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~~>FISHLINK SUBLEGALS 6/29/01<~~
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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. 26 29 JUNE 2001
<<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>>><<
IN THIS ISSUE...
Fishing Groups Call for Operational Guidelines in Evaluating MPAs.
See 3:26/01.
Seafood Choices Alliance Unveiled in New York and San Francisco.
See 3:26/04.
Strom-Martin Opposes AJR 14, Klamath 'God Squad' Resolution, Calling
it 'Wrong Message.' See 3:26/05.
30th Annual "World's Largest Salmon Barbecue" Set for Fort Bragg
On 7 July. See 3:26/07.
NMFS Sued over Pacific Groundfish Plan Amendment 13 for Failing to
Address Bycatch. 3:26/13.
AND MORE...
***********************************************************
3:26/01. FISHERMEN CALL FOR GUIDELINES IN MPA
EVALUATIONS: In a letter dated 15 June, to be released next week,
seven leading U.S. fishing organizations called on the National Marine
Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries
(NMS) to work together in establishing common standards for the
development and use of marine protected areas (MPAs). The group asked
for operational guidelines to "provide a framework for considering MPAs
both within sanctuaries and also in considering MPAs in marine
ecosystems not under sanctuary jurisdiction." The letter, which came out
of a meeting in late May at Inverness, California, identified four elements
for inclusion in guidelines, including: 1) a statement of purpose and
objectives; 2) a definition of terms; 3) protocols; and 4) funding.
The call for establishing uniform operational guidelines arose from
several common concerns voiced by the participants at the Inverness
meeting: "1) we are seeing a shift away from one of the fundamental goals
in establishing sanctuaries, which is the sustaining of marine cultures and
communities, and this shift is leading to uncertainty regarding the goals of
both sanctuaries and MPAs; 2) we find there is confusion regarding
regulatory authority both over sanctuaries and MPAs; 3) we see
inconsistency and confusion in the terminologies used in discussing
sanctuaries and MPAs; and 4) we are experiencing unnecessarily
disorganized processes surrounding the establishment of both sanctuaries
and MPAs.........We believe the factors listed above undermine our own
industry goals of building healthy marine systems which in turn foster
sustainable fisheries and sustainable fishing communities for both
commercial and recreational users. We can see there is an immediate need
to clarify how the tools of sanctuaries and MPAs are utilized in the larger
scheme of fisheries management. We also recognize there is a unique
opportunity to build nation-wide consistency in our evaluation of these
tools. We want to consider approaches that will aid all participants -
commercial, recreational, environmental or governmental - as we each
consider the use of sanctuaries and MPAs throughout our nation's waters."
The meeting, hosted by the Sanctuaries Office, included representatives
from the Alaska Longline Fishermen's Association (AFA), the Cape Cod
Commercial Hook Fishermen's Association, the Institute for Fisheries
Resources (IFR), Maryland Waterman's Association, Monroe County
[Florida] Fishermen's Association (MCFA), the Monterey Fishermen's
Marketing Association and PCFFA. Four other groups were invited but
could not attend: the Maine Lobsterman's Association, the Fishermen's
Marketing Association [trawlers], and representatives from the mid-Atlantic
[North Carolina] and the Gulf [Louisiana]. The groups selected for the small
meeting either had worked on MPAs and/or have worked to promote
sustainable fisheries. AFA is a member of the Alaska Marine
Conservation Council and United Fishermen of Alaska. Chris Miller, an
IFR Sustainable Fisheries Organizer, has been a member of the Channel
Islands' Marine Reserve Working Group and Mike Ricketts of Monterey
was one of the organizers of the Alliance of Communities for Sustainable
Fisheries, addressing proposed MPAs for the Monterey Bay National
Marine Sanctuary. MCFA's Tony Iarocci is a member of the South Atlantic
Fishery Management Council and worked on the MPA for Dry Tortugas.
To view the letter, go to: www.pcffa.org.
