12 minute read
How to Enjoy the Washington Coast Sustainably
Sustainable Ocean Tourism in the Pacific
From seaweed foraging by kayak to visiting the giant Pacific octopus, learn about our saltwater environs and the beauty of deep, blue space
written by Ellen Hiatt
Find a local beach and settle onto a driftwood log, a smooth fragment of clam shell between your fi ngers, and a cairn of rocks beside you. Close your eyes and draw in a deep breath of salty air. Imagine slipping beneath the surface, eyes wide open. Can you feel the current gently buffet your body as you glide past a forest of eelgrass? Are you hand-to-tentacle with a giant Pacific octopus, or eyeball to eyeball with a 5-foot-long, gaping mouth, toothy, 60-year-old lingcod?
The lion’s mane jellyfish is just one of the myriad magical creatures living in our oceans.
Annie Crawley
“There’s nothing like it for me,” said diver Annie Crawley. “We have the Fiji of the Pacific Northwest in our backyard.”
Crawley, an Edmonds resident, has made it her tireless mission to help people connect to that underwater world and to become advocates for oceans.
Throughout history, the ocean and its magical creatures have inspired stories, shaped cultures, and provided travel routes for trade. Oceans make up 70 percent of our planet, yet they’re often misunderstood or taken for granted, according to Crawley, a videographer and motivational speaker. Hollywood often casts oceans as dark dens for man-eating sharks, stoking fear over inquiry and breaking the bond with our life-giving source of oxygen, Crawley said.
Crawley spoke to 1889 Washington’s Magazine from the deck of “Silky,” a 55-foot-Catamaran based in Colombia, while working with a Colombian crew to protect Malpelo Island, a World Heritage Site, from illegal fishers.
Annie Crawley, diver, videographer and ocean advocate.
Annie Crawley
“Our world exists because of our ocean,” Crawley said. “The space race searches for water on other planets far, far away as we pollute ours. It’s very important for all of us to take ownership of our environment. The ocean is the life source of our planet and is what makes Earth habitable. We should be called Planet Ocean as this is what gives life to our planet. We are 70 percent ocean and 30 percent land.”
Low tide exploration is another great way to connect with the ocean, according to kayak guide and wild foods forager Kristi Kucera. “One of the things that I think is the coolest about Washington state is how diverse our intertidal system is. Two times a day you can explore low tides,” she said.
As the owner of Moondance Sea Kayak Adventures in Bellingham, Kucera said being on the water helps her maintain a higher sense of compassion and patience and live in the moment. “I love how dynamic the ocean is,” she said. “You have to pay attention to currents, tides and winds.”
She takes new and experienced paddlers on guided kayak tours throughout the greater San Juan archipelago, teaching them about seaweed and other harvesting of native resources. “This has created a passion for us in educating people. We just live in such a diverse area, and I think people don’t realize how many different types of seaweed there are to harvest and how to do it sustainably,” she said.
For people who feel disconnected to the environment and solutions, Kucera takes them to the source. “If you want people to care more about sea star wasting disease, they need to see their environment, and feel the power and beauty of being immersed in it, and try to see themselves as one versus separate from it,” she observed.
The shores of Washington state are as diverse as they are plentiful. From the dramatic oceanside cliffs overlooking the incredible volcanic rock formations and what the Makah called “the beginning of the world,” to the San Juan archipelago, and the complex fjords of Puget Sound, our Salish Sea and wild coast offer up a saltwater world teeming with life.
Here are four opportunities for you to make a deeper connection with the waters of Washington.
Hood Canal & the Giant Pacific Octopus
The giant Pacific octopus is the largest octopus species in the world.
Annie Crawley
Google “the giant Pacific octopus” and you’ll want to know if there is really a 600-pound octopus living in the ruins of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.
