Eyes over Puget Sound

Once a month, we take to the air and travel by boat to obtain high-resolution aerial photo observations and gather water data at our monitoring stations and state ferry transects. This provides us a visual picture of the health of Puget Sound, which we call Eyes Over Puget Sound or EOPS.

Eyes Over Puget Sound empowers you to:

See what is currently happening in Puget Sound.
See how weather and climate are shaping Puget Sound water quality.
Use Eyes Over Puget Sound as free educational material for your own endeavors.

Download a copy of the latest Eyes Over Puget Sound.

Summary of latest observations

Anchovy cause a feeding frenzy in Puget Sound

Aerial photos revealed abundant schools of small fish in South Puget Sound. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife scientists documented a large increase in juvenile anchovy since 2015.
This increase in anchovies led to a feeding frenzy in Case Inlet with hundreds of sea lions and other marine mammals feasting on the fish. Later, a transient pod of orcas showed up, and the sea lions dispersed.

Advice for beachgoers

Our BEACH Program shares some advice: beachgoers should be aware that organic debris that washes up on shore (called beach wrack) could harbor bacteria.
Plan a safe trip to the beach by reading our swimming tips and checking out our beach map!

What we saw in our flights over Puget Sound

Glacial flour enters the Puget Sound via the Puyallup River.
Aerial photos showed large algae blooms in Central Puget Sound along with abundant Noctiluca.
You shared your photos of Noctiluca with us. Check out the best photos of this microorganism that looks like tomato soup!

Learn more about Eyes over Puget Sound

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Contact information

Christopher Krembs, PhD.
Lead Oceanographer
christopher.krembs@ecy.wa.gov
360-407-6675