>
>Aquaculture and Aquaria
>       .
>       {Port Strike Imperils Australia Tuna Farmers.  On Apr. 20, 1998,
>Australia tuna farmers express fear that their tuna stocks may have to be
>liquidated and sold at great loss if 130 containers of frozen pilchards from
>CA
>and Europe, used as tuna feed but sitting on South Australian wharves, are
>not released by Maritime Union of Australia pickets.  With tuna farmers not
>permitted to find alternative food stocks in Australia, feed stock on hand is
>anticipated to be completely used by late April 1998.}  {{On Apr. 23, 1998,
>Australian judges were to decide whether to reinstate striking union dock
>workers, who had been dismissed.  On Apr. 24, 1998, two tuna farming
>operations began early harvesting.}} [Reuters]
>       .
>       Arowana/Dragon Fish Charges.  On Apr. 16, 1998, a New York City
>aquarium businessman was charged in federal court with illegally importing
>more than 50 Southeast Asian arowana (dragon fish or Asian bonytongue,
>Scleropages formusus).  Although prized in the international pet trade, this
>species is protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.  The
>businessman was charged with importing the fish under false documentation
>from Malaysia and trying to sell them to undercover U.S. Fish and Wildlife
>Service enforcement agents between October 1997 and April 1998. [Reuters,
>Assoc Press]
>       .
>       Norwegian Salmon.  On Apr. 14, 1998, European Union officials
>imposed definitive anti-dumping duties on imports of farmed salmon from 24
>Norwegian companies.  Anti-dumping duties of $0.35 per kilogram and
>countervailing duties of 3.8% were imposed.  This action extends some of the
>provisional anti-dumping duties imposed on 29 Norwegian companies in
>December 1997, who were cited as having violated an EU-Norwegian
>agreement on salmon pricing. [Reuters]
>       .
>       Chinese Red Tides.  On Apr. 13, 1998, Hong Kong officials closed five
>popular beaches because of red tides of Gyrodinium aureolum or
>Gymnodinium mikimotoi.  These tides were also alleged to have killed an
>estimated 1,500 tons or about as much as half of Hong Kong's annual farmed
>fish production.  These tides began in mid-March 1998, and are claimed to
>have caused at least $32.3 million damage to 80% of Hong Kong's 1,500 fish
>farms.  However, government officials estimate the loss at only about $10.3
>million.  About 100 fish farms were provided with emergency subsidies of
>about $1,282 each.  Although government officials later announced that there
>would be no government compensation for losses, provision of low-interest
>loans would be considered.  Cleanup efforts have dealt with only a portion of
>the dead fish from these fish farms.  Confusion exists over whether or not
>these dead fish are acceptable for human consumption -- while Agriculture and
>Fisheries Dept. officials deemed the fish safe to eat, Health Dept. officials
>advised against eating these fish.  By Apr. 16, 1998, about 500 tons of dead
>fish had been collected and dumped in landfills.  The Hong Kong government
>announced efforts to develop a red tide monitoring and warning system.  {As
>of
>Apr. 16, 1998, the red tide affecting Hong Kong had spread to neighboring
>Guangdong province, where more than 350 tons of fish were reported killed.
>The economic loss was reported to exceed $4.3 million.  In addition, more
>than 328 acres of shellfish beds were reported to have been "ravaged."}
>[Assoc Press, Reuters, personal communication]
>       .
>Freshwater Fisheries
>       .
>       {NC Dam Removal.  On Apr. 23, 1998, the NC Division of Water
>Resources announced that it had signed a contract to remove the Cherry
>Hospital dam on the Little River, near Goldsboro, NC.  Dam removal is
>anticipated to increase spawning habitat available for hickory shad, striped
>bass, and other fish.} [Assoc Press]
>       .
>       {Illegal Ammonia Discharge.  In mid-April 1998, a Roanoke, VA
>refrigeration company was assessed civil penalties by the VA Dept. of
>Environmental Quality for discharging, without a permit, cooling water
>containing ammonia into the Roanoke River in September 1997, and killing at
>least 16 endangered Roanoke logperch.  A consent order would require the
>company to stop using ammonia, obtain a permit to discharge ammonia, or
>connect to the municipal sewer system.} [Assoc Press]
>       .
>       Pfiesteria?  On Apr. 13, 1998, the MD General Assembly approved
>legislation to combat Pfiesteria.  The measure would require farmers to limit
>nitrogen runoff by 2003 and phosphorus runoff by mid-2005.  Violators could
>be fined as much as $2,000 per year. [Assoc Press]
>       .
>       MN Right to Fish.  In early April 1998, the MN Legislature passed a
>proposed constitutional amendment protecting individuals' right to fish,
>hunt,
>and trap.  The question on whether to accept this constitutional amendment
>will appear on the Nov. 3, 1998, state ballot. [Dow Jones News]
>       .
>       Underwater Camera Ban.  In early April 1998, the MN Legislature
>adjourned without acting on the omnibus fisheries bill containing a ban on
>use
>of underwater video cameras for fishing. [Assoc Press]
>       .
>       Whirling Disease Research Funding.  On Apr. 1, 1998, the National
>Partnership on the Management of Wild and Native Cold Water Fisheries
>(Bozeman, MT) announced the awarding of $320,000 in federal grants to fund
>11 research projects relating to the study of whirling disease at five
>universities
>in MT, CA, OR, and CO. [Assoc Press]
>       .
