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A WEEKLY QUOTA OF FISHERY SHORTS CAUGHT AND
LANDED BY THE INSTITUTE FOR FISHERIES RESOURCES
AND THE PACIFIC COAST FEDERATION OF FISHERMEN'S
ASSOCIATIONS
VOL 3, NO. 5 2 FEBRUARY 2001
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3:05/01. NMFS RELEASES STATUS REPORT ON U.S.
FISHERIES: The status of many marine fish stocks in the United States
improved in 2000 according to a new report sent to the Congress by the
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). According to the federal
fishery agency, its Year 2000 report is more comprehensive than past
reports to Congress, and is intended to provide fishery regulators with
additional information on stocks, differentiate between those stocks that
are overfished and those where overfishing is occurring, and identify the
actions being taken to identify the overfishing. NMFS claims to have 75
rebuilding programs in place with another four being developed. The
report and marine fish stock rebuilding efforts are required under the
1996 amendments to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation &
Management Act (MFCMA or "Magnuson-Stevens Act")
NMFS' Year 2000 report included the findings that: there was no
overfishing in 210 stocks in 2000, as compared to159 stocks in 1999;
there was overfishing in 72 stocks in 2000, as compared to 77 stocks in
1999. 145 stocks were determined not to be overfished in 2000, as
compared to 122 stocks in 1999; 92 stocks were found to be overfished in
2000, as compared to 64 stocks in 1999. The increase in overfished stocks
resulted primarily from a technical change in the report, according to the
agency, rather than a sudden decline in the biomass of stocks; and five
species approached an overfished condition in 2000, the same number as in
1999. The number of fish stocks whose status is either unknown or
undefined remains large, with more than 600 stocks listed. However, the
2000 report attempts to define these stocks, listing them as either major
stocks or minor stocks. Major stocks are those with total landings above
200,000 pounds annually. Approximately 83 percent of unknown or
undefined stocks are categorized as minor, which means they have
limited landings or low economic value. The Magunson-Stevens Act
requires scientists to both assess a stock's biomass and the amount of
that biomass that is harvested each year in relation to a specified
overfishing definition to determine whether the stock is overfished and
whether overfishing is occurring. NMFS must now notify the regional
fishery management councils that they may be required to submit measures
to end overfishing and rebuild those stocks determined to be overfished. The
councils will have a year to submit amendments or prepare new FMPs for
review and approval. The rebuilding programs must be as short as possible,
but not exceed 10years, except in cases where the biology of the stock, other
environmental conditions, or management measures under an
international agreement in which the United States participates dictate
otherwise. The full report is available online at:
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/reports.html.
3:05/02. SUIT FILED TO PROTECT SALMON FROM
PESTICIDES: On Tuesday, 30 January, a coalition of conservation and
fishing groups, including PCFFA and IFR, filed suit against the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its failure to protect salmon
from the harmful effect of pesticides. The suit follows the release of
recent studies by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)
indicating pesticides may severely impact salmon survival. Moreover,
the U.S. Geologic Survey's (USGS) research detected 73 pesticides in
Northwest waterways; thirteen were above criteria set to protect aquatic
life. In California, some two million pounds of pesticides are used
annually by agriculture, most of it in the Central Valley where it can
affect Sacramento-San Joaquin salmon runs. IFR and others co-
published a scientific summary of the recent research showing long-term
and chronic pesticide impacts which is on the web at:
http://www.pond.net/~fish1ifr/salpest.htm. A copy of the full text of
the press release and complaint are available on the web from the groups
attorneys, Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund, at:
http://www.earthjustice.org/news/pr013001.htm or for more
information contact Aimee Code (541)344-5044 x27 or Erika Schreder
of Washington Toxics Coalition at: (206)632-1545 x19.
3:05/03. DATE SET FOR WEST COAST'S LARGEST
FISHING SWAP MEET: The "West Coast's Largest Commercial
Fishing Swap Meet," sponsored annually by the Small Boat Commercial
Salmon Fishermen's Association, will be held this year on 10 March at
the Longshoremen's & Warehousemen's Union Hall, 99 Hegenberger
Road in Oakland, California. The event is more than sales and exchange
of fishing gear, but also features seminars and information booths from
government agencies (e.g., U.S. Coast Guard, California Department of
Fish & Game) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). For more
information on this year's swap meet, e-mail Dan Salter at:
seabears at dellnet.com .