3:26/02. CDF&G MARINE LIFE PROTECTION ACT MPA
SITING WORKSHOPS: The California Department of Fish & Game has
scheduled a set of workshops to receive comments on its initial draft of
sites for Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) proposed by the Marine Life
Protection Act (MLPA) Planning Team. This Planning Team was made up
of marine scientists, but did not include any fishermen or other mariners
with a working experience on the oceans. The team used CDFG data on
fishing activities, marine habitat, and ecological values, and had input from
some Department staff and selected others (but no fishermen), to create a
draft set of maps. Although the MLPA called for the inclusion of
fishermen and mariner knowledge, CDFG staff assigned to the project
refused to allow it and ignored numerous requests from PCFFA to include
traditional knowledge in the development of the initial sites. Maps of the
initial draft concepts, prepared by CDFG and the Team for each region,
will be supplied at the workshops in that region, along with information on
the rationale for the concepts. This information will also be available
approximately two weeks before the meetings on CDFG's website at:
http://www.dfg.ca.gov/mrd/mlpa.
The workshops, each from 1900-2200 HRS, will be held at the
following dates and locations in California: SEBASTOPOL - 9 July,
Central Sebastopol Teen Center, 425 Morris Street; HALF MOON BAY
- 10 July, North Central Half Moon Bay High School, Foster Drive;
SEASIDE - 16 July, South Central Seaside Oldemeyer Center, 986 Hilby
Avenue; MORRO BAY - 17 July, Central Morro Bay Recreation & Parks
Department, 209 Surf Street; SANTA BARBARA - 24 July, South
Veteran's Memorial Building, 112 West Cabrillo Blvd.; LOS ANGELES
- 25 July, South Omni Los Angeles Hotel, 251 South Olive Street; COSTA
MESA - 26 July, South Costa Mesa Community Center, 1845 Park
Avenue; SAN DIEGO - 27 July, South Regency Plaza Hotel Circle, 1515
Circle South; FORT BRAGG - 30 July, Town Hall, 363 North Main
Street; EUREKA - Wharfinger Building - North Eureka Public Marina, 1
Marina Way.
3:26/03. UK SEAFOOD RESTAURANT CHAIN BECOMES
FIRST TO USE MSC ECOLABEL: WorldCatch News Network
reported 28 June that the British seafood restaurant chain, fish!, announced
it has become the first restaurant company to use the Marine Stewardship
Council's (MSC) ecolabel on its menus. The MSC ecolabel is awarded to
fisheries that meet the organization's international standards relating to
environmental, sustainable, management and traceability issues. fish! is
seeking to shift consumer attitudes by supplying fish from sustainable
sources. The MSC has certified fisheries in the United States, United
Kingdom and Australia, including rock lobster, Thames herring and
Alaskan salmon. For more information see: www.msc.org.
3:26/04. SEAFOOD CHOICES ALLIANCE PREMIERES IN SAN
FRANCISCO: On 20 June, the Seafood Choices Alliance, a subscriber
service open to seafood professionals interested in learning more about
environmental issues surrounding the seafood industry, met at Jardiniere
restaurant in San Francisco for their west coast launch. The east coast
launch of the Alliance occurred the week before in New York. The
Alliance reaches out to fishermen, chefs, distributors, restauranteurs, and
caterers, through their subscriber network, to "bring ocean conservation to
the table." A clearinghouse of seafood information is located on the
group's website at: www.seafoodchoices.com. PCFFA , a long-time
proponent of better seafood labeling and a member of the Alliance, said
through a spokesman that "it's critical that consumers begin paying
attention to the fish they are consuming if we are going to have any fish in
the long term. We also need to reward those that are fishing responsibly."
3:26/05. AJR 14 PASSES CALIFORNIA ASSEMBLY, STROM -
MARTIN MOUNTS SPIRITED DEFENSE AGAINST THE
"WRONG MESSAGE": On 28 June, the California Assembly narrowly
passed Assembly Joint Resolution (AJR) 14, a Water, Parks & Wildlife
Committee bill that its authors expected to have no problem getting
approved. The measure calls for the creation of a "God Squad" under the
US federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) to allow the extinction of coho
salmon and shortnosed suckers, both ESA listed fish, in the Klamath River
Basin (see Sublegals, 3:24/01). The measure, which squeeked by the
Assembly with only 47 of 80 votes, was opposed by fishing, tribal and
conservation groups. It will be heard by the Senate Natural Resources &
Wildlife Committee on 10 July.
