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~~>FISHLINK SUBLEGALS 10/20/00 (Part 1 of 2)<~~
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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. 16 20 October 2000
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2:16/01. U.S. SENATE PASSES PACKAGE OF MARINE BILLS:
On Friday, 13 October, the Senate passed HR 3417, the Philbilof Islands
Transition Act, with an amendment which contains several
marine-related bills including those to:
* Reauthorize the Coastal Zone Management Act for five years;
(S. 1534) extends the CZMA, and the National Estuarine Research
Reserve System (NERRS) through fiscal year 2004. These programs help
coastal communities meet the demands of increased growth,
development, and pollution. The measure also establishes the Coastal
Community Grant Program to increase support for community-based,
environmentally protective solutions to the problems of sprawl. The
program will also help states reduce the impact of nonpoint source
pollution. In each year, $10 million or 35 percent, whichever is less, will
be directed to state-developed polluted runoff reduction. The legislation
was introduced by Senators Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and John McCain
(R-AZ) in 1999. The CZMA, enacted in 1972, provides incentives to
states to develop comprehensive programs to balance the many
competing uses of coastal resources;
*Discourage shark finning; the House passed a similar measure
that would halt the practice altogether in U.S. waters (HR 3535, H. Rpt.
106-650) and the Senate version combines that language with provisions
encouraging the federal government to begin collecting data on which
other nations engage in shark finning, and to negotiate to reduce the
practice internationally;
* Reauthorize the 1984 Atlantic Striped Bass Conservation Act;
*Renew the Fisherman's Protection Act Amendments (HR
1651, HR 1652)) extending the 1967 Act to 2003 during which
reimbursement may be provided to owners of U.S. fishing vessels for
costs incurred when such a vessel is seized or detained by a foreign
country. The measure includes language to allow continued operations
of a U.S. panel to advise on conservation of salmon stocks in the Yukon
River and to ban spotter planes in Atlantic bluefin tuna fishing in New
England;
*Reauthorize the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative
Management Act, which governs management plans for such species as
American lobster, bluefish, shad, herring, summer flounder and
horseshoe crabs. (HR 4840, H. Rpt. 106-804);
*Establish the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 (S. 725 and
S.3133). This measure authorizes $16 million a year for fiscal years 2001
through 2004. Half of the authorized money would be a local grant
program and the other half is a national program conducted by the
National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This is a
compromise bill between bills introduced by Senators Snowe and
McCain and by Senators Daniel Inouye (D-HI), Daniel Akaka (D-HI),
Fritz Hollings (D-SC), John Kerry (D-MA) and John Breaux (D-LA) for
a program of grants to promote protection and conservation of corals;
* Provide federal aid for efforts to save marine mammals
stranded on American shores.
*Authorize $60 million a year in fiscal years 2002 through 2004
for new NOAA fishery vessels
.
Minor differences must be worked out between the Senate and House
versions and receive final approvals within the next few days. Congress
is still working on a federal budget, due 1 October but times have been
extended by several Continuing Resolutions. Congress is now projected
to adjourn by 25 October.
2:16/02. SALMON IRRIGATION SCREENS BILL GOES TO
WHITE HOUSE: On 17 October the U.S. House of Representatives
passed HR 1444, the Irrigation Mitigation & Restoration Partnership Act.
H. Rpt. 106-454, S. Rpt. 106-239 introduced by Oregon Congressmen
Peter DeFazio and Greg Walden. This bill would direct the Interior
Department to develop and implement projects for fish screens, fish
passage devices and other similar measures designed to keep juvenile
salmon, steelhead, bull trout and other fish from straying into irrigation
canals and water diversions in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana,
where they are likely to be killed by stranding. The bill would authorize
$25 million annually through fiscal 2005 for such projects, with cost
sharing by the irrigation districts. The bill is a merging of the original
H.R. 1444 with S. 294 and S. 1723 originally authored by Oregon
Senator Ron Wyden.
