Salmon Along the Pacific Coast
     .
     {Stream Buffers.  On Jan. 14, 1998, the AK Board of Forestry came to
a consensus agreement on a package of increased protection measures for
fish streams on state and private land, including requiring no-cut buffers on
private lands along smaller streams that are not main channels for spawning
or rearing fish and increasing the width of no-cut buffers on major salmon
streams.  These measures will be sent to the AK Legislature for
consideration.} [Assoc Press]
     .
     Elk Creek Dam.  On Jan. 8, 1998, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
officials announced a finding of "no significant impact" for breaching the
partially constructed Elk Creek Dam in the Rogue River drainage, OR, to allow
salmon to pass upstream to spawn.  Thus, no environmental impact
statement will need to be prepared on the action, and the Corps may award a
contract for blasting a notch in the dam as early as March 1998, with work to
be completed by October 1998.  The project is anticipated to cost about $7
million. [Assoc Press]
     .
     {Bristol Bay Salmon Disaster.  In early January 1998, the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) notified AK officials that it did not
consider the impact of the low 1997 Bristol Bay salmon harvest of sufficient
severity and magnitude to warrant a major disaster declaration, and denied
AK's request for unemployment assistance for the Bristol Bay region.  AK has
30 days to appeal the FEMA decision.} [Assoc Press, Dow Jones News]
     .
     WA Steelhead Initiative.  In late December 1997, WA Dept. of Fish
and Wildlife officials released a first draft of the state's "Lower Columbia
Steelhead Conservation Initiative," focusing on hundreds of options for possible
state activities to restore steelhead trout, and setting priorities for action.
A
second draft is anticipated in early February, incorporating local government
and private efforts to complement state actions. [Assoc Press]
     .
     Umpqua Searun Cutthroat Trout Critical Habitat.  On Dec. 19,
1997, NMFS officials announced the designation of portions of the Umpqua
River basin, OR, as critical habitat for Umpqua searun cutthroat trout. [Assoc
Press]
     .
     Milltown Hill Dam Approval.  On Dec. 19, 1997, NMFS announced
approval for Douglas County, OR, to construct Milltown Hill Dam on Elk Creek
in the headwaters of the Umpqua River, if certain conditions are met.  These
conditions included restoration of at least 12 miles of degraded fish habitat,
including use of 100-foot buffer zones, elsewhere in the Elk Creek and
Umpqua River watershed to compensate for the loss of marginal headwater
habitat above the dam.  In addition, the County will modify road culverts to
provide access to at least 4 miles of habitat in previously blocked areas, and
reduce mercury runoff from the abandoned Elkhead Mine.  NMFS approval
cleared the way for the Bureau of Reclamation to provide $44 million for dam
construction. [Assoc Press]
     .
     Salmon in the Press Award.  On Dec. 19, 1997, the Seattle Times
announced that its June 8, 1997 editorial "Save the Columbia Salmon" had
been awarded the 1997 Opinion/Editorial Gold Award by the Association of
Opinion Page Editors and Penn State's College of Communications. [Seattle
Times press release]
     .
     Pacific Salmon Treaty.  On Dec. 19, 1997, special envoys of Canada
and the United States are scheduled to meet in Seattle, WA, to continue
discussions.  BC officials have indicated that they will participate in these
discussions.  The special envoys are expected to report on their progress by
the end of January 1998.  On Dec. 19, 1997, special envoys Ruckelshaus and
Strangway met with fishermen and industry representatives for almost 12
hours of discussion.  {On Jan. 12, 1998, Canadian and U.S. special envoys
released their report, providing advice on renewal of Pacific salmon treaty
negotiations.  Although the report suggested that Canadian fishermen should
receive more salmon, it strongly urged compromise advantageous to recovery
of salmon populations.  In addition, the special envoys recommended that
authorities adopt interim fishing provisions for all salmon species for as long
as 2 years to allow time for negotiating a longer-term agreement, that
stakeholder discussions not be continued, and that the authority of and
funding for the Pacific Salmon Commission be increased.} [Assoc Press,
Reuters, Dow Jones News, Canadian Dept. of Fisheries and Oceans press
release]
     .
