Justin Cox
Photos: On the Shores of Indian Island With ...

A group of dedicated SeaDoc Society supporters joined our team for a stunning day of tidal exploration on the shores of Orcas Island over the weekend! As the tide lowered and the sun came out, more than 30 donors and staff enjoyed a beautiful meal before hiking out to Indian Island. 

Click through the slideshow above to see highlights from this spring’s Tidepoolers event!

Photos: On the Shores of Indian Island With SeaDoc Society Tidepoolers and Wildlifers
Justin Cox
Salish Sea Wild at the 62nd Annual Emmy Awards

Saturday June 7th was the black-tie gala celebrating the 62nd annual Emmy Awards ceremony for the Northwest Chapter of the Television Academy of Arts and Sciences. Going slightly off-fashion in blue tie to rep the ocean, SeaDoc’s Bob Friel was there as producer of our science-adventure series Salish Sea Wild!, which received not one but two nominations for best documentary in the long-form environmental category. 

Justin Cox
Salish Sea Wild Gets Two EMMY™ Nominations!

We’re thrilled to share that Salish Sea Wild, the SeaDoc Society’s original web series, has been nominated for two EMMY™ Awards by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences! The show is produced by Bob Friel and hosted by SeaDoc Society Science Director Joe Gaydos. 

SeaDoc has two Salish Sea Wild episodes nominated in the North West Chapter's Environment/Science - Long Form Content category!

Justin Cox
In the Beginning, We Needed a Name

The story of how SeaDoc Society went from a big idea to a proper organization with a scientist and a mission and a proper name, as told by a vital board member who was in those early conversations.

In the Beginning, We Needed a Name
Justin Cox
Marine-Foraging River Otters in the Salish Sea

North American river otters (Lontra canadensis) are semi-aquatic mammals that range over most major river drainages, large lakes, and coastal marshes of North America. On the west coast, from Northern California (Bouley et al., 2015) to Alaska (Bowyer et al., 2003), river otters forage in and rely on healthy subtidal and intertidal zones where they feed on a variety of marine fish and invertebrates. The subspecies L. c. pacifica is found throughout the Salish Sea’s rivers, estuaries, coastlines, and coastal islands and plays an important role in the nearshore marine ecosystem. They are often confused with sea otters (Enhydra lutra) by the public because they are otters swimming in the sea. River otters do use and rely on marine resources, but taxonomically, they are not considered marine mammals like sea otters.

Marine-Foraging River Otters in the Salish Sea

Donor Spotlight: Jean Lyle on Leaving a Legacy

Donor Spotlight: Jean Lyle on Leaving a Legacy

You may already know Jean Lyle, who worked at SeaDoc for 10 amazing years and remains part of our extended family. She’s a truly wonderful person and a lover of the natural world, most specifically the Salish Sea. If there’s a body of water, she’s swimming it in. If there’s a trail, she’s hiking it.

A few years ago, Jean pledged a legacy gift to the SeaDoc Society, and she shares her reasons below. A legacy gift is a planned future donation - a way to make an investment in something you care about after you are gone. It also can make a difference for you. Legacy giving can provide important tax benefits, including a charitable income tax deduction or savings on capital gains taxes. Gifts can be structured to give you lifetime use of your property or lifetime income from your investments. It’s what we call a win-win.

Meet Eleanor Parks, SeaDoc Society's Newest Board Member!

Meet Eleanor Parks, SeaDoc Society's Newest Board Member!

We’re thrilled to announced the latest addition to our Board of Directors, Eleanor Parks.

Eleanor was born and raised in the Seattle area and spent her youth plying the waters of the Salish Sea, including the San Juan and Gulf Islands, where she developed a passion for the region and a commitment to place-based conservation. She and her husband and also have a cabin on Lopez Island.

SeaDoc Society is Hiring a Regional Director

Have you managed a dedicated team? Do you have demonstrated fundraising experience? Do you know how to engage a high-level Board of Directors and shepherd a team towards the big, hairy and audacious, but critical, goal of creating a healthy Salish Sea? If so, we have the opportunity for you.