3:05/04. RUSSIA TO AUCTION QUOTAS FOR POLLOCK
AND HERRING, BERING SEA CONFERENCE SCHEDULED:
WorldCatch News Network reported Thursday, 1 February, that the
Russian government will hold its first auction of fishing quotas on 17
February in Moscow at the European Asian exchange. The auction is
being held some seven time zones away from the Russian Far East
where the 100,000 tons of Alaskan pollock and 2,000 tons of herring
from the Sea of Okhotsk would be fished. This is the first time the
Russians have auctioned fish quotas and it caught many of their fleet
off-guard who had already headed for the fishing grounds for a 1
January opening when they were told of the change in regulations.
Until recently, Russian catch quotas had been allocated without cost
by the Federal Committee for Fishing, according to a 26 December
WorldCatch report. Fishermen in Russia's Far East Primorsky claim
that Moscow is sinking their industry with "inconsistent and
incompetent policies." Boris Pupkov, a professor at the Far East State
University for the Fishing Industry in Vladivostok, said "selling fishing
quotas.....is totally unacceptable and will result in some [larger
companies with access to foreign money] getting the upper hand over
others." Federal control of Russia's fishing industry in its current form
provides nothing but unreasonable pressure on fishermen and their
businesses, added Pupkov. In the U.S., some free-market economists
and a few environmental groups have suggested this country also
auction its fishery resources to the highest bidder.
One of the individuals impacted by the change to the auction system
is Serguei Plokhikh, the General Director of Tokay Co., Ltd. which
operates factory processing vessels for pollock and crab in the Bering
Sea. Plokhikh, who is spending a month in PCFFA's office as part of an
exchange program organized by San Francisco State University, said the
change to the quota system to an auction meant he had to give up the
pollock fishery and release the vessel and crew he had chartered. To
view the reports on the Russian fishing situation, go to:
http://worldcatch.com .
Meanwhile, a conference is scheduled for 4-6 April in Petropavlovsk
(Kamchatka) to discuss conservation and management issues among
fishermen and conservationists from Russia, the U.S. and, perhaps,
Canada. The Russian-American Bering Sea Conference is aimed at
launching an international dialogue among citizens of both countries "in
order to promote sustainable resource development and sustainable
livelihoods around the Bering Sea." It will be held in the
Kamchatrybvod (the Kamchatka Federal Fisheries Enforcement,
Enhancement & Management Agency) and is organized and co-
sponsored by Northern Pacific Fund, Pacific Environment, Wild Salmon
Center, World Wildlife Fund and Kamchatrybvod. For more information
on the conference, e-mail David Gordon at: dkgordon at igc.org .
3:05/05. A DIFFERENT VIEW ON ITQs FROM NEW
ZEALAND: Advocates of Individual Transferable Fishing Quotas
(ITQs, aka: Individual Fishing Quotas) frequently cite the New Zealand
ITQ program to bolster their case for implementing such systems in the
U.S., Canada and elsewhere. Much of what has been written has come
from academic economists; those in industry supporting the systems
have tended to be some of the large fishing companies that now hold
quota shares. Another opinion from New Zealand, however, puts the
system in a much different light and, indeed, is highly critical of ITQs
and what they have done to that nation's fishing industry. Bob
McDonald, a senior researcher for the Southern Shark & Gillnet
Fishermen's Association and ex-deckhand on shark boats and inlet
boats, writes a scathing account of New Zealand's ITQ system in this
month's issue of the Waterman's Gazette. Titled, "ITQs - The Real
Story From Down Under", McDonald provides the perspective of a
fisherman on New Zealand's experiment with individual quotas that is
none to kind to a system being hailed by some as a kind of panacea to all
fishing problems. To view the article in the February Waterman's
Gazette, go to: www.marylandwatermen.com.
3:05/06. SAN FRANCISCO BAY HERRING FISHERY ENDS
WITH A BANG AFTER SLOW START: All three gillnet platoons
filled their quotas and more during last week in San Francisco Bay as
the fresh water from the storms moved the sardine and anchovy out of
the Bay and a large body of spawning herring moved in. The fishery
until that time had been slow (see Sublegals, 2:23/07) and the December
platoon (DH) had filled little more than half of its quota and the "Even"
(vessels with even numbered permits) platoon, whose season opened in
January, had less than half of its quota in before last week's onslaught.
