS

The DOH is mandated to protect shellfish consumers from illness caused by eating shellfish contaminated by fecal pathogens, biotoxins, and contaminants. DOH classifies shellfish growing areas using two components: a shoreline survey identifying all significant point and nonpoint pollution sources and through water quality sampling. The shoreline survey consists of an evaluation of all significant point and nonpoint pollution sources. The water quality sampling consists of routine sampling of stations with a geometric mean not to exceed 14 fecal coliforms per 100 milliliters of water, with ten percent not to exceed 43 fecal coliforms per 100 milliliters of water. An area cannot be approved for harvest if it fails both the shoreline survey and the water quality criteria. If all sampling and survey criteria are met, the area is classified as Approved. If a water quality criterion is violated, but pollution events are episodic and predictable, an area will be Conditionally Approved. If an area is unable to meet Approved or Conditionally Approved criteria, it is classified as Restricted. A chronically polluted area is classified as Prohibited (WDOH 2000). Appendix A Figure 4 maps WDOH shellfish classification areas.

Commercial and Recreational

According to the Washington State DOH 1999 Shellfish Report, Discovery Bay, Kilisut Harbor, and Oak Bay are approved commercial shellfish beach tracts. Port Townsend Bay north of Kala Point, the northern end of Oak Bay and the southern end of Marrowstone Island, and the northwest end of Marrowstone Island were all open for recreational shellfishing. Eight biotoxin mussel sites are tested regularly by DOH these are: Discovery Bay, Cape George, Fort Worden, Fort Flagler, Mystery Bay, Oak Bay County Park, Scow Bay, and Port Ludlow. In 1999, fourteen confirmed cases of vibriosis were linked to Washington shellfish during 1999. All of these cases were linked to oysters. The harvest sites for the contaminated commercial products included Kilisut Harbor (Determan 2000a).

Recreational beach classifications are dependent upon the commercial classification of those areas. Conditional beaches are those recreational areas within a commercial beach with that classification. These beaches close and open based upon criteria such as rainfall, seasonal marina usage, etc. Closed beaches are those within a prohibited or restricted commercial area or otherwise do not meet sanitary standards for water quality for shellfish harvesting (WDOH 2000).

Marina sites such as Point Hudson and the Port of Port Townsend's Boat Haven are always closed to shellfishing due to the nature of activities occurring at those sites.

Contaminants and Impacts

Jefferson County MRC Areas - Fecal Coliform Contamination

In 1999, Washington State Department of Health (DOH) ranked all identified growing areas within the Jefferson County Northwest Straits boundaries as good with no stations ranking less than good (WDOH 2000). Bacteriological quality of marine water must satisfy two criteria in order to qualify as an approved growing area. The concentration of fecal coliform bacteria must not exceed a geometric mean of 14 per 100 ml and not more than 10 percent of samples can exceed 43 organisms per 100 ml. An early warning is generated if investigation identifies more than 10 percent of the sample group indicates 30 organisms per 100 ml. Even if the approved criteria are met, the DOH may classify an area as Conditionally Approved, Restricted, or Prohibited if pollution sources show contamination may occur in a given area (WDOH 2000).

PSP Impacts - Since 1957, the DOH has regularly monitored for paralytic shellfish poison (PSP) impacts and other biotoxins accumulating in shellfish. Started in the 1980's, DOH's Sentinel Biotoxin Program provides early warning of toxic episodes. When an area shows levels exceeding 80 micrograms of PSP toxin per 100 g of shellfish tissue, DOH closes it to shellfish harvest. In Washington, PSP is produced by the dinoflagellate Alexandrium catenella. Blooms tend to be seasonal occurring in spring through early fall. PSP is a saxitoxin that interferes with nerve functioning in warm-blooded animals. Primary PSP contamination symptoms are numbness; tingling of the lips, tongue, face and extremities; difficulty talking, breathing and swallowing; loss of muscular coordination, and paralysis. If it paralyzes the respiratory system, it can lead to death within an hour or two from consuming a contaminated shellfish (Determan 2000a). The DOH PSSP hotline is http://www.doh.wa.gov/ehp/sf/biotox.htm.

Jefferson County MRC Area PSP Impacts - From 1996 to 1998, six locations in Puget Sound registered high PSP impacts. Discovery Bay and Mystery Bay in Kilisut Harbor were two of these, and were rated as high impact due to the total duration of PSP being greater than 90 days. Discovery Bay showed impacts from 1991 to 1998 with the longest intervals being in 1992 and 1993. Moderate PSP impacts were found off the northwest tip of Marrowstone Island and low PSP impacts were found in Port Ludlow. From 1991 through 1998, maximum PSP duration occurred at four sites near the Strait of Juan de Fuca. These were Sequim and Discovery Bays and Kilisut Harbor. There does not appear to be a relationship between PSP duration and human activity. PSP tends to be higher if flushing is limited. Temperature also plays an important part, as shellfish metabolism increases with increased water temperature and decreases with reduced water temperatures (Determan 2000a). PSP toxins accumulate in marine animals from feeding either directly on toxic phytoplankton or secondarily on consumers of toxic phytoplankton such as zooplankton, bivalves, predatory marine snails, crabs, fish, birds, and marine mammals. Mass mortalities among other shellfish-eating animals, such as birds, fur seals, foxes, sea otter, and humpback whales have also been traced to PSP (Geraci, et al. 1989).

