2. Diving

Sea Star Wasting Disease

Photos of recent sea star (commonly called Starfish) mortality due to Seastar Wasting Disease (aka Sea star Wasting Syndrome) in Puget Sound Washington, Howe Sound BC, and other areas. Please note photographers are listed on each photograph, and photos are ©2013 by the individual photographer, and may not be used without permission.
Report your observations to the Vancouver Aquarium and/or UC Santa Cruz:
http://www.vanaqua.org/act/research/sea-stars
http://www.eeb.ucsc.edu/pacificrockyintertidal/data-products/sea-star-wasting/index.html#track-disease
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In spite of somewhat windy weather, I managed to make my weekly visits to Possession Point and Langley Harbor on Whidbey Island on Friday and Saturday January 10 & 11. The good news is that Langley 's thousands of sea stars seem to remain healthy, I found only one composing pile of star remnant. Possession Point on other end continues to suffer from SSWS with eight new corpses, still found in the shallower waters, while the depths below 30 feet seem to be OK. Unfortunately, for the first time here, I found 3 Mottled stars (Evasterias troschelii) succumbing to SSWS. There are clusters of Mottled stars in 12 feet of water, they been there for long time and seem healthy, except one. Because of surge and not so great visibility in shallows, I couldn't survey the entire area. Pink, Ochre, Blood and Vermilion stars are fine. Art/Photo ©2014 by Jan Kocian.
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In spite of somewhat windy weather, I managed to make my weekly visits to Possession Point and Langley Harbor on Whidbey Island on Friday and Saturday January 10 & 11. The good news is that Langley 's thousands of sea stars seem to remain healthy, I found only one composing pile of star remnant. Possession Point on other end continues to suffer from SSWS with eight new corpses, still found in the shallower waters, while the depths below 30 feet seem to be OK. Unfortunately, for the first time here, I found 3 Mottled stars (Evasterias troschelii) succumbing to SSWS. There are clusters of Mottled stars in 12 feet of water, they been there for long time and seem healthy, except one. Because of surge and not so great visibility in shallows, I couldn't survey the entire area. Pink, Ochre, Blood and Vermilion stars are fine. Art/Photo ©2014 by Jan Kocian.

MottledstarwastingSeastar Wasting DiseaseSeastar Wasting Syndrome

  • Another cycle of sea star surveys from Whidbey Island. The Langley Harbor, which managed to dodge the bullet for some time is now showing the beginnings of the dreaded wasting. With such large population of Sunflower stars, it will be interesting what the next visit there will show. On Monday, January 27, I surveyed two additional sites. From previous dives I knew Deception Pass has a rather small population of sea stars, but I was curious to see how they are faring. Unfortunately, most of the time currents are too strong to dive there and also the beach access for diving is closed in winter. I contacted the park ranger and he not only knew about the wasting syndrome but was very supportive of the idea to survey the situation in the Pass. So gates opened and I am happy to report that so far, the stars are doing fine. Small leak in drysuit did not dampen my joy of seeing the healthy population . On the way home I decided to check out a location I never dove before - under the old wharf at Coupeville. Most of the time the visibility there is less than good, but this Monday it was great, almost 15 feet. So I donned my wet undergarments again and jumped in, with the harbormaster's permission. I expected a short dive with not much to photograph, but the number of Mottled stars in the area was astounding. I never saw so many congregating so tightly. Counting them was quickly dismissed as impractical, so settle for “zillion” :)<br /> I saw signs of wasting stars, but they seemed to be concentrated in one area under the building and compared to the hordes of healthy ones around, seemed insignificant. Of course, it will be interesting to see what the future will bring. I was surprised to find that not one single Sunflower star joined the feast on mussels falling down from the overhead, which feeds the multitudes of stars below. Later, when I talked with the harbormaster, she said, that there were never Sunflower there. She said that she finds them in her crab traps away in other parts of Penn Cove, in the past she brought and released them at the wharf, but always they walked away...<br /> Art/Photo ©2014 by Jan Kocian.