“A short answer, no!” said Crawley. “It’s a myth of course, but a fun one to think about.” The giant Pacific octopus, or GPO for short, is an iconic animal of the Salish Sea. People come from all over the world to dive here searching for them, she said. “With eight arms, three hearts, blue blood and nine brains, what’s not to love?” Crawley offered. Giant Pacific octopi can be found from Mukilteo to Hood Canal, the San Juan Islands to West Seattle, she noted. “Like all the animals in the Salish Sea, they rely on us to protect them from our runoff, plastic, noise and carbon pollution,” she said.
While Hood Canal is on the map for divers seeking encounters with the mythical creatures, Crawley suggests getting to know your local GPO by taking a visit to the Seattle Aquarium. The aquarium is permitted to capture live GPOs to hold in captivity as an educational opportunity. They are released back into the ocean when they begin to reach maturity.
EXPLORE MORE
» To visit the Seattle Aquarium, go to www. seattleaquarium.org.
» Cuisine is another way to enjoy the saltwater environs of Hood Canal. Enjoy the Shellfi sh Trail (www.shellfi shtrail.org), dedicated to aquaculture experiences and information, and a thorough itinerary for slurping your way through local oyster farms.
» While you’re on Hood Canal, fi nd out what sets its music scene apart. Learn more at www.explorehoodcanal.com. You’ll fi nd world-class musicians performing at small cocktail bar gigs, and the annual Bluegrass from the Forest September festival.
Edmonds Underwater Park & Marine Sanctuary
Edmonds Underwater Park and Marine Sanctuary is a diving destination.
Annie Crawley
The Edmonds Underwater Park and Marine Sanctuary is a destination for divers from around the world. Crawley has been mentoring teenagers by teaching them to dive in the sanctuary.
“Together, with my team, we built a website as we realized so many people who come to the shore do not know what lives below this marine protected area,” she said. “It’s been a no-take zone for more than fifty years in our community.”
On the lowest tides of the year, locals flock to the 1,000 feet of sandy beach to explore the marine life clinging to the ferry piers and hiding in tide pools.
Ocean life abounds at the Edmonds Underwater Park, including sea slugs (above) and fish such as lingcod (below).
Annie Crawley
Annie Crawley
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» Visit Crawley’s website, www.edmonds underwaterpark.com to learn more about the sanctuary.
» For information on Edmonds waterfront, learn more at www.visitedmonds.com.
» While you’re in Edmonds, take a whale watching tour from the Edmonds marina (www.pugetsoundexpress.com), enjoy a gin tasting at Scratch Distillery (www.scratchdistillery.com) and take in the best of the Pacific Northwest’s historic artists at Cascadia Art Museum (www.cascadiaartnuseum.org).
The Cascadia Marine Trail & the Greater San Juans Archipelago
Tour coastal Washington by kayak with knowledgable guides at Moondance Sea Kayak Adventures.
Moondance Sea Kayak Adventures
Bring your own kayak to explore the San Juans via the Cascadia Marine Trail and the Greater San Juans archipelago, from Orcas Island to Bellingham. Tour with Moondance Sea Kayak Adventures and launch from Lummi Island, Orcas or Anacortes. The kayaking tours can be half-day jaunts launching from Larrabee State Park (a boon for low-tide exploration), or three-day tours through the San Juans. Expect to learn about seaweed foraging, even enjoy some bull kelp pudding cooled in the Salish Sea.
The Cascadia Marine Trail includes sixty-six campsites accessible by humanpowered craft, and 160 day-use sites.
EXPLORE MORE
» To learn more about the Cascadia Marine Trail, visit www.wwta.org.
» To learn more about sustainable seaweed harvesting, take a kayak tour with Moondance Sea Kayak Adventures, visit www. moondancekayak.com.
» Launching from Bellingham? Detour to the Marine Life Center at the Port of Bellingham, where bycatch (the unintended catch of a fisheries harvest), is brought to provide public education before being released back to the sea. The center will be closed August 26 and September 7 for a low-tide exploration. Learn more at www.portofbellingham. com/508/Marine-Life-Center.
» No visit to Bellingham is complete without a drive down the narrow, curvy and spectacularly beautiful Chuckanut Drive and a visit to Taylor Shellfish Farms. Look for the Samish Oyster Bar information on www.taylorshellfishfarms.com.
