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~~>FISHLINK SUBLEGALS 11/3/00<~~
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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. 18 3 NOVEMBER 2000
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----- CELEBRATE WORLD FISHERIES DAY -----
TUESDAY, 21 NOVEMBER
2:18/01. AFS STUDY FINDS 82 NORTH AMERICAN FISH
SPECIES FACING EXTINCTION: At least 82 species of North
American fish face the threat of extinction, mostly due to overfishing,
pollution and habitat destruction, according to a study in the most recent
issue of the American Fisheries Society's (AFS) (AFS) scientific journal
Fisheries. The report lists as threatened several shark species, including
whale sharks and basking sharks as well as great white sharks. (In 1995,
the State of California became the first government in the world to protect
great whites) Several species of sturgeon were listed, as were rockfish, a
group generally thought of as common. Although some claim the study
demonstrates the need for an extensive system of marine protected areas,
the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations (PCCFA) warned
that over simplistic approach would not work, and called for a
comprehensive program at the national and regional levels aimed at better
research and stock assessments, fishing regulations that promote
sustainability, moving away from fishing gear that results in waste or
habitat damage, and habitat protection and restoration. For more
information see the 3 November issue of the San Francisco Chronicle at:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2000/1
1/03/MN91599.DTL An online version of Fisheries can be found at the
American Fisheries Society home page: http://www.fisheries.org.
2:18/02. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA INITIATES MARINE
RESEARCH INITIATIVE ASSESSING AND EXPANDING
STATEWIDE COASTAL OBSERVATIONS TO AID FISHERY
MANAGEMENT AND OCEAN PROTECTION: The University of
California's Marine Council has initiated an inter-institution research
initiative aimed at assessing current statewide coastal observations and
advancing the development of an expanded infrastructure of new platforms
complemented by shore based, shipboard, aircraft and remote sensing
capabilities. Representing an unprecedented collaboration of California's
marine research institutions the California Coastal Ocean Observation
System (CalCOOS) is intended to create long-term, high-quality physical,
biological and chemical data sets to aid in fishery management and ocean
protection efforts.
These data, it is felt, can provide a basis to assist the state with the
implementation of the California Marine Life Management Act (MLMA)
helping to create science-based resource management plans. Serving a
large number of coastal dependent constituencies CalCOOS will be
especially important to fisheries management. The development of a
system of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) is a current mandate for the
State. MPAs will require circulation models and description of the
variability (spatially and temporally) of the sources and abundance of fish
and invertebrate larvae. Without such measurements there is no scientific
basis to justify the creation or argue the validity of MPAs. In this way
CalCOOS underpins the management needs of the state, the federal
government and the fishing industry in a scientific and politically neutral
approach to the protection of fishery resources and sustainable fisheries.
CalCOOS has proposed to work with the fishing industry in a variety if
ways. In a pending proposal to the National Science Foundation CalCOOS
has described various ways researchers and fishermen can collaborate.
These include providing vessels of opportunity for routine and rapid
response observations where fishermen would be trained to deploy
instrumentation and become part of the scientific process.
As part of this process, fishermen would work closely with scientists,
graduate students and University of California extension personnel to
create assessments and participate in two-way exchange establishing the
basis and rationale for the science that will ultimately guide the creation of
MPAs, and fishery management measures. This exchange and participation
by the industry is crucial if MPAs stand any chance of success and utility.
MPAs will need to be planned, monitored and managed adaptively.
Fishermen will be central to ongoing experimental harvest tasks that will
test the efficacy of MPAs. For more information on CalCOOS go to the
University of California website established for the program at:
www.calcoos.org.
2:18/03. INTERNET DISCUSSION GROUP ESTABLISHED FOR
MPAs: The National Fisheries Conservation Center (NFCC) has begun
hosting an internet discussion group on Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).
And, on 14 November NFCC will sponsor a real-time online discussion,
moderated by California Congressman Sam Farr (D-17) on MPA issues.
The chat is tentatively scheduled to take place on Tuesday, the 14th, at
1400 HRS (EST); Farr has written a short essay on marine reserves that
can be viewed at NFCC's website at
http://www.nfcc-fisheries.org/mr_pov.html. The new National Science
Center for Marine Protected Areas was recently established in Farr's
district along Monterey Bay under President Clinton's Executive Order
13158 (see Sublegals, 2:16/21).
