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~~>FISHLINK SUBLEGALS 9/21/01<~~
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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. 4, NO. 12 21 SEPTEMBER 2001
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IN THIS ISSUE.......
RELIEF FUNDS SET UP FOR SURVIVORS, FAMILIES OF 11
SEPTEMBER TERRORIST ATTACKS. SEE 4:12/01.
USFWS UNVEILS NATIONAL WILD FISH HEALTH
SURVEY. SEE 4:12/07.
CALVERT CALFED AUTHORIZATION BILL SET FOR
HOUSE MARK-UP IN OCTOBER. SEE 4:12/08.
COMMENT PERIOD EXTENDED FOR NATION WIDE
PERMIT ON WETLAND PROTECTION. SEE 4:12/10.
ARTICLE FINDS MENHADEN FISHERY MAY BE DAMAGING
ATLANTIC, GULF MARINE ECOSYSTEM. SEE 4:12/16.
AND MORE.....
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4:12/01. RELIEF FOR SURVIVORS OF VICTIMS OF 11
SEPTEMBER VIOLENCE: The staffs of PCFFA and IFR urge
members of the fishing community to assist survivors and families of
victims of the 11 September attacks on the World Trade Center, the
Pentagon, and those aboard Flight 93, by making donations of blood or
money to the Red Cross. To give blood, call (800) 448-5433; to donate
funds, call (800) 435-7669. Another fund has been started for victims of
the World Trade Center disaster by Chef Michael Lomanaco of the
Windows on the World restaurant that sat atop the New York City
landmark. Lomanaco, a long-time promoter of sustainably-harvested
seafood (and a member of Seafood Choices Alliance), was at a doctor's
appointment at the time of the attack, but some 78 staff of the restaurant
were preparing for the day's business and are now missing and presumed
dead. On 11 October, as a result of efforts by Lomanaco and Windows
on the World owner David Emil, restaurants and foodservice
establishments throughout the U.S. and abroad are donating at least ten
(10) percent of their day's proceeds to the Windows of Hope Family
Relief Fund. The fishing community is encouraged to go out to a
participating restaurant that day to support this Relief Fund's efforts to
assist survivors of those who perished. EcoFish, a national seafood
distributor specializing in sustainably harvested fish, has donated two
percent of its sales this week to the Windows of Hope Relief Fund. For
more information, contact either Seafood Choices Alliance at:
www.seafoodchoices.com or the website that is being built for the relief
effort at: www.windowsofhope.org.
4:12/02. GROUNDFISH DISASTER RELIEF FUNDS: U.S. Senator
Ron Wyden (D-OR) has successfully obtained $5 million in funds in the
Congressional Commerce, Justice, State and Judiciary Departments
Appropriations bill (H.R. 2500) to go toward helping solve at least some
of the problems with the collapse of the U.S. west coast groundfish
fishery. The $5 million is earmarked as $2 million for cooperative
research (including better groundfish survey programs) and $3 million in
direct economic assistance programs to those affected by the collapse.
Senator Wyden is also the author of the Pacific Coast Groundfish
Protection Act (S. 973), legislation intended to assist the hard-pressed
groundfish fleet by removing from the fishery a large number of fishing
vessels that the available fish stocks cannot support. A similar bill is in
the House of Representatives (H.R. 2376), authored by U.S.
Representative Lois Capps (D-CA) and co-sponsored by four other west
coast members of Congress. Getting any money for these programs will
be no easy task under the current budget shortfalls and even this small
amount is not assured. For more information and copies of these bills
see: http://thomas.loc.gov.
4:12/03. NEW NOAA ADMINISTRATOR NAMED BY BUSH
ADMINISTRATION: On Thursday, 20 September, U.S. President
George W. Bush announced his intent to nominate Vice Admiral Conrad
C. Lautenbacher, Jr., U.S. Navy (Retired) for confirmation by the U.S.
Senate as Under Secretary for Oceans & Atmosphere/Administrator of
NOAA (National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration). The position
has been vacant since January, with Scott Gudes serving as acting
administrator. Among the agencies in the U.S. Department of
Commerce's NOAA is the National Marine Fisheries Service.
Lautenbacher currently serves as the President of the Consortium for
Oceanographic Research & Education (CORE) in Washington, D.C.
Lautenbacher holds the same job that Dr. James Baker, Under
Secretary for Oceans & Atmosphere/Administrator of NOAA for the
Clinton administration, held at the time of his appointment in 1993. He
is a native of Philadelphia and a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy
(class of '64). He attended Harvard University, receiving M.S. and Ph.D.
degrees in Applied Mathematics. He was selected as a Navy Federal
Executive Fellow and served at the Brookings Institute. Lautenbacher's
job at CORE, like Baker before him, was to get money from Congress
for the organization's member institutions. CORE (not to be confused
with the Congress Of Racial Equality) is an association of over 65
oceanographic research institutions, universities, laboratories and
aquaria. CORE "promotes, develops and supports knowledge and
learning in the science and education of oceanography" and has staffed
the National Oceanographic Partnership Program, of which NOAA is a
member. For more information, go to: http://www.doc.gov.
4:12/04. PACJET WORKSHOP ON MARINE WEATHER
FORECASTING SCHEDULED FOR OCTOBER IN MONTEREY: A
three-day workshop on the Pacific Landfalling Jets Experiment
(PACJET) has been set for 24-26 October at the Naval Postgraduate
School in Monterey, California. PACJET is a project designed to
improve short-term (0-24 hour) west coast forecasts of damaging
weather emerging from the data sparse Pacific Ocean. Landfalling
Pacific storms cause fatalities and damage, on an annual
average, comparable to those of earthquakes. According to workshop
sponsors, "Fishermen, recreational boaters, and the shipping industry are
regularly affected by weather during the winter months. Unfortunately,
prediction of these storms is hindered by the fact that they develop over
the ocean. Each winter, the fishing community on the U. S. West Coast
is put at risk by the threat of Pacific storms. Though getting timely and
accurate weather information is critical for fishing safety and
business-related decisions, key characteristics of storms moving across
the Pacific Ocean are often unavailable in advance. National Weather
Service (NWS) forecasts for marine areas take great advantage of
measurements from satellites, a few buoys and ship reports, however
important gaps remain. Predictions of wind, wave height, and
precipitation - key to making decisions in the marine community - are
frequently less accurate than what atmospheric scientists say is possible
with better observations and improved forecast models. NOAA
Research, in conjunction with the NWS, is currently working to improve
forecasts of landfalling storms on the West Coast. Better predictions of
storm features important to industries like fishing are possible with the
extension of observing systems and improved modeling capabilities over
the Pacific Ocean." The workshop is intended to bring together
scientists, forecasters, fishermen and forecast users. For information,
contact Felicia Bradshaw of California Sea Grant:
fmbradshaw at ucdavis.edu
4:12/05. NMFS AND USFWS SEEKING INFORMATION ON
MAINE'S ENDANGERED SALMON: The National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS) and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) are
seeking information and comment on the conservation of endangered
Atlantic salmon in Maine rivers. The information is intended to help the
two federal fishery agencies draft a recovery plan for the last population
of wild Atlantic salmon left in the United States. The deadline for
comments is 10 November, with a plan to be completed by May 2002.
In November 2000, Atlantic salmon in eight Maine rivers - ranging from
the Sheepscot River to the Dennys River - were listed as endangered
under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) (see Sublegals, 2:21/04;
2:20/05). Based on that listing, the federal government must develop a
recovery plan that identifies specific management actions necessary for
the conservation and survival of the species. To view the complete
announcement on the information solicitