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~~>FISHLINK SUBLEGALS 12/29/00<~~
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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 2, NO. 26 29 DECEMBER 2000
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2:26/01. WASHINGTON GOVERNOR LOCKE ISSUES
FIRST "STATE OF THE SALMON' REPORT": On 21 December
Governor Gary Locke's Office issued Washington's first ever 'State of
the Salmon Report' highlighting salmon restoration needs in that state.
However, the 23-page report was criticized as vague and generalized,
and far more of a public education tool about salmon than it was any
real analysis of Washington's salmon crisis or containing any of
Locke's proposed solutions. For instance, one of the 'success stories'
noted in the report was mention of the 8 million acre private
timberlands deal approved by the Legislature as the "Forests and Fish
Agreement of 1999." However, PCFFA and many other groups in
Washington, as well as many scientists, have criticized that bill as far
too little too late to make a real difference for the state's Endangered
Species Act (ESA) listed salmon runs, and in fact those groups are in
litigation with the state over those issues at this time. However, the
fact of the report's existence is some indication that Governor Locke
will take the salmon crisis more seriously in Washington's upcoming
Legislative session. The full report is available at:
http://www.governor.wa.gov/esa.
2:26/02. PRESIDENT CLINTON SIGNS BILL BANNING
SHARK FINNING: On 26 December, President signed into law a bill
banning the increasingly common practice of stripping sharks of their
fins and discarding the carcass, aimed primarily at ending the practice
in US waters around Hawaii to supply a booming Asian market for
shark fin soup. The bill, HR 5461, now Public Law 106-557, was
overwhelming supported in Congress and criticized by NMFS as a
wasteful practice, but has been allowed by the West Pacific Fisheries
Management Council in response to industry requests to allow the
practice to continue. Western Pacific longliners, until recent
restrictions, made as much as ten percent of their total income from
finning sharks, and the practice had escalated in recent years in
response to Asian demand. The bill also requires the US to make
active efforts to ban the practice internationally by treaty, and also
directs the Department of Commerce to report to Congress annually on
the status of the practice internationally as well as to conduct research
on shark populations and develop fishing gear which will minimize
shark bycatch. For a copy of the bill and other information about the
bill, go to the Library of Congress at: http://thomas.loc.gov.
2:26/03. CPUC CONTINUES HEARINGS ON REQUEST
FOR CALIFORNIA POWER RATE HIKES; REPORT
RELEASED ON HYDROPOWER AND RIVER
RESTORATION: The California Public Utilities Commission
(CPUC) will continue its hearings next week in San Francisco on the
requests by Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas & Electric
Company (PG&E) to increase rates charged the State's citizens by the
two giant utilities (see Sublegals 2:25/06). The energy "crisis" faced
by California come is partially due to the failure of the State to plan
for new energy demand and in part is due to a hastily devised and
poorly crafted 1996 law, sponsored by the two utilities, to deregulate
California's energy system. The utilities are now claiming they are
faced with bankruptcy, although, at least in the case of PG&E, their
parent holding companies have made billions from deregulation
allowing them to invest in energy generating operations as far away as
New England.
The fishery implications in all of this are serious leading to
pressure to operate dams solely for maximum hydro power generation,
leaving fish unprotected. It could also thwart efforts afoot in the west
to remove some antiquated and fish killing dams. And, already, it has
lead some opponents of fish flows to challenge salmon restoration
projects because of alleged energy costs. A case in point was this
month's decision by Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt to restore water
to the Trinity River from approximately 30 percent of the river's
historic flow to 48 percent (see Sublegals 2:25/02; 2:24/05), that drew
opposition from power producers claiming that returning a fraction of
the water to the Trinity River would somehow exacerbate California's
energy "crisis ."
According to Denver Nelson, California produces and purchases
about 200 billion kilowatt hours (kwh) of electricity per year.
Hydropower produces about 50 billion kwh of which the Central
Valley Project (CVP) and the State Water Project (SWP) produce
about 11 billion kwh together. The largest consumer of electricity in
California is the SWP which uses 13.7 billion kwh to pump
Sacramento-San Joaquin River water to the western San Joaquin
Valley and Southern California. The CVP uses 1.4 billion kwh
resulting in a total of 15.1 billion kwh to pump our water south. This
amount of electricity would supply the City of San Francisco or supply
780,000 average households for one year. The SWP and the CVP
generate 11 billion kwh from hydroelectric and other plants. This
means California`s water system uses 4.1 billion kwh (15.1-11=4.1)
more than it produces. Thus, California's major salmon producing
river system (along with diversions to the CVP from the Trinity)
contribute 4.2 million acre feet of water to the rest of California as
well as electric generation at the cost of the total extirpation of San
Joaquin spring-run chinook, but to the endangerment of Sacramento
winter-run and spring-run chinook and steelhead. And, even the
abundant Central Valley fall-run chinook are threatened during normal
and dry year conditions due to extensive diversions and hydropower
generation.