The chat will be open to discuss all marine reserve-related issues of
interest. Persons not able to participate may e-mail NFCC at
nfcc at nfcc-fisheries.org with any questions they want addressed. Those
planning to participate are invited to submit questions in advance also,
although they will also have the opportunity to address questions directly
to the Congressman. NFCC is a non-profit organization dedicated to
finding fisheries conservation and management approaches that work, both
for the oceans and the people who depend upon them. NFCC promotes
collaborative problem solving. For more information, contact Heather
Blough at: blough at speakeasy.net .
2:18/04. FIRST DUNGENESS CRAB QUALITY TEST
CONDUCTED; OVER 25 PERCENT RECOVERY: On 2 November,
the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission (PSMFC), announced the
results of the pre-season quality test conducted on Dungeness Crab. The
crab season begins, pending signing of market orders establishing ex-vessel
prices (price paid by processors to crab fishermen), on 15 November for
central California (Mendocino-Sonoma County line south) and on 1
December for northern California (Mendocino-Sonoma County border
north), Oregon and Washington. Typically, Dungeness crab from the
central California area go for markets to supply the U.S. Thanksgiving
holiday, and the more abundant catches from the north supply the demand
for the Christmas and New Year's holidays.
For the test, crab were harvested, pursuant to an agreement with the
Humboldt Fishermen's Marketing Association (HFMA) at the following
locations: Pelican Bay, Klamath River, Lagoons, Trinidad Head, LP
Eureka, and Eel River. Crab traps were soaked approximately 24 hours (31
October-1 November) and the crabs were held in water overnight and
processed on 2 November. The total weight of the 100 crabs processed
was 1,162 pounds; the cooked section weight was 646 pounds; the picked
weight was 340.3 pounds; the packed weight of crab processed was 293
pounds; and the recovery percentage was 25.2%. After the test, the crab are
donated by HFMA to a local senior center as part of the World Fisheries
Day donation of fish. For more information, contact HFMA at:
hlbtfish at tidepool.com .
2:18/05. MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR MARC REISNER SET FOR
12 NOVEMBER: A memorial service for the late author Marc Reisner
(Cadillac Desert, Game Wars, Overtapped Oasis), will be held on Sunday,
12 November, at The Presidio in San Francisco. Reisner, who died 21 July,
had been named a 2000 Pew Fellow and was an Institute for Fisheries
Resources (IFR) associate working on dam removals (see Sublegals,
2:03/01). For more information, contact the San Francisco office of the
Natural Resources Defense Council at (415) 777-0220, extension 323.
2:18/06. LOWER COLUMBIA COHO LISTING CONSIDERED
BY NMFS: On 3 November, the National Marine Fisheries Service
(NMFS) determined that a petition for listing of lower Columbia River
coho (silver) salmon "presents substantial scientific information indicating
that a listing may be warranted," particularly for Clackamas and Sandy
River coho as well as potentially other remnant wild runs in lower
Columbia River tributaries below Bonneville Dam. Previously NMFS
considered wild coho to be extinct in the Columbia. The federal fisheries
agency is soliciting additional information on these runs by 2 January 2001
from which to determine their status (65 Federal Register 66221 (3 Nov.
2000)); this notice is available at:
http://www.nwr.noaa.gov/1salmon/salmesa/fedreg/co03no00.pdf .
2:18/07. KLAMATH MOUNTAIN PROVINCE STEELHEAD
NON-LISTING THROWN OUT BY COURT: On 27 October,
California Northern Federal District Court Judge Susan Illston invalidated
a NMFS decision not to list the Klamath Mountain Province steelhead,
which range into both coastal northern California and southern Oregon,
under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). In a case brought by the
Federation of Fly Fishers and the California Sportfishing Protection
Alliance, as well as several conservation groups, the ruling essentially
invalidates NMFS efforts to use promised future state recovery efforts in
both California and Oregon, largely voluntary, as a reason not to protect
steelhead under the ESA currently. The Court noted that though some
additional restrictions were imposed on sport anglers, that habitat loss was
clearly the primary reason for steelhead declines and that state agencies in
both California and Oregon continue to inadequately protect steelhead
habitat from destruction. The court also ruled that heavily relying on
promised future recovery actions, largely voluntary, was arbitrary and
capricious. This ruling is similar to ONRC v. NMFS (6 F. Supp 2d at 1139
(D. Or. 1998)) in which a similar effort to avoid a listing for Oregon coho
salmon was also overturned in court. NMFS now has 60 days in which to
reconsider a listing or appeal. For more information contact Earthjustice
Legal Defense Fund (415)627-6725. A map of Klamath Mountain
Province steelhead range can be viewed at:
http://www.nwr.noaa.gov/1salmon/salmesa/maps/stlhkmp.pdf.
