Last week divers and marine biologists spent a few days relocating invertebrates who had become quite attached to the south jetty at Point Hudson.

Their new home is a pile of submerged ballast rocks that used to provide the structure of the north jetty. As local mariners know, the north jetty was demolished and rebuilt last winter, ahead of schedule, by Orion Marine of Tacoma.

“We had built-in weather delays but the season turned out to be more mild than we expected,” Harbor Master Kristian Ferrero told the Leader.

The planning and permitting of the jetties rebuild is now in its seventh year but Ferrero said he expects the work will finally be completed by spring.

On Monday, Sept. 11, immediately following the Wooden Boat Festival, the marina will close again until March 1. Those improvements, he said, are overdue.

“Essentially the breakwater was failing. Storm surges were washing over the top. You can go now and look at the south jetty and see through sections of the breakwater. That’s what the north jetty looked like a year ago,” he added,

All of the year-long tenants will be asked to relocate their boats from Sept. 1 until March 1.

“Part of that decision is dictated by a fish window - spawning patterns dictate when we can do the work and this is the time frame we’ve been given,” Ferrero said.

When the $13 million project is complete, the new jetties are expected to provide safe haven for the invertebrates below the water line and the vertebrates above it.