Following last year's disappointing show, with a smaller than
expected biomass, there was concern about the status of the population
and an even more conservative quota was set for this year's fishery by
the California Fish & Game Commission. The concerns of many
biologists and fishermen alike were erased as a large body of fish at last
moved into San Francisco Bay. The roe herring fishery on San Francisco
Bay is the largest south of British Columbia and is the first to open each
year on the Pacific Coast. It is also the only existing urban commercial
fishery in the United States where the public can watch the fishing
operations along the Bay's beaches and sidewalks, from the back decks
of suburban homes and urban highrises.
The preliminary summaries from the California Department of Fish
& Game (CDFG) are as follows: the Odd Platoon filled its quota of 864
tons on 22 January with a total catch by 70 boats of 965 tons for an
average roe count of 14.52%; the Even Platoon filled its quota of 864
tons on 23 January with a total catch by 69 boats of 1,116 tons for an
average roe count of 13%; and the DH Platoon filled its quota of 771
tons on 24 January with a total catch by 49 boats of 910 tons for an
average roe count of 12.23%. Although the catches were over quota, the
quotas were set this year at a very conservative 10 percent of expected
biomass, as opposed to the normal 12 to 15 percent range they are
normally based on. Tomales Bay herring populations are also larger
than expected this year. There are also smaller roe herring fisheries in
Humboldt Bay and Crescent City. For more information, contact
CDFG's Herring Hotline at (650) 688-6355.
3:05/07. SALMON STREAM NUTRIENTS CONFERENCE: The
First International Conference on Restoring Nutrients to Salmonid
Ecosystems, hosted by the Oregon Chapter of the American Fisheries
Society (AFS), will be held in Eugene, Oregon on 24-26 April. The
theme of the conference is evaluating the possibility of restoring Pacific
salmon to western North America by the addition of nutrients (e.g.,
salmon carcasses or commercial chemicals) to headwaters (e.g.,
watershed fertilization). The "anadromous nutrient pump" has been
recognized for decades, but its importance, not just to fish production,
but to the entire ecology of the Pacific Northwest, is just coming into
focus Information on the agenda and registration procedures are located
at the web site: http://www.gpafs.org/confnutr.
3:05/08. ELK CREEK DAM JEOPARDY OPINION MOVES IT
CLOSER TO REMOVAL: The National Marine Fisheries Service
(NMFS) on 23 January finally issued a "jeopardy" opinion with regard
to Oregon's infamous and unfinished Elk Creek Dam on the upper
Rogue River. The NMFS Biological Opinion (BiOp) states that the only
way to avoid jeopardy to the Endangered Species Act (ESA) listed
salmon runs in the river is for the US Army Corps of Engineers (COE)
to "notch" a hole in the unwanted dam so that water and fish can flow
freely around it. On 30 March of last year, six conservation, commercial
and recreational fishing organizations (including PCFFA and IFR) sued
to have the dam removed, claiming it violated the ESA by killing large
numbers of listed coho salmon. This new BiOp supports that claim.
Elk Creek Dam, on a tributary of the Rogue River in Jackson County,
Oregon, has been the subject of legal battles for over 20 years.
Construction was begun in 1986, but in 1987 the federal courts enjoined
completion of the dam because of its likely destructive effects, and it sits
today never finished but an impassable barrier for ESA -listed salmon.
Originally intended for flood control, the COE itself says the dam is no
longer needed, can never be made cost effective, should never be built in
the first place and now needs to be removed, but the Corps has been
stopped from notching the dam every year by last minute Congressional
riders by a series of Congressmen from Oregon's First Congressional
District, where the dam sits. Though it accounts for only ten percent of
the upper Rogue River basin, the area above the dam provides
approximately 44 percent of the basin's remaining suitable spawning
and rearing habitat for ESA-listed Rogue River coho salmon. At least
$100 million has already been spent on the unfinished dam, with current
trap and haul efforts to rescue coho salmon and steelhead trying to get
past the costing at least $1.7 million annually in perpetuity. By contrast,
estimated total costs of notching and removing most of the dam would
be less than $7 million.
Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber has been pressing for Corps action
to remove the dam, noting in a 1 November 1999 letter to a
Congressional appropriations committee that "it is inconceivable that
Elk Creek Dam will ever be completed. I believe notching provides the
best solution to the current problems at the dam, short of tearing down
the entire incomplete structure." For more information on the NMFS
BiOp or the ongoing lawsuit to remove the dam, contact Peter Frost,
Esq., Western Environmental Law Center, 1216 Lincoln Street, Eugene,
OR 97401 (541)485-2471.
3:05/09.PACIFICORP AGREES TO INSTALL SODA SPRINGS
DAM FISH PASSAGE: The Oregonian reported on 24 January that
Pacific Power & Light Corporation (PacifiCorp) has agreed in principle
to provide fish passage at the Soda Springs Dam in southern Oregon as
part of its Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) relicensing
effort for the project. The dam sits on the North Umpqua River, one of
Oregon's best remaining salmon and steelhead rivers, and the company
has come head-to-head on fish passage issues with the Umpqua National
Forest because the dam is located on federally-owned national forest
lands. However, under the 1994 Northwest Forest Plan which now
governs those lands, fish protection is a high priority for this river, and
the U.S. Forest Service has been using its leverage over the relicensing
process to push for greater fish protections. The PacifiCorp license for
the dam expired 1997 but has been annually renewed by FERC pending
a resolution of this relicensing debate. The controversy is being much
watched in the region as a number of other FERC licenses come up for
renewal, including PacificCorp's hydropower projects in the upper
Klamath Basin (see Sublegals 3:03/06). For more information and the
full story see: http://www.oregonlive.com/printer2.ssf?/news/oregonian/
01/01/lc_42dam24.frame.
3:05/10. DRY CONDITIONS, DIVERSIONS AFFECT
OREGON, CALIFORNIA SALMON RUNS: On 2 February, the
Klamath Falls Herald & News reported that dry conditions in southern
Oregon and northeastern California may cause the U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation (BOR) to conserve what water is available in storage in the
Klamath River Basin for fish protection and would, for the first time, cut
supplies to agriculture which diverts much of the basin's water for
growing alfalfa, potatoes, grain and various other crops on 180,000
acres, extending from Klamath Falls in Oregon to Tulelake near the
Oregon-California border. Karl Wirkus, manager of BOR's Klamath
Basin Area Office, said that unless a series of storms brings more water
to the region, all of the water available will have to be conserved to
protect threatened coho salmon and endangered Lost River and shortnose
suckers.
"With the recommendations of the National Marine Fisheries Service
concerning flows in the Klamath River to support the threatened coho
salmon, and the stance taken by the Fish & Wildlife Service to raise the
minimum level in Klamath Lake to (a) 4,140-foot elevation, up from
4,139 feet, there will not be any water available for either farming or the
(flooding of wildlife) refuges from Klamath Lake," said Wirkus.
Snowpack on the Oregon side of the Klamath Basin watershed is at
50 percent of normal, reported the Allen Hurlburt article in the Herald &
News, while the Alturas-based Modoc National Forest snowpack is at
only 28 percent of normal. BOR has come under criticism from the
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), the U.S. Fish & Wildlife
Service (USFWS), as well as tribes and fishing and environmental
groups (including PCFFA) because of the federal water agency's failure
to produce a final plan for protecting fish in the Klamath Basin. A draft
biological assessment issued by BOR last November calls for
maintaining flows in the Klamath River at no less than 1,300 cubic feet
of water per second through May, and 1,000 cubic feet from June
through September. But NMFS and fishing groups are urging BOR to
follow biological guidelines that call for flows of 3,300 cubic feet in
April, declining to 1,345 cubic feet in August. Meanwhile, USFWS,
charged with protecting suckers, may recommend that the minimum
water level in Upper Klamath Lake be raised from 4,139 feet to 4,140.
