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~~>FISHLINK SUBLEGALS 3/16/01<~~
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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. 11 16 MARCH 2000
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3:11/01. CAPPS, THOMPSON INTRODUCE MORATORIUM
MEASURE ON NEW OIL DRILLING: On Thursday, 15 March, U.S.
Representatives Lois Capps (D-CA) and Mike Thompson (D-CA), along
with six of their colleagues, introduced a bill to protect the U.S.
coastline from offshore oil drilling. The legislation would place a
moratorium on new oil and gas leases in federal waters when a state has
enacted such a moratorium in state waters. The State of California has
enacted such a moratorium. "California is defined by our coastline,"
said Thompson. "There is a renewed threat to jeopardize its future with
short-sighted oil exploration. This is a timely measure that will provide
us with added protections."
The bill, which will be sent to the House Resources Committee for
consideration, was hailed by PCFFA, which worked throughout the late
seventies and eighties to prevent the incursion of oil and gas
development into fishing grounds. The extension of the current OCS
(Outer Continental Shelf) moratorium on oil drilling was one of the top
10 fishery priorities PCFFA listed for this Congress (see The
Fishermen's News, March 2001, pp.6-8; or go to: www.pcffa.org/
fn-mar01.htm) For more information on the Capps-Thompson bill, contact
Christina Mattar at (202) 225-3311.
3:11/02. CALL TO "GOD SQUAD" COULD PAVE WAY FOR
EXTINCTION OF KLAMATH BASIN COHO AND SUCKERS:
The Oregonian reported yesterday, 15 March, that the U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation may request Interior Secretary Gale Norton to convene the
Endangered Species Act (ESA) "God Squad" to decide whether to risk
the extinction of two endangered Klamath River fish species - coho
salmon and suckers so the basin's potato growers can irrigate their fields
this drought year (see Sublegals, 3:05/10). The Cabinet-level "God
Squad," known formally as the Endangered Species Committee, can
agree to allow a species to go extinct, but in meeting twice previously to
consider the fate of three species, the committee has never done so.
The news that the "God Squad" may be asked to intervene, came
following Tuesday's announcement by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
(USFWS) that the Bureau of Reclamation's Klamath Reclamation
Project is violating the ESA by jeopardizing the continued existence of
ESA-listed Lost River and shortnose suckers in Upper Klamath Lake. To
protect the endangered fish, USFWS wants the water level raised by one
foot in Upper Klamath Lake, irrigation canals screened, and fish ladders
built at some project dams. The National Marine Fisheries Service
(NMFS) is drafting its own opinion on the project's effects on coho
salmon, first listed as threatened in 1997. That opinion may say that
project operations are jeopardizing salmon and is almost certain to call
for increased flows in the Klamath River.
Coho salmon are important to commercial and recreational
fishermen downriver; moreover, their numbers affect ocean salmon
fishing on abundant Sacramento River fall chinook. These fish are also
important to the Tribes to assure their fishing rights. Water flows from
the Klamath Project are important, too, in maintaining Iron Gate
Hatchery, and in recent years poor water flows being released from the
Klamath Reclamation Project have been implicated in major downriver
fish kills See: http://www.oregonlive.com/printer2.ssf?/news/oregonian/
01/03/nw_52klama15.frame. In a piece of related information, it has been
reported that the Bush Administration does not plan to change the Record of
Decision (ROD) on Trinity flows. There had been speculation that the
decision by the last administration to increase to about half the historic
annual flow in this Klamath tributary would be reversed.
3:11/03. BPA POWER TO CALIFORNIA TIED TO FLOWS
FOR CHUM SALMON HATCH: The Seattle Times reported today,
16 March, that the hatching of chum salmon in the Columbia River led
to an extra 600 to 1,000 megawatts of power being sold to California by
the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) when the agency ran extra
water through Bonneville Dam to make sure the chum eggs on
downstream gravel bars didn't dry out. By Wednesday afternoon, the
14th, biologists estimated at least half of the chum had hatched and
swum off the gravel bars. So BPA officials ordered an end to the extra
flows. BPA figured it's better to increase upstream storage to help other
salmon species during the summer and to generate power when hot
weather increases regional demand. Citing a substantial drop in Pacific
Northwest power imports, California officials imposed a Stage 2 power
alert on Thursday, which put some customers at risk of service
interruptions. For more information, go to:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/SeattleTimes.woa/
wa/gotoArticle?text_only=0&slug=alert16m&document_id=134274747
&zsection_id=268448406.