  • Another cycle of sea star surveys from Whidbey Island. The Langley Harbor, which managed to dodge the bullet for some time is now showing the beginnings of the dreaded wasting. With such large population of Sunflower stars, it will be interesting what the next visit there will show. On Monday, January 27, I surveyed two additional sites. From previous dives I knew Deception Pass has a rather small population of sea stars, but I was curious to see how they are faring. Unfortunately, most of the time currents are too strong to dive there and also the beach access for diving is closed in winter. I contacted the park ranger and he not only knew about the wasting syndrome but was very supportive of the idea to survey the situation in the Pass. So gates opened and I am happy to report that so far, the stars are doing fine. Small leak in drysuit did not dampen my joy of seeing the healthy population . On the way home I decided to check out a location I never dove before - under the old wharf at Coupeville. Most of the time the visibility there is less than good, but this Monday it was great, almost 15 feet. So I donned my wet undergarments again and jumped in, with the harbormaster's permission. I expected a short dive with not much to photograph, but the number of Mottled stars in the area was astounding. I never saw so many congregating so tightly. Counting them was quickly dismissed as impractical, so settle for “zillion” :)<br /> I saw signs of wasting stars, but they seemed to be concentrated in one area under the building and compared to the hordes of healthy ones around, seemed insignificant. Of course, it will be interesting to see what the future will bring. I was surprised to find that not one single Sunflower star joined the feast on mussels falling down from the overhead, which feeds the multitudes of stars below. Later, when I talked with the harbormaster, she said, that there were never Sunflower there. She said that she finds them in her crab traps away in other parts of Penn Cove, in the past she brought and released them at the wharf, but always they walked away...<br /> Art/Photo ©2014 by Jan Kocian.
  • Another cycle of sea star surveys from Whidbey Island. The Langley Harbor, which managed to dodge the bullet for some time is now showing the beginnings of the dreaded wasting. With such large population of Sunflower stars, it will be interesting what the next visit there will show. On Monday, January 27, I surveyed two additional sites. From previous dives I knew Deception Pass has a rather small population of sea stars, but I was curious to see how they are faring. Unfortunately, most of the time currents are too strong to dive there and also the beach access for diving is closed in winter. I contacted the park ranger and he not only knew about the wasting syndrome but was very supportive of the idea to survey the situation in the Pass. So gates opened and I am happy to report that so far, the stars are doing fine. Small leak in drysuit did not dampen my joy of seeing the healthy population . On the way home I decided to check out a location I never dove before - under the old wharf at Coupeville. Most of the time the visibility there is less than good, but this Monday it was great, almost 15 feet. So I donned my wet undergarments again and jumped in, with the harbormaster's permission. I expected a short dive with not much to photograph, but the number of Mottled stars in the area was astounding. I never saw so many congregating so tightly. Counting them was quickly dismissed as impractical, so settle for “zillion” :)<br /> I saw signs of wasting stars, but they seemed to be concentrated in one area under the building and compared to the hordes of healthy ones around, seemed insignificant. Of course, it will be interesting to see what the future will bring. I was surprised to find that not one single Sunflower star joined the feast on mussels falling down from the overhead, which feeds the multitudes of stars below. Later, when I talked with the harbormaster, she said, that there were never Sunflower there. She said that she finds them in her crab traps away in other parts of Penn Cove, in the past she brought and released them at the wharf, but always they walked away...<br /> Art/Photo ©2014 by Jan Kocian.
  • Another cycle of sea star surveys from Whidbey Island. The Langley Harbor, which managed to dodge the bullet for some time is now showing the beginnings of the dreaded wasting. With such large population of Sunflower stars, it will be interesting what the next visit there will show. On Monday, January 27, I surveyed two additional sites. From previous dives I knew Deception Pass has a rather small population of sea stars, but I was curious to see how they are faring. Unfortunately, most of the time currents are too strong to dive there and also the beach access for diving is closed in winter. I contacted the park ranger and he not only knew about the wasting syndrome but was very supportive of the idea to survey the situation in the Pass. So gates opened and I am happy to report that so far, the stars are doing fine. Small leak in drysuit did not dampen my joy of seeing the healthy population . On the way home I decided to check out a location I never dove before - under the old wharf at Coupeville. Most of the time the visibility there is less than good, but this Monday it was great, almost 15 feet. So I donned my wet undergarments again and jumped in, with the harbormaster's permission. I expected a short dive with not much to photograph, but the number of Mottled stars in the area was astounding. I never saw so many congregating so tightly. Counting them was quickly dismissed as impractical, so settle for “zillion” :)<br /> I saw signs of wasting stars, but they seemed to be concentrated in one area under the building and compared to the hordes of healthy ones around, seemed insignificant. Of course, it will be interesting to see what the future will bring. I was surprised to find that not one single Sunflower star joined the feast on mussels falling down from the overhead, which feeds the multitudes of stars below. Later, when I talked with the harbormaster, she said, that there were never Sunflower there. She said that she finds them in her crab traps away in other parts of Penn Cove, in the past she brought and released them at the wharf, but always they walked away...<br /> Art/Photo ©2014 by Jan Kocian.