For more information on the Herald & News article, e-mail:
hurlburt at cot.net
The Santa Rosa Press-Democrat reported 29 January, that NMFS is
trying to resolve an impasse with the California Department of Fish &
Game (CDFG) over the amount of water diverted from the Eel River
through Pacific Gas & Electric's (PG&E) Potter Valley Project into the
Russian River. Some 52 billion gallons are diverted annually for "farms
and cities in Mendocino, Sonoma and Marin counties" and NMFS says
the state's proposed 15 percent cut in the diversion is not enough "to
save" threatened coho, chinook and steelhead. NMFS hopes to reach an
agreement before issuing its final biological opinion, earlier versions of
which found that a 15 percent cut in water diversion "is likely to
jeopardize the continued existence" of the species.
3:05/11. LACK OF QUORUM PREVENTS COMMISSION
ACTION TO LIST COHO UNDER CESA: A lack of a quorum at
today's, 2 February, meeting of the California Fish & Game
Commission (see Sublegals, 3:04/05) prevented action from being taken
on a petition to list coho salmon in the state north of San Francisco
under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA). Coho south of
San Francisco have been listed under the state act for six years and are
also listed throughout California as threatened under the federal
Endangered Species Act (ESA). The petition to list was submitted by
the Salmon & Steelhead Recovery Coalition (SSRC), an alliance that
PCFFA belongs to with other fishing and conservation groups and
formerly known as the "Gang of Seven." Speaking in support of the
listing at the Commission meeting were California Trout's Tom
Wesseloh and PCFFA's Zeke Grader. A listing under CESA would
provide the fish additional protection over and above that provided
under the federal act, argued Wesseloh and Grader. Joe Blum of the
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) testifying before the
Commission acknowledged, too, that a state listing would compliment
the federal efforts. The petition is opposed by the timber industry.
The issue of the coho listing will either be taken up at a special
Commission meeting in March or at its regularly scheduled meeting for
April, which will be held in Monterey. In other salmon matters, the
Commission voted to adopt a 15 percent in-river goal for the Klamath
River sport salmon fishery. Additional Commission actions will be
reported in the next Sublegals. For more information on the 2-3
February meeting, go to the Commission's website at:
http://www.dfg.ca.gov/fg_comm .
3:05/12. INTERIM ODFW DIRECTOR NAMED: On 30 January,
the Oregon Fish & Wildlife Commission appointed Oregon State Police
Captain Lindsay A. Ball as interim director of the Oregon Department of
Fish & Wildlife (ODFW), replacing James Greer (see Sublegals,
3:03/13). Ball will begin the job on 16 February.
3:05/13. CHANGES AT NMFS - SCHMITTEN BACK TO
HEAD HABITAT OFFICE: Former National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS) Director Rollie Schmitten has rejoined NMFS to take
over its Office of Habitat Protection. Schmitten, who headed the fishery
agency in the Clinton Administration, until taking a trade assignment
with the Department of Commerce, had previously served as NMFS
Northwest Regional Director in the Reagan and Bush administrations
and headed the Washington Department of Fisheries under Republican
Governor John Spellman. Under Schmitten, habitat was elevated in
NMFS to a high priority.
Changes made at NMFS since the new administration took office on
20 January, include the selection of Bill Hogarth to step into the role of
acting NOAA Assistant Administrator for Fisheries (head of NMFS),
taking over from Penny Dalton. A NMFS veteran, Hogarth was named
the Deputy Assistant Administrator for Fisheries last July. He also has
served as the regional administrator for NMFS Southeast and Southwest
regions and was the chief of the agency's Highly Migratory Species
Division. Also named to interim positions were Clarence Pautzke to be
the acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, and
John Oliver as the acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for
Management & Administration. Pautzke is on loan to the agency from
the North Pacific Fishery Management Council and Oliver is on a detail
from the National Ocean Service. For more information, go to:
fishnews.feedback at noaa.gov .
3:05/14. RESIDENTS PROTEST FISH FARM IN NOVA
SCOTIA: Residents of the fishing community along St. Margaret's
Bay in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia erected a billboard at the
entrance to their town Saturday, 27 January, protesting a proposal to
open a 2.88 (7.2 acres) hectare fish farm 300 feet from shore. The 16 x
8 foot sign features a quote by John Hamm, prior to his becoming
premier: "Politicians and bureaucrats cannot make decisions for
communities as effectively as the people who live in them."
Approximately half of the community is involved in the commercial
lobster harvest which would be threatened if the fish farm were to open.