Bivalve shellfish (oysters, mussels, clams etc) concentrate the biotoxin when they filter toxic phytoplankton out of the water while feeding. Phytoplankton, single-celled marine plants, are the basic source of energy for all components of the marine food web. Winter freshwater streamflows bring nutrients into marine waters from nearby uplands and watersheds, while storm winds mix the freshwater with nutrient-rich water from the open sea. During the winter, sunlight is limited and phytoplankton are carried from the surface to dimly lit depths where they await the arrival of favorable conditions for growth.

In early spring, winds subside and the sun-warmed surface water stabilize the water column greatly reducing vertical mixing. Nutrients in stable water columns in the presence of sunlight can bring on explosive phytoplankton growths. These blooms can color the tide orange, purple or red causing the name "red tide". By late summer, nutrients are depleted in surface waters and phytoplankton begins to die back. The PSP dinoflagellates move to deeper water where nutrients remain plentiful and later return to the sunlit surface to carry on photosynthesis. Those dinoflagellates causing "red tide" are a group of phytoplankton consisting of two whip-like flagella that enable them to move vertically in the water column. This ability to migrate vertically in the water column gives them an advantage over other phytoplankton. As winds mix the water column and temperatures drop, these dinoflagellates form resting cysts that settle to the bottom and await favorable growth conditions (Anderson 1980). Dale (1978) reports that a resting cyst can be ten times as toxic as its free-swimming form. In the warmer months of spring and summer, bivalves take in PSP more quickly, while in the winter conditions of lower temperatures and lower sunlight, the dinoflagellate (Alexandrium atenella) encysts and settles out at a time when shellfish filtration rates drop. Butter clams and other species have been shown to retain significant levels of PSP toxin long after the cessation of filter feeding with some bivalves retaining PSP long after it has disappeared from the water column (Determan 2000a). For at least 200 years, humans have been stricken by paralytic shellfish poisoning here in the northwest. In 1973, some members of Captain Vancouver's crew became sick with PSP. One crew member died shortly after eating shellfish along the BC coast (Strickland 1983). The dinoflagellate responsible for PSP in the Strait of Georgia was first identified in 1965.

Shellfish Toxic Contamination - DOH has identified seven fish and shellfish consumption advisories related to toxic chemical contamination. Advisory locations include Commencement Bay, Dogfish Bay in Keyport, Dyes and Sinclair inlets in Bremerton, Eagle Harbor at Winslow, the Seattle vicinity and Indian Island in Jefferson county. The fish and shellfish affected on Indian Island were shellfish. The contaminants identified were pesticides, PCBs and metals (PSWQAT 2000).

Non-indigenous Species

In addition to the non-indigenous plant invasion of spartina previously identified in the nearshore section of this report, animal species have been increasingly identified as invaders and potential invaders of local waters. Gramling (2000) reports that many of these introduced aquatic species are causing large-scale economic damage and ecological change. Ship Ballast water is believed to be a major vector in the transport of these species. The Puget Sound/Georgia Basin Task Force and the Puget Sound Water Quality Action Team identify these invasions as a significant threat to the biological health and integrity of this region. They have assigned this a top priority to minimize the introduction of exotic species.

The European green crab, a non-native species, was first discovered in Washington along the outer coast in June 1998. This small crab is a ferocious predator of native plants and animals including commercially and recreationally important clams, oysters and mussels. In response to this invasion, 80 green crab monitoring sites have been established in the Puget Sound and Northwest Straits area. As of February 2000, no European green crabs have been found in Puget Sound (PSWT). WDFW continues to monitor for green crab off the north and south ends of Marrowstone and Indian Island, the Port Townsend Marine Science Center monitors for green crab in PT Bay, and volunteers monitor Discovery Bay, Oak Bay and the west side of Marrowstone.

A 1998 Puget Sound Rapid Assessment Survey in Puget Sound identified 39 exotics species amongst dock fouling organisms. Four exotic species were identified at the Port of Port Townsend Boat Haven Marina, the Port Hadlock Marina, and the Port Ludlow Marina (Cohen et al. 1998). Exotic Asian copepods that are invading Seattle ports are likely to compete and displace our native copepods that play an important part in the marine food web. They also pose the risk of bringing diseases for which native species have no mmunodefense mechanism.

Data Gaps

Further information and study is needed to identify the extent and rate of invasion of non-indigenous species to this area. The Cohen et. al. (1998) rapid assessment survey identified that invasion has occurred. Given that MRC waters are within international shipping lanes and ballast water is one of the identified sources of such invasion, this data gaps warrants further study. Given the identified invasion of asian copepods in Seattle waters and the location of Port Townsend along major shipping lanes between the Pacific Ocean and Seattle, the need to fill this data gap is magnified.

6. BIRDS

CHARACTERIZATION OF THE RESOURCE

The rocky Jefferson County coastline provides breeding, nesting, rearing, and rest shelters along bird migratory routes. Estuaries are known to provide rich food resources. In the Puget Sound region, three of the five common species of diving birds appear to be declining in abundance (PSWQAT 2000). From 1992 to 1999, WDFW has conducted through the Puget Sound Ambient Monitoring Program (PSAMP) aerial surveys to monitor the abundance and distribution of medium to large diving marine birds and waterfowl in the greater Puget Sound region. The abundance of scoters and western grebes, in particular, has significantly declined in the area since the 1970's. Eighteen percent of breeding seabirds along the marine shorelines of Washington State concentrate in the northwestern end of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Neah bay, Cape Flattery and the northern coast of Washington and sixteen percent nest on Protection Island (Speich and Wahl 1989). In terms of regional distribution in the Northwest Straits area, eighty-one percent of the seabirds in the U.S. portion of the Northwest Straits are concentrated at Tatoosh Island, Protection Island, Smith and Minor Islands, and Colville Island (Wahl and Paulson 1981). Ryan (2000) estimates that seventy two percent of the region's breeding seabirds nest on Protection Island. This is consistent with Speich and Whal's 1989 findings. This large population of seabirds nesting on Protection Island is due to the island's favorable conditions for bird breeding. These conditions include: temperate weather, protected conditions, isolation from human disturbance, soft soils for nest burrowing, and access to adjacent marine waters for prey resources.

