MAY 2008

The deaths of nine seals and sea lions over one weekend in early May remains under investigation two weeks later. On the weekend of May 3, three Northern Elephant Seals, two Steller Sea Lions and four California Sea Lions died in two separate incidents.

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APRIL 2008

Last fall, we waited for the "missing" run of Chinook salmon on the Sacramento River. Fishermen knew that returns of Chinook to the Sacramento River were going to be dismal after enduring one of the worst fishing seasons in recent memory. The fish were simply not there.

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We did it! Last week the US House of Representatives unanimously passed H.R. 1187, the Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries Protection and Modification Act.

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MARCH 2008

This school year, the teachers and student scientists that participate in the Sanctuary’s LiMPETS program (Long-term Monitoring and Experiential Training for Students) have been sifting sand along our beaches in search of the Pacific mole crab. Mole crabs—also known as sand crabs—are often the most abundant and important herbivore on our beaches. They are vital to the sandy beach food web.

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FEBRUARY 2008

During the last week of January, gobs of black tar began washing up on San Mateo County beaches. Certain areas, like Fitzgerald Reserve and Linda Mar in Pacifica, were closed to visitors.

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JANUARY 2008

As winter storms surge in from the Pacific, bringing massive waves and powerful ocean currents, and rivers flood with mountain sediment and urban debris, the coast of our Sanctuary is alive, shifting and eroding in the fierce rain and surf, redefining itself to the new ocean-land environment.

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DECEMBER 2007

We can all agree that we never want another oil spill to happen here on the California coast.

But we also know that another spill will eventually happen again. So we owe it to the magnificent marine ecosystems all around us - and to ourselves - to make sure that we do a better job of responding next time.

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Prior to the Gold Rush, Chinook salmon, the most highly prized and largest of the Pacific salmon, returned to spawn in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers in California’s Central Valley in almost unimaginable numbers. The unique combination of enormously productive upwelling currents off the California coast and the year round cold but largely ice free tributaries in the Central Valley produced massive Chinook runs.

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