"The current 'water crisis' in the Klamath River Basin is NOT due to the
Endangered Species Act. The crisis CANNOT be corrected by changes to
the Endangered Species Act. The problem is caused by the worst drought
in over 70 years AND the over-allocation of water resources by the Federal
Government," Assembly-member Virginia Strom-Martin said in opposing
AJR 14.
"The discord between irrigation and fisheries cannot be resolved by
continuing to wage war over insufficient water," said Strom-Martin who
chairs the California Legislature's Joint Committee on Fisheries &
Aquaculture. "Klamath Basin water issues should NOT be poster children
for the Endangered Species Act. This is NOT about weighing the value of
fish versus farmers. What this is about, is people - Klamath Falls farmers,
commercial salmon fishermen, the culture and economy of the four tribes
and those who own businesses in sea ports from San Francisco to Astoria,
Oregon..... The resolution sends the wrong message to Congress.
Convening the Endangered Species Committee ['God Squad'] won't solve
insufficient water problems in the Klamath Basin." For more information
on the vote or a copy of Strom-Martin's full statement, go to:
http://democrats.assembly.ca.gov/members/ao1.
Meanwhile, this week in Washington, DC, U.S. Senators reached
agreement on providing aid to farmers in the Klamath Basin in Oregon and
California who have had their irrigation water cut off as a result of drought
and the flow requirements needed to prevent the extinction of the coho and
the upper lake fish. The Bush Administration had requested $20 million in
aid for the farmers, and the House had agreed to the assistance in a FY
2001 supplemental appropriations bill. However, the Senate
Appropriations Committee failed to provide the funds for the farmers.
Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR) had threatened to filibuster the bill, but a
spokesman said Smith and Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Ron
Wyden (D-OR) had reached an agreement with appropriators to provide the
emergency assistance.
3:26/06. NMFS DEVELOPS NEW INTERNET TRACKING OF
PERMITS FOR SALMON: On 27 June, the National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS) announced the roll-out of a new Internet-based pilot
permit tracking system. The system is intended to allow applicants to
easily check on the progress of their permits as they move through the
Endangered Species Act (ESA) consultation process between the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers (COE) and NMFS Northwest Regional office.
The Northwest Region was selected as a testing area for the tracking
system because of an increasing number of permit applications by
governments, businesses and private citizens that may have an impact on
protected salmon as they build docks or piers, dredge waterways, deal with
stream bank erosion, improve or develop marinas or any other activities
that may affect salmon habitat. The system is currently available to
residents of Washington, Oregon and Idaho. To access the tracking system
go to: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pcts. To view the complete
announcement, go to:
http://www.publicaffairs.noaa.gov/releases2001/jun01/noaa01074.html.
3:26/07. WORLD'S BIGGEST SALMON BARBECUE SET FOR
JULY SEVENTH: The 30th Annual World's Largest Salmon Barbecue
will be held this year on Saturday, 7 July, in Fort Bragg along California's
Mendocino Coast. The feed, which raises funds for salmon restoration
programs, was started in 1972 by the late Bill Grader, a local fish
processor, and members of the Salmon Trollers Marketing Association. It
is sponsored by the Salmon Restoration Association of California. The
event begins at noon on Saturday and features live music along with local
wines and microbrewed beer, fresh sweet corn and sourdough bread to
accompany the grilled salmon fillets. For more information, go to:
www.salmonrestoration.com.
3:26/08. CALIFORNIA SALMON FISHING REMAINS POOR AS
FISH STAY IN CLOSED ZONES: Production of troll-caught kings
along the California coast remains low as a result of an apparent northward
shift of stocks into the Klamath Management Zone (KMZ), extending from
Point Arena to southern Oregon, where only a limited amount of
commercial fishing is permitted. Following the opening on 24 June of the
area between Point Reyes and Point Arena, some good fishing, with scores
of 50 or more fish per day, was reported near the Point Arena line, but the
large body of fish appears to still be north. Oregon catches have been
good, but the fleet there is small. In California, the 3000 fish quota for
the
Fort Bragg area (Horse Mountain to Point Arena) was easily filled, despite
weather and a small fleet, on 21 May. Water temperatures have ranged
from 56 degrees Fahrenheit around Monterey Bay (where some albacore
were reported) to 49 degrees and 54 degrees between Point Reyes and
Bodega Bay. Aside from influences of ocean temperature, the northern
shift of sardines to Oregon has apparently drawn the Sacramento fall-run
kings with them. The lack of production now is likely to mean a heavier
than normal catch of these fish in late summer and early fall as they head
back to San Francisco Bay migrating to their natal Central Valley streams.