Western grebes (Aechmophorous occidentalis), pigeon guillemots (Cepphus columbia), white-winged Scoter (Melanitta fusca), surf scoter (Melanitta perspicillata, American widgeons (Mareca americana), harlequin ducks (Historionicus hisdtrionicus), bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias), black oystercatcher (Haematopus bachmani), Caspian tern (Sterna caspia), ring-billed gull (Larus delawarensis), common murre (Uria aalge), rhinoceros auklet (Cerorhinca monocerata), tufted puffins (Lunda cirrhata), Glaucous-winged gull, and osprey (Pandion haliaetus) are some of the seabirds that use the exposed waters of the Northwest Straits (Mahaffy et al. 1994; Nysewander 2000; Ryan 2000).Their foraging activity tends to be associated with schools and communities of their preferred prey, such as herring and euphausids, and tidal fronts that increase prey access. Marbled murrelets (Brachyramphus marmaoratus) who nest in old growth forests are also known to use these nearshore habitats for prey resources.

Seabirds fall into two general life history strategy categories. There are those that spend most of their lives near the shore and roost on shore and those that come to land only during the breeding season or intermittently during the year. In this latter group of pelagic birds, some species make nocturnal returns to breeding nests to feed their young and others return diurnally, making multiple trips back to the nest each day. Breeding colony sites are a very critical habitat for seabirds. Species continuation depends on the intact nature of these sites. In the Northwest Straits, disturbance-induced stress is described as the most likely longterm factor affecting seabird populations. These disturbances are subtle but devastating to birds. Disturbances include: slight disruption of courtship behavior, disturbance during the incubation and feeding of nestlings, predation by conspecific adults and other species, loss of prey resources, lethal fish harvesting interactions, and recreational boating and associated activities near wildlife refuges (Speich and Wahl 1989).

Many seabirds use protected and semi-protected deeper waters, leeward sides of islands, and bays for resting, mating, breeding or waiting out storms. For most nesting seabirds, February to October is a highly sensitive nesting time. This timeframe also includes the time that humans recreational use of the waters of the Northwest Straits increases and humans visit marine shorelines in greater numbers. However, during this time, humans should exercise special precautions near nesting sites. If humans or predators approach nesting areas too closely, adult birds may leave the nest resulting in chicks or eggs being preyed upon, crushed or trampled (Nysewander 2000).

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service regularly monitors and surveys bird populations on the Protection Island Refuge. Bird surveys are also performed in July and December-February each year in accordance with the Puget Sound Ambient Monitoring Program (PSAMP). This data is available through GIS mapping products from the WDFW Wildlife Resource Data Systems in Olympia. PSAMP monitoring of regionwide shorebird distribution between 1993-1994 identified the highest population of winter shorebirds in the Jefferson County MRC area to occur in Kilisut Harbor where over 1,079 shorebirds were counted in 1992-93 and 557 counted in 1993-94. Variation in this shorebird count is likely due to seasonal and daily variations due to prey availability and disturbance occurrences. They do not necessarily reflect a longterm trend (Evenson and Buchanan 1995).

Surf Scoter (Melanitta perspicillata) - The surf scoter is referred to as the hardiest of ducks at braving severe weather and sea conditions. However, beginning in late winter, their courtship takes place in calm, protected waters (Angell and Balcomb 1982). Surf scoters prey upon molluscs and crustaceans caught in dives over rock, sand, and mud substrates in bays and channels. They can also be seen in large feeding aggregates. Over the last 20 years, densities of scoters have decreased by different varying rates throughout Puget Sound. Movements within or outside of Washington State do not account for these ongoing declines. It is unknown what is causing these declines. Data from the past 20 years, found that all winter areas on the west coast showed scoter population declines (Nysewander and Evenson (1998).

White-winged Scoter (Melanitta fusca) - This scoter is a common migrant and winter resident along the Strait of Juan de fuca and Puget Sound. Winter poulations of white-winged scoters have been identified to include Admiralty Inlet, Disocvery Bay, and the straits. They dive over a wide variety of substrates preferring locations supporting shellfish. Their prey consists of crabs, clams, and mussels and herring spawn.

 Western grebes (Aechmophorous occidentalis) - The western grebe population has declined even more than the scoter populations over the last 20 years. Wahl and Paulson (1981) reported 38,000 western grebes in Bellingham in the 1978-79 MESA studies but recent PSAMP surveys have never recorded over 5-7000 in that same area from 1993 to 1999. Survey data shows a decline of 50 percent or more over the last 20 years. Fish are primary prey for grebes. Prey species consumed include Pacific herring, sculpin, smelt, shiner perch and shrimp (Salo 1975).

