Summer 2026 Sea Star
A new issue of our biannual magazine is here!
Through our Sea Star magazine, Washington Sea Grant shares highlights from our research, outreach, and education programs.
Our summer 2026 issue features a deep dive into The Mysterious World of Bull Kelp, a webstory rich in art and imagery that shines a light on the West Coast’s underwater canopies; a review of the many successes of the Coastal Hazards Organizational Resilience Team’s first biennium; a look at the first cohort of WSG’s new Coastal Resilience Fellowship; a recap of the Washington Fishermen’s Convention, WSG’s new effort to celebrate Washington’s commercial fishing community; and an exploration of a new WSG and UW Climate Impacts Group collaboration, the Summer Learning Institute for emerging environmental professionals.
Diving into “The Mysterious World of Bull Kelp”
A cluster of elongate olive-brown tubes floats on the surface waters off the North Pacific Coast. Each has a head-like bulb at one end topped with a flourish of thin sinewy blades, almost resembling hair.
Read more
First detections of highly invasive European green crab on Orcas Island
Students from Orcas Island Middle School discover green crab molt while on a field trip
Orcas Island, WA — Evidence of invasive European green crab was detected for the first time on Orcas Island in May, when a Washington Sea Grant (WSG) Crab Team volunteer monitor and science teacher Amy Sprenger reported one of the distinctive five-pointed shells on Crescent Beach in Eastsound.
Third Annual Salish Sea-wide Molt Blitz coming June 26
Are you one of the millions of Washington residents living on or near the Salish Sea? Join the Salish Sea-wide Molt Blitz on June 26 to contribute to the largest single-day dataset of crab molts collected in our state.
Read moreThis boating season, help keep Washington’s waters clean with the Pumpout Nav app
The sun is out, birds are chirping, and Washington’s boating season is officially here! Before Washingtonians rush to the docks and hop in their boats, it’s important to brush up on how to dispose of sewage from a boat’s holding tank in order to keep our waters healthy.
Read more
WSG staff receive 2026 College of the Environment awards
Washington Sea Grant is happy to share that five staff members have been selected for 2026 UW College of the Environment awards. Each year, the University of Washington’s College of the Environment recognizes outstanding individuals and teams who have made significant contributions to the college and the communities they serve.
Read more
WSG has a new website!
If you’ve visited the Washington Sea Grant (WSG) website recently, you may have noticed our new look.
After many months of development in partnership with University of Washington’s College of the Environment, we are excited to share our new website with you.
WSG welcomes new Science Communications Fellow Emily Bjornsgard
My name is Emily Bjornsgard, and I am so excited to join Washington Sea Grant as the Spring/Summer Graduate Science Communications Fellow! I am currently pursuing a master’s degree at Western Washington University, where I am examining the effects of diatom-derived polyunsaturated aldehydes (chemical compounds) on the survival and feeding abilities of larval forage fishes here in the Salish Sea.
Read more
The new Washington Sea Grant Coastal Resilience Fellowship builds capacity and careers on the Pacific coast
When Rich Desanto applied for the new Washington Sea Grant (WSG) Coastal Resilience Fellowship, he was looking for a change. After nine years in Seattle, mostly spent in grad school and weathering the COVID-19 pandemic, Desanto was feeling priced out of the city and unsettled in his career in landscape architecture.
Read more
In strengthening coastal resilience, COHORT supports local leadership
By Alison Lorenz, WSG Communications Project Coordinator
Almost ten years after the Washington State Coast Resilience Assessment pointed to a need for a unified, state-funded response to growing hazards on Washington’s coasts, the Coastal Hazards Organizational Resilience Team – or COHORT – is making its mark in coastal resilience by letting communities lead.