The SeaDoc Society is hiring a Regional Director to provide development and management leadership for our team. This is a position within the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. The person hired will work closely with our Science Director, Dr. Joe Gaydos, our Executive Director Dr. Kirsten Gilardi, and our Board of Directors to advance SeaDoc's overall mission in the Salish Sea. She/he also will oversee and manage SeaDoc Society outreach, education and administrative staff and workloads.

Book Review: The Iconic Abalone’s Remarkable History and Uncertain Future

Book Review: The Iconic Abalone’s Remarkable History and Uncertain Future

How were Vancouver Island’s Nuu-chah-nulth people, California red abalone, Chinese quicksilver, and 18th century Spanish Treasure Fleets connected to each other? In two enlightening pages, author Ann Vileisis weaves a fascinating story of world trade for bright shiny objects, plush furs, and technology that illuminate a web of dependency among the Salish Sea, China, California, Mexico, and Spain all tied to a big marine snail with a miraculous shell—abalone. It’s an engaging introduction.

Donor Spotlight: Dean and Audrey Stupke

Dean and Audrey Stupke have championed SeaDoc's efforts to heal the Salish Sea through science and education for well over a decade. They've regularly donated to our annual GiveBig campaign and our Wine & Sea auction, both of which are crucial to making our science-based work possible. They are also a long-time sponsor of our Ocean Night event series each winter, helping us bring amazing speakers and educational films to Orcas Island.

Are marine mammal stranding hotspots a real thing?

Are marine mammal stranding hotspots a real thing?

Scientists learn a lot about marine mammal health from stranded animals. Afterall, marine mammals don’t spend much time above water, so they’re pretty hard to study. Studying stranded animals teaches us about diseases that are important for marine mammal health and human health. But finding stranded animals is challenging, because everything from tides and currents to coastal conditions can determine where a dead animal might end up on shore. And are there really such things as stranding hotspots?

Saving the Pinto Abalone, One Bottle of Sea Water at a Time

Saving the Pinto Abalone, One Bottle of Sea Water at a Time

Pinto abalone populations in the Salish Sea have been decimated after years of poaching and over-harvest, falling by 98 percent in recent decades. There are not enough remaining in the wild for them to reproduce naturally because they are “broadcast spawners,” meaning if one releases sperm, a female needs to release her eggs close enough to be fertilized.

When abalone are not close enough to other reproductively active abalone there can be no reproduction, making them functionally extinct in the wild.

SeaDoc Awards Salish Sea Science Prize to Crab Team For Early Detection and Prevention of Invasive European Green Crab

SeaDoc Awards Salish Sea Science Prize to Crab Team For Early Detection and Prevention of Invasive European Green Crab

The European green crab is a damaging invasive species that has wreaked havoc on ecosystems around the world, and recently they’ve found their way into the Salish Sea. Thanks to Washington Sea Grant’s Crab Team, major scientifically based efforts are being made to stop its spread before it starts. For this use of science to improve the health of the Salish Sea, this Earth Day they have been announced as winners of the SeaDoc Society’s 2020 Salish Sea Science Prize, which comes with a $2,000 no-strings-attached cash award.

When introduced into ecosystems outside of its native range, the green crab’s impact has been both ecological and economic. Not only do they disturb native habitat, displace resident species and alter natural food webs, but they have decimated shellfish industries upon which livelihoods depend. Amid the current COVID-19 pandemic, the Crab Team’s work is a reminder that intervention is most effective before the impacts of an invasion even become visible.

Different Killer Whales, Different Teeth (Interactive)

Different Killer Whales, Different Teeth (Interactive)

Three different types of killer whales can be found in the Salish Sea. They don’t mix, even though they look similar to humans and live in the same place. They are genetically distinct, and they don’t breed with one another. They have different calls, different behavioral patterns, and they eat different prey.

2020 Wine & Sea Auction Cancelled 

2020 Wine & Sea Auction Cancelled 

As many of you may have already guessed, we have canceled the 2020 SeaDoc Society Wine & Sea Auction due to the current COVID-19 pandemic. This event was originally planned for July 11th on Orcas Island. This annual fundraiser is one of our favorite days of the year because it allows us to gather with you, our supporters, and celebrate our shared accomplishments and make investments in future ones. At this time, however, our collective health is most important, and we look forward to the time when we can come together again.