2:18/08. KLAMATH FISH KILL NUMBERS NOW TEN TIMES
GREATER THAN ORIGINAL ESTIMATES: The Humboldt Times-
Standard , in an article by John Driscoll, reported 1 November, that,
according to the California Department of Fish & Game (CDFG), estimates
are that several hundred thousand young salmon and steelhed died during
a fish kill in June, at least ten times more than originally thought. CDFG
says that two fish diseases related to warm water were responsible for the
fishes' death. Hatchery and wild steelhead and chinook salmon were
found dead by the thousands, the report states, and ESA-listed coho salmon
were probably killed, too. The deaths were reported along the 60 miles of
the Klamath River flowing through northern California between Coon
Creek and Pecwan Creek.
At the time of the mid-June fish kill, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
(BOR) began reducing the amount of water it releases from Iron Gate Dam,
one of several that make up the Klamath River Project. The federal
reclamation project provides water to irrigate about 240,000 upstream acres
of barley, alfalfa, potatoes and wheat. This year BOR chose to supply 100
percent of irrigators' water needs--running opposite to CDFG and U.S.
Department of the Interior recommendations. The fish kill came shortly
after environmental and fishing groups, including PCFFA and the
Northcoast Environmental Center sued BOR for not consulting with federal
fisheries experts before framing its plan for sending water down the lower
river. The court denied plaintiff's request on the charges first filed and the
complaint has since been amended to include federal Endangered
Species Act (ESA) violations; the case is scheduled for February.
Plaintiffs are represented by Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) will consider the
relicensing of the six dams in the Klamath Project beginning in December.
All six are under one permit, and a coalition of fishing and conservation
groups will ask FERC during the relicensing hearing to consider tearing
down the dams.
2:18/09. TRINITY FLOW DECISION EXPECTED IN NEXT FEW
WEEKS; FUNDING FOR RELOCATING FOUR BRIDGES FALLS
THROUGH: U.S.Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt is expected to make his
decision within the next few weeks on how much water to return to the
Trinity River in northern California, a tributary of the Klamath. The Trinity
historically was the major salmon producing river in the Klamath system,
however, since the Trinity Unit of the federal Central Valley Project (CVP)
was completed in 1963, up to 90 percent of the Trinity River's water has
been diverted to the Central Valley for agriculture, principally to the
western San Joaquin Valley. As a result of decreased flows, fish
populations declined by more than 90 percent by the early 1970s. In 1980,
then-Secretary of Interior Cecil Andrus restored a portion of the Trinity
water, ordering 346,000 acre-feet (up from 119,000 acre-feet) to be
released in the Trinity where historic flows averaged between 1-1.2 million
acre-feet of water annually.
The Final Trinity River Mainstem Fishery Restoration Environmental
Impact Statement/Report has been released to the public, and the Preferred
Alternative still would allow most of the Trinity's water to be diverted.It
would rely on expensive "mechanical restoration" techniques to make
upfor the rest. Since funding for Trinity Restoration is being cut, continual
funding to carry put these techniques is unreliable.
A "notice of availability" for the Final Environmental Impact Report
(FEIR) was printed in the Federal
Register on 20 October, but on the 25th , it was rescinded, leading to
speculation that the FEIR's release would be put off until after the
presidential election, possibly in an effort to keep the Secretary's decision
intact. The law that authorized Trinity Dam specifically mandated that
construction of the dam must not harm fish and wildlife, and the Interior
Secretary was directed to carry out that mandate. One of the hang-ups has
been the funding to relocate four bridges over the Trinity that will have to
be moved to accommodate either the "Preferred Alternative" (restoring 48
percent of the river's flow) or the "Maximum Flow Alternative" - the
science based option being favored by Friends of the Trinity River (FOTR)
and PCFFA to restore flows to seventy percent. For more information,
contact FOTR at: http://www.fotr.org .
2:18/10. GENE BANKING ONLY WAY TO SAVE WILD
ATLANTIC SALMON?: The Bangor Daily News reported on 25
October, a Canadian scientist believes that "gene banking" may be the only
way to save wild Atlantic salmon from a "full-scale disaster" caused by acid
rain on Nova Scotia's eastern shore. "More than half" of the province's 65
rivers are too acidic for salmon and only 13 can support naturally
reproducing salmon which have been reduced to "refuge populations."
2:18/11. NMFS CLOSES PACIFIC MACKEREL FISHERY: On 1
November, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) published in the
Federal Register (Volume 65, Number 212, p.65272) announcing the
closure of the directed fishery for Pacific mackerel in the exclusive
economic zone (EEZ) off the Pacific coast on 27 October. The Coastal
Pelagic Species Fishery Management Plan (FMP) and its implementing
regulations require NMFS to set an annual harvest guideline for Pacific
mackerel based on a formula in the FMP and to close the fishery when the
harvest guideline is reached. The harvest guideline of 20,740 metric tons
is projected to be reached before the end of the fishing season on 30 June,
which requires closing the directed fishery and setting an incidental harvest
limit for Pacific mackerel so that the harvest of other coastal pelagic
species will not be further restricted. For more information, contact the
NMFS Southwest Region by calling: (562) 980-4036.
2:18/12. PFMC ADOPTS REBUILDING PLANS AND CATCH
LIMITS FOR PACIFIC GROUNDFISH SPECIES: At its 31 October-3
November meeting in Vancouver, Washington, the Pacific Fishery
Management Council (see Sublegals 2:14/10) adopted rebuilding plans for
cowcod and canary rockfish. The cowcod fishery impact rate was set at
one percent annually (for 95 years). The canary catch was set at 93 metric
tons (mts) annually for 57 years. The cowcod plan is for the area south of
Point Conception, while the canary catch plan applies to all PFMC fisheries
and sets aside five mts for research. Both plans will require major
restructuring of West Coast fisheries so not to exceed the species impact
limits. Canary catches reached nearly 5,000 mt in the early 1980's and
were about 1,100 mt as recently as 1998.
Catch limits were adopted for 22 species or species groups of
groundfish. All limits were the same or lower than this year except for
lingcod and Pacific Ocean perch, which were increased. The catch limits
for overfished or depressed rockfish (canary, bocaccio, cowcod and
darkblotched) will guide the amount of fishing activity and catch that can
be allowed on the continental shelf. The trip limits for groundfish vessels
will be further constrained next year north of Cape Mendocino because of
canary and darkblotched rockfish concerns. Fishing in this area will be
concentrated during early season months (January-April) with relatively
low allowable catches of flatfishes during summer months (when canary
are most available). Fishing off California south of Cape Mendocino will
be close to status quo except for regulations adopted to reduce canary,
bocaccio, and cowcod impacts. The CA regulations to protect these
species, which would be in effect 1 January 2001, follow:
Recreational
* The southern management line is moved from Lopez Point
to Point Conception; the northern management line remains at Cape
Mendocino.
* Bag limits are: bocaccio two (down from three), canary one
(down from three), lingcod two (unchanged), rockfish 10 (unchanged), and
cowcod zero (down from one / no more than two per vessel).
* Minimum sizes: lingcod 26", bocaccio 10", cabezon 15"
(increased from 14"), scorpionfish 10", and greenlings 12".
* Filet lengths are unchanged, except a new length will be
computed for cabezon; skin must be retained on filets for cabezon, lingcod,
and rockfish.
* When fishing for rockfish or lingcod, anglers may use no
more than two hooks (down from three).
* Seasons for rockfish including scorpionfish and lingcod are:
Southern: Closed January-February (and November-December if
necessary to stay within bocaccio and cowcod limits), except open for
nearshore minor rockfish inside 20 fathoms around islands and along
mainland coast. Cowcod closure (8-sided polygon of about 4,200 square
nms) in effect all year. The area is closed to all federal groundfish, except
open for nearshore minor rockfish, cabezon, and greenlings inside 20 fms.
Central: Closed March-June, except open to nearshore minor rockfish
inside 20 fms during May- June.
Northern: Same as OR (open year-round).
Commercial (non-trawl)
* Same management lines as recreational.
* Minimum size limits are the same as recreational, except
lingcod north of Cape Mendocino is the same as OR (24").
* Seasons for shelf and nearshore rockfish and scorpionfish
and lingcod are the same as recreational; slope rockfish is always open.
* Cowcod closure provisions are the same as recreational. A
one-mile transport corridor for restricted federal groundfish is provided
at 33 degrees north latitude; vessels must be under way.
Sublegals wishes to thank Mike Weber for preparing the above
summary. For more information on the PFMC meeting, visit the Council's
website at: http://www.pcouncil.org.
2:18/13. OUTREACH PROGRAM TO PROVIDE
COUNSELORS FOR GROUNDFISH TRAWLERS, FAMILIES:
Oregon Sea Grant has organized and funded a Groundfish Disaster
Outreach Program (GDOP) to hire six peer counselor members of the
commercial fishing industry to help advise groundfish fishermen about
their options though what are going to be increasingly hard times in that
portion of the industry. Severe cutbacks in groundfish quotas recently
imposed by the Pacific Fisheries Management Council to prevent complete
stock collapses, plus fleet restructuring targeted to eliminate at least 50
percent of catch capacity have lead to economic disaster for much of the
groundfish fleet, with the majority of dislocation in Oregon. The GDOP
counseling program is an effort to help cushion the shock of recent
fisheries closures and guide affected families toward assistance and
retraining programs. For more information contact Ginny Goblirsch,
Marine Extension Agent, (541)265-3463 or contact her by email at:
ginny.goblirsch at orst.edu .
2:18/14. NEW WEB SITE FOR WEST COAST FISHING
FAMILIES: Oregon Sea Grant and the Women's Coalition for Pacific
Fisheries have sponsored a new web site called "Heads Up" to help get
information and news of interest out to the west coast fishing communities.
Their new web site is at: http://www.heads-up.net
2:18/15. COUNT MICROBES AMONG INVASIVE SPECIES IN
CARGO SHIPS BALLAST WATER: In a study published in the
scientific journal, Nature, foreign ballast water discharged from ships
docked in U.S. waters carries "potentially dangerous microoganisms. The
study by Chesapeake Bay scientists found an average of 31 billion
suspected viruses and 3.5 billion bacteria in samples for 15 ships from
Europe and the Mediterranean. The scientists warned, however, against
jumping to conclusions about the threat the microbes pose to human health.
Good drinking water treatment systems and colder water temperatures in
some areas reduce the risk, they say. Gregory M. Ruiz, a leader of the
study: "I don't want to say that ships are going to fuel epidemics." Invasive
species such as zebra mussels and green crabs have long been documented
in ballast water, which is taken in or dumped as needed to balance a ship's
load. But the new study is the first to examine ballast-transported microbes.
2:18/16. EPA CRACKS DOWN ON OREGON LIVESTOCK
POLLUTION: Oregon livestock operations are exempt from complying
with Oregon state water quality rules. But as a result of recent fish
listings
under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) and widespread feedlot
problems, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has begun
been cracking down on Oregon livestock operations, that allow manure to
foul streams and rivers, as part of a national effort at cleaning up these
operations. EPA has imposed over $60,000 in fines against two ranches
and feedlots in eastern Oregon and ordered another operation to clean up.
Ranchers and state officials have been critical of the crack down intended
to clean-up feedlots. Farming and ranching associations have also
challenged EPA's Clean Water Act non-point source enforcement authority
in court as well as pressed for federal exemptions (See Sublegals 2:13/13)
See: http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/news/
oregonian/00/11/lc_41crack01.frame.
2:18/17. EPA SEEKS TO DEVELOP EFFLUENT RULES FOR
AQUACULTURE WASTE WATERS: Fish farming or aquaculture is
a major source of pollution to waterways in those areas where such
operations exist. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is now
seeking to establish guidelines for effluent discharges from fish farm
operations. On 14 September EPA published a Federal Register notice
requesting public comment on their draft Information Collection Request
(ICR) and proposed survey process to gather technical and economic
information needed to develop effluent guidelines. The ICR is posted in
PDF format on EPA's web site for electronic access in addition to the
option to request a hard copy version from EPA. The deadline for public
comments to EPA on the draft ICR and survey process is on or before 13
November. Comments should be directed as instructed in the Federal
Register notice to the following: Comments may be mailed to Ms. Marta
Jordan, U.S. EPA (4303) 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC
20460. Comments may also be submitted electronically to
jordan.marta at epa.gov. The following four items can now
be found at EPA's web site: http://www.epa.gov/ost/guide/aquaculture/:1)
Aquatic Animal Production Industry; 2) Information Collection Request for
the Aquatic Animal Production Industry; 3) Information Collection Survey
(PDF, 96K); and 4)Economic Analysis Options . For more information go
to: http://www.epa.gov/ost/guide/aquaculture/letter.html or visit the Sea
Web Aquaculture Clearinghouse website at:
www.aquacultureclearinghouse.org .