>       Sea Lamprey Control Funds.  On Apr. 1, 1998, Canada's Minister of
>Fisheries and Oceans David Anderson announced that Canada will provide
>C$6 million in fiscal year 1998-99 to continue paying its 31% share for sea
>lamprey control programs coordinated with the United States through the
>Great Lakes Fishery Commission. [Dow Jones News]
>       .
>       DDT in MI's Pine River.  On Mar. 31, 1998, EPA officials are
>scheduled to request a national review panel to endorse an estimated $30
>million dredging program for MI's Pine River to remove tons of sediments
>heavily contaminated with DDT.  DDT concentrations in Pine River fish are
>reported to far exceed federal human health guidelines and be the highest in
>the Great Lakes region, with DDT attributed to a operation of a Velsicol
>Chemical Co. facility more than 25 years ago. [Assoc Press]
>       .
>Marine Mammals
>       .
>       {Sea Lion Search for Drowning Victim.  On Apr. 23-24, 1998, a
>Navy-trained sea lion is to be used at Lake Jocassee, SC, to search for the
>body of a boater, drowned on Mar. 28, 1998.  The sea lion is trained to
>attach
>a device to the body, allowing the body to be retrieved by rope.} [Assoc
>Press]
>       .
>       {{Right Whale Protection.  On Apr. 23, 1998, President Clinton
>instructed U.S. representatives to the International Maritime Organization
>(IMO) to pursue strong measures to protect northern right whales from ship
>collisions, including an enhanced reporting system for commercial ships
>operating in this whale's calving and feeding grounds along the U.S. Atlantic
>coast.  The IMO will consider this proposal at a July 1998 meeting in
>London.}} [White House press release, Assoc Press, Reuters]
>       .
>       {Icelandic Whaling?  On Apr. 21, 1998, Icelandic television reported
>that Iceland may harvest 100 minke whales this summer for scientific
>research, although Icelandic government officials stated the final decision
>on
>this matter had not yet been made.} [High North Alliance News]
>       .
>       Keiko.  On Apr. 16, 1998, two Icelandic veterinarians visited the OR
>Coast Aquarium to assess Keiko's health and condition, as part of an effort
>to
>determine whether Iceland may accept the relocation of this whale to an
>inshore pen in Icelandic waters. [Assoc Press]
>       .
>       Steller Sea Lion Lawsuit.  On Apr. 15, 1998, a coalition of three
>conservation groups filed suit in U.S. District Court (Seattle) against NMFS,
>charging NMFS has not provided sufficient protection for Steller sea lions.
>The
>lawsuit seeks a reduction in Bering Sea groundfish harvest. [Assoc Press,
>Reuters]
>       .
>       Canadian Sealing.  On Apr. 15, 1998, the International Fund for
>Animal Welfare (IFAW) announced that it had obtained video footage of
>Canadian sealing activities, including an alleged 140 to 200 violations of
>seal-hunting regulations.  The video was reported to have been taken Mar.
>26-30, 1998, in the eastern Magdalen Islands, near Prince Edward Island.
>IFAW accused the Canadian government of insufficient monitoring and lax
>enforcement of sealing regulations. [Assoc Press, Reuters, High North
>Alliance News]
>       .
>       Norwegian Whaling.  In mid-April 1998, Norway announced whaling
>quota allocations among vessels and areas.  Two vessels will hunt a quota of
>66 minke whales from the Central Atlantic stock.  Thirty-three vessels will
>share the quota of 605 from the North East Atlantic stock, divided into four
>subareas -- 29 vessels will share the combined quota of 412 minke whales in
>the Barents Sea and Spitsbergen areas, one vessel received a quota of 15
>minke whales in the Vestfjorden area, and three vessels will seek a quota of
>178 minke whales in the North Sea. [High North Alliance News]
>       .
>       Northwestern Pacific Whale Management.  On Apr. 14, 1998,
>Japanese officials announced that Japan, China, South Korea, and Russia
>have {taken steps, during a February 1998 informal consultation, toward a
>future agreement on establishing} a committee for managing whales in the
>northwestern Pacific region.  The committee's objectives would include
>cooperative research on whales and promotion of whaling. [Dow Jones News,
>High North Alliance News]
>       .
>       Japanese Whaling.  On Apr. 8, 1998, a Japanese factory ship Nisshin
>Maru, three whale catcher vessels, and one sighting vessel returned to the
>Japanese port of Shimonoseki with a catch of 440 minke whales taken from
>the Southern (Antarctic) Ocean. [Reuters, High North Alliance News]
>       .
>       Aboriginal Subsistence Whaling Quotas.  On Apr. 6, 1998, NMFS
>announced U.S. aboriginal subsistence whaling quotas for 1998.  These
>quotas are 77 bowhead whales struck and 5 gray whales landed. [Fed.
>Register]
>       .
>       Gray Whale Release.  On Mar. 31, 1998, the U.S. Coast Guard cutter
>Conifer and the U.S. Navy assisted SeaWorld San Diego in releasing a
>juvenile gray whale into the Pacific Ocean, after recovering for 14 months
>from
>stranding. [Assoc Press, American Zoo and Aquarium Assoc press release,
>SeaWorld San Diego 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.
>

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