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>
>Fisheries and Marine Mammals: Most Recent Developments -- 4/17/98
>(updated daily)
>
>New info and changes since 4/2/98 are bracketed {...}
>New info and changes since 4/16/98 double bracketed {{...}}
>
>Marine Fisheries
> .
> Coral Protection Workshop. On June 9-11, 1998, a federal-state
>workshop is tentatively scheduled at the Univ. of Hawaii, Honolulu, on
>management and protection of HI coral reefs. [Assoc Press]
> .
> Ocean Summit. A National Ocean Conference on ocean and coastal
>issues has been scheduled for June 11-12, 1998, at the Naval Postgraduate
>School in Monterey, CA. The event is being jointly organized by the Dept. of
>Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S.
>Navy. [Assoc Press, NOAA press release]
> .
> {Glacier Bay Commercial Fishing. Beginning on May 4, 1998, the
>National Park Service has scheduled a series of hearings in northern
>southeast Alaska communities and in Seattle, WA, on a proposal to phase
>out most commercial fishing within Glacier Bay National Park.} [Assoc Press]
> .
> West Coast Groundfish. The House Resources Subcommittee on
>Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife, and Oceans has tentatively scheduled a
>hearing on west coast groundfish issues for Apr. 30, 1998. [personal
>communication]
> .
> Forum on Ecological Surveys of ANS. A Forum on Ecological
>Surveys of Aquatic Nuisance Species (ANS) is scheduled to be held on Apr.
>21, 1998, in Edgewater, MD. This workshop will discuss surveys required by
>1996 amendments to the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and
>Control Act in nationally significant estuaries to determine what
>nonindigenous
>species are present and to estimate the effectiveness of ballast water
>guidelines and regulations. [Fed. Register]
> .
> U.S. International Trade Commission Meeting. The U.S.
>International Trade Commission has scheduled a public hearing for Apr. 21,
>1998, in Washington, DC, on international trade in fish and fish products.
>The
>hearing will focus on trade and investment liberalization between the United
>States and other members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
>forum, particularly on the competitiveness of U.S. firms compared to firms in
>other APEC member economies, tariffs and non-tariff barriers currently
>affecting trade, and market opportunities resulting from APEC trade
>liberalization. [personal communication]
> .
> {{Invasive Species Regulations. On Apr. 16, 1998, the U.S. Coast
>Guard proposed regulations and voluntary guidelines to better control
>invasive
>aquatic nuisance species spread through ballast water transfer. The proposed
>regulations would require reporting and ballast sampling for most vessels
>entering U.S. waters from foreign ports or nearshore waters. Comments on
>the proposed rules will be accepted through June 9, 1998.}} [Assoc Press,
>U.S. Coast Guard press release]
> .
> {{Boston Harbor Hearing. On Apr. 16, 1998, the Environmental
>Protection Agency held a hearing on possible changes to operating permits for
>Boston's Deer Island wastewater treatment plant, scheduled to being
>operation in fall 1998 or early 1999. Lobstermen testified on their concerns
>that extensive monitoring be conducted to document any effects on and
>changes to lobster stocks that could be related to treatment plant effluents,
>including chlorine.}} [Assoc Press]
> .
> {VMS for Atlantic HMS. On Apr. 15, 1998, NMFS announced a
>request for comments on options for rulemaking to implement an ICCAT
>(International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas)
>recommendation that vessels greater than 24 meters in length fishing for
>highly migratory species (HMS -- i.e., tuna, billfish) adopt a three-year
>pilot
>program for a satellite-based vessel monitoring system (VMS). Ten U.S.
>vessels must be equipped with such a VMS by Jan. 1, 1999.} [NMFS
>announcement]
> .
> {First IFQ Prosecution. On Apr. 13, 1998, a southeast AK fisherman
>was convicted by a federal jury of falsifying his IFQ harvest record --
>harvesting
>his blackcod catch in an area where he did not have a quota share.} [Assoc
>Press]
> .
> {Underwater Habitat Protection. On Apr. 13, 1998, the MD General
>Assembly adopted legislation to prohibit clam dredging in underwater grass
>beds, to better protect estuarine habitat. Provisions that would have
>prohibited
>clam dredging in a 150-foot buffer zone around underwater grass beds were
>deleted.} [Assoc Press]
> .