3:26/09. SEA LICE FROM FISH FARMS THREATEN
CANADA'S WILD SALMON: On 27 June, the Vancouver Sun, in an
article by Dirk Meissner, reported fish farms on Vancouver Island are
being blamed for an outbreak of blood-sucking sea lice that could kill more
than 400 million of British Columbia's wild pink salmon this summer. The
lice are a tiny parasite that attach themselves to salmon, sucking their blood
and causing lesions that leave the fish susceptible to deadly infections.
Nets full of sea lice-infested pink salmon smolts are being scooped from
waters near fish farms, according to Greg Rebar, a former aquaculture
worker, who said it takes about 10 sea lice to kill a salmon but he's counted
65 on a five-centimeter-long smolt.
Tribal leaders from the Broughton Archipelago, where the outbreak has
occurred, are calling for all farmed fish to be removed to halt the outbreak.
An aquaculture representative for the Canadian Department of Fisheries &
Oceans (DFO) said the federal fishery agency was sending a vessel to the
archipelago to investigate. The area has 26 fish farm sites and each farm
has between 600,000 and one million fish. Atlantic salmon is the primary
aquaculture species in British Columbia. It will likely take about one month
to determine the severity of the sea lice outbreak, according to the article.
3:26/10. NAFTA AGENCY CALLS FOR INVESTIGATION OF
CANADIAN FAILURE TO PROTECT WILD PACIFIC SALMON:
A formal investigation into complaints that the Canadian Government
contributes to the Pacific salmon crisis by failing to protect fish habitat
has
been recommended by the Secretariat of the Commission for
Environmental Cooperation (CEC), an arm of NAFTA (the North
American Free Trade Agreement). According to a 12 June press report, the
recommendation is the first step in a process that carries considerable
weight because the Commission is a creation of three North American
governments and is seen as a model of scientific caution. In a complaint,
brought by three conservation organization, are allegations that 23
acid-generating mines are or may be in violation of Canada's Fisheries Act,
with no sanctions against them. It alleges a "systematic failure" to enforce
the act to stop the mining industry from hurting the environment.
Under NAFTA, citizens in any of the member countries - Canada, the
U.S., and Mexico - can complain to the CEC and request investigations
into environmental problems, especially those that may be trade-related.
The fact the CEC Secretariat has recommended an investigation indicates
there is evidence to support the complaint. The recommendation now goes
to the Commission's governing council, comprised of the environment
ministers of the three countries, and no one will guess how they might
respond. Canada's Fisheries Act makes it an offence to deposit a substance
harmful to fish in water frequented by fish. If the complaint is upheld, it
probably would further damage Canada's reputation as a champion of
sustainable development, and could hurt sales of Canadian products.
3:26/11. US WEST COAST SHRIMPERS FILE DUMPING
COMPLAINT AGAINST CANADIANS: In what might sound like
another chorus of "Blame Canada," WorldCatch News Network reported
on 15 June that the ShrimpProducers Cooperative of Newport, Oregon, has
decided to file an "Antidumping & Counter-vailing Duties" Petition with the
International Trade Commission (ITC) and the U.S. Department of
Commerce, charging East Coast Canadian shrimp (p. borealis) producers
are "controlling the price and product and are effecting world prices." West
Coast shrimp buyers have told shrimpers that they plan to limit purchases of
(p. jordani) shrimp due to the glut of product and lower prices in the market
from other countries. The west coast shrimpers allege Canada's provincial
governments have subsidized the renovation of some processing plants by
shrimp factory trawlers. Such governmental subsidies could bring to bear
countervailing duties by the U.S. Government against Canadian shrimp
producers to provide a "level playing field" for U.S. west coast shrimpers.
Similar measures were imposed in the past against Norwegian salmon
growers who were dumping product into the U.S.
In another piece of shrimp trade news, Reuters reported on 18 June that
the World Trade Organization (WTO) has ruled that the U.S. can
"maintain for the moment its ban on the import of shrimp" that are caught
without devices designed to protect endangered sea turtles. The trade
dispute has been closely watched as a "test case on whether WTO rules
were in conflict with nature conservation." A number of fishing groups,
who supported the use of turtle excluder devices (TEDs) on shrimp nets,
have insisted that shrimp imported into the U.S. must be from fleets using
those devices.
