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Date: Tue, 15 Apr 1997 08:39:09 -0400
From: Kate Wing <[log in to unmask]>
Early Swordfish Closure. On Mar. 20, 1997, NMFS published
notice in the Federal Register that the semiannual Atlantic
swordfish fishery would close six weeks early at noon on Apr.
12, 1997, due to recalculated, and larger, estimates for discards
of incidentally caught swordfish during the 1995 and 1996
seasons. In addition, the swordfish bycatch allowance for
longline vessels fishing for other species was reduced to no more
than 5 swordfish per vessel per trip. [Federal Register]
Russia Seizes Polish Trawler. On Mar. 20, 1997, Polish
officials delivered an official protest to Russia on detention of
the Aquarius and demanded its release. On Mar. 21, 1997,
Kamchatka authorities released the Polish fishing vessel
Aquarius, after Poland agreed to pay $100,000 for its release.
[Warsaw PAP, Warsaw Polskie Radio First Program Network, and
Warsaw Third Program Radio Network via Foreign Broadcast
Information Service, Reuters, Interfax]
Tuna and Consumers. On Mar. 19, 1997, British doctors wrote in
the Journal of Accident and Emergency Medicine that food
poisoning (scombrotoxin poisoning) from tuna and related fish is
more common than formerly believed because the condition is
mis-diagnosed. [Reuters]
EU Fisheries Promotion. On Mar. 18, 1997, the European
Commission announced the launching of a year-long $2 million
information campaign to promote fish consumption, especially
non-traditional species. Emphasis will be place on nutritional
values as well as the necessity to wisely manage fish resources.
[Agence Europe via Reuters]
Record World Fish Production. On Mar. 17, 1997, officials of
the UN Food and Agriculture Organization announced that 1995
world fish production reached a record 112.3 million metric tons.
Fish farming contributed to most of the recent growth, but also
was seen responsible for environmental damage. An additional 20
million metric tons of annual fish production was deemed feasible
if underdeveloped resources were exploited, bycatch and waste
were reduced, and measures were taken to reduce overfishing.
However, bycatch in some groundfish fisheries is reported to be
as much as half the groundfish harvest. [Reuters]
Japanese Oil Spill. On Mar. 17, 1997, the National Federation
of Fisheries Cooperative Associations filed claims for 2.3
billion Yen with the International Oil Pollution Compensation
Fund (London) for compensation for oil spill cleanup costs. A
second filing is planned to cover compensation for actual damages
to the fishing industry. [Tokyo Kyodo via Foreign Broadcast
Information Service, Dow Jones News]
UN Code of Conduct Implementation Plan. On Mar. 17, 1997, NMFS
announced that a new draft U.S. implementation plan for the UN's
Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries was available for
public comment through Apr. 28, 1997. [NOAA press release]
Mississippi Floodwaters. On Mar. 17, 1997, the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers began opening the Bonnet Carre spillway, north of
New Orleans, on Mar. 17 to divert rising Mississippi River
waters into Lake Pontchartrain. This is the first large-scale
opening of the Spillway since 1983. The MS Dept. of Marine
Resources will monitor the impact of lower salinity waters on
oyster reefs and shrimp in Mississippi Sound. [Assoc Press]
Sea Turtle Land Purchase. In mid-March 1997, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service officials announced the award of a $500,000
grant to Volusia County, FL, for purchasing land for off-beach
parking. Off-beach parking is intended to reduce the number of
vehicles driving in sea turtle habitat on beaches. The pilot
grant program aims to assist states in buying land to support
habitat conservation. [Assoc Press]
North Sea Ecosystem Meeting. On Mar. 13-14, 1997, Norwegian and
EU commissioners and ministers for fishing and the environment
met in Bergen, Norway, to discuss fishing and its impact on the
North Sea ecosystem. The meeting sought to strike a balance
between meeting environmental objectives and safeguarding the
interests of the fishing industry. On Mar. 14, 1997, the
assembled parties agreed to a non-binding "Statement of
Conclusions" inviting competent authorities in respective nations
to take recommended steps to better protect North Sea fish stocks
from collapse due to overfishing. [Reuters, Agence Europe via
Reuters]
Salmon Along the Pacific Coast
Salmon Habitat Restoration. The May 1997 issue of Fisheries is
reported to be publishing the results of a study by three Pacific
Northwest fishery scientists concluding that few in-stream
habitat enhancement projects have resulted in any long-term
success for the fish. To succeed, such efforts must be combined
with restoration of ecological processes within the entire
watershed. [Assoc Press]
1997 Pacific Salmon Fishery. The Pacific Fishery Management
Council will decide among 4 options for managing the 1997 salmon
season, including one providing no non-Indian salmon fishing off
the coast of WA and northern OR, at meetings to be held Apr.
