>
>Fisheries and Marine Mammals: Most Recent Developments -- 4/24/98
>(updated daily)
>
>New info and changes since 4/17/98 are bracketed {...}
>New info and changes since 4/23/98 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]
>       .
>       {GIFA Hearing.  The House Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries
>Conservation, Wildlife, and Oceans has tentatively scheduled a hearing for
>May 19, 1998, on H.R. 3460 and H.R. 3461, proposing to approve governing
>international fishery agreements (GIFAs) between the United States and Latvia
>and Poland, respectively.} [personal communication]
>       .
>       {Dungeness Crab Management Hearing.  The House Resources
>Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife, and Oceans has tentatively
>scheduled a hearing for May 7, 1998, on H.R. 3498, proposing to amend the
>Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to authorize
>WA, OR, and CA to regulate the Dungeness crab fishery in the exclusive
>economic zone.} [personal communication]
>       .
>       IFQ Meetings.  The National Research Council's Committee to Review
>Individual Fishing Quotas is scheduled to conduct its fifth and final public
>meeting in Boston, MA, on May 6-7, 1998. [National Research Council 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]
>       .
>       {{Scup Lawsuit.  In late April 1998, U.S. District Court Judge Joseph
>Tauro issued a ruling that the federal scup harvest quotas set for individual
>states are invalid.  MA officials had filed suit against the federal
>government,
>alleging that NMFS used faulty data for calculating federal quotas.}} [Assoc
>Press]
>       .
>       {{Japan-South Korea Fishery Agreement.  On Apr. 21, 1998,
>Japanese officials announced that Japanese and South Korean negotiators
>have scheduled a working-level meeting for Apr. 29-30, 1998, to resume
>negotiations on a new fishery agreement between the two nations.}} [Tokyo
>Kyodo via Foreign Broadcast Information Service]
>       .
>       {Groundfish Trawl Fishery Closure.  On Apr. 21, 1998, NMFS closed
>the Gulf of Alaska deep water groundfish trawl fishery after the halibut
>incidental bycatch limit of 300 metric tons was reached.} [Assoc Press]
>       .
>       Forum on Ecological Surveys of ANS.  On Apr. 21, 1998, a Forum on
>Ecological Surveys of Aquatic Nuisance Species (ANS) was held in
>Edgewater, MD.  This workshop discussed 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]
>       .
>       FL Net Ban.  On Apr. 13, 1998, a FL Circuit Court Judge ruled that
>"Pringle-Crum" nets (500 square feet of mostly 3-inch mesh with a small area
>of 2-inch mesh) are legal and not prohibited by the State's net ban
>provisions.
>However, State officials announced that they would file an appeal of this
>order.
>[Assoc Press]
>       .
>       Atlantic Shark Fishery.  On Apr. 13, 1998, NMFS announced the
>availability of the court-ordered draft consideration of the economic effects
>and
>potential alternatives to the 1997 quotas on the Atlantic large coastal shark
>fishery.  NMFS will accept written comments on the draft through Apr. 24,
>1998. [NMFS notice]
>       .
>       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]
>       .
>       {Shrimp Seizures.  Between Apr. 10 and Apr. 22, 1998, U.S. Coast
>Guard enforcement agents seized almost 30,900 pounds of shrimp harvested
>illegally from waters off FL, including the Tortugas Shrimp Sanctuary.}
>[Assoc
>Press]
>       .
>       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]
>       .
>
>

***************************************************************
  <To leave send SIGNOFF FISH-SCI to [log in to unmask]>
<For information send INFO FISH-SCI to [log in to unmask]>
***************************************************************