2:18/18. NMFS ANNOUNCES MORE WORKSHOPS ON
DEVELOPING CODE OF CONDUCT FOR RESPONSIBLE
AQUACULTURE: The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) will
hold three additional regional workshops in November to take testimony
on a proposal to develop a voluntary code of conduct for responsible
aquaculture. The code, according to the federal fishery agency, is to
provide guidance to companies considering aquaculture production in U.S.
offshore waters, outside of state boundaries. NMFS says it will also use
the code as a format for ensuring consistent review of aquaculture projects
throughout the agency. Use of the code will be voluntary. In September
similar workshops were held in Texas, Washington, and Massachusetts
(see Sublegals, 2:12/13) The new workshops will be held on the following
dates:
* 14 November - Honolulu, 1000 - 1500 HRS., University of
Hawaii, Hawaii Imin International Conference Center, Jefferson Hall,
Pacific Room, East West Center Rd., Honolulu, Hawaii, 96822.
* 16 November - Miami, 1000 - 1500 HRS, Rosenstiel School
Auditorium, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, FL 33149.
* 20 November - Silver Spring, 0900 - 1230 HRS, NOAA
Auditorium, 1301 East West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910.
For more information on the NMFS workshops, contact: Edwin Rhodes
at: edwin.rhodes at noaa.gov or go to: www.earthisland.org/map/map.html
.
2:18/19. PCFFA ENDORSES SISKIYOU WILD RIVERS
NATIONAL MONUMENT: At its 2-3 November meeting in Monterey,
the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations Board of
Directors voted to endorse the creation of a Siskiyou Wild Rivers National
Monument in southwestern Oregon. The proposed monument on existing
federal lands would give protection to critical coho streams including the
lower Rogue, the Illinois, the Chetco, the Winchuck, the Elk, the South
Fork Coquille, the Sixes and the Pistol Rivers. For more information, go to:
www.siskiyourivers.org .
2:18/20. FEDS ANNOUNCE UNIFIED WATERSHED POLICY:
U.S. federal land management and other agencies have adopted a final
unified policy to protect water quality and aquatic ecosystems on federal
lands. The "Watershed Approach to Federal Land and Resource
Management" is intended to be the framework for land and resource
management for watersheds on federal lands. The policy does not apply
to other lands. Participating agencies in the new policy are the
Departments of Agriculture, Interior, Commerce, Defense and Energy, the
Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers. The
policy was published in the 18 October Federal Register and can be found
on-line at: http://www.cleanwater.gov/ufp.
2:18/21. NMFS ADOPTS RULES PROHIBITING DIRECTED
LONGLINE FISHERY FOR SWORDFISH IN WESTERN PACIFIC:
Today, 3 November, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)
published in the Federal Register (Volume 65, Number 214, pp.66186-
66188) changes to its emergency rule published on 25 August regulating
the Hawaii-based pelagic longline fishery. The changes, which are only
applicable to the Hawaii-based pelagic longline fishery when fishing in
Area C, as designated under that rule,expressly prohibit directing longline
fishing effort toward the harvest of swordfish. The changes require vessels
to set their main longline so that the deepest point between any two floats
is greater than 100 m (328.1 ft),prohibit the possession of lightsticks on
board vessels, require permit holders or operators to donate to charity at
least 30 percent of their gross revenues from the sale of incidentally caught
swordfish, and require each longline vessel operator to have aboard the
vessel an observer waiver form issued by NMFS if the vessel fishes
without an observer. The intent of this action is to ensure that swordfish
are not targeted by the Hawaii longline fishery in Area C and to reduce
adverse impacts on sea turtles while NMFS prepares a comprehensive
environmental impact statement (EIS) that analyzes the environmental
effects of fishing activities conducted under the Fishery Management Plan
for the Pelagic Fisheries of the Western Pacific Region (FMP). The
emergency interim rule is effective from 3 November 2000, through 21
February 2001, except for the suspension of Sec. 660.22 (hh)and Sec.
660.33 (d)(4), and for the addition of Sec. 660.22 (kk) and Sec. 660.33
(d)(7), which are effective 4 December 2000 through 21 February 2001.
Comments must be received no later than 1700 HRS., local time on18
December, and must be mailed to Dr. Charles Karnella, Administrator,
NMFS, Pacific Islands Area Office (PIAO), 1601 Kapiolani Blvd., Suite
1110, Honolulu, HI 96814-4700; or faxed to (808) 973-2941. Comments
will not be accepted if submitted via e-mail or the Internet. To view the
proposed rule go to the Federal Register Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov].
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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