The Kelp Krawlers of Olympia WA - president Amy Kurtenbach, and the Pacific Dive Club of Aloha OR – dive coordinator Dennis Lynn, combined forces with a showing of about 35 people to help with the cleanup effort on Saturday, Jan 27th, 2007. Special thanks go to Amy and the Kelp Krawlers for organizing the event and making the day go smoothly.
With chilling air temperatures in the mid-30’s, the dedicated divers geared up and waded into the cold 45 degree waters of Hood Canal to seek and remove the invasive tunicate Ciona savignyi. The pest has been plaguing South Hood Canal for the past year and spreads rapidly, taking over underwater ‘real estate’ and crowding out native species.
Divers removed the tunicate with varying methods – kitchen tongs, spatulas, hand removal and even homemade devices. All tunicates were collected in mesh bags and brought to the surface and put into a common bucket for counting. About 1500 individual animals were removed from the site.
The two dive clubs spent an hour in training learning about invasive tunicates prior to the event. A special collection permit from WDFW made the removal efforts possible. The two clubs were coordinated through Washington Scuba Alliance.
About 25 divers put in 33 hours underwater collectively over two dives. While divers worked underwater, others worked on record-keeping and cooking chili for the crowd. Altogether both clubs put in over 200 man-hours on the project. Thanks to Hood Sport ‘n Dive for donating free access to Sund Rock for this event.
Photos of the event can be found here:
http://nwgeogirl.smugmug.com/gallery/2402150
More information about the Washington Scuba Alliance can be found on their website:
http://www.wascuba.org
To learn more about invasive tunicates in Washington State, visit this website:
http://www.pnwscuba.com/critterwatchers/invasive.htm
- Janna
Great work! 
