Our Wild Puget Sound

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

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

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

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

🥳🥳🥳

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

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

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

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

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

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

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