Puget is less than sound, report says
Published 9:00 pm Tuesday, April 23, 2002
Associated Press
OLYMPIA — Water quality and the health of some marine animals in Puget Sound are improving, but a report released Tuesday by the Puget Sound Water Quality Action Team warns of some lingering concerns.
Populations of some marine bird species have declined by 50 percent or more over the last two decades. Sediments remain contaminated by toxins, a problem that has proven particularly harmful to mussels and harbor seals. And rockfish are in steep decline.
"The good news is that we continue to make progress in protecting habitat and keeping contaminants and pollution out of the sound in the first place," said Scott Redman, who heads up the group that released Puget Sound’s Health 2002. The group assesses the sound’s health every two years.
"The bad news is that habitat lost and degraded over time and contamination that has been in the sound for years continue to threaten marine life, including birds, fish and shellfish."
This year’s report studied 2,800 square miles of inland marine waters, 2,500 miles of Puget Sound shoreline, 200 species of fish, 26 kinds of marine mammals, 100 species of sea birds and thousands of species of marine invertebrates.
Out of 19 indicators of environmental health studied over the last two years, the report said eight showed improvement.
Among the positive findings, more freshwater habitat is available to salmon, and temperatures have declined at five of 20 long-term monitoring locations on rivers and streams. Fish, particularly salmon, thrive in cold water.
The size and frequency of oil spills have decreased, and efforts to reduce infestations of spartina — a non-native grass that can crowd out natural marine habitat — have proved successful.
On the downside, the sound’s population of scoters — large, black diving ducks with orange bills — declined by 57 percent over the last 20 years. Thirteen of 18 other marine diving birds in Puget Sound also have showed significant losses, among them the marbled murrelet, which saw a 90 percent population drop.
The report also said that rockfish, a bottom-dwelling species that can live 80 to 100 years, are reproducing at only 7 percent to 12 percent of their spawning potential, down from 100 percent in 1978.
While encouraged by overall progress in habitat protection, the report said the region’s growing population will continue to put stresses on the environment.
"If each of us commits to stop doing one activity that can harm the sound, it will help," Redman said. He offered two suggestions: fixing oil leaks in cars and using fertilizers and pesticides sparingly.
The Puget Sound Water Quality Action Team is headed up by a chairman appointed by the governor, as well as directors from 10 state agencies and representatives from tribal, federal and local governments. Its goal is to develop ways to improve water quality and the health of aquatic life in Puget Sound.
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