7-11, 1997, in Millbrae, CA. Other options would allow limited
commercial and sport fishing for coho and chinook salmon. For
the 3rd consecutive year, no coho salmon fishing would be allowed
off most of OR and all of CA. [Assoc Press]
{Juvenile Salmon Barging. On Apr. 4, 1997, the Salmon Executive
Committee, meeting in Portland, OR, rejected a proposal from ID
and Columbia River Tribes to barge no more than 42% of downstream
migrating juvenile salmon and 54% of juvenile steelhead trout.
As a result, at least half of the downstream migrating juvenile
salmon are likely to be collected at dams and transported
downstream by barge, and as much as 80-85% of juvenile steelhead
trout may be transported by barge.} [Assoc Press]
Hatchery Coho Salmon Lawsuit. On Apr. 2, 1997, Tribal officials
announced an agreement with state and federal officials for the
release of 8.5 million juvenile coho salmon above Bonneville Dam
this spring in compliance with the 1988 Columbia River Fish
Management Plan. [Assoc Press]
Bristol Bay Salmon Price-Fixing Lawsuit. On Apr. 1, 1997,
letters were mailed to 6,000 Bristol Bay salmon fishermen who had
driftnet and setnet permit holders between 1989 and 1995,
explaining the pending $1 billion lawsuit in Alaska Superior
Court charging more than 60 seafood processors and Japanese
trading companies of conspiring to pay fishermen unfair low
prices. [Assoc Press]
Alleged NAFTA Violation by BC Hydro. On Apr. 1, 1997, a
coalition of U.S. and Canadian conservation, fishing, and
aboriginal groups announced their intention of filing a complaint
on Apr. 2, 1997, asking that the North American Commission on
Environmental Cooperation (an oversight panel under the North
American Free Trade Agreement) investigate allegations that
Canada has failed to enforce federal regulations on BC Hydro to
benefit salmon and other fish. The coalition claims that, while
U.S. power producers have been forced to alter operations to
protect salmon, Canadian dam operation has not been similarly
modified to benefit salmon. Groups in the coalition include the
Aboriginal Fisheries Commission of British Columbia, the British
Columbia Wildlife Federation, the Columbia River Inter-Tribal
Fisheries Commission, the Sierra Club, the Pacific Coast
Federation of Fishermen's Associations, and Trout Unlimited's
Spokane, WA Chapter. Specific concerns relate to how BC Hydro
stores and releases water -- critics contend that BC Hydro spills
water at times when it should be stored for fish rearing and
stores water when it should be released to assist salmon
migration. [Assoc Press, Dow Jones News]
1995 Biological Opinion Lawsuit. On Mar. 31, 1997, Judge
Malcolm Marsh questioned attorneys at a hearing in U.S. District
Court in Portland, OR, on the 1995 lawsuit by American Rivers,
the Sierra Club, and 8 other groups against NMFS challenging
implementation of NMFS's 1995 biological opinion on operation of
the Columbia and Snake River hydropower system. The groups are
seeking to have Judge Marsh order the drawdown of reservoirs
closer to the natural pre-dam state of the river to assist
juvenile salmon migration. On Apr. 3, 1997, Judge Marsh issued
a 33-page opinion upholding NMFS' biological opinion and ruling
that the federal salmon recovery plan was legal, and that he
could not interfere with the professional judgment of NMFS. [NW
Fishletter No. 30, Assoc Press]
Idaho's 1997 Salmon Plan. On Mar. 27, 1997, ID Governor Phil
Batt released the state's 1997 strategy for salmon management,
relying on heavy spring runoff to carry most juvenile salmon
downstream and minimizing the use of barges. When the flow is at
least 100,000 cubic feet per second at Lower Granite Dam, the
strategy recommends that only one-third of the juveniles be
barged. The strategy recommends against using reservoir water
from the Clearwater River Basin or from the Snake River above
Hell's Canyon to benefit fall chinook salmon. [Assoc Press]
WA Salmon Report. On Mar. 27, 1997, the WA Dept. of Fish and
Wildlife released a draft report on restoration of wild salmon.
The report recommended a separate management of wild and hatchery
salmon, adoption and enforcement of regulations to better control
catastrophic floods that damage spawning areas, enforcement of
laws requiring proper culverts and other potential obstacles to
salmon migration, and giving escapement for spawning priority
over harvest. Ten public hearings are scheduled to be conducted
on the draft during April and May, with a revised version of the
draft to be acted upon by the WA Fish and Wildlife Commission.
[Assoc Press]
Umpqua River Cutthroat Trout. By Mar. 25, 1997, NMFS was
scheduled to release an opinion on whether construction of the
$43 million Milltown Hill Dam, on Elk Creek near Yoncalla, OR,
could harm the endangered Umpqua River cutthroat trout. The dam
would block fish migration as well as destroy as much as 18 miles
of stream habitat for trout and salmon. {In early April 1997,
NMFS released a draft biological assessment concluding that, if
built, the Milltown Hill Dam would jeopardize the survival of
endangered Umpqua River searun cutthroat trout by blocking fish
migration to spawning areas and by releasing toxic mercury from
an old mine. After review, a final biological assessment is
scheduled to be issued by May 10, 1997.} [Assoc Press]
Dam Operation Lawsuits. On Mar. 20, 1997, a coalition of 8
fishing and environmental groups (including the Pacific Coast
Federation of Fishermen's Associations, Trout Unlimited, Sierra
Club, American Rivers, and others) notified the Bureau of
Reclamation of their intent to sue the agency for allegedly
failing to take sufficient action to manage irrigation and dam
operations to protect Snake River salmon. These groups also
filed a notice of intent to sue the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission (FERC) for allegedly failing to ensure that Idaho
Power Co. Dams did not jeopardize migrating salmon. On Mar.
26, 1997, the Columbia River Alliance (representing electric
utilities, barge operators, and irrigators) filed a notice of
intent to sue NMFS, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of
Reclamation, and Bonneville Power Administration over equitable
consideration for the economic aspects of irrigation and dam
operations. [Assoc Press]
Northwest Forest Plan. On Mar. 18, 1997, NMFS endorsed the
Clinton Administration's Northwest Forest Plan for U.S. Forest
Service and Bureau of Land Management federal lands as an
excellent anchor for salmon recovery efforts in Oregon. This
conclusion will allow NMFS to streamline consultation on federal
projects potentially affecting species protected under the
Endangered Species Act. [Assoc Press]
March 1996 Salmon Suit. On Mar. 17, 1997, Federal Judge Malcolm
Marsh is scheduled to hear arguments on the March 1996 lawsuit
wherein tribal and environmental groups allege that federal
managers are too slow and unfocused in pursuing salmon recovery
measures. [Assoc Press]
AK Salmon Marketing Proposals. In mid-March 1997, the State of
Alaska released a report of a January 1997 meeting on proposals
to help market AK salmon. The report stated that the AK Dept.
of Fish and Game would include peak fish quality as a criteria
for timing salmon harvest periods, and that the Dept. of
Commerce and Economic Development would work with the Alaska
Seafood Marketing Institute to develop a quality grading scale.