2:16/03. CORRECTION ON SAELTZER DAM REPORT, DAM
REMOVAL WORKSHOP SCHEDULED: In last week's issue
(Sublegals, 2:15/04), it was reported that Saeltzer Dam was removed
from Deer Creek; it should have read Clear Creek, which is a tributary
of the Sacramento River. Mitch Farro, chairman of the California
Advisory Council on Salmon & Steelhead Trout, has also gone on to
point out that, "the removal of the dam and increased flow releases from
Whiskeytown Reservoir will restore conditions suitable for Spring-Run
chinook and steelhead. Spring-Run appear to have been extirpated in
Clear Creek in the last century of the dam's existence. The few salmon
seen in Clear Creek with a 'Spring-Run migration timing' are most likely
strays for other systems. Local interests especially the Clear Creek
Fisheries Committee of the Clear Creek CRMP, are advocating for a
planned re-introduction of Spring-Run chinook and steelhead to the
watershed in order to utilize the habitat opened up by the removal of
Saeltzer Dam. Fall-run chinook number have increased by 400% in
Clear Creek in the last decade. Fall-Run chinook were spawning
immediately below the dam removal project yesterday afternoon [17 Oct
00] when the Spring-Run Work-Group as at the site."
Farro, also chairman of the Spring-Run Work-Group, continued
stating, "The four dams that have been removed are on Butte Creek
[another tributary of the Sacramento River]. Nearly all of the estimated
4,000 Spring-Run in Butte Creek this year were in the very upper
reaches. Several salmon were reported just below the Centreville Head
Dam, above the natural 'Quartz Bowl' barrier. Battle Creek is in the
planning and permitting stage for removal of hydro dams and their
diversions. The restoration of flows to the channel and elimination of
barriers is expected to greatly benefit Spring-Run and Winter-Run
chinook, as well as steelhead." Note: Sacramento River Spring-Run and
Winter-Run chinook salmon and steelhead are all listed as either
threatened or endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA).
On the heels of these dam removals in California, the University of
Wisconsin has announced it will host a workshop 11-13 December,
"Succeeding With a Dam Decommissioning Project," to be held at their
Madison campus. A similar workshop was held last December in San
Francisco by the University of Wisconsin, that was co-sponsored by
PCFFA. One of the principal presenters at this December's workshop
will be IFR Associate, Dr. Guy Phillips, an international expert on dams
and hydropower systems. For more information on the workshop go to:
http://epd.engr.wisc.edu/brochures.A438.html .
2:16/04. MAINE STARTS SALMON RESTORATION EFFORT:
Maine officials are releasing more than 1,000 fish into four rivers this
week as part of the first Atlantic salmon stocking program in the country.
The program is also part of the state's "intense campaign" to persuade the
federal government not to list the salmon from eight eastern Maine rivers
as endangered. But federal officials view the releases skeptically because
the salmon were raised on fish farms.
Maine's Governor, Angus King, is "scornful" of an endangered
species listing. He says there are plenty of Atlantic salmon in Canada and
in huge pens along the coast. "The truth is, wild Maine salmon has been
extinct for 100 years," claims King. "We have stocked these rivers with
fish from all over. We have lots of salmon, but just not in these rivers."
But federal wildlife officials said a listing is an "important piece" in
protecting the few salmon remaining. Dan Kimball, salmon specialist for
the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, says a listing would help keep the
salmon stable while ocean conditions and other factors improve.
The fish were raised in 50-by-50 pens off the coast and brought to the
state two weeks ago. Yesterday, some of the fish were released into
Dennys River. Some fish were fitted with devices that allow biologists
to monitor their progress. For more information, see the 18 October
Boston Globe article by Beth Daley at:
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/292/metro/
Maine_takes_its_turn_in_salmon_saving_dispute.html.
2:16/05. BRITISH FISHERY TRADE PUBLICATION CALLS
PROTECTING THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT CRUCIAL: An
editorial appearing in the 22 September issue of the U.K. fishing industry
trade newspaper, Fishing News, calls for an alliance among fishermen
and environmental groups to help protect and rebuild marine habitats.