Pigeon guillemots (Cepphus columba) - Pigeon guillemots are well-distributed as inland marine year-round residents of Washington State. A PSAMP breeding colony census found 367 colonies within Puget Sound with a total of 10,600 breeding birds counted in 1999. These 1999-2000 breeding site surveys lack comparable historical records from which to draw trends. Over 2000 Pigeon guillemots were counted on Protection Island in 1990 (Ryan 2000). Regionwide Puget Sound data comparisons between the 1978-79 MESA transects and recent PSAMP studies suggest winter densities have declined by 36% over the last 20 years (Nysewander 2000). Based on observations, the summer 1978-79 MESA study in the Northwest Straits projected a total of 560 Pigeon guillemots on Protection Island, 30 in Discovery Bay, and 35 in Admiralty Inlet (Wahl and Paulson 1981).

The diet of the pigeon guillemot is dependent upon shallow sublittoral fish such as blennies, flatfish, clingfish, and sculpins, Pacific sand lance, surf smelt, black prickleback, snake prickleback, and small flatfish have been found to be the principal prey fed to nestlings (Simenstad et. al 1979a). They concentrate their prey search in shallow nearshore areas (Angell and Balcomb 1982).

American wigeons (Mareca americana) - The American widgeon is the region's most abundant dabbling duck species, representing a significant proportion of the dabbling ducks found in marine environments. This bird spends more time in marine waters than other dabbling ducks with local wintering populations spending an average of eight months per year in Puget Sound marine waters. Gardner (1978) counted 36,000 at the Dungeness Bay and Spit in October and 18,000 in January.

Harlequin ducks (Historionicus hisdtrionicus) - Harlequin ducks nest along swift moving streams but return to the saltwater to molt, breed, and forage in the winter. They tend to concentrate in exposed rock, cobble and kelp habitats throughout the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Georgia Basin. Surveys from 1991 to 1997 suggest increasing populations with subsequent declines from 1996 to 1999 likely due to a decrease in harlequins at Protection Island. This is attributed to the recent loss of considerable kelp beds at Protection Island. Harlequin's feed almost entirely upon animal matter, such as small crustceans, molluscs and some fish. The Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge is very important to wintering harlequins (Angell and Balcomb 1982). Peak surveys show a generally stable population of low numbers of harlequins recently wintering in Washington's marine waters.

Bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) - The bald eagle is listed as a "threatened" species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Recently, it has been proposed for removal from the federal endangered species list due to improved status. However, during the last 20 years, average productivity of the Hood Canal population has remained significantly below the Washington State's productivity average in most years and has fluctuated more dramatically than the statewide values (Mahaffy 2000). The Pacific State Bald Eagle Recovery Plan established recovery goals of an average of one fledged young per occupied breeding area, and an average success rate for occupied breeding areas of not less than 65% over a five year period to warrant removal from the listing. Productivity of the Hood Canal population has shown considerable variability between 1997 and 1999. It is believed that toxic contaminants may be cause for the low productivity. If productivity remains consistently lower than the statewide values, or the nest success rate continues to dramatically fluctuate, further study concerning contaminants in Hood Canal eagles and their food web are needed to assess if contaminants are impacting the eagles (Mahaffy 2000). Adverse weather during the incubation period, habitat alteration, and human disturbance during breeding and nesting seasons, egg and chick predation, and inadequate prey resources could also be factors. Large populations of wintering juveniles and adults are found along the local region's shores.

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) - Great Blue Heron populations in Puget Sound increased dramatically in the 1960s and as of 1995 have remained stable (Norton 1995). However, recent data may show declines. Bald eagle incursions into heron colonies are identified as a factor that threatens productivity of heron colonies in western Washington. When eagles harass herons, the herons temporarily abandon their nests leaving the nests and eggs vulnerable to crows. Repeated eagle incursions into heron colonies can result in herons abandoning the colony. In 1999, very few colonies were free of harassment by eagles. Colder weather, exposure to contaminants incorporated into the food web, development into their foraging habitat, and population shifts to upland areas are also likely contributors to their declines.

Rhinocerous auklets (Cerorhinca mnonocerata) - Two of the three main colonies in the Northwest Straits area occur at Protection and Smith Islands. These populations represent 60 percent of the state's breeding population. In 1979 Manuwal reported 17,800 breeding pairs on Protection Island. In 1990, 17,000 pairs of Rhinocerous auklets were considered to be nesting on Protection Island (Ryan 2000). This large concentration on Protection Island is due to a number of factors but important to them are the soft soils in which they can dig their nesting burrows and the isolation from human disturbances. They are very susceptible to human disturbance of their breeding habitat with fleeing adults leaving chicks and eggs vulnerable to predation. During the summer months, Rhinocerous auklets fish the waters of Admiralty Inlet, Discovery Bay and waters around Protection and Smith Islands on regular basis. At dusk and darkness they return to their burrows to feed their young. Their beaks are especially adapted to catch and hold multiple small fish. Their preferred prey appears to be forage fish.

Marbled murrelet (Brachyramphus marmaoratus)- The marbled murrelet, listed as a threatened species, under the ESA in Washington, Oregon, and California has suffered great population declines. It is believed that the murrelet is suffering primarily from a loss of nesting habitat due to the loss of old growth forest habitat. They have also shown very low recruitment rates with predation suspected to be a significant factor. In 1979, Manuwal estimated the breeding population to be an estimated 800 pairs. Based on observations, Manuwal (1979) projected populations of 10 murrelets in Admiralty Inlet and 10 birds in Discovery Bay. Although, they may feed in the Northwest Straits throughout the year, their concentrations are larger during the fall and winter (Angell and Balcomb 1982).