Where Are You Finding Hope in These Times?

Where Are You Finding Hope in These Times?

Last week our Science Director, Joe Gaydos, shared a message of compassion and hope during this time of social distancing and COVID-19. It can be difficult to think about anything right now besides the pandemic that has is staying in place. In Joe’s message, he suggested the ocean as a place to send your mind in search of natural beauty and inspiration.

We want to know: What are you thinking about to maintain hope during these times? What are you doing each day that might inspire others? Submit your thoughts below and we’ll compile them in our next newsletter. Stay safe!

Salish Sea Wild: The Tufted Puffins of Destruction Island

Salish Sea Wild: The Tufted Puffins of Destruction Island

On a risky mission to remote, rugged Destruction Island, Team SeaDoc tries to solve the mysteries of the Tufted Puffin in the hopes of saving this charismatic seabird from local extinction.

We are releasing this special cut of the episode as the spreading pandemic keeps us all in our homes. We hope you enjoy. Stay safe and stay healthy.

We’re Part of the Top Veterinary School in the World

We’re Part of the Top Veterinary School in the World

We’re thrilled to share that once again the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine has been named the top veterinary school in the world!

While SeaDoc Society is a self-sustaining program on Orcas Island whose scientific and educational work is focused entirely on improving the health of the Salish Sea, we are proud to be a program of the Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center, a center of excellence at UC Davis’ incredible veterinary school. This week’s #1 ranking comes from the highly reputable Quacquarelli Symonds, but Davis is also number one with U.S. News and World Reports and several other world rankings. It’s the best of the best, and we’re lucky to have such brilliant people on our side.

SeaDoc Board Member Publishes Beautiful New Book: Pacific Flyway

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pacific-flyway

SeaDoc Board Member Audrey Benedict and her team spoke about their new book on the Pacific Flyway to a packed house last night at Seattle’s Town Hall this week! Weaving powerful images with a science narrative, this book portrays the amazing lives of migratory birds along the America’s Pacific Flyway. It’s also an urgent call for conservation and stewardship. You can read more at www.sasquatchbooks.com.

About the book:

The migratory waterbirds of the Pacific Flyway convert food, air, and water into a mileage plan that has few equals in the animal world. Set against a backdrop of stunning images from more than 120 internationally acclaimed photographers, this book shares the amazing stories of these migrants--a cast of characters that includes shorebirds, seabirds, and waterfowl.

Stretching from the Arctic regions of northeastern Russia, Alaska, and western Canada and along the Pacific coastlines of North, Central, and South America, the Pacific Flyway traverses some of our planet's greatest climatic and topographic extremes. Defined by water, the flyway encompasses a sweeping expanse of coastal and offshore marine ecosystems and an inland archipelago of freshwater wetlands. Hemispheric in scope, this integrated network of ecosystems is linked by its moving parts--the millions of migratory birds whose lives depend on this 10,000-mile (16,000-km) corridor as they travel between their breeding and overwintering grounds. With their ocean- and continent-spanning travels, waterbirds are our sentinels in a changing world--each of their journeys revealing the fraying edges of the web of life that sustains us all. Pacific Flyway perfectly blends amazing photography, science writing, and storytelling to illuminate the profound challenges faced by migratory birds and to inspire a longterm commitment to global conservation efforts.

Killer Whale Health Database Gets Another Round of Support from Microsoft Azure

Killer Whale Health Database Gets Another Round of Support from Microsoft Azure

We’re thrilled to announce that Microsoft Azure has once again extended their support of our ongoing creation of the Killer Whale Health Database through their AI For Earth program. The database, which aims to house a wealth of valuable health data, is currently being developed by The SeaDoc Society and the National Marine Mammal Foundation.

The AI For Earth grant, which was initially awarded to SeaDoc in 2018, offers Microsoft Azure’s cloud-computing platform and assistance with artificial intelligence computing tools for comprehensive data analysis.