In the opinion piece FN says "[t]he two groups, the fishing industry and
the environmentalists, must work together to try to provide healthier and
cleaner seas, which are in everyone's interests. The situation facing
white fish stocks in particular is now so serious that the fishing industry
needs to find all the allies it can in its fight for more effective
management of fisheries and an end to pollution of the seas, from
whatever source. The two interests have to work together for the long
term benefit of healthy stocks and thus, ultimately, a healthy and
prosperous fishing industry." To view the complete text of the editorial,
go to the FN website at: www.fishingnews.co.uk .
2:16/06. FEDS SEEK $47 MILLION IN SANTA MONICA BAY
CASE: A long-awaited DDT contamination case went to trial this past
week, with U.S. Government lawyers seeking over $47 million in
compensation from Montrose Corporation and related companies for the
cost of repairing the damage caused by DDT discharges into California's
Santa Monica Bay. The case will be heard before U.S. District Court
Judge Manuel Real, who ruled earlier this month that the 200-foot-deep
pesticide deposit has harmed bald eagles and peregrine falcons on the
Channel Islands. Between 1947 and 1971, Montrose's DDT
manufacturing plant dumped "hundred of pounds" of the pesticide into
the sewer system, which emptied into the bay. The company admits
dumping the pesticide, but says the deposit has not significantly harmed
marine life and that other sources of DDT pollution, such as military
maneuvers and agricultural runoff, are more to blame. It also says the
government has exaggerated the effect of DDT on birds in the area. The
Montrose DDT pile was declared a Superfund site in 1996, and the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is experimenting with a
cover-up containment method for the DDT.
2:16/07. DIALOGUE ON FISHERIES, INTERNATIONAL
TRADE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: The International
Center for Trade & Sustainable Development (ICTSD) announced that
it will be holding a dialogue on Fisheries, International Trade, and
Sustainable Development, "Ensuring Trade
Rules in the Fisheries Sector are Supportive of Sustainable
Development," in Geneva on 23 October 2000 The purpose of this
dialogue is to set out and discuss key issues at the intersection of
fisheries, international trade and sustainable development that arise in the
context of discussions on fisheries at the World Trade Organizaton
(WTO). The discussion will focus on two main issue areas: 1) market
access for developing country fisheries products, and 2) subsidies in the
fisheries sector. The participants in the dialogue will include
representatives of the United Nation's Food & Agricultural Organization
(FAO), of the Commonwealth Secretariat, of the World Trade
Organization, of the Coalition for Fair Fisheries Agreements, and other
fisheries and trade experts. For more information, go to: www.ictsd.org
.
2:16/08. REPORT ON CHESAPEAKE BAY OYSTER
SEEDING, GUIDE FOR SAN FRANCISCO BAY?: In the September
issue of Waterman's Gazette, was the first of a three-part series on oyster
seeding in the Chesapeake Bay (the second-part appeared in the
publication's October issue), prepared by Mary Madison, that begins
with efforts in the 19th century. The series will be of interest to Pacific
Coast fishing groups, particularly those interested the in herring, oyster
and crab (supplementing herring, restoring the oyster fishery and
rehabilitating Dungeness crab nursery habitat) resources of San Francisco
Bay, the most important estuary on the west coast of North and South
America. For more information, visit the Maryland Watermen's
Association, publishers of the Waterman's Gazette, website at:
www.marylandwatermen.com
2:16/09. NEW PUBLICATION ON PROTECTING WETLANDS:
Protecting Local Wetlands: A Toolbox for Your Community, is the title
of a new publication released this month by Save San Francisco Bay
Association. According to Save SF Bay, the publication "is designed to
help government officials, public agency and nonprofit staff, community
activists, and landowners protect and restore their local wetlands. The
handbook provides a thorough discussion of federal and state wetland
regulations and practical suggestions for improving local wetland
protection." This publication should also be of interest to fishing groups
since an estimated 80-85 percent of all commercially valuable fish are
wetland-dependent during some stage of their life cycle. For more
information on the 142-page publication, go to: www.savesfbay.org.