Common murre (Uria aalge) -The common murre of the Northwest Strait is experiencing depressed populations. They are coastal breeders that utilize inner marine waters a significant portion of the year and forage in exposed offshore waters of the straits. Angell and Balcom (1982) report that each year hundreds of murres drown in fishing nets in northern Puget Sound and the straits. From 1979 to 1993, their populations have declined along Washington coasts. The cause for their decline has not been identified. Murres feed on sand lance, herring, smelt and some bottomfish in open channels. June and July are egg incubation periods. They use steep cliffs for nesting and are particularly sensitive to human disturbance during the breeding season (Angell and Balcomb 1982).

Tufted puffin (Lunda cirrhata) - The puffin breeding populations have been drastically reduced over the past 30 years. There does not appear to be any one easily identifiable cause for this decline. Their numbers have remained low for the last 20 years in most sites along the eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca and the San Juan Islands. The population on Protection Island has declined from 30 pair identified in the mid-70's to 20 nesting pairs in 1987 and to less than 20 in 1990.

Similar to the Rhinocerous auklet, the puffin digs a burrow for nesting. It is highly susceptible to human disturbance. Development pressure on Protection Island at one time caused continued erosion of nesting grounds for the thousands of birds nesting there. Sightseers can also cause mortalities as human presence can cause puffins to take flight exposing eggs and chicks to predators (Angell and Balcomb 1982). Glaucous winged gulls, crows, and river otters are also predators likely having an impact on population growth (Ryan 2000). Like the Rhinocerous auklet, their beaks are especially adapted to catch and hold multiple small fish. Their preferred prey appears to be forage fish. However, unlike the Rhinocerous auklet, they return to their nests diurnally or multiple times during the day.

Pelagic cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus) - In 1989, 2,238 birds were counted. This population appears steady. Their colonies move between the San Juans, Protection Island, and Smith Island. In 1990, 720 nests were counted on Protection Island (Rynan 2000). They appear to relocate in response to harassment by eagles and humans. They often form breeding colonies and nest in steep rocky cliffs. They begin laying eggs in June. These birds feed on herring, bottomfish and crustaceans.

Double-crested cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) - In 1989, 1,100 birds were counted. One third of the state's population is located at the southern end of Rosario Strait. On Protection Island, population counts were: 68 pairs in 1986; 172 pair in 1987, and 230 pair in 1990. They make daily foraging excursions primarily at dusk and dawn.

Black oystercatcher (Haematopus bachmani) - Although their populations appear to be stable, they are small populations. In 1909, the Washington oystercatcher population was reported to be 200 individuals. In 1973-75, Nyeswander counted 260-286 oystercatchers in Washington with only 63-89 of these individuals in inland waters (Nysewander 1977; 2000). Although they are no longer found in southern Puget Sound, their overall numbers are relatively constant. The nesting and rearing strategies of these birds makes their young particularly susceptible to disturbance and predation risks. These birds breed in May and June and make their nests in the gravels just above high tide but before shoreline vegetation. This leaves their nests relatively exposed and very vulnerable to human and predator disturbances. This is why you are not likely to find their nests on beaches where humans are present. They are very sensitive to the presence of humans and predators and they only nest in isolated areas such as Protection Island, Smith Island, and remote coastal areas. Approximately 80% of the total state population are on the coast away from developed areas, while the remaining population is on isolated islands such as Protection and Smith. In 1990, on Protection Island there were 9 territories identified as oystercatcher territories and this year there are only 3 or 4.

The newly hatched young remain with their parents for a period of three to five weeks to learn how to use their beaks as a prying, snipping or breaking tool depending upon the prey resources in their habitat. Their preferred prey are mussels and limpets. For feeding on mussels, they feed on higher tides when the shellfish are open to filter feed, after inserting their bill into the shell, they snip out the tissue used by the mussel to keep the shell closed. They then remove the meat. For harvesting limpets, they use their beak as a prying tool to pry the animal from the rock, and in the case of weak shelled mussels, they break through the shell. The young learn to use these tools by watching their parents. This is unlike the majority of young seabirds that leave the nest within days and are off on their own. During their incubation period, the eggs and chicks are particularly at risk of being left exposed to predators when the parents are frightened or disturbed. Storms and extreme high tides can also be lethal to nesting eggs and chicks. Their predators include crows, gulls, and otters. They have relatively long life-spans, which have been found to be up to 30 years in captivity and 10-15 years in the wild. Their longevity and breeding each successive year likely offsets their increased vulnerability during the incubation stage (Nysewander 2000).

Caspian tern (Sterna caspia) - This bird is found mostly in outer coast estuaries and has a non-breeding population in the Northwest Straits area. In 1992 a colony of 600 nesting birds was established in the Everett area but were dispersed from this site when their breeding site was developed by the Navy (Nysewander 2000).

Glaucous-winged gull (Larus glaucescens) - In 1989, 19,200 birds were counted. Over half of Washington's breeding population are in Puget Sound with 30 percent at Protection Island. The breeding population increased significantly in the early 1980's and is continuing to increase at Protection Island (Ryan 2000). At other sites the breeding numbers of this gull have declined by an order of magnitude at the other nearby breeding sites such as those found in the San Juan Islands (Nysewander 2000).

Ring-billed gull (Larus delawarensis) - These gulls are a common non-breeding gull in Puget Sound during the summer. It is listed as "endangered" under the Endangered Species Act. Its population has been increasing statewide. From 1980 to 1992, the San Juan Island population has increased growing from one territory to nine.