To assist fishermen, conservationists and members of the public in
understanding the hydropower issues and the upcoming relicensing of
many of these facilities, Friends of the River has produced a 15-page
booklet, "Rivers of Power: A Citizen's Guide to Hydropower and
River Restoration." Copies of this booklet are available from FOR at:
www.friendsoftheriver.org .
2:26/04. THAILAND TUNA PACKER BUYS UP "CHICKEN
OF THE SEA": Bloomberg news reported on 25 December that
Bangkok-based Thai Union Frozen Products, the world's second
largest producer of canned tuna and half-owner of Tri-Union
Seafoods, will buy up the remaining shares of Tri-Union from Tri-
Marine International a U.S. investment firm for $38.5 million (US).
Tri-Union packs "Chicken of the Sea," the third best selling tuna brand
in the U.S. What the future implications will be on prices paid U.S.
and Canadian albacore fishermen is uncertain.
2:26/05. SALMON MEETINGS SCHEDULED IN
PREPARATION FOR 2001 SEASON: The Pacific Fishery
Management Council (PFMC) has announced its Salmon Technical
Team (STT) will meet 16-19 January at the Council's Portland offices
to draft its "Review of the 2000 Ocean Salmon Fisheries" and consider
other issues for the 2001 salmon season. It will meet again on 13-16
February in a public session to draft its "Preseason Report I - Stock
Abundance Analysis for 2000 Ocean Salmon Fisheries" and consider
any other estimation of methodology for the 2001 season.
In Oregon, the Oregon Coastal Zone Management Association
(OCZMA) will again sponsor a meeting of salmon fishing interests to
go over projected Oregon salmon returns and craft a fishing season
proposal to the Oregon Fish & Wildlife Commission and Pacific
Fisheries Management Council. The first meeting will be held in
Newport, and the Agate Beach Hotel, 3019 North Coast Highway on
11 January. A second meeting is scheduled for 1 March once the
season's likely escapement returns are better known. For further
information and an agenda, contact OCZMA, Georgia York, (541)265-
8918.
In California, the State's Department of Fish & Game (CDFG) will
hold its 2001 Salmon Fishery Informational Meeting on 20 February at
the Flamingo Hotel & Conference Center in Santa Rosa. The meeting
will consider 2000 fisheries and escapements, stock abundance
predictions, 2001 fishery management objectives, and a review of the
2001 regulatory schedule. For further information and an agenda,
contact CDFG, L.B. Boydstun, (916) 653-6281.
The PFMC's schedule of public hearings for the 2001 salmon
season is as follows:
* 26 March, Chateau Westport 710 W. Hancock, Westport,
Washington
* 26 March, Red Lion Hotel, 1313 N. Bayshore Drive, Coos Bay,
Oregon
* 27 March, Red Lion Hotel, 1929 Fourth Street, Eureka, California
* 3 April, Red Lion Hotel, Sacramento, California
For more information, contact the PFMC at (503) 326-6352 or go
to: http://www.pcouncil.org .
2:26/06. DUNGENESS PRICES INCREASE WITH SHORT
SUPPLY: WorldCatch News Network reported on 28 December that
ex-vessel prices for Dungeness crab have gone up again, even after
season finally opened north of Cape Lookout, Oregon on the 26th.
Short supply has driven the prices up to $2.00 per pound ex-vessel
along the northern California and Oregon coast a day after the opening
along the Washington coast and for north of Cape Lookout, prices
jumped from the market order of $1.60 to $1.75 within a day of that
opening. The season opening for coastal Washington (the area north
of Cape Lookout) had been delayed from 1 December to the 26th
because of poor quality (soft-shell) crab; to the south, however,
Dungeness quality has been excellent, just not enough of them (see
Sublegals, 2:24/09; 2:23/02; 2:22/01). For more information, see
www.worldcatch.com .