3:26/12. NEW REPORT ON PREDATOR AND PREY SPECIES:
In its latest report entitled "Conservation in a Fish-Eat-Fish World," the
National Coalition for Marine Conservation (NCMC) calls on state and
federal fishery managers "to begin moving away from single-species
management toward an integrated, multi-species approach that considers
interactions among related predators and prey." The purpose of the report,
according to NCMC president Ken Hinman, is to provide managers with
guidance as to what predator-prey information is needed and how it should
be used in making fishery decisions, particularly in reconciling otherwise
incompatible management goals. Marine scientists have raised concerns
about those fisheries that remove so many of the ocean's apex predators -
sharks, billfish and the big tunas - may be weakening an entire tier at the
top of the food chain and causing disruptions down to the ecosystem's
foundation. A related concern is increased catches of squid, herring and
other forage species that make up a critical part of the diet of these and
other species, and how that might effect efforts to restore their numbers.
The NCMC urges fishery managers to use the authority they now have to
make changes in existing fishery management plans (FMPs) and account
for the effects that fishing has on others species in the food web. According
to NCMC, the report offers a template for a step-by-step process for
managing predator and prey species under each FMP. Copies are available
at a cost of $5 to cover shipping and handling. For more information,
write: NCMC, 3 North King Street, Leesburg, VA 20176 or visit its
website at: www.savethefish.org.
3:26/13. PFMC, NMFS SUED OVER PACIFIC GROUNDFISH
BYCATCH: The Pacific Marine Conservation Council (PMCC), the
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Center for Marine
Conservation (MCM) filed suit 29 June against the Pacific Fishery
Management Council (PFMC) and the National Marine Fisheries Service
(NMFS) challenging Amendment 13 to the Pacific Groundfish
Management Plan. According to the suit brought under the Sustainable
Fisheries Act, NMFS is required to address bycatch, which is marine
species that are caught unintentionally and thrown out, usually dead or
dying. Under the SFA, NMFS must account for discarded fish in every
fishery in the United States, and take steps to minimize the unacceptable
waste. According to the complaint, Amendment 13 should contain the
commitments needed to bring the agency into compliance with those
mandates, but fails to do so.
Currently there is no means of accurately measuring the total number
of fish taken in the groundfish fishery. These fish include juveniles of
rockfish species such as bocaccio, a fish recently petitioned for listing
under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Fishermen have complained for
years that they are forced to throw away fish that are either illegal to land
or are not worth enough money to do so. Scott Boley, President of PMCC
and a commercial fisherman in Gold Beach, Oregon, says: "I see the
problem with my own eyes. You're not allowed to land fish under
minimum size limits. So you see bigger fish on the docks. When you're
allowed to land everything you actually catch, there can be a lot of small
fish in those piles. We need to be able to count these dead animals in order
to properly manage the resource." The plaintiff organizations are being
represented by the Ocean Law Project (OLP) of Earthjustice Legal Defense
Fund. For more information go to: www.earthjustice.org.
3:26/14. REGIONAL FISHERY MANAGEMENT COUNCIL
APPOINTMENTS ANNOUNCED: On 26 June, U.S. Commerce
Secretary Don Evans announced the appointment of 18 members to the
eight regional fishery management councils that are charged under the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation & Management Act with
developing fishery management plans (FMPs) for U.S. Exclusive
Economic Zone (EEZ) waters in each of their respective areas to
recommend to the Department of Commerce. According to the law, the
council members are to be knowledgeable about fisheries and fish
conservation and represent interests, including commercial, recreational
and environmental, for each geographic area.. The council terms in this
round of appointments begin 11 August and expire 10 August 2004. To
view the complete announcement, go to:
http://www.publicaffairs.noaa.gov/releases2001/jun01/noaa01073.html.
The appointments are as follows: Pacific Council: ROGER THOMAS,
of Sausalito, California, a charter boat operator and President of the Golden
Gate Fishermen's Association, was reappointed for an at-large seat. The
Idaho appointment to the PFMC is pending. North Pacific Council:
Appointed for Alaska's two obligatory seats were: STOSH S. ANDERSON
- small boat owner/operator; Kodiak, Alaska, and STEPHANIE D.
