From: Kate Wing <[log in to unmask]>
Freshwater Fisheries
Chicago Waterways and Aquatic Nuisance Species. On June 18,
1997, the Great Lakes Panel on Aquatic Nuisance Species and the
federal Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force have scheduled a tour
of the Chicago Waterways focusing on the round goby and other
nonindigenous species dispersal barrier initiatives to control
the movement of aquatic nuisance species between the Great Lakes
basin and the Mississippi River drainage. [U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service announcement]
Sikes Act Hearing. On May 22, 1997, the House Resources
Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife, and Oceans has
tentatively scheduled a joint hearing with the House Committee on
National Security on H.R. 374, proposing to amend the Sikes Act
to enhance fish and wildlife conservation and natural resource
management programs on military installations. [personal
communication]
Westslope Cutthroat Trout ESA Petition. On May 20, 1997, a
coalition of MT, OR, and ID environmental groups announced that
they had filed a petition to list the westslope cutthroat trout
as a threatened species. [Assoc Press]
Michigan Aquatic Nuisance Species Management Plan. On May 20,
1997, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials announced that
Michigan's "Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Species State
Management Plan" had been approved by the federal Aquatic
Nuisance Species Task Force. MI is the second state to have a
management plan approved, and permits MI to request federal funds
for implementation. [U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service press
release, Assoc Press]
Marine Mammals
Hawaiian Whale Sanctuary. June 6, 1997, is the deadline by which
HI Governor Ben Cayetano must decide how much, if any, of a
proposed 1,680 square miles of state waters and submerged lands
should be included within the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale
National Marine Sanctuary and managed under its federal
management plan. [Assoc Press]
Norwegian Whaling. A Dutch court hearing on the possible
extradition of Paul Watson to Norway is tentatively scheduled for
May 26, 1997. Lofoten Islands police have announced that legal
proceedings in Lofoten County Court are scheduled against Watson
in Norway on Sept. 1, 1997, relating to alleged negligent
navigation and collision with a Norwegian coast guard vessel in
the summer of 1994. Compensation for damages of $120,000 with
possible interest is sought by the Norwegian Navy for this
collision. On May 2, 1997, Norway began its 1997 commercial
minke whale hunt for a quota of 580 animals. The season will end
on July 21, 1997. Individual vessels are limited to six weeks of
whaling, when an inspector is aboard. On May 20, 1997, 28
Norwegian whalers and 4 whalemeat processing companies argued in
an appeal of a lower court denial on a $8.5 million lawsuit
against the Norwegian government in Oslo district court, claiming
they sustained considerable loss when the Norwegian government
failed to support the whaling industry between 1988 and 1993 and
did not permit commercial whaling. [Assoc Press, High North
Alliance News, Dow Jones News]
Captive Manatees Outside FL? On May 20, 1997, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service officials reported in the Fort Myers, FL,
News-Press that more than 50 manatees are in captivity in FL, and
that display facilities are overcrowded. Some manatees that are
not candidates for release may be made available to public
display facilities outside FL, if appropriate captive maintenance
standards can be met. [Assoc Press]
Dolphin Feeding Enforcement. On May 19, 1997, NMFS issued an
announcement reminding the public that it is illegal to feed or
swim with dolphins in the wild. NMFS personnel are holding news
conferences at various locations in FL where dolphin feeding has
become popular. NMFS has contracted with the FL Marine Patrol to
provide additional enforcement relating to dolphins during 1997
and, in 1998, NMFS expects to fund an additional 6 enforcement
officers for protected species enforcement, including dolphin
feeding and harassment. [Assoc Press, NMFS press release]
{MEDITERRANEAN MONK SEAL DEATHS. IN MID-MAY 1997, MORE THAN 60
ENDANGERED MEDITERRANEAN MONK SEALS WERE KILLED BY EATING FISH
TAINTED BY TOXIC ALGAE ALONG MAURITANIA'S ATLANTIC COAST.}
[REUTERS]
Whalemeat Smuggling Report. On May 15, 1997, the British TRAFFIC
Network released a report entitled "Whale Meat Trade in East
Asia," which reported that whalemeat is smuggled illegally from
Japan and available on the menus of numerous restaurants in Hong
Kong. [Dow Jones News]
CA Sea Lion Deaths. On May 14-15, 1997, Mexican authorities
reported finding the carcasses of 14 CA seal lions on beaches
just south of the U.S.-Mexican border. The animals were clubbed
or shot and could have drifted south from U.S. waters. Earlier
this month, 5 sea lion carcasses washed ashore in the Tijuana
Slough National Wildlife Refuge, just north of the U.S.-Mexican
border. [Assoc Press]
Tuna-Dolphin Legislation. On May 14, 1997, the Senate Commerce
Subcommittee on Oceans and Fisheries held a hearing on S. 39,
amendments to the Marine Mammal Protection Act relating to the
International Dolphin Conservation Program. H.R. 408 was
approved by the full House on May 21, 1997, by a vote of 262-166.
[Federal Register, personal communication]
CITES Downlisting of Certain Whales. In early May 1997, the
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild
Fauna and Flora (CITES) Secretariat recommended that 5 proposals
to downlist various whale stocks (minke whales in the northeast
and central north Atlantic, Southern Hemisphere, and Okhotsk
Sea-West Pacific; eastern Pacific grey whales; northwest Pacific
Bryde's whales) from Appendix I to Appendix II be accepted, based
on these populations not meeting the criteria for inclusion on
Appendix I. Downlisting to Appendix II could permit controlled
international trade in these species' products only if a 1979
CITES resolution recommending no permits for trade in whale
products protected by the International Whaling Commission were
repealed. Japan has proposed to appeal the 1979 CITES
resolution. [High North Alliance News, Dow Jones News]
Keiko's Recovery. On May 6, 1997, the Free Willy Keiko
Foundation announced that, by spring 1997, Keiko could be in a
fenced-off pen in the North Atlantic as the next step toward
release to the wild. Details of cost and potential sites are
under research and negotiation. [Assoc Press]
Japanese Scientific Whaling. On May 1, 1997, a fleet of 4
Japanese ships departed for the northwestern Pacific with the
objective of killing as many as 100 minke whales for research
purposes. Research is scheduled to be completed by the end of
July 1997. On May 12-16, 1997, the International Whaling
Commission's Scientific Committee is meeting behind closed doors
in Tokyo, Japan, to review Japan's scientific whaling program.
Results of this review will be presented at the IWC's annual
meeting in Monaco in October 1997. [Dow Jones News, Reuters]
Atlantic Large Whale Protection. Four public hearings will be
held from Apr. 30-May 3 on fishing gear modification regulations
to protect Atlantic large whales; additional public comment will
be received until May 15, 1997. On May 7, 1997, MA Dept. of
Environmental Affairs officials lifted an emergency ban on
fishing gear aimed at protecting northern right whales since
these whales appear to have left MA waters several weeks earlier
than normal this year. [Assoc Press, Federal Register]
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