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) - In Washington State, its territories have more than doubled with much of the increase taking place in Puget Sound. Osprey feed almost exlusively on fish and can be seen patrolling small bays, estuaries and tidal flats in the MRC area. Although, they nest in old-growth trees, they have been observed in trees along the shoreline at the southern end of Port Townsend Bay, Discovery Bay and near the mouth of Chimacum Creek.

DATA GAPS

At minimum, present bird survey efforts need to be continued. Losses in the prey resources, such as the forage fish populations, that support seabrids are likely contributing to declines in regional populations. Further information on where seabirds rear and feed and further information on the distribution and availability of their prey resources is needed in order to better understand the factors contributing to their long term population trends (Ryan 2000).

An example of prey resource loss associated with regional bird declines has been documented by Wilson and Atkinson (1995). Wilson (1995) found the numbers of Black Brant returning to areas for spring foraging on eelgrass to correlate with eelgrass habitat losses. At Dungeness Bay, in Clallam County, there was found to be an over 30% loss in eelgrass between 1986 and 1993 with a concomitant 63% decline in migrating brant. It is believed that this shortage of eelgrass habitat contributes to the observed southward shift to Mexico by brants.

Similarly, if forage fish populations decline significantly as they have in Discovery Bay, a concomitant decline in bird populations that are supported by those prey resources would be expected. Presently, there is a need for further information on the distribution and abundance of forage fish such as sand lance and surf smelt in the region. Although, forage fish spawning sites have been documented, the distribution of juveniles and adults is not well known. Reviewing WDFW forage fish field survey sheets and cataloguing fish and bird distributions is needed to further clarify population trends (Ryan 2000).

 7. MARINE MAMMALS

CHARACTERIZATION OF THE RESOURCES

Twenty nine marine mammal species inhabit the marine waters of the Northwest Straits. The ten species common to the area are listed in Table 8.

Table 8 Marine Mammals Common to the Area
 

Common Name	Scientific Name
Killer Whale or orca	Orcinus orca
Dall's Porpoise	Phocoenoides dalli
Harbor Porpose	Phocoena phocoena
Minke Whale	Balenoplera aculorostrata
Gray Whale	Esrichtius robustus
River Otter	Lutra canadensis
Harbor Seal	Phoca vitulina
Northern Elephant Seal	Mirounga angustirostris
California sea Lion	Zalophus californiamus
Northern or Steller Sea Lion	Eumetopias jubatus

Killer Whale or Orca (Orcinus orca) - The Northwest Straits support two orca populations: a resident population, referred to as the southern resident population, and the northern population that is resident to Alaskan waters. The southern resident population typically spends its entire life in the Northwest Straits area and shares the area with a transient population that spends eight to nine months in the area. The Northwest Straits are core habitat for the resident population and is the only place in the continental U.S. that is such a habitat for a resident orca population (Murray 1997). Orcas are long-lived, having life spans that average 50 years with some individuals living 60 to 80 years. Typically, the orca breeds in summer and fall. Its gestation period is 15 months and it gives birth once every three years (Angell and Balcomb 1982). Since 1994, six calves have been born to the resident population (Strickland 2000).

In 1978, resident pods were reported to be comprised of 75-80 individuals (Balcomb 1978) in four distinct pods J, K, L8, and L10. Their distribution appeared to be directly related to the search for prey resources. Only J pod appeared to be completely residential to Puget Sound and the Northwest Straits. The other pods were known to move in and out of the region. Using photo-identification, censuses of the resident community of killer whales have been undertaken annually. The J pod range is approximately 210 nautical miles. J Pod contains 18 whales consisting of 5 males, 12 females, and 1 baby of unknown gender. K Pod contains 16 whales, consisting of 3 males, 2 juveniles of unknown gender, and 11 females. L Pod consists of 30 whales. In the straits, L pod is the most aggressive in its prey search. This pod frequently inhabits the waters of western Vancouver Island and the Olympic Peninsula.

In this region, most orca sightings occur in the San Juan Islands area (The Whale Museum 2000). Out of a total of thirty orca sightings reported since September 5, 2000, five occurred either in, or near Jefferson County waters. Sightings in the Jefferson County MRC region were:

• 9/24/00 resident(s) from J, K or L Pod milling in Admiralty inlet all day and heading south.
• 9/25/00 Marrowstone Island - orca heading north, 9/24/00 Hein Bank - orca heading east, and
• 10/2/00 - at the entrance to Hood Canal Orca possibly heading into Hood Canal; 9/25/00 - Ebeys Landing - orca heading north;

Scheffer and Slipp (1948) describe orca principal prey to include, marine mammals, sea birds, fishes, and cephalopod molluscs. Observations from the Pacific biological station off southeastern Vancouver Island identified chinook, coho, sockeye, steelhead, and schooling forage fish as important food items (Simenstad et al 1979a). Substantial losses in lingcod, rockfish, salmon, and herring stocks could be influencing orcas winter nutritional levels, which may require these whales to move to new areas in search of prey.

The diets of the southern resident population and the transient population appear to differ markedly. The southern resident population has primarily a fish diet while the transient population has a diet almost exclusively of marine mammals. Rice (1968) indicated that although the killer whale population is denser in Puget Sound than anywhere else in the world, the marine mammal population does not appear large enough to provide a major proportion of the diet. It is widely believed that runs of spawning salmon are a major food source in the region during the summer. Consistent with that notion, studies at the Pacific Biological Station (Simenstad 1979a) indicate that salmon and abundant schooling forage fishes are likely the most stable trophic contribution to the orca's diet in the Northwest Straits area, with their diet supplemented by pinnipeds and smaller cetaceans.