  • While the neighborhood waters are suffering from the SSWS, Langley is still staying healthy. I found two Pink stars wasting, one arm from a Mottled star. I joined team from Western Washington University, their report will be surely more professional then mine, I don't have enough fingers to count all the Pycnopodia at Langley :)<br /> Art/Photo ©2014 by Jan Kocian.
  • While the neighborhood waters are suffering from the SSWS, Langley is still staying healthy. I found two Pink stars wasting, one arm from a Mottled star. I joined team from Western Washington University, their report will be surely more professional then mine, I don't have enough fingers to count all the Pycnopodia at Langley :)<br /> Art/Photo ©2014 by Jan Kocian.
  • While the neighborhood waters are suffering from the SSWS, Langley is still staying healthy. I found two Pink stars wasting, one arm from a Mottled star. I joined team from Western Washington University, their report will be surely more professional then mine, I don't have enough fingers to count all the Pycnopodia at Langley :)<br /> Art/Photo ©2014 by Jan Kocian.
  • While the neighborhood waters are suffering from the SSWS, Langley is still staying healthy. I found two Pink stars wasting, one arm from a Mottled star. I joined team from Western Washington University, their report will be surely more professional then mine, I don't have enough fingers to count all the Pycnopodia at Langley :)<br /> Art/Photo ©2014 by Jan Kocian.
  • While the neighborhood waters are suffering from the SSWS, Langley is still staying healthy. I found two Pink stars wasting, one arm from a Mottled star. I joined team from Western Washington University, their report will be surely more professional then mine, I don't have enough fingers to count all the Pycnopodia at Langley :)<br /> Art/Photo ©2014 by Jan Kocian.
  • While the neighborhood waters are suffering from the SSWS, Langley is still staying healthy. I found two Pink stars wasting, one arm from a Mottled star. I joined team from Western Washington University, their report will be surely more professional then mine, I don't have enough fingers to count all the Pycnopodia at Langley :)<br /> Art/Photo ©2014 by Jan Kocian.
  • While the neighborhood waters are suffering from the SSWS, Langley is still staying healthy. I found two Pink stars wasting, one arm from a Mottled star. I joined team from Western Washington University, their report will be surely more professional then mine, I don't have enough fingers to count all the Pycnopodia at Langley :)<br /> Art/Photo ©2014 by Jan Kocian.
  • Couple more dives, the Possession Point is getting hit hard, more and more Sunflower stars are wasting away, other species of stars still holding out.<br /> But Keystone is now staring to show more Sunflower casualties. Yesterday, January 16th I found three new sick ones and other divers report pieces along the <br /> rope trail to the Pilings, one wasted at the old wharf. <br /> Art/Photo ©2014 by Jan Kocian.
  • Couple more dives, the Possession Point is getting hit hard, more and more Sunflower stars are wasting away, other species of stars still holding out.<br /> But Keystone is now staring to show more Sunflower casualties. Yesterday, January 16th I found three new sick ones and other divers report pieces along the <br /> rope trail to the Pilings, one wasted at the old wharf. <br /> Art/Photo ©2014 by Jan Kocian.
  • Couple more dives, the Possession Point is getting hit hard, more and more Sunflower stars are wasting away, other species of stars still holding out.<br /> But Keystone is now staring to show more Sunflower casualties. Yesterday, January 16th I found three new sick ones and other divers report pieces along the <br /> rope trail to the Pilings, one wasted at the old wharf. <br /> Art/Photo ©2014 by Jan Kocian.