2:16/10. PFMC NEWSLETTER ON-LINE: The Pacific Fishery
Management Council is now making its newsletter available on-line at
its website: www.pcouncil.org . Persons wishing to e-mail notification
of upcoming newsletters should contact the PFMC's Kerry Aden at:
kerry.aden at noaa.gov .
2:16/11.FRANKENFISH FOR DINNER? In Fortune, Prince
Edwards Island, the first animals genetically engineered for American
dinner plates are being raised, salmon spliced with genes that make them
grow two to four times faster than nature's best (see Sublegals, 19 May
00). The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) is reviewing an
application to sell the fish, a decision that will likely influence the fate
of scores of other biotech animals being brought to life in dozens of
similar labs around the world for humans to eat. Opponents of genetic
engineering are already questioning whether soybeans and corn endowed
with new genes are safe for people and the environment, and the prospect
of a genetically engineered animal has sparked intense controversy.
Opponents call the salmon "Frankenfish" and question the ethics of
implanting genes from one animal species into another. The salmon is
economically unnecessary, they argue, and could wreak havoc with the
environment by out-competing wild salmon, some of which are listed as
endangered.
To create the salmon, scientists spliced into their eggs a growth gene
from the Arcticpout, a fish that thrives in very cold water. That gene
allows the salmon to act like a colder water fish, which means its growth
promoter genes remain more active than a normal salmon. That could be
a boon to fish farmers because their salmon would be ready for market
earlier, and would grow on less food. But even usually sober scientists
worry that not enough is known about such fish to risk the damage that
their release into the wild could cause. And some researchers argue that
conventional crossbreeding of fish can achieve many of the same results
as genetic engineering, with fewer risks.
The most prominent reason for concern is the "Trojan gene"
hypothesis of Purdue University's William Muir. Using a different kind
of genetically engineered fish, Muir found that larger, faster-growing
biotech fish are more likely to succeed in mating than conventional fish.
But the offspring of those biotech fish are genetically less well adapted
to survive. Consequently, Muir believes, biotech fish could quickly
decimate a fish population by their increased ability to produce damaged
young. Elliot Entis, president of A/F Protein, says that his company's
studies have not found that its salmon end up being larger than wild
salmon at sexual maturity, meaning they would not have a mating
advantage. He also calls the Trojan gene hypothesis beside the point: Fish
breeding technology can render the biotech fish almost 100 percent
female and infertile, he said, and that means they simply can't reproduce.
For more information see the SeaWeb Aquaculture Clearinghouse
www.aquacultureclearinghouse.org
2:16/12. ARGENTINA TO EMPHASIZE SALMON
PRODUCTION EFFORT INCLUDES PESCANOVA'S $15
MILLION INVESTMENT: In a move similar to neighboring Chile's
focus on its salmon industry to generate foreign income, Argentina's
Secretariat of Agriculture & Fisheries recently announced the
implementation of an aquaculture expansion program focusing on Pacific
pink salmon. One goal of the project is to produce 20,000 tons of
Atlantic salmon a year. This represents a major leap from salmon
production levels of less than 2,000 tons per year in recent years. The
freshwater component of the project will be located at Lake Buenos
Airesand the saltwater component at Puerto Deseado and San Julian. The
Argentinean project is expected to bring salmon exports up to a value of
US$200 million per annum by 2005. It represents Argentina's first major
step toward making salmon a leading export commodity -- as is the case
in Chile, where salmon exports amounted to US$662.9 million during
the first half of this year. The two leading markets for Southen Cone
(Argentina/Chile) salmon are Japan and the United States. Their
respective shares of total export sales are 32 and 58 percent. For more
information see WorldCatch News Network at: www.worldcatch.com .
2:16/13. ICHTHYOLOGISTS ADOPT RESOLUTION AGAINST
FARM SALMON: The American Society of Ichthyologists &
Herpetologists has petitoned the U.S. Food & Drug Administration
(FDA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the U.S.