> {Wrangell Seafood Plant Loan. On Apr. 13, 1998, the Wrangell, AK,
>city council is scheduled to consider granting a $500,000 10-year,
>no-interest
>loan to a Seattle processor interested in buying and reopening a bankrupt
>Wrangell seafood plant/cannery.} [Assoc Press]
> .
> {Chinese Fishing Ban. On Apr. 12, 1998, Chinese fishery officials
>announced that China will ban fishing in its coastal waters from June 15,
>1998,
>to Sept. 15, 1998, to protect declining fish stocks. This is longer than the
>two-month annual closure imposed from 1995-1997.} [Dow Jones News]
> .
> {Parker Soft TED Approval. On Apr. 9, 1998, NMFS announced the
>approval of the Parker soft turtle excluder device (TED) for use in shrimp
>trawls
>for an 18-month trial period. Previously approved soft TEDs were disallowed
>early in 1997 after increased sea turtle strandings were believed
>attributable in
>part to soft TED use.} [NMFS press release]
> .
> {Red Snapper Quota. On Apr. 9, 1998, NMFS announced the
>adoption of the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council's
>recommendation that the red snapper harvest quota for 1998 be identical to
>the 1997 quota. However, NMFS reserved the right to halt the red snapper
>fishery if shrimp trawl bycatch is excessive (less than a 60% reduction in
>juvenile red snapper bycatch). NMFS also announced that most offshore Gulf
>of Mexico shrimp trawlers would be required to install bycatch reduction
>devices (BRDs) in their shrimp trawls within 30 days to assure that juvenile
>red
>snapper bycatch was minimized. A four-month scientific study of BRD
>effectiveness is scheduled to begin on May 1, 1998. The red snapper season
>will be divided so that harvest adjustments can be made after the BRD study
>is completed.} [Assoc Press]
> .
> {Lobster Lawsuit. On Apr. 8, 1998, CT officials filed suit against New
>York State in U.S. District Court, alleging that NY had created illegal
>barriers
>to interstate commerce in lobsters. At issue was a February 1998 NY
>warning to CT lobstermen that they could not set lobster traps around Fishers
>Island, NY. CT officials consider this restrictive since all fishermen with
>valid
>licenses, regardless of issuing state, can fish in CT waters.} [Reuters]
> .
> {{Tugboat Grounding Near Coral Reef. On Apr. 7, 1998, the 62-ton
>LA tugboat Emily Cheramie ran aground near Mexico's Chinchorro Reef
>complex, about 25 miles off the Mexican coast near the Belize border. On
>Apr. 16, 1998, U.S. and Mexican authorities inspected the grounded vessel to
>better determine how to extricate the vessel without damaging nearby corals.
>About 12,000 gallons of fuel oil remain aboard the vessel.}} [Assoc Press]
> .
> ICCAT Advisory Committee Meeting. The Advisory Committee to the
>U.S. Section to the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic
>Tunas (ICCAT) is scheduled to meet Apr. 6-8, 1998, in Silver Spring, MD, to
>discuss implementation of ICCAT recommendations, research and monitoring
>activities, and other matters related to ICCAT species. [Fed. Register]
> .
> {Shrimp Embargo and the WTO. On Apr. 6, 1998, the World Trade
>Organization announced a final report/ruling by its three-person dispute
>panel
>on U.S. shrimp trade restrictions to protect sea turtles. The ruling found
>U.S.
>law that conditions shrimp imports on the adoption by the exporting country
>of
>a specific sea turtle conservation policy, including the use of turtle
>excluder
>devices in shrimp trawls, is contrary to WTO policy. U.S. trade officials
>have
>not decided whether to appeal this ruling.} [Los Angeles Times, Houston
>Chronicle, New York Times]
> .
> {Organotin Paints. In early April 1998, the International Maritime
>Organization (IMO) announced an agreement to work toward banning
>anti-fouling paints containing organotins such as tributyl tin (TBT). IMO
>agreed to draft regulations to phase out and eventually prohibit such paints.