The immense amount of food and feces produced by the farm would
degrade the vegetation that lobsters use for both food and cover. Given
the combination of the close proximity of the facility to the shoreline
with the low flushing rate of the bay, water pollution is another likely
repercussion. In addition to pollution concerns, the large size of the farm
could pose navigational problems for boaters. The Canadian
Department of Fisheries & Oceans (DFO) is to review the
environmental assessment before the decision is handed over to the
provincial minister for fisheries and aquaculture. A decision is expected
in the spring of 2001. For more information, contact Peter Cobbold at
(902)-228-2059.
3:05/15. FDA CONSIDERING REQUESTS FROM
COMPANIES SEEKING TO MARKET TRANSGENIC FISH:
Several biotech companies are currently developing transgenic, or
genetically modified (GMO), fish. One of those companies, A/F
Protein, is now requesting approval of the U.S. Food & Drug
Administration (FDA) to market transgenic salmon (see Sublegals,
2:16/11; 19 May 00). Presently the FDA is the only U.S. agency
asserting authority over the regulation of transgenic fish. Before FDA
will allow the marketing of transgenic fish (also called "frankenfish") to
consumers, a producer of these GMOs must complete a New Animal
Drug Application (NADA). Within this application, the producer must
demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of transgenic fish, 21 CFR
514.1. FDA, however, is not required to conduct an environmental
review and has determined not to conduct toxicological human food
safety testing. As a result, some groups, including fishing organizations,
are recommending a moratorium on the domestic marketing and
importation of transgenic fish until the FDA adequately addresses the
impacts to the environment (e.g., the escape of genetically-modified
farm salmon into the wild) and human food safety. There are also
demands that the FDA retain such a moratorium until the U.S.
Department of Interior (DOI), Department of Commerce (DOC), and
Department of Agriculture (USDA) address the environmental impacts
and implement the necessary regulatory requirements as required by
each agency's statutory mandates. For more information on the FDA
review of transgenic fish, contact the Center for Food Safety by e-mail
at: info at centerforfoodsafety.org or by going to their website at:
www.centerforfoodsafety.org .
3:05/16. NMFS SEEKS COMMENTS ON CHANGES TO
MARINE MAMMAL INTERACTION LIST: The National Marine
Fisheries Service (NMFS) is seeking comments on its annual list of
commercial fisheries that interact with marine mammals. The "List of
Fisheries" categorizes each U.S. commercial fishery based on the level
of interaction each fishery had with marine mammals. The annual list,
required by the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA),
classifies fisheries based on a two-tiered, stock-specific approach that
first addresses the total impact of all fisheries on each marine mammal
stock and then addresses the impact of individual fisheries on each
stock. The annual rate of marine mammals seriously injured or killed
incidental to commercial fisheries is compared to the Potential
Biological Removal (PBR) level for each stock. The PBR level is
defined in the MMPA as the maximum number of animals that may be
removed from a marine mammal stock while allowing that stock to
reach or maintain its optimum sustainable population. Tier 1 considers
the cumulative fishery mortality and serious injury for a particular stock,
while Tier 2 considers fishery-specific mortality and serious injury for a
particular stock.
The proposed List of Fisheries was published in the Federal Register
on 22 January (66FR 6546) and is available for public comment until 8
March. Copies of the proposed rule (2001 List of Fisheries) can be
found on the internet at: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/prot_res/PR2/
Fisheries_Interactions/list_of_fisheries.html
3:05/17. PFMC ADHOC GROUNDFISH COMMITTEE TO
MEET: The Pacific Fishery Management Council's (PFMC) Ad-Hoc
Groundfish Management Process Committee (GMPC) will hold a public
work session on Wednesday, 14 February, beginning at 1000 HRS, at
the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission offices in Gladstone,
Oregon. The GMPC was established in response to a PFMC request for
a formal review of the current groundfish management process that
culminated in a declared disaster for that fishery in early 2000. . The
GMPC recommendations will be reported at the PFMC's March meeting
in Portland. For more information, go to the PFMC website at:
http://www.pcouncil.org .
NEWS, COMMENTS, CORRECTIONS: Submit your news items,
comments or any corrections to Natasha Benjamin, Editor at:
ifrfish at aol.com or call the IFR office with the news and a source at
either: (415) 561-FISH (Southwest Office) or (541) 689-2000
(Northwest Office).
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