2:26/07. BUSH NOMINATES NORTON TO BE INTERIOR
SECRETARY: Today, 29 December, Texas Governor George W.
Bush nominated former Colorado Attorney General Gale Norton to be
his Secretary of Interior when he assumes the U.S. Presidency on 20
January. Norton, who worked at the Department of the Interior during
the Reagan Administration, is a 46-year-old lawyer hired by James
Watt at the Denver-based Mountain States Legal Foundation before
Watt's tenure as President Ronald Reagan's Interior Secretary. Norton
then went to Washington, where she served as an assistant to the
Deputy Secretary of Agriculture from 1984 to 1985, then as associate
solicitor for conservation and wildlife at Interior from 1985 to 1987.
She returned to Colorado and was elected Attorney General in 1990
and won reelection in 1994. After leaving her job as attorney general
in 1999, she took a job with one of Denver's most politically
connected law firms, Brownstein, Hyatt & Farber. Under Interior is
the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS), the Bureau of
Reclamation (BOR), the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), the U.S.
Geological Survey (USGS), and the Minerals Management Service
(MMS); the policy directions coming out of that agency thus can have
a profound affect on fish stocks and U.S. fisheries. Norton's
nomination, along with that of oil man Donald Evans as Commerce
Secretary and New Jersey Governor Christine Todd-Whitman as
Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),
will bear the closest watching by fishing interests (see Sublegals,
2:25/14).
2:26/08. OREGON PROPOSED SALMON BUDGET
TRIPLES: Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber's Proposed Biennial
Budget for 2001-2003 increases total salmon restoration funding from
$31.7 million to $90.4 million, according to a story in the 8 December
issue of Capital Press. In 1998, Oregon voters approved Measure 66
which dedicated a portion of the Oregon Lottery funding to salmon
restoration, and in addition Oregon is handling some federal matching
funds for its Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds. Additionally,
additional funds are dedicated in his proposed budget to complete
twelve pollution control (TMDL) plans, to implement a new pesticide
reporting law, and for a multitude of watershed council salmon
restoration plans in western portions of the state. The salmon budget
increase, of course, is subject to Legislative approval but is widely
supported. However, the Oregon Legislature will be facing a number
of new ballot measures restricting funding resulting in an overall
budget shortfall. The Legislature was widely criticized last session for
using Measure 66 money to 'backfill' cuts it imposed in state agency
budgets, resulting in far less new salmon restoration money than the
voters intended. For details of Governor Kitzhaber's salmon
protection budget see pages 29-30 of the Budget Summary at:
www.governor.state.or.us/governor/budget01-03/budget01-03.pdf.
2:26/09. WILLAMETTE RIVER BASIN ADVISORY BOARD
SEEKS MEMBERS: The Willamette River in Oregon has a number of
ESA listed salmon and steelhead runs, a number of dams, a Superfund
toxic waste cleanup site and serious pollution problems. The Willamette
Province Advisory Committee, an interagency group coordinating
cleanup efforts, is seeking members. Two seats are slated for at-large
public members from various stakeholder groups (including commercial
fishing), two representing recreational/tourism interests, and two
representing resource conservation organizations. The Committee
advises the US Forest Service, US Bureau of Land Management and
other federal agencies on ecosystem management of forestlands within
the Willamette River Basin. Members must be 18, US citizens and serve
two year terms without compensation except reimbursement of expenses.
Applicants should submit a brief resume addressing their experience and
qualifications to Neal Forrester, Designated Federal Official, PO Box
10607, Eugene, OR 97440 by no later than 16 January. The Provincial
Advisory Committee is chartered by the US Department of Agriculture
under the Northwest Forest Plan. Among the issues it considers are
timber, wildlife, watershed, salmon fisheries and recreational issues on
federal lands within the basin.
2:26/10. CALIFORNIA FISH & GAME COMMISSION TO
HEAR ANGLERS RECOMMENDATIONS FOR COMMERCIAL
NEARSHORE FISHERY: The California Fish & Game Commission
will hold a hearing 3 February in Sacramento to consider a proposal put
forward by United Anglers of Southern California and other sport fishing
and diving interests to substantially curtail, or eliminate, the livefish
commercial fishery in the State's nearshore waters. The recommendation
would limit the commercial fishery to sport fishing gear. Proponents
claim the measures are necessary for the preservation of certain
nearshore fisheries even though the Commission has already established
size limits for the commercial fishery and set a catch limit at 50 percent
of the estimated optimum yield (OY) for these stocks, and allocated the
fish among the two fisheries (see Sublegals, 2:23/04). The
recommendations from the sport anglers apply only to commercial
fishing and propose no conservation measures for recreational fishing
such as a ban on treble hooks (which result in much higher mortalities of
released fish) or biology-based size limits. The proposal is being brought
under the Commission's interim management authority for this fishery;
the Department of Fish & Game has finally appointed its Nearshore
Advisory Committee and will begin work on a fishery management plan
for the nearshore. For more information, contact John Duffy, (916) 653-
4899 or go to: http://www.dfg.ca.gov/fg_comm .
