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Date: Wed, 03 Jul 1996 11:44:26 -0500
From: Gene Buck <[log in to unmask]>
Info Summary for U.S. Congress and Staff -- Part 2
Taura Syndrome Virus Strikes SC Shrimp. In early June 1996, SC
Natural Resources Dept. officials projected that as much as half of
the commercial Pacific white shrimp crop reared in four SC shrimp
farms could be lost to an outbreak of the taura syndrome virus.
Under SC state regulations, the SC Dept. of Natural Resources
ordered all shrimp killed in ponds where the virus was detected. On
June 14, 1996, a Charleston Co., SC, judge gave shrimp farmers two
weeks to gather information before they are required to follow state
regulations and kill all the shrimp in infected ponds. [Assoc
Press]
Indiana Shrimp Farming. On June 7, 1996, Penbur Farms Inc. (Buda,
TX) broke ground in Jennings County, IN, for a new $7 million shrimp
farm facility. The facility's goal is to produce 70,000 pounds of
shrimp per month by the end of 1997. [Assoc Press]
U.S. Bluefin Tuna Farms. On June 10, 1996, local selectmen in
Provincetown, MA, voted unanimously to approve a plan by the New
England Aquarium for a short-term bluefin tuna cage culture
experiment off Long Point, Cape Cod, MA. [Assoc Press]
Freshwater Fisheries
{Cochetopa Fish Kill. On June 27, 1996, a tanker truck crashed and
spilled between 5,000 and 7,500 gallons of liquid ammonium nitrate
fertilizer into Cochetopa Creek southwest of Gunnison, CO, killing
thousands of brown and rainbow trout.} [Assoc Press]
{Nonindigenous Species Hearing. On July 11, 1996, the House
Resource Committee's Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, and Oceans
has tentatively scheduled an oversight hearing on nonindigenous
species concerns.} [personal communication]
{Lake Erie Commercial Fishing. On July 1, 1996, the 6th U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a Sept. 1994 lower court decision
and ruled that Ohio's restrictions on commercial fishing in Lake
Erie are valid. Commercial fishers had challenged Ohio's
regulations as too restrictive and favoring sport anglers.} [Assoc
Press]
{Bull Trout. On July 1, 1996, Idaho Governor Phil Batt released his
administration's recovery plan for bull trout, focusing on
development of separate recovery plans for each of 59 key watersheds
by watershed advisory groups assisted by technical advisory teams by
the end of 1998.} [Assoc Press]
Fisheries Communication Conference. On June 27-29, 1996, the
American Fisheries Society held a conference in Bozeman, MT, on how
fisheries professionals might improve communication with the public.
[Assoc Press]
San Juan River Lawsuit. On June 27, 1996, the attorney for the San
Juan Fly Fishing Federation was planning to file a motion in U.S.
District Court (Albuquerque, NM) requesting that their lawsuit
against the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation be reopened. The lawsuit
contends the Bureau is not complying with environmental regulations
in water tests at Navajo Reservoir and that a planned four-month
test beginning in November 1996 could harm trout populations in
waters below the reservoir. The Federation had agreed to dismiss
the lawsuit in return for information from a two-week test in
January. The agreement also provided that the lawsuit could be
reopened by July 15, 1996. [Assoc Press]
Loans of Sport Fishing Gear. In early June 1996, the Houston County
(GA) Public Library System began a program allowing adult library
card-holders to check out donated sport fishing equipment -- rod,
reel, hooks, line, sinker, and bobber -- for two week periods.
[Assoc Press]
Great Lakes Tribal Fishing. On June 19, 1996, state and federal
officials failed to reach agreement with tribal leaders on
designating areas of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron where tribal
members can fish for salmon. The issue will now likely be decided
by a ruling from the U.S. District Court of Western Michigan.
[Assoc Press]
Clyde River Dam Removal. On June 19, 1996, Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission (FERC) staff released a draft environmental
impact statement indicating FERC would likely order Citizens
Utilities Co. to remove what remains of the Newport 11 dam on the
Clyde River, VT. The dam limited habitat for Atlantic salmon and
was heavily damaged by floodwaters in 1994. If removal is ordered,
this would be the first time FERC has ordered removal during a
relicensing review. FERC could issue a final ruling within a month.
[Assoc Press]
Town Clerk Protest. In mid-June 1996, the MA Town Clerk Association
voted to suspend fishing license sales after July 1, 1996, in a
dispute with the MA Division of Fisheries and Wildlife over the
local share of license revenues. [Assoc Press]
Gila Trout. On June 13, 1996, Gila National Forest (NM) officials
captured 30 endangered Gila trout from the portion of Sacaton Creek
choked with ash from a forest fire for holding at the Mescalero fish
hatchery as a precaution. {In late June 1996, the Grant County (NM)
Commission voted to permit the U.S. Forest Service to use antimycin
to kill non-native fish (primarily brown and rainbow trout) in 4
miles of Mogollon Creek to increase the likelihood of
re-establishing endangered Gila trout.} [Assoc Press]
Fish Consumption Advisories. On June 11, 1996, the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency released an assessment of fish
consumption advisories for 45 chemical contaminants, noting that the
number of such advisories increased by 14% in 1995 with mercury
(1,308 advisories) and PCB being most numerous. A total of 1,740
waterbodies were covered by advisories in 47 States were in effect
in 1995, covering 15% of the nation's lake acreage and 4% of total
river miles. Better state monitoring is thought to have produced
the large increase in advisories between 1994 and 1995. [EPA press
release, Washington Post]
Edwards Aquifer. On June 10, 1996, the Sierra Club filed suit in
U.S. District Court (Midland, TX) seeking emergency limits on
pumping from the Edwards Aquifer, TX, to better protect endangered
fish and amphibians during ongoing drought conditions. [Greenwire]
Alaska Subsistence Fishing. On June 10, 1996, the U.S. Supreme
Court declined to review a 1995 Alaska Supreme Court ruling, in the
case of Totemoff v. Alaska, that the State of Alaska has regulatory
authority over subsistence hunting and fishing on navigable waters.
[Assoc Press]
Sport Fishing and Crown Grants. On June 4, 1996, the Virginia
Supreme Court heard arguments in a case where a lower court had
barred a sport fishing guide from a section of the Jackson River,
where centuries-old crown grants from the King of England are
alleged to have given landowners full control of property including
waters. Lawyers argued that permissible navigation is different
from fishing, since fishing "takes" property (fish). [Assoc Press]
National Fishing Week. In conjunction with National Fishing Week
(June 3-9, 1996), various jurisdictions announced "free fishing"
events. For example, Wisconsin residents fished without licenses or
permits the weekend of June 1-2, while Florida, West Virginia, and
Michigan residents fished free in freshwater lakes and rivers on
June 8-9. [Assoc Press, FL Game & Fresh Water Fish Commission press
release]
Items in this summary are excerpted from a variety of information
sources. The Congressional Research Service (CRS) is not
responsible for the accuracy of the various news items.
....
end of Part 2.
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