>Although no schedule for this action has been agreed to, IMO's Marine
>Environment Protection Committee resolved to draft a resolution for the 1999
>IMO Assembly urging nations to use less harmful alternatives to organotin
>paints.} [Reuters]
> .
> {TX Sea Turtle Strandings. In early April 1998, TX managers reported
>that 56 sea turtles were found dead on TX beaches in March 1998. This
>number is 45 more than were found dead in March 1997. During the first week
>of April 1998, 26 sea turtles were found dead or dying on TX beaches.
>Rewards for information on who's killing the turtles have increased to
>$50,000.}
>[Assoc Press, Houston Chronicle]
> .
> {U.S. Tuna Vessel Seizure. On Apr. 3, 1998, the Peruvian Navy was
>reported to have seized the U.S. tuna vessel Connie Jean, alleging that the
>vessel was fishing for tuna 8 miles off the Peruvian coast in the Bay of
>Bayovar
>without authorization.} [Paris AFP via Foreign Broadcast Information Service]
> .
> 1998 Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Quotas. On Apr. 1, 1998, NMFS
>announced the total 1998 U.S. harvest quota of Atlantic bluefin tuna will be
>1,403 metric tons (MT), an increase from the 1997 quota of 1,344 MT due to
>carryover of unharvested 1997 quota. 1998 subquotas are 657 MT (general),
>53 MT (harpoon), 114 MT (incidental), 250 MT (purse seine), 277 MT (angling),
>and 52 MT (reserve). [NOAA press release]
> .
> Investigation of NMFS. On Mar. 31, 1998, the AK Marine
>Conservation Council wrote a letter asking the U.S. Dept. of Commerce's
>Inspector General to investigate NMFS for alleged mismanagement of
>fisheries. The Council accuses NMFS of emphasizing short-term harvest
>goals in the North Pacific ahead of long-term conservation goals. The
>Council
>is particularly concerned with possible interactions between fishery harvest
>and Steller sea lions. [Assoc Press]
> .
> Coral Reef Damage Payment. On Mar. 30, 1998, Mexican officials
>announced that Norwegian Cruise Line has agreed to pay compensation for
>damage to part of the Maya coral barrier reef near Cancun, by a Dec. 16,
>1998, grounding by the cruise ship Leeward. A committee of four Mexican
>scientists, two appointed by the cruise line, will study the damage and
>determine appropriate compensation. [Assoc Press]
> .
> Scallop Closures. On Mar. 30, 1998, NMFS announced the
>emergency closure of two areas off the mid-Atlantic coast to scallop harvest
>beginning Apr. 3, 1998, due to low sea scallop populations. These closures,
>one area offshore of VA while the second is offshore of NJ, were requested by
>the New England and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Councils. [NOAA
>press release]
> .
> Horseshoe Crab Fishery. On Mar. 30, 1998, MD Governor Parris
>Glendening proposed emergency regulations to limit the harvest of horseshoe
>crabs. A proposed annual quota of 750,000 pounds would restrict the harvest
>to about 28% of the 1996 catch of 2.6 million pounds. [Assoc Press]
> .
> Shark Cartilage and Lung Cancer. On Mar. 30, 1998, at the 89th
>Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in New
>Orleans, LA, the Canadian biotechnology company AEterna Laboratories
>announced encouraging results from a three-month clinical trial using liquid
>shark cartilage extract to treat lung cancer tumors in humans. The shark
>cartilage product, AE-941, was reported to show a trend of efficacy without
>serious side effects related to its oral administration in treating patients
>with
>refractory metastatic lung cancer. [AEterna Laboratories press release]
> .
> Cuban Oil Spill. On Mar. 26, 1998, two foreign-registered oil tankers
>collided in Matanzas Bay, 60 miles east of Havana, on Cuba's north coast. A
>spill of heavy crude oil of undetermined severity reportedly has affected
>coastal
>resources. [Reuters]
> .
> American Fisheries Act Hearing. On Mar. 26, 1998, the Senate
>Commerce Subcommittee on Oceans and Fisheries held a hearing on S.
>1221, the American Fisheries Act, proposing to alter the foreign ownership
>requirements for U.S.-flag fishing vessels. [personal communication]
> .
>
>
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