3:11/04. SALMON MUST COME SECOND, SAYS ACTING
POWER AGENCY ADMINISTRATOR: Bonneville Power
Administration (BPA) Acting Administrator Steve Wright told a
conference on Columbia River issues that salmon must come second to
keeping BPA financially solvent and keeping energy prices low at least
for the next 12 to 18 months, according to the 13 March Oregonian.
Water flows in the Columbia are now forecast to be the second
lowest since record keeping began in 1929, Wright was quoted as saying
at the 12 March gathering, but in the worst drought year of 1977 energy
supplies from California helped cushion the shock, a source that does
not exist because of California energy deregulation fiasco. Don
Sampson, Executive Director of the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish
Commission, said salmon will not survive in the Columbia unless
energy demands from the dams are reduced. "If we continue to allow
the river to be viewed only for hydropower, eventually there will be no
more salmon," Sampson commented. For more information, see the 13
March issue of the Oregonian, available at:http://www.oregonlive.com/
printer2.ssf?/news/oregonian/01/03/lc_31bpa213.frame.
3:11/05. ESA-LISTED ATLANTIC SALMON CAUGHT IN
OCEAN FISHERY: The Portland Press-Herald reported on 10 March
that an Atlantic salmon was caught by a commercial fishing boat off
Cape Cod, the first that anyone can remember in 25 years. Atlantic
salmon have recently been listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act
(ESA).
3: 11/06. WASHINGTON GOVERNOR DECLARES WATER
EMERGENCY: Washington State Governor Gary Locke on 14 March
declared an official state of emergency over diminished water supplies
in that state, triggering emergency powers to transfer water rights and
freeing up funds to purchase water rights from willing sellers or to
compensate for lost water. However, the declaration does not require
conservation, though the Governor is encouraging conservation
whenever possible (see Sublegals 3:08/10). For more information go to:
http://www.oregonlive.com/printer2.ssf?/news/oregonian/01/03/
nw_51dry15.frame
3:11/07. KESWICK FLOW RELEASE TO DILUTE
OVERFLOW OF SPRING CREEK DEBRIS DAM; INCREASES
IN WATER ALLOCATIONS FOR CALIFORNIA CVP
CONTRACTORS ANNOUNCED: The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's
(BOR) Mid-Pacific Office announced on Tuesday, 13 March, that it had
begun action to dilute water containing high levels of copper and zinc
from Iron Mountain Mine that drains into the Sacramento River near
Redding. At risk is California's largest salmon population and the
largest fall chinook run along the west coast, supporting an ocean
commercial and recreational fishery offshore California, Oregon and
Washington. Recent rains caused the Spring Creek Debris Dam to spill,
so to dilute the contaminated water, BOR increased the outflow from
Keswick Dam from 3,250 cfs (cubic feet per second) to 6,5000 cfs.
Keswick Reservoir acts as Shasta Dam's afterbay, stabilizing flows
released through the Shasta power plant. Spring Creek Reservoir
controls contaminated run-off which would otherwise enter the
Sacramento River and harm fish and other aquatic life.
On the 15th, BOR announced increases in water deliveries from its
Central Valley Project (CVP) over earlier projections for meeting supply
contracts for water year 2001. The recent rains and snowfall in
California resulted in the improved forecast for meeting the out-of-
stream water deliveries. Shasta inflow, for example, is forecasted to
reach 3.8 million acre-feet which results in increased supplies for water
rights contractors, refuges, and CVPIA (Miller-Bradley Central Valley
Project Improvement Act) managed water. Agricultural and municipal
and industrial (M&I) contractors with conserved 2000 CVP supplies in
San Luis Reservoir will be able, as a result, to augment their 2001
allocation. For more information, go to BOR's website at:
Http://www.mp.usbr.gov .
3:11/08. NEW DIRECTORY OF POTENTIAL SALMON
RESTORATION FUNDING SOURCES: A new directory of potential
sources to use for salmon restoration projects on private lands has been
published, titled: "Cost-Share and Assistance Programs for Individual
California Landowners and Indian Tribes." The 97 page directory
contains sample proposals, contacts, types of projects accepted, and
sample projects with an easy to use appendix. For a free copy contact:
California Forest Stewardship Helpline, Heather Schur at:
ncsaf at mcn.org.
