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~~>FISHLINK SUBLEGALS 6/9/00<~~
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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 1, NO.23 9 JUNE 2000
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CALFED PLAN RELEASED FRIDAY: CALFED, comprised of 14
representatives from U.S. federal and state agencies, will release today, 9
June, a rough outline of how they plan to improve water supply and
quality of the San Joaquin/Sacramento River Delta and San Francisco Bay
while attempting to maintain a water supply for increasing demand and
restoring the ecosystem. (See Sublegals, 2 June 2000) Some of the
projects expected to be proposed include additional reservoirs, flooding of
current reservoirs, and recharging of underground aquifers. Water is an
ongoing battle in California and does not appear to be coming to a
conclusion anytime soon, despite CALFEDs announcement.
California Governor Gray Davis, in response to complaints from
growers, has promised agriculture an additional 15% to their current
contract allotments under CALFED. Environmentalists are concerned
about the deteriorating ecosystem of the Bay-Delta. Pacific Salmon
numbers have declined drastically over the past years and increasing
surface storage won't create more water, it will only deplete the much
needed habitat. PCFFA has been critical, too, citing CALFED's failure to
address groundwater management issues, increased Delta exports, and
lack of consideration on new water sources, such as desalinization. The
plan, however, is better than many anticipated and includes strong
provisions for water conservation and reuse coupled with language calling
for groundwater management for the first time. Meanwhile, California's
population is expected to grow vastly over the next 20 years (60 million
by 2040) , leaving local authorities wondering if they can support future
water demands. Today's announcement is a rough plan of proposals
under consideration and current investigation. In July a formal EIS is
scheduled for release on the scientific impacts of proposed projects. For
more information go to: http://www.calfed.water.ca.gov/ .
PFMC TO HOLD PUBLIC GROUND FISH MEETING IN SEATTLE
19-20 JUNE: The Pacific Fisheries Management Council's (PFMC)
Groundfish Management Team is holding this two day public meeting to
discuss, among other things a work plan for 2000, rockfish bycatch rates
and related issues, observer program issues and stock assessment priorities
and biological sampling. For more information visit the
PFMC's website at http://www.pcouncil.org .
FERAL ATLANTIC SALMON MAY BE NEW STRESS ON WILD
PACIFIC SALMON STOCKS: According to the annual report of the
Pacific Fisheries Resource Conservation Council released on 7 June
2000, some British Columbia stocks of salmon are at risk of extinction.
Of the 9600 salmon stocks that historically resided in the province, nearly
2000 are extinct or threatened. The report sites many human caused as
well as naturally occurring threats to salmon and makes recommendations
on possible mitigations, for more information and this report go to:
http://www.fish.bc.ca/reports/annual_2000.html.
A new threat to the already struggling Pacific Salmon has recently
come on the radar screen. Rice University's Journal of the Society of
Conservation Biology, last month, reported a study by scientists from
the University of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada. Canadian
scientists reported the presence of Atlantic salmon, that show signs of
having been born in the wild, in the waters of the Pacific Northwest. One
scientist noted that these "Atlantic salmon may constitute an invasive
species." Atlantic salmon like the same prey and habitats as Pacific
salmon, but grow at a faster rate and could potentially outcompete their
Western cousins. The foreign fish have been spotted as far away from
British Columbia, where they are thought to have escaped into the wild, as
Alaska. For more information go to: http://conbio.rice.edu/scb/journal/.
CALIFORNIA INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION
PROPOSING NEW REGULATIONS FOR CREW WAGES ABOARD
COMMERCIAL FISHING VESSELS: On 30 June, the California
Industrial Welfare Commission (IWC) will hold a hearing in Sacramento
on a proposal to order the payment of minimum wages to crew aboard
fishing vessels. Previously, crew payments on commercial vessels had
been exempt from minimum wage and overtime requirements. Under the
proposed rule, fishing boat owners would be responsible for paying the
minimum wage to crew, although the amount paid in minimum wage
could later be deducted from the crew share. PCFFA has argued for
continuing the current exemption for fishing vessel crew, but IWC
members appear to believe they have no option under AB 60, the "Eight
Hour-Day Restoration & Workplace Flexibility Act of 1999" passed by
the Legislature last year, but to impose the minimum wage. The question
then becomes what constitutes a work day on a fishing vessel, i.e., when
does it start and when does it end. The overall fear is that while the
fishing industry may be able to establish partnership agreements among
crew members, the new law could preclude youth from coming into the
industry. The hearing will be held in Room 4202 of the State Capitol in
Sacramento. For more information, visit the IWC website at:
http://www.dir.ca.gov/iwc.
THE FISHING INDUSTRY AND CONSERVATION: The May issue
of Fishermen's News features an article, "Conservation's Third Movement:
The Role for Fishermen and Farmers in Environmental Protection."
The authors argue that by necessity, in many cases, fishermen and farmers
are taking the front seat in conservation of natural resources. To view the
article go to: http://www.pond.net/~pcffa/fn-may00.htm and for more
information on Fishermen's News visit their website at:
http://www.fishermensnews.com .
BAY-DELTA TOUR WILL ILLUSTRATE COMPLEXITIES OF
WATER MANAGEMENT IN CALIFORNIA: The Water Education
Foundation (WEF) of Sacramento, California has organized a tour of the
San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Estuary to provide an
opportunity for participants to understand the challenging issues that face
the CALFED process. The three day tour by bus, ferry and houseboat will
commence from the airport in Sacramento on 28 June. For more
information on the tour visit the WEF's website at:
http://www.water-ed.org .
CROP INSURANCE APPROVED FOR SALMON FISHERMEN: In a
report by National Fisherman, Congress approved on 31 May a pilot
program to enable commercial salmon fishermen to buy federally-
subsidized insurance to provide financial protection against bad seasons.
The program was developed by Alaska Senator Ted Stevens and
authorized as a provision of new agricultural crop insurance legislation.
For the story visit the 29 May NF news site at:
http://www.nationalfisherman.com/ondeck/news/news.html.
BOOK CHRONICLES PESTICIDES IN THE HYDROLOGIC
SYSTEM: The final volume in this four-part series published by the
United States Geological Survey (USGS) has just been released.
"Pesticides in Stream Sediment and Aquatic Biota: Distribution, Trends,
and Governing Factors," documents the long-term significance of DDT
and other pesticides to aquatic ecosystems and to human health. All four
volumes in this series are available from CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida
at 1-800-272-7737.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY OFFERS COURSE
ON CLEAN WATER: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will
be holding its annual Water Quality Standards Academy this year
in Arlington, Virginia on 10-14 July and 7-11 August 2000. This week
long course is designed for state agency water quality managers but is also
a valuable education for anyone interested in clean water policy and
implementation. The Clean Water Network (CWN) may be able to offer
some financial assistance to those attendees who need it. For more
information contact Ami of the CWN at 202-289-2421.
CALIFORNIA ROADLESS PLAN COMMENTS DUE THIS
MONTH: Final public comment meetings on the United States Forest
Service (USFS) Roadless Area Conservation Draft Environmental Impact
Statement (DEIS) and Proposed Rule will be held this month around the
region. For more information and hearing schedules visit the Forest
Service's Roadless Project website at: http://roadless.fs.fed.us .
ANAL CRANIAL INVERSION: That is the way Pacific Coast
Federation of Fishermen's Associations (PCFFA) Executive Director Zeke
Grader described legislation being supported by a segment of the nation's
fishing industry aimed at throwing out fish habitat protections and other
key fishery conservation provisions found in the 1996 Sustainable
Fisheries Act (SFA). The Senate version of this language to amend the
Magnuson-Sevens Act, drafted by the National Fisheries Institute and
others, was introduced this past week by Senator Olympia Snowe (ME).
"I understand the frustration many of my colleagues in our industry
have with NMFS implementation of the SFA and their anger with some
conservation organizations that seem to believe ITQs and MPAs are the
cure-all for what ails our fisheries," said Grader. "But rescinding hard
fought language to finally protect essential fish habitat, critical to fish
productivity, or to throw out the precautionary principle, which has been
successfully used to assure sustainable fishing, is just plain stupid! I am
sorely disappointed that many fish harvesting organizations are allowing
themselves to be led by the nose by fish industry middle men who would,
and do, impoverish fishermen and fishing communities to sell cheap
imports and farmed fish." Grader went on to add that, "It is foolish to
think that if our industry does not address bycatch problems in some
fisheries that consumers will soon begin discarding fish in favor of
chicken, beef and tofu. The fishing industry cannot succeed using
Tobacco Industry tactics, which this legislation is - our fisheries don't
have the influence or the money to get away with that. This bill, and any
House companion like it, is bad for our fisheries - environmentally and
financially."
NMFS ANNOUNCES PROPOSED GUIDELINES FOR ECONOMIC
ANALYSIS OF FISHERY MANAGEMENT ACTIONS: The National
Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has announced guidelines to
provide guidance on meeting the procedural and analytical requirements
of Executive Order 12866 and the Regulatory Flexibility Act for federally
managed fisheries. The guidelines, which appeared in the 22 May Federal
Register (Vol. 65, No.99), include a general framework for conducting
economic analysis of regulatory actions; recommend that a preliminary
regulatory economic evaluation be conducted early in the regulatory
process; outline the process for doing the regulatory impact review; and
outline the steps for fulfilling the requirements of the Regulatory
Flexibility Act. Comments are due by 21 June. For more information
visit the NMFS website at: http://www.nmfs.gov/sfa/ under "Proposed &
Final Rules, and Documents for Public Comment."
WEST COAST SPORT AND COMMERCIAL FISHING GROUPS
COME OUT IN SUPPORT OF CARA: Fishing groups along the Pacific
are banding together calling for Senate passage of S. 2123 by Senators
Frank Murkowski (AK) and Mary Landrieu (LA), the "Conservation &
Reivestment Act" (CARA). The legislation would dedicate a portion of
federal income from federal oil and natural gas leases for a variety of
purposes; among them: allowing states to expand inventories of marine
fish stocks and marine food fishes including research, development of
stock assessments for fisheries and marine mammals, monitoring and
control of invasive species, and fishery management enforcement. A
companion bill, H.R. 701, by Representatives George Miller (CA) and
Don Young (AK) was passed last month by the House. For more
information on S. 2123 go to: http://thomas.loc.gov. For more
information on the west coast fishing effort supporting CARA, contact
Stephen Phillips at: stephen_phillips at psmfc.org
DAM REMOVAL BEGINS GETTING NATIONAL AND
INTERNATIONAL ATTENTION: Efforts at removing dams to reopen
habitat to fish is beginning to get national and international attention. In
its special issue on "Saving the Earth", Time magazine featured an article
by Marc Reisner regarding dam removal projects from Butte Creek in
California to the Kenebec River in Maine. Reisner, an Earlham graduate
and a recent Pew Fellow, is author of Cadillac Desert, the seminal work
on western water and a book rated as one of the top 100 pieces of
non-fiction of the past century. For information on the Time environment
issue, visit the magazine's website at: http://www.time.com/time/.
To illustrate the international aspect of dam removal, there will be a
conference on 18-19 July in Sydney, Australia, called "The Way Forward
on Weirs" looking at dam removal in that country. It is sponsored by The
Inland Rivers Network and the Institute for Engineers Australia. Among
the speakers will be William Kier, who consults for IFR (along with Marc
Reisner). For more information on the conference, visit the website
at: http://www.nccnsw.org.au/member/wetlands/calendar/ In a final bit
of dam news, the California State Senate has passed SB 1540 by Senator
Byron Sher aimed at establishing a process for dam removal in that state.
GOT NEWS?: Submit news items to Molly Thomas, 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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