Aquaculture and Aquaria
     .
     {Chilean Salmon Farm Transaction.  On Jan. 15, 1998, the Dutch
company Nutreco Holding NV announced that it had acquired a Chilean
hatchery and fish farm from Caican, with potentials of 3.5 million juvenile
salmon from the hatchery and 2,000 tons of market-ready salmon from the fish
farm.  Nutreco's annual revenues from fish farming and fish feed operations in
Chile was reported to total about 300 million guilders (about $145 million).}
[Dow Jones News]
     .
     {{Aquarium Renovation and Expansion.  On Jan. 15, 1998, the
Chicago Plan Commission approved a proposed $135 million renovation and
expansion of the John G. Shedd Aquarium, to include an Amazon River
exhibit, an underground Indo-Pacific coral exhibit, and an exhibit featuring the
streams, rivers, and wetlands of IL.  This proposal next goes to the City
Council and the Chicago Park District Board.}} [Assoc Press]
     .
     {Chilean Salmon.  On Jan. 9, 1998, the U.S. Dept. of Commerce
made a preliminary antidumping determination on Chilean salmon, with two of
the five companies surveyed assessed duties of 8.27% and 3.31%.  The other
three companies surveyed were found to have dumping margins so low that no
retaliatory tariffs were levied.  More than 35 additional Chilean companies will
have the average finding, 5.79%, levied as an import duty on their product.
This is substantially lower than the 42% duty sought by U.S. salmon farmers.
Further investigations will be conducted in Chile before a decision on any final
duty is made in late May 1998.} [Dow Jones News, Wall Street Journal,
Salmon Trade Alliance press release, Reuters, Assoc Press]
     .
     {Shrimp Culture.  On Jan. 8, 1998, CEATECH USA Inc. (Controlled
Environment Aquaculture Technology Inc.) announced the receipt of a 45-year
lease from the HI Dept. of Agriculture for 83 acres of land on the island of
Kauai.  On this land, CEATECH plans to develop 52 one-acre ponds for
producing genetically improved shrimp.  Broodstock and postlarvae will be
marketed beginning in April 1998, and harvests are projected beginning in
June 1998, for sale to Hawaiian and mainland U.S. markets.  A lease for an
additional 280 acres of adjacent land is being negotiated.} [CEATECH USA
Inc. press release]
     .
     Shrimp Virus Workshop.  On Jan. 7-8, 1998, the Environmental
Protection Agency in cooperation with the Office of Science and Technology
Policy's Joint Subcommittee on Aquaculture will hold a workshop on shrimp
virus in Arlington, VA.  The workshop's objective is to develop a preliminary
ecological risk assessment of the potential effects of exotic shrimp viruses on
cultured and wild shrimp in the southeastern United States. [Fed. Register]
     .
     Ripley Aquarium Plans in Tennessee.  On Jan. 7, 1998, Ripley
Entertainment announced plans to build a $40 million, 1 million gallon
saltwater aquarium in Sevier County, TN, with opening planned for Christmas
1998. [Assoc Press]
     .
     Quahog Contract.  On Jan. 7, 1998, officials of Ecology and
Environment, Inc. (EEI; Lancaster, NY) announced that EEI had been awarded
a $400,000 contract by Narragansett Bay Marine Resources, Inc. to manage a
quahog (little neck/ cherrystone clam) culture test facility in Warwick, RI,
designed to produce about 40 million juvenile quahogs annually for
transplanting into Narragansett Bay. [EEI press release, Dow Jones News]
     .
     FL Red Tide.  On Dec. 26, 1997, the FL Dept. of Environmental
Protection issued an order to temporarily halt shellfish harvesting at clam
farms in the Charlotte Harbor area of southwest FL because of high red tide
organism cell counts. [Assoc Press]
     .