2:26/11. REPORT ISSUED ON PREVENTION/RESPONSE TO
SHIP GROUNDINGS AND OIL SPILLS: The Ocean & Coastal Law
Center of the University of Oregon's School of Law has issued a report,
following the 1999 grounding of the freighter New Carissa on the
Oregon coast, on the effectiveness of state, federal and international laws
on preventing and responding to non-tanker groundings and oil spills.
The report, "Evaluation of the New Carissa Incident for Improvements
to State, Federal, and International Law," prepared by Professor Richard
G. Hildreth, is available at: http://oceanlaw.uoregon.edu/ .
2:26/12. WASHINGTON STATE CONSIDERS CHANGES TO
WATER QUALITY STANDARDS: The Washington State Department
of Ecology is considering undertaking rulemaking to make major
revisions to its surface water quality and temperature standards, issues
that are crucial to salmon restoration efforts in that state. Landowners
have been pressing for less restrictive water and temperature standards
for years, but salmon biologists believe many of the state's inland waters
already exceed maximum safe standards for salmonids. The Department
of Ecology is holding a series of public workshops to discuss proposed
changes, starting 8 January and running through 22 January at various
locations around that state. More information on these hearings, various
technical documents and a schedule of likely upcoming issues can be
obtained on the Internet at:
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/swqs/index.html. Also, to obtain
hard copies of any of the discussion documents, or to find out more,
contact Mark Hicks, Water Quality Standards Coordinator, (360)307-
6477 or email to: mhic461 at ecy.wa.gov. Written comments on the
proposals for review must be received by 16 February and sent to Mark
Hicks, Department of Ecology, PO Box 47600, Olympia, WA 98504-
7600.
2:26/13. HIGH CONTAMINANT LEVELS FOUND IN
SPORTFISH IN SACRAMENTO-SAN JOAQUIN DELTA: The San
Francisco Estuary Project reports in its December newsletter that high
levels of mercury, DDT and PCBs have been found in largemouth bass,
white catfish and black bullhead in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
The mercury levels are a result of past mining in the Sierras, whereas the
DDT and PCB contamination are the result of agricultural and industrial
pollution respectively. Mercury levels as high as 650 ppb (parts per
billion) were found in largemouth bass in the lower Sacramento and the
San Joaquin rivers. DDT levels in the San Joaquin in catfish have
concentrations of between 389 and 407 ppb and levels of PCBs in catfish
were as high as 102 ppb. Commercially valuable species such as salmon,
crab and herring spend only a brief time in the Delta or San Francisco
Bay and do not appear to accumulate the toxins the way resident species
do. For more information, contact Jay Davis at (510) 231-9539 or go to
the S.F. Estuary Project's newsletter website at:
www.abag.ca.gov/bayarea/sfep/newsletter/index.html .
2:26/14. EUROPEAN FISHERIES ROCKED BY DIOXIN
SCARE AND QUOTA CUTBACKS; WWF CALLS FOR
INVESTMENT IN FISHING AND ECO-LABELING PROPOSED
TO HELP: The fisheries of the European Union (EU) have been rocked
this past month, first, with the disclosure of high levels of dioxin in
certain species and fish meal (see Sublegals, 2:25/10) and, second, with
the EU Commission's proposal for massive cuts in the fishery TACS
(total allowable catches) for 2001 (for more information, see the 1
December issue of Fishing News (pp.1-2), at: www.fishingnews.co.uk ).
Now two proposals have been put forth to aid Europe's fishing fleet.