MADSEN - Vice-president, Pacific Seafood Processors Association,
Juneau, Alaska. Western Pacific Council: Appointed for two at-large seats
were : EDWIN A. EBISUI, Jr. - attorney; Haleiwa, Hawaii, and FRANK
W. McCOY - General Manager/owner, Northwest Fisheries and McCoy's
Icehouse, Pago Pago, American Samoa. "This latest string of appointments
really demonstrate what is wrong with Commerce's interpretation of the
Magnuson-Stevens Act and their approach to fisheries, " said PCFFA
Executive Director Zeke Grader. "Certainly we're glad about Roger
Thomas' re-appointment and the appointment of Larry Sims to the
Mid-Atlantic Council, both of whom head-up their respective organizations
and are active fishermen." Sims is President of the Maryland Waterman's
Association and PCFFA had supported both Thomas and troller/ crabber
Eureka fisherman Dave Bitts for the PFMC seat. "But passing over people
of the caliber of John Pappalardo for the New England Council was a
serious oversight, and then filling so many of the council seats with
lawyers, lobbyists and association staffs - people with no real knowledge
of fishing or the oceans - is unconscionable. No wonder our fisheries are
in trouble; no wonder people are calling for changes on the regional
councils," Grader added.
3:26/15. SCIENTISTS CALL WETLAND SUBSTITUTION
POLICY A FAILURE; US SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS STATE'S
RIGHT TO PROTECT WETLANDS: The National Research Council
(NRC), the scientific advisory arm of the National Academy of Sciences,
recently published a report, "Compensating for Wetland Losses Under the
Clean Water Act," looking at whether the 'no net loss' policy under the
Clean Water Act, which allows developers to pave over existing wetlands
by creating wetlands elsewhere, is in fact working. The panel of scientists
concluded that the policy has failed, raising sweeping questions about
whether the Clean Water Act should give greater protection to existing
wetlands and disfavor substitutions. Wetlands are incredibly rich
ecosystems, and coastal wetlands are important nursery grounds for
salmon, crabs, shrimp and the vast majority of commercially important
seafood species. "Drawing it (a wetland) on a map does not make it so,"
stated Dr. Joy Zedler, the panel's chair. "Review after review of restored vs.
naturally occurring wetlands show they fall short." More than half of the
wetlands in the lower 48 states have already disappeared since colonial
times, and only five percent of the nation's remaining wetlands are in
coastal or tidal areas that support important fisheries. For a copy of the
report see: http://nationalacademies.org/topnews. For a copy of the report,
"FISHERIES, WETLANDS & JOBS - The Value of Wetlands to
America's Fisheries," prepared in 1998 by William Kier Associates, see the
IFR website, www.ifrfish.org under 'Reports' or e-mail:
PCFFAfish at aol.com.
Meanwhile, on 28 June, the US Supreme Court ruled in a property
rights 'takings' claim that a property owner does not have the right to
damages against the State of Rhode Island for refusing to let him dredge
and fill environmentally sensitive coastal wetlands, but left many other
questions unanswered in a sharply split decision. The case involves a
project to dredge and fill 18 acres of tidal wetlands in Winnipaug Pond in
Westerly, Rhode Island. The marsh serves as a refuge and feeding ground
for fish, shellfish and birds, and protects nearby coastal property from
flooding. The State denied the project, finding that it would constitute a
public nuisance by harming shellfish, contaminating the pond and
threatening drinking water supplies. Alleging the State had taken his
property without just compensation, the owner sought $3.15 million in
damages even though he was aware of the zoning restrictions when the
property was first purchased. The ruling was highly unusual in that it
contained six different and mostly conflicting opinions. The majority
opinion rejected the claim for damages, but it also held that his claim could
not be automatically dismissed by the state simply because he had not first
filed an application to fully develop the property or because he had acquired
the property after the state adopted regulations prohibiting development in
wetlands. The Court's full opinion in Palazzolo vs. Rhode Island (USSC
No. 99-2047) can be found at:
http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/00slipopinion.html.
NEWS, COMMENTS, CORRECTIONS: Submit your news items,
comments or any corrections to Natasha Benjamin, Editor at:
ifrfish at pacbell.net 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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