In response to the decline in the resident population, a Southern Resident Killer Whale Workshop was held at the National Marine Mammal Laboratory in Seattle, Washington April 1-2, 2000. Although the workshop summary by Dahlheim et al. (2000) indicated that workshop participants concluded that the status of the stock was of considerable concern, no agreement was reached on a recommendation that the species be listed under the Endangered Species Act.

DATA GAPS (Orcas)

Further information on orca abundance trends is needed. The following has been identified as data gaps related to orcas:

• abundance trends,
• population dynamics, including anthropogenic noise and whale watching effects,
• dietary information, and
• protocols for transboundary transportation of stranded or at-risk animals was identified.

Harbor Porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) - The female harbor porpoise begins reproduction in her fourth year and is believed to produce one calf each year throughout her lifetime with her gestation period being 11 months (Angell and Balcomb 1982). Aerial surveys of the inland Washington and southern British Columbia population are estimated at 3,509 animals (Forney et al. 2000; Calambokidis et al. 1997). The minimum population estimate is calculated to be 2,545 individuals (Forney et al. 2000). Their abundance in southern Puget Sound has significantly declined since 1942 when sightings were common to 1994, with no sightings in 1994. Reasons for the decline are unknown. This population decline is believed to be related to fishery interactions, pollutants, vessel traffic, and other activities, but actual causes are basically unknown (Forney et al. 2000; Osmek 1996). No evidence of fishery-related stranding of harbor porpoise occurred 1994-1998 in inland Washington waters.

A female harbor porpoise examined at Port Townsend in May 1950 (Wilke and Kenyon 1952) showed five Pacific herring in her stomach. They are known to feed on small fish and invertebrates such as smelt, herring, gadoids and squid (Calambokidis and Baird 1994). Scheffer and Slipp (1948) found their favorite foods to be fish under a foot in length, of slender form, and to consist of soft flesh.

DATA GAPS (Harbor Porpoise)

• Research to identify populations trends is needed for inland Washington populations. Further study of trends throughout the region as well as causal factors behind these trends are needed (Forney et al. 1999; West 1997).
• Further information on gillnet fishery-related mortality is required to assess the extent of potential impacts. Due to low coverage of the observer program, Pierce et al. (1994) cautions against extrapolating from the only known Puget Sound fishery mortality in inland waters.

Gray Whale (Esrichtius robusts) - The gray whale breeds off of Baja California in January and February. Its gestation period is 13.5 months and it gives birth every 2-3 years (Angell and Balcomb 1982). During their migration between their calving grounds in southern California and their summer feeding grounds in the Bering Sea, gray whales pass through Washington and British Columbia. Seasonal migrations from Baja California north to Vancouver Island and the Chuckchi Sea can number 20,000 whales. Although most do not pass into the Strait of Juan de Fuca, some do and sightings have occurred in Port Angles, Port Ludlow, Bremerton, and into southern Puget Sound. On an annual basis, an average of 20 individual may be assumed to frequent Washington's inland waters. Planktonic euphausiids, crab, smelt, and anchovy are prevalent prey for those feeding along the southern end of their migration route. The Cascadia Research Collective reports that during spring and summer, some gray whales pay extended visits to Puget Sound waters (Calambokidis and Baird 1994; Calambokidis et al. 1994).

Gray whales have recently been seen foraging for food in the Port Townsend, Discovery Bay, and Port Ludlow area of Puget Sound (Garton 2000). They forage in backwater and bays utilizing a benthic suction feeding technique to suck and filter prey from both the water and muddy bottom sediments (Murray1997). The ghost shrimp (Callianassa californiensis), found around Port Susan and Saratoga Pass, is one of their preferred prey in this region (Calambokidis and Baird 1994).

Because of a history of harvesting this whale in the North Pacific, stocks fell to a level that threatened its existence. However, following placement on the Endangered Species Act, the stock has recovered. Stock improvements and removal from the ESA as a listed species now makes them available for harvest by Native Americans. The Makah Tribe once again began harvesting gray whales in 1999.

River Otter (Lutra canadensis) - The river otter breeds in Puget Sound in the spring. Its gestation period is 9.5-12.5 months. They deliver 1 litter per year with each litter numbering 2-4 pups (Angell and Balcomb 1982). The river otter is a terrestrial mammal that forages in both shallow fresh and salt water. Within the Jefferson County MRC area, their known distribution includes the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Port Townsend Bay. They are seen foraging in Port Townsend Bay and along the Strait of Juan de Fuca at North Beach. Results of their foraging on crab and returning spawning salmon in Chimacum Creek have also been observed. Den locations include the Port of Port Townsend Boat Haven breakwater and Point Hudson. Fish remains washed into the water from commercial fishing activities likely contributes to their prey resources. They are also distributed throughout the San Juan Islands, the Skagit river system, Dungeness Bay, and the Port Angeles and Cape flattery areas.

Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina) - The harbor seal is a monogamous animal that breeds in Puget Sound from July to September (Angell and Balcomb 1982). Its gestation period is 8-9 months and it gives birth once per year. The harbor seal is the most abundant pinniped occurring in the protected marine waters of Washington and British Columbia. They are most commonly found in estuaries, river deltas, and shallow sublittoral coastal areas. Aerial surveys conducted in 1977 during the Marine Ecosystem Analysis (MESA) program identified 643 to 1,618 individuals. The highest abundances occurred in the San Juan Islands, at Protection Island, along Rosario and Haro Straits, in Bellingham and Padilla Bays, between the Dungeness River and Sequim Bay, and along the Strait of Juan de Fuca between Becher Bay and Discovery Island (Manuwal et al. 1979). A distinct subpopulation occupies northern Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca (Strickland 2000). Their preferred prey species is found to often consist of Pacific hake. However, there is much temporal and spatial variation in prey preferences, depending upon the availability, of such prey as hake, herring, eelpouts, sculpin, cod and mollusks (Everitt et. al.1980; Strickland 2000). Calambokidis and Baird (1994) identified harbor seals to be the primary prey of transient killer whales and that they were extremely sensitive to human disturbance of haul out sites due to wildlife viewing. In addition to these intrusions, harbor seals have suffered mortalities due to gunshot wounds and boat collisions.

Following abundant bounty hunting and a drastic population decline between 1947 and 1960, populations have rebounded to approximately 12,000 in 1992. they are increasing at an annual rate of 12 percent in British Columbia and 5 to 15 percent in Washington (Strickland 2000).

DATA GAPS (Harbor Seals)

Recent findings of high levels of contaminants in harbor seals requires additional exploration (Calambokidis et al. 1991, 1995, 1999).

Northern Elephant Seal (Mirounga angustirostris) - This large seal breeds in California and Mexico from December to February. Its gestation period is 11 months and it gives birth once per year (Angell and Balcomb 1982). Most individuals forage in deep, open channels and rest at the water's surface. However from May through August, molting elephant seals may be found on Protection Island and other sandy Puget Sound beaches. There numbers appear to be increasing but accurate population numbers are not available. Their prey includes spiny dogfish and ratfish, shrimp, crag, squid, octopus, tunicates, skates, rays, lamprey, hake and rockfish. Their mortality in the region appears to be due to orca predation, gillnet entanglement, and molting complications (Strickland et al. 2000).

California Sea Lions (Zalophus californianus) - This sea lion is the most abundant of the Northwest Straits sea lion species. It is breeds in California and Mexico from May through June and has a gestation period of 11 months. It gives birth once per year. Although not typically a breeder in the Northwest Straits, one birth was documented on Protection Island during the winter of 1998--99. It migrates to the Northwest Straits region and remains here from late August to June. Peak numbers of California sea lions tend to occur in December. This sea lion range is apparently expanding northward into Washington's inland marine waters. In the Northwest Straits region, its population may be as high as 3,000 individuals. This sea lion is an opportunistic feeder preying upon hake, walleye pollock, herring, spiny dogfish, and cephalopods

DATA GAPS

Long term population monitoring throughout its range is necessary to assess the viability of this species.

Northern or Steller Sea Lion (Eumetopias jubatus) - In the U.S., the steller sea lion is presently an ESA listed species, although, the British Columbia population appears stable. This sea lion breeds in the North Pacific Islands from May through July. It has a gestation period of 11 months and gives birth once per year. Steller sea lions are predictably found at ten haulout sites in the Northwest Straits with the majority being in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Recently, there has been a population decline of up to fifty percent, particularly in Alaskan waters. They are opportunistic feeders preying upon octopus, squid, lamprey, skate, spiny dogfish, ratfish, herring, eulachon, hake, rockfish, halibut, lingcod, and salmon. Salmon account for under four percent of their diet. They are also known to prey upon young harbor and fur seals in Alaskan waters (Strickland et al. 2000).

In addition to the above listed marine mammals commonly seen in the Northwest Straits region, there are many marine mammal species that are also occasionally seen. These species are listed in Table 9.

Table 9. Marine Mammals Rare to the Northwest Straits
 

Common Name	Scientific Name
Pacific White-Sided Dolphin	Lagenorhynchus obliquidens
Common Dolphin	Delphinus delphis
Striped Dolphin	Stenella Coeruleoalba
Spotted Dolphin	Stenella sp.
Bottlenose Dolphin	Tursiops truncatus
Rightwhale Dophin	Lissodelphis borealis
Risso's Dolphin	Grampus griseus
False Killer Whale	Pseudorca crassidens
Short-Finned Pilot Whale	Globicephala macrorhynchus
Pygmy Sperm Whale	Kogio breviceps
Stejneger's Beaked Whale	Mesoplodon stejnegeri
Baird's Beaked Whale	Berardius bairdii
Cuvier's Beaked Whale	Ziphius cavirostris
Humpback Whale	Megaptera novaeangliae
Fin Whale	Balaenoptera physalus
Sei Whale	Balaenoptera borealis
Reight Whale	Balaena glacialis
Northern fur Seal	Callorhinus ursinus
Sea Otter	Enhydra lutris

 
 
 

DATA GAPS (Marine Mammals)

• Population trends and the impacts of changing environmental conditions upon marine mammals need further assessment to better understand the factors effecting these populations. The low nutritional levels found in dead gray whales, declining populations of resident orcas and their prey resources, and high contaminant levels found in marine mammals magnifies the need for improved identitifcation of trends in key ecosystem components such as prey resources and water and sediment quality.
• All of these marine mammals prey upon some species of forage fish as well as at least one or more species of groundfish, other marine mammals and salmonids. More extensive cataloguing of marine forage fish juvenile and adult distribution and abundance can assist in the identification of ecosystem components underlying marine mammal population declines and distribution trends.
• High contaminant levels found in marine mammals magnify the importance of further identifying to what level and through what pathways contaminants are introduced into the marine system.