The international conservation organization, World Wildlife Fund
(WWF), reports Fishing News in its 15 December issue (pp.1-2), has
issued a paper, "Choose or Lose" calling for a massive investment by the
British government to save its fish stocks, fishing industry and fishing
communities. While WWF and other conservation groups have criticized
government subsidies to the fishing industry in the past as the cause of
overcapitalization and overfishing, the organization's Ocean Recovery
Campaign is calling for an infusion of government funds now to both
save fish stocks and the fishing industry. The WWF has over the past
year developed a working relationship with the Scottish Fishermen's
Federation (SFF) which helps explain a greater concern on its part for the
fisheries than that exhibited by some other environmental groups. To
view the WWF paper, "Choose or Lose," go to: www.wwf-uk.org/orca.
On 28 December, the Environmental News Network reported that -
Europe's fishermen should be given financial incentives to adopt less
damaging catch techniques according to a paper released last week by the
London-based Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP). It
says the European Union should be looking at program of financial
incentives to encourage more sustainable fishing practices. The IEEP
argues that incentives similar to those agreed under the 1992 review of
the common agricultural policy could alleviate the fisheries crisis. The
IEEP is an independent, non-profit organization focused on analysis and
development of European environmental policy, and environmental
aspects of other policies such as transport, agriculture, fisheries and
regional development. An agri-fishery program would increase the
coherence between European Union fisheries and environmental policies,
particularly the 1992 habitats directive and its network of protected sites,
says the IEEP. The authors point out that EU attempts to promote
sustainability have focused on regulatory measures to reduce fishing,
while ignoring financial incentives.
Scientists at the International Center for Exploration of the Sea (ICES)
have warned that cod and whiting in the North Sea and to the west of
Scotland are in severe danger of collapse. The Northern hake population
in the European Union's western waters is also at risk. Two weeks ago,
the European Commission made drastic cuts in fishing quotas to protect
populations close to collapse. The collapse in fish populations has its
roots in factory trawlers - large commercial fishing vessels generally
greater than 150 feet and greater than 1,000 gross tons. Using trawl nets,
they catch, process and freeze fish at sea. Their capacity to harvest huge
amounts of fish does not generally discriminate between the sought after
fish and juvenile species - caught indirectly and discarded, said the ENN
report of 28 December.
The IEEP, in its paper, recommends such incentives as funding for a
marketing scheme for eco-labeled fish caught with more environmentally
friendly equipment. Even the thickness of twine used in fishing nets can
affect the amount of juvenile fish caught indirectly and discarded. Square
meshed panels in trawl nets used to catch white fish were introduced to
the Scottish fishing fleet this year. The panels make it easier for young
fish to escape from trawls. A plan launched this year to rebuild cod
populations in the Irish Sea involved closing areas to fishermen during
the spawning season from 14 February- 30 April. Technical measures to
enable young fish to escape from trawl nets were implemented. The IEEP
study concludes that an EU-wide agri-fishery program is needed and
says a forthcoming review of the EU common fisheries policy (CFP)
scheduled for completion by the end of 2002, offers the best opportunity
for its creation. It suggests that until then, national fisheries should be
encouraged to apply for funds under existing schemes operated by the
environment and fisheries directorates of the European Commission. For
more information on the IEEP study, go to: envdaily at ends.co.uk
2:26/15.CONSERVATION IMPROVES BUSINESS BOTTOM
LINES: The Center for Watershed & Community Health, an institute in
the Mark O. Hatfield School of Government at Portland State University,
recently completed a series of economic assessments of the total
additional cost savings that could be achieved by businesses by
instituting simple conservation measures in various industries. The
Center concluded that environmental protect is, in fact, a net economic
benefit to industries in many ways, increasing the profitability of
businesses by making economic use of what would otherwise be wasted
resources. "Many people believe that saving salmon is just too costly,"
noted the Center's Executive Director, Bob Doppelt. "Yet the data
indicate that those fears are based on the wrong set of questions. The real
question business, landowners and government should be asking is: How
much money are we wasting by harming the environment?" According
to the Center, recapturing these wasted resources makes economic sense,
not only reducing penalties for pollution but improving the overall
efficiency and profitability of businesses generally. For more
information, go to: http://www.upa.pdx.edu/CWCH.MORE.......
2:26/16. CHARTING A PATH THOUGH AN UNCERTAIN
FUTURE: That is the title of this month's article in The Fishermen's
News (pp.11-12) by PCFFA Northwest Director Glen Spain. The article
was based on a paper given this past summer for the Tenth Biennial
Conference of the International Institute of Fisheries Economics & Trade
in Newport, Oregon. For more information go to The Fishermen's News
article archive site at: http://www.pond.net/~pcffa/fn.htm.
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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