Neah Bay & the Whale Trail
Visit Cape Flattery on the state’s northwestern tip of the Olympic Peninsula to catch the Whale Trail. The Cape Flattery portion is a 3.5-mile trail that extends from the cape overlooking the Pacific Ocean, to the entrance of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Tatoosh Island. But the full Whale Trail includes 100 sites all along the Pacific Coast, from British Columbia to Southern California. These sites are ideal for spotting marine mammals, including Steller sea lions and orca whales.
Cape Flattery provides spectacular views of the Pacific and is a prime spot for spotting whales.
Olympic Peninsula Visitor Bureau
EXPLORE MORE
» Discover all the best spots to see whales at www.thewhaletrail.org. You’ll need to buy a permit at the Makah Museum and Cultural Center. The reservation requires visitors to be vaccinated against Covid. While you’re at the cultural center, check out the hydrophone, which lets you listen in on conversations between orca whales.
» At the Makah cultural center, take in the 55,000 artifacts unearthed from Ozette Village, the American equivalent of Pompeii. The historic village was entombed for 500 years after getting buried in mud by an earthquake. Enjoy the coastal scenery on the Ozette Loop hike, and check out the Wedding Rock petroglyphs. The Lake Ozette trail, a popular destination, includes a boardwalk above the forest fl oor and it passes by the archaeological site of the buried village.
Ocean Annie Shares Tips to Protect Our Oceans
Everything we do in our daily life impacts our oceans. Annie Crawley, ocean advocate, deep sea diver and videographer, wants people to bond with our oceans—our life-giving source of oxygen—and to understand how we can protect the waters of our planet.
Connecting with the ocean personallyis a great place to start, she said. Enjoy a low tide exploration (they’re extraordinarily low July through September, providing stellar opportunities to investigate sea life).
“It’s like a treasure hunt,” Crawley said. “You’ll fi nd anemones, stranded jellies (don’t touch as they can sting you even if washed up on a beach) sea urchins, sea stars, fi sh, and if you are lucky, maybe a moon snail.
“The animals living in the tidal zone are robust, surviving this exposure during our summer months. You don’t want to unknowingly harm life [so] be careful of what you touch, as many of the animals store water in their body when the tide goes out so they can live until the water returns.”
Crawley photographed a children’s book with writer Patricia Newman, Planet Ocean, Why We All Need a Healthy Ocean, to help children understand “how the sea makes your life possible, and how you impact it. Find out how to speak up for the ocean, because without you it has no voice.”
We can advocate actively for our oceans (Crawley suggests asking companies for sustainable packaging and advocating for public policy changes), and we can make everyday lifestyle choices.
“You don’t need to be at the ocean to help it. Everything we do on land impacts the sea,” she said. She offers here four ways to protect our oceans:
1) Think Sustainable
Crawley has blogged (www. ouroceanandyou.com) about small lifestyle choices that have the potential for big impact. If you go on a boat or near the seashore, don’t bring single-use plastic for your food, she said. The car you drive (she chose electric), the clothes you wear with micro plastics, and even the sunscreen you choose to protect yourself from the sun’s UV rays (choose “reef safe”) all can benefi t or harm the ocean.
2) Reduce Noise Pollution
Technology is changing, and electric boats are already on the market. By choosing electric boats— and electric cars—we can reduce noise pollution. Even electric cargo ships are sailing the seas.
3) Stop Runoff
Runoff into salmon-bearing streams near roadways has proven toxic to fi sh. Car tires include a deadly toxin that has devastated spawning salmon populations. Pollutants in our waterways, from our tires and even our lawn care, is damaging freshwater and marine life. Consider using organic lawn care practices, avoiding fertilizers before a rain event, planting drought-resistant plants and compost soil and mulch, resulting in less water to run off.
4) Buy Local
If you buy from local farms and businesses, it not only helps the local economy, Crawley points out, but it also reduces the fuel impacts from transportation. She shops for fi sh from Lummi Island Wild (www.lummiislandwild.com), a sustainable seafood fi shery.