3:11/09. ESA TAKE PERMIT SOUGHT FOR OPERATION OF
SAVAGE RAPIDS DAM: On 15 March, the National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS) published in the Federal Register (Vol.66, No. 51,
pp.15080-15081) the availability of an Environmental Assessment (EA)
and Receipt of an Application for an Incidental Take Permit for the
Grants Pass Irrigation District, Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP),
Jackson and Josephine Counties, Oregon. The Federal Register notice
advises the public that, pursuant to the Endangered Species Act (ESA),
Grants Pass Irrigation District (GPID) has submitted an application to
NMFS for an Incidental Take Permit (Permit) regarding the operation of
Savage Rapids Dam in Josephine and Jackson Counties, Oregon, and
has also prepared a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) designed to
minimize and mitigate incidental take of endangered and threatened
species. The proposed Permit would authorize the incidental
take of the Southern Oregon/Northern California coho salmon
(Oncorhynchus kisutch) and would also seek coverage for one species
(Klamath Mountain Province steelhead (O. Mykiss)) proposed for listing
under specific provisions of the Permit, should this species be listed in the
future. The duration of the proposed Permit and Plan is one year.
NMFS stated the HCP and a draft EA are now available for review
and it is providing other agencies and the public with the opportunity to
review and comment on these documents. Written comments on the
Permit application, draft Environmental Assessment, and Habitat
Conservation Plan must be received from interested parties no later than
16 April 2001.Comments and requests for information should be
directed to Nancy Munn, Project Biologist, National Marine Fisheries
Service, 525 NE Oregon Street, Suite 500, Portland, OR, 97232-2778;
Tel: (503) 231-6269
3:11/10. IT'S TAPS FOR THE CALIFORNIA SEAFOOD
COUNCIL: On 13 March, the California Department of Food &
Agriculture (CDFA) ordered the termination of the California Seafood
Council, on the eve of the marketing board's tenth anniversary. The
action by CDFA came following a referendum by CSC members on 7
March. The votes were tallied on the 13th, and with only 23 percent of
the eligible fishermen and 35 percent of the eligible processors voting,
the CSC failed to get the necessary approval for its continued existence.
All business is to be concluded by 31 March, although some of the
current CSC programs will continue probably until the end of the year.
The CSC is one of two fishery marketing boards in the state; the other
is the older California Salmon Council. Unlike the Salmon Council,
which is for one fishery only and whose controlling board is made up of
fishermen, the CSC was started with a one million dollar grant from the
oil revenue generated Local Fishery Impact Program and has
subsequently been funded by industry assessments from both fishermen
and processors. The CSC's program covered a number of California's
fisheries, including swordfish, sea cucumber, nearshore and trawl
groundfish, squid and sardine. Much of its efforts have been tied to
research and public outreach, including a number of school programs
and hand-out materials (posters, pamphlets, videos, etc.) for the public
providing information on the fishing industry.
The CSC, despite widespread support from many member fishermen
and some processors, ran into trouble six months ago when some trawl
representatives gutted the Council's public outreach program; this was
followed by some lobbyists seeking to do away with the CSC
assessment, freeing the funds up for processors to pay these same
lobbyists. A full report appeared on Business Wire on 15 March; go to:
http://www.businesswire.com. For more information, call the California
Seafood Council at: (805) 569-8050.
3:11/11. NEW ZEALAND'S HOKI BECOMES FOURTH MSC-
CERTIFIED FISHERY: On Wednesday, 14 March, the Marine
Stewardship Council (MSC) announced that New Zealand Hoki has met
the organization's standard for a sustainable and well-managed fishery -
meaning the fishery has met strict, peer-reviewed standards and its
products are now eligible to bear the MSC sustainability eco-label. Hoki
joins three other fisheries which have earned MSC certification: Alaska
Salmon, Western Australia Rock Lobster and Thames Blackwater
Herring in the U.K. More than two dozen other fisheries are currently in
the certification process. For more information, visit the MSC website:
www.msc.org .
3:11/12. CLASSIFIED FISHERY ADS ON THE INTERNET: The
Small Boat Commercial Salmon Fishermen's Association (SBCSFA)
has announced a website for the sale of commercial fishing gear. Private
party ads will run on the site until the item is sold or until the next
SBCSFA newsletter is published, commercial ads run for 1 month on
the website. Ads should be short, preferably two lines; they are free to
SBCSFA members and $5.00 each for all others. Please go to
http://sbcsfa.com/classifieds.htm to view the ads. Payment for ads
should be made and sent to: SBCSFA, 4966 Olive Drive, Concord, CA
94521 USA.
3:11/13. NMFS ISSUES GUIDELINES TO STAFF ON
CORRESPONDENCE WITH PUBLIC: The following is an inter-
office memorandum that was gleaned from inside the National Marine
Fisheries Service (NMFS), though later disclaimed as 'not official policy.'
Subject: rule for correspondence
Date: Thu, 08 Mar 2001 08:41:28 -0500
From: "__________"
To: NMFS HQ Division Chiefs
Please DO NOT ever end any controls with phrases inviting more letters.
Don't say: I hope this answers your concerns, or if you have any
further questions, please don't hesitate to contact us.
We don't want any more letters than we already get so don't
encourage people to write again.
3:11/14. NMFS ANNOUNCES OPENING OF NORTH PACIFIC
BLACKCOD AND HALIBUT SEASONS: On 16 March the National
Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announced in the Federal Register
(Vol.66, No.52, p.15201) the opening of the Blackcod (sablefish) and
Pacific Halibut fishery in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) for
the directed fishing for blackcod with fixed gear managed under the
Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) program. The season opened on 1200
HRS, Alaska local time (A.l.t.), on 15 March and
will close 1200 HRS, A.l.t., 15 November 2001. This period is the same
as the IFQ season for Pacific halibut announced by the International
Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC). The IFQ halibut season is
announced by publication in the Federal Register, effective 1200 hrs,
A.l.t., 15 March, until 1200 hrs, A.l.t.,15 November 2001. For more
information, contact: James Hale at: (907) 586-7228.
3:11/15. ALASKA'S BIG BOATS PROPOSE EXCLUSIVE
RIGHTS TO POLLOCK; BUY-OUT FOR CRAB FLEET: The
Anchorage Daily News reported on 15 March that a "select class of
fishermen and packing companies" would get six more years of
exclusive rights to Alaska's lucrative pollock stocks and Congress
would finance perhaps the biggest buyout of fishing boats in U.S. history
under a proposed law being circulated by segments of the state's commercial
fishing industry. A contingent of industry representatives had planned to
present the draft law Wednesday, 14 March, to U.S. Senator Ted Stevens
(R-AK), but decided against it at the last minute.
Provisions in the draft legislation are said to include the following:
*Extending provisions of the American Fisheries Act of 1998 through
2010 that give a select group of fishing boats and packing houses
exclusive rights to a pollock fishery worth at least $ 700 million
annually. Those rights, involving the nation's largest fishery by volume,
are due to expire in December 2004.
* A total of nearly $ 286 million in federal buyouts of fishing and crabbing
boats in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska. About half of this amount
would be paid back to the federal government by fishermen remaining in
the business.
* Expansion of the state's Community Development Quota (CDQ) program,
which gives about 65 Western Alaska villages a share of the Bering Sea
fishery.
* A pilot program to divide up Gulf of Alaska rockfish stocks into
individual quotas not only for fishing boats but for processing companies.
For more information on the Anchorage Daily News article, contact reporter
Wesley Loy at: (907) 257-4590 or e-mail at: wloy at adn.com .
3:11/16. CHAIRMAN OF RUSSIAN FISHING COMMITTEE
BLASTS AUCTION OF FISH QUOTAS; CALLS FOR BAN OF
FOREIGN FISHING IN SEA OF OKHOTSK: Yevgenii
Nazdratenko, the chairman of Russia's State Fishing Committee and
former governor of Primorskii Krai, said in Vladivostok that state
auctions of fishing quotas are "a threat to the food supply," Rossiiskaya
gazeta reported on 12 March (see Sublegals, 3:08/20; 3:07/20; 3:05/04).
Nazdratenko said "all revenues from sales of the quotas remain in
Moscow while the regions lose a great deal of tax revenue as a result."
But Economic Development & Trade Minister German Gref told
Interfax in Moscow on 12 March that the auctions guarantee
transparency and openness in the process. The day before, on 11 March,
Nazdratenko said in Vladivostok that the resources of the Sea of
Okhotsk have been severely depleted and that the area should be closed
to all foreign and most domestic fishermen.
In the meantime, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)
published in the 12 March Federal Register (Vol. 66, No. 48, p.14357) a
notice for public review and comment a summary of an application
submitted by the Government of the Russian Federation requesting
authorization to conduct fishing operations in the U.S. Exclusive
Economic Zone (EEZ) in 2001 under provisions of the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation & Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens
Act). The fishery is for herring offshore New England and the Mid-
Atlantic. Comments may be submitted to NMFS, Office of Sustainable
Fisheries, International Fisheries Division, 1315 East-West Highway,
Silver Spring, MD 20910. For more information, call Robert A.
Dickinson, Office of Sustainable Fisheries at: (301) 713-2276.
3:11/17. MARINE MAMMAL ACT SEMINAR: On Wednesday,
21 March, the Friends of the Moss Landing Marine Laboratory will host
a seminar "The U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act - Management in
the Face of Uncertainty," featuring Dr. Karin Forney from NMFS's
Southwest Fisheries Science Center. The event will be held at the
California State University Moss Landing Marine Laboratory, 8272
Moss Landing Road in Moss Landing (on Monterey Bay), California
beginning at 1900 HRS. For more information, call: (831) 633-6565.
3:11/18. COAST GUARD, CDFG ANNOUNCE INFORMATION
WEBSITES: The United States Coast Guard Commercial Fishing
Vessel Safety Site has been finished and is now on-line at:
http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-m/cfvs/index.htm The California Department
of Fish & Game (CDFG) has announced its new website to provide
fishermen information on the implementation of the Marine Life
Management Act (MLMA); it is at:
http://www.dfg.ca.gov/mrd.mlma/index.html.
3:11/19. MALE TROUT NOT SUCH HOT LOVERS AFTER
ALL: On 15 March, FIS Hot News - United Kingdom reported that
female trout fake an orgasim, apparently to find a better mate.
According to Swedish research published in the British weekly New
Scientist, when courting pairs of brown trout prepare to spawn, both fish
quiver violently, with their mouths gaping. At that point, eggs and sperm
are usually released simultaneously to maximize the chances of
fertilization. Erik Petersson and Torbjoern Jaervi of the National Board
of Fisheries watched trout in an aquarium and found that females faked
spawning in 69 out of 117 couplings.
The more false orgasms a female had, the more males were present
when she finally released her eggs.The apparent reason for this is to give
the female a wider choice of prospective mates, thus providing an
insurance against male infertility. Most females eventually spawned
with the male they tricked, but sometimes they plumped in favor of
larger males with bigger fins and jaws, a sign of genetic superiority. To
see the article go to: http://www.fis.com/fis/hotnews/
3:11/20. PCFFA PRESENTED LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION
ON 25TH ANNIVERSARY: At the California Legislature's Annual
Fisheries Forum (see Sublegals, 3:08/01), the Pacific Coast Federation
of Fishermen's Associations (PCFFA) was presented a resolution, by
Assemblywoman Virginia Strom-Martin, on behalf of the Joint
Committee and other Legislators, honoring the organization on its 25th
anniversary. The text of the resolution read:
WHEREAS, the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's
Associations, or PCFFA, was founded 25 years ago at the fourth annual
Legislative Fisheries Forum to create a united voice for working fishing
men and women in California and along the west coast; and
WHEREAS, PCFFA has fulfilled that role by steadfastly and
courageously speaking out on behalf of fishery resources, their
environments, and the fishing families and communities they sustain,
and by maintaining offices in both California and the Pacific Northwest;
and
WHEREAS, PCFFA has been a leader nationally and internationally
in the effort to protect and restore fish habitat, recover fish populations
and implement responsible fishing practices; and
WHEREAS, PCFFA has been a leader in the drive to increase
funding for fishery programs at both the state and federal level to
support necessary scientific research, stock assessments, management,
enforcement, restoration and enhancement; and
WHEREAS, California's thriving salmon and herring fisheries are a
direct result of PCFFA's leadership and hard work over the course of
more than two decades, and it has been PCFFA's labors, in part or
wholly, that have been responsible for initiating programs for the
management of sustainable squid, Dungeness crab, nearshore rockfish
and other fisheries important to this state; and
WHEREAS, PCFFA has sought over the course of its history to
increase the value of fish harvested offshore California, was
instrumental in the formation of the California Salmon Council and
California Seafood Council, and has been a consummate proponent of
increased seafood safety, better labeling of fish and improving consumer
information to ensure the public's health and enjoyment of its fishery
resources; and
WHEREAS, PCFFA has played a pivotal role in the formation and
leadership of coalitions and organizations to further fish conservation
and protection of fishing communities, including the Institute for
Fisheries Resources (IFR) and the World Forum of Fish-Harvesters &
Fishworkers, and it has been an unabashed advocate for fishing
professionalization, sustainable fisheries and the protection of artesinal
and family fishing operations in furtherance of one of humankind's most
ancient of endeavors, fully living up to its motto as "Stewards of the
Fisheries;" now therefore be it
RESOLVED that they [signatory legislators] commend and honor the
Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations for its years of
good work on the occasion of the 29th Annual Legislative Fisheries
Forum.
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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