  • Couple more dives, the Possession Point is getting hit hard, more and more Sunflower stars are wasting away, other species of stars still holding out.<br /> But Keystone is now staring to show more Sunflower casualties. Yesterday, January 16th I found three new sick ones and other divers report pieces along the <br /> rope trail to the Pilings, one wasted at the old wharf. <br /> Art/Photo ©2014 by Jan Kocian.
  • In spite of somewhat windy weather, I managed to make my weekly visits to Possession Point and Langley Harbor on Whidbey Island on Friday and Saturday January 10 &amp; 11. The good news is that Langley 's thousands of sea stars seem to remain healthy, I found only one composing pile of star remnant. Possession Point on other end continues to suffer from SSWS with eight new corpses, still found in the shallower waters, while the depths below 30 feet seem to be OK. Unfortunately, for the first time here, I found 3 Mottled stars (Evasterias troschelii) succumbing to SSWS. There are clusters of Mottled stars in 12 feet of water, they been there for long time and seem healthy, except one. Because of surge and not so great visibility in shallows, I couldn't survey the entire area. Pink, Ochre, Blood and Vermilion stars are fine. Art/Photo ©2014 by Jan Kocian.
  • In spite of somewhat windy weather, I managed to make my weekly visits to Possession Point and Langley Harbor on Whidbey Island on Friday and Saturday January 10 &amp; 11. The good news is that Langley 's thousands of sea stars seem to remain healthy, I found only one composing pile of star remnant. Possession Point on other end continues to suffer from SSWS with eight new corpses, still found in the shallower waters, while the depths below 30 feet seem to be OK. Unfortunately, for the first time here, I found 3 Mottled stars (Evasterias troschelii) succumbing to SSWS. There are clusters of Mottled stars in 12 feet of water, they been there for long time and seem healthy, except one. Because of surge and not so great visibility in shallows, I couldn't survey the entire area. Pink, Ochre, Blood and Vermilion stars are fine. Art/Photo ©2014 by Jan Kocian.
  • In spite of somewhat windy weather, I managed to make my weekly visits to Possession Point and Langley Harbor on Whidbey Island on Friday and Saturday January 10 &amp; 11. The good news is that Langley 's thousands of sea stars seem to remain healthy, I found only one composing pile of star remnant. Possession Point on other end continues to suffer from SSWS with eight new corpses, still found in the shallower waters, while the depths below 30 feet seem to be OK. Unfortunately, for the first time here, I found 3 Mottled stars (Evasterias troschelii) succumbing to SSWS. There are clusters of Mottled stars in 12 feet of water, they been there for long time and seem healthy, except one. Because of surge and not so great visibility in shallows, I couldn't survey the entire area. Pink, Ochre, Blood and Vermilion stars are fine. Art/Photo ©2014 by Jan Kocian.
  • In spite of somewhat windy weather, I managed to make my weekly visits to Possession Point and Langley Harbor on Whidbey Island on Friday and Saturday January 10 &amp; 11. The good news is that Langley 's thousands of sea stars seem to remain healthy, I found only one composing pile of star remnant. Possession Point on other end continues to suffer from SSWS with eight new corpses, still found in the shallower waters, while the depths below 30 feet seem to be OK. Unfortunately, for the first time here, I found 3 Mottled stars (Evasterias troschelii) succumbing to SSWS. There are clusters of Mottled stars in 12 feet of water, they been there for long time and seem healthy, except one. Because of surge and not so great visibility in shallows, I couldn't survey the entire area. Pink, Ochre, Blood and Vermilion stars are fine. Art/Photo ©2014 by Jan Kocian.
  • In spite of somewhat windy weather, I managed to make my weekly visits to Possession Point and Langley Harbor on Whidbey Island on Friday and Saturday January 10 &amp; 11. The good news is that Langley 's thousands of sea stars seem to remain healthy, I found only one composing pile of star remnant. Possession Point on other end continues to suffer from SSWS with eight new corpses, still found in the shallower waters, while the depths below 30 feet seem to be OK. Unfortunately, for the first time here, I found 3 Mottled stars (Evasterias troschelii) succumbing to SSWS. There are clusters of Mottled stars in 12 feet of water, they been there for long time and seem healthy, except one. Because of surge and not so great visibility in shallows, I couldn't survey the entire area. Pink, Ochre, Blood and Vermilion stars are fine. Art/Photo ©2014 by Jan Kocian.
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