The Salish Sea is recognized as the network of coastal waterways of the Pacific Northwest between the board of Canada and the USA. Unless you are from this region, you may never heard of the Salish Sea, however local ocean activities have been fighting to have the name official recognized and are now pushing for the Salish Sea to be designated a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area – PSSA
The term Salish Sea was coined in 1988 by marine biologist Bert Webber from Bellingham, Washington, who created the name for the combined waters of the Georgia Strait, Puget Sound, and Strait of Juan de Fuca, not replace them. He hoped the adoption of the term would raise consciousness about taking care of the region’s waters and ecosystems, and his efforts are credited with the official recognition of the term in Canada and the U.S.
The Salish Sea is one of the worlds most biologically rich inland seas and is threatened by the expansion of vessel traffic including oil and coal tankers. The rich but sensitive sea contains wetlands, mudflats, marshes and largely intact nearshore habitat for critical marine species like forage fish, eelgrass, kelp, salmon, and marine mammals, many of which are endangered or at risk. There are 37 recorded mammal species 172 birds, 247 fish species and over 3000 macroinvertavrates.
A PSSA is a particularly important sea area which needs special protection through the International Maritime Organization due to it’s vulnerability to damage my international shipping. A PSSA needs to meet 1 of 3 criteria to qualify and the Salish Sea meets all 3 criteria. There are currently 14 designated PSSA’s in the world and a petition to add the Salish Sea as the 15th PSSA ha been created by the Friends of the San Juans. You can sign the petition online @sanjuans.org/safeshipping.