Departments of Agriculture, Commerce and Interior, the Canadian
Department of Fisheries & Oceans (DFO) and state and provincial
fishery agencies to establish a system of oversight and responsibility to
regulate the development of transgenic fishes. The action follows on a
resolution that was passed in June by the organization at its annual
meeting that was held in La Paz, Mexico. The petition was sent to 24
U.S. and Canadian agencies urging a moratorium on creation and
marketing of transgenic salmonids until it is firmly established that such
fish will not gain access to natural waters, by accident or intent. In its
resolution, the scientific society stated "we recognize clearly problems
of world hunger and the need to work toward solutions to food shortages,
but evidence indicates that transgenic salmonids are neither an effective
nor ecologically safe solution to these problems. Therefore, we also
suggest that adequate research funds be directed toward sustainability of
aquatic ecosystems as an investment toward a solution to these
problems."
2:16/14. NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SCIENCE, POLICY
AND THE ENVIRONMENT SLATED FOR DECEMBER IN
WASHINGTON, DC: "Science for the Environment" is the title of the
inaugural National Conference on Science, Policy and the Environment,
sponsored by the National Council on Science & the Environment
(NCSE), scheduled for 7-8 December in the U.S. Capitol. The purpose
of the gathering is to develop a "blueprint for action" on science and the
environment for the next Administration and Congress. Among the
keynote speakers will be the Rocky Mountain Institute's Dr. Amory
Lovins (co-author of Natural Capitalism). The conference should be of
interest to fishing groups concerned with initiating new fishery research
programs and protection of essential fish habitats. For more information
on the conference, go to:
http://www.crie.org/ncseconference/agenda.htm.
2:16/15. RALLY AGAINST INDIA'S SARDAR SAROVAR
DAM: On Monday, 23 October, a rally will be held in front of the Indian
Consulate in San Francisco protesting the Delhi Supreme Court decision
on Wednesday, 18 October, to allow construction to resume on the
Sardar Sarovar Project on the Narmada River. Writer Arundhati Roy has
called the 2-1 court decision "absolutely disgraceful" and "a very sad
moment in the history of democracy". Construction is expected to resume
within two weeks. Most work on the project had been suspended since
1994. The continuation of this dam project comes as many U.S. dams
are not slated for removal, as fishermen and environmentalists have
joined forces to protect and restore natural riverine habitats for fish,
wildlife and traditional communities.
The Sardar Sarovar Project is one of the world's most controversial
dam projects and would forcibly displace more people than any other
infrastructure project in the world except for China's notorious Three
Gorges Dam. The Narmada Bachao Andolan (Save the Narmada
Movement) filed their case against Sardar Sarovar in 1994. The NBA
presented the court with evidence showing that the project will not work
as planned, that alternatives are available, that the necessary
environmental studies have not been done, and that proper rehabilitation
of the hundreds of thousands of people who would lose their livelihoods
to the project is impossible. The NBA have for more than a decade led
a mass campaign of non-violent resistance to the dam.
The court on Wednesday gave project authorities four weeks to draw
up a plan for the resettlement and rehabilitation of the 200,000 people to
be displaced by the Sardar Sarovar Reservoir. A resettlement plan for
Sardar Sarovar was supposed to have been completed in 1981. "If the
authorities can't produce a credible plan in nearly two decades, how can
they write one in a month?", asked an official from the International
Rivers Network. Several hundred thousand other people will lose - or
have already lost - their livelihoods to irrigation canals, housing for
construction workers, the desiccation of the river downstream of the
dam, and a wildlife reserve planned to compensate for the ecosystems to
be flooded.
For more information on the rally set for Monday, the 23rd, contact:
Aniruddha Vaidya, Friends of the Narmada at:asvaidya at netscape.net .
For more on the reaction to the Indian Supreme Court judgement go to:
www.narmada.org .
CONTINUED TO PART 2
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