In addition, state officials would ease the inspection schedule
for major processing plants and streamline reporting
requirements. [Assoc Press]
OR Coho Salmon Recovery Plan. In mid-March 1997, OR state
legislators revised their funding proposal for the Governor's
salmon recovery (Coastal Salmon Restoration Initiative) plan,
guaranteeing the first $15 million while providing the remaining
$15 million contingent upon the federal government not listing
central and northern OR coastal coho under the Endangered Species
Act. On Mar. 17, 1997, the OR chapter of the American Fisheries
Society (AFS) wrote a letter to NMFS expressing concerns that the
governor's coho salmon restoration plan does not provide
necessary guidance or strength to recover coho salmon. AFS
questioned the assumptions of the plan's habitat model, reliance
on Oregon logging regulations to protect salmon habitat, and the
absence of changes in agricultural practices such as grazing. On
Mar. 18, 1997, the OR House voted 56-2 to approve the state's
coho salmon recovery plan and a $30 million funding program using
the state general fund if private funding is unavailable. [Assoc
Press, Portland Oregonian via Greenwire]
Aquaculture and Aquaria
{NORWEGIAN SALMON ANTI-DUMPING. ON APR. 14, 1997, THE EUROPEAN
UNION'S ANTI-DUMPING COMMITTEE IS SCHEDULED TO MEET TO CONTINUE
CONSIDERATION OF A 13.7% ANTI-DUMPING DUTY PROPOSED BY THE
EUROPEAN COMMISSION FOR FARMED NORWEGIAN SALMON. AFTER
INVESTIGATION, THE COMMISSION CONCLUDED THAT NORWEGIAN SALMON HAD
BEEN SOLD BELOW PRODUCTION COSTS AND HAD RECEIVED UNLAWFUL
SUBSIDIES, CAUSING INJURY TO EU PRODUCERS.} [AGENCE EUROPE VIA
REUTERS]
{BC SALMON FARMERS' REPORT. ON APR. 9, 1997, THE BRITISH
COLUMBIA SALMON FARMERS ASSOCIATION RELEASED A DRAFT
COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF SALMON FARMING AND CALLED ON THE BC
GOVERNMENT TO LIFT THE MORATORIUM ON NEW SALMON FARMS, SINCE THE
DRAFT WAS REPORTED TO HAVE CONCLUDED THAT SALMON FARMS DON'T
ENDANGER WILD SALMON STOCKS. THE FINAL REPORT IS DUE IN JUNE
1997.} [ASSOC PRESS]
Gulf of Maine Aquarium. On Apr. 2, 1997, plans are reportedly
scheduled to be announced to the effect that the $42 million Gulf
of Maine Aquarium will be constructed at the site of the U.S.
Naval Reserve Pier in Portland, ME. [Assoc Press]
Chinese Crawfish Antidumping Decision. On Mar. 20, 1997, the
U.S. Dept. of Commerce preliminarily ruled that Chinese
crawfish tails are being illegally dumped on the U.S. market for
less than their fair market value.
A preliminary tariff adjustment {OF AS MUCH AS 80% TO 200%} to
raise the price of imported crawfish on the U.S. market would
remain in effect until a final determination is issued on June 2,
1997. {CHINESE CRAWFISH MAY ACCOUNT FOR 70% TO 80% OF THE
PRODUCT ON THE U.S. MARKET.} [Assoc Press]
Freshwater Fisheries
{Constitutional Right to Fish. On Apr. 9, 1997, the Colorado
state Senate's Committee on Agriculture, Natural Resources, and
Energy Committee approved SCR001 for consideration by the full
Senate. If approved by the legislature, this measure would place
a voter referendum on the Nov. 1998 statewide ballot asking if
hunting and fishing should be constitutionally protected rights.}
[Assoc Press]
....
end Part 2/3
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