Freshwater Fisheries
     .
     {Fisheries Database Summit.  On Feb. 9-11, 1998, a National
Fresh-water Fisheries Database Summit
[http://www.fw.vt.edu/fishex/fishdbmt.html] will convene in San Diego, CA, to
address issues regarding the standards and guidelines for developing shared
fisheries information systems.} [personal communication]
     .
     {AK Subsistence Fishing.  On Jan. 12, 1998, several AK legislators
filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn, as unconstitutional, parts of the federal
Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act that give rural AK residents
priority for subsistence fishing and hunting.  This lawsuit also seeks to block
the scheduled federal assumption of AK subsistence fisheries management
on Dec. 1, 1998.} [Assoc Press]
     .
     Hog Waste Spill.  On Jan. 3, 1997, between 10,000 and 20,000 gallons
of hog waste flowed into wetlands along the Neuse River, NC, after an
equipment malfunction allowed too much waste to spray on nearby fields.  A
Neuse River Foundation pilot spotted the spill from the air and reported it.
[Assoc Press]
     .
     Pfiesteria?  On Dec. 19, 1997, a VA medical team studying possible
human health effects of exposure to toxins released by Pfiesteria or related
organisms reported that they had been unable to establish a connection
between symptoms reported by two individuals and contact with dinoflagellate
toxins along the Pocomoke River.  On Jan. 5, 1998, MD legislators held a
hearing in Salisbury, MD, to hear reports from various cabinet secretaries on
progress in dealing with Pfiesteria and to discuss options to be considered by
the General Assembly; more than 700 attended this hearing. [Dow Jones
News, Assoc Press, Reuters]
     .
Marine Mammals
     .
     {Gray Whale Release.  In late March 1998, Sea World San Diego
anticipates releasing a juvenile gray whale that has been under its care since
stranding in early January 1997.  The U.S. Coast Guard will assist in the
release, timed to coincide with the annual northward migration of gray whales
along the CA coast.} [Assoc Press]
     .
     IWC Intersessional Meeting.  On Feb. 3-5, 1998, International
Whaling Commission (IWC) chairman, Michael Canny, is tentatively
scheduled to convene an intersessional meeting of the IWC in Antigua to
discuss a compromise proposal to allow a limited resumption of commercial
whaling in coastal waters. [personal communication]
     .
     {{Dolphin Release Charges.  In mid-January 1998, NMFS announced
the filing of charges against four dolphin freedom activists for harassing and
illegally transporting two captive dolphins in connection with their deliberate
release in waters off Key West, FL, in May 1996.  Penalties against those
involved total $60,000.}} [NOAA press release]
     .
     Keiko.  On Jan. 7, 1998, the Oregon Coast Aquarium and the Free
Willy-Keiko Foundation issued a joint statement announcing that an arbitrator
had ruled that the Aquarium should provide day-to-day care for Keiko under the
direction of the Foundation's medical and rehabilitation plan. [Assoc Press,
Oregon Coast Aquarium/Free Willy-Keiko Foundation press release]
     .
     Manatee Mortality.  In early January 1998, FL Dept. of Environmental
Protection officials announced that 240 manatees were known to have died in
1997 -- the second highest annual death count since recordkeeping began in
1974. [Assoc Press]
     .
     {Canadian Seal Quotas.  On Dec. 30, 1997, Canadian officials
announced that the 1998 harp seal harvest quota would be 275,000 animals,
unchanged from the 1997 quota.  A survey of the harp seal population is
scheduled to be conducted in 1998, to serve as the basis for deciding future
quotas.  The hooded seal quota will be increased from 8,000 (1997) to 10,000
animals in 1998.  Federal financial assistance for the sealing industry will be
C$500,000 in 1998, declining to C$250,000 in 1999.  No federal financial
support is projected after 1999 for this industry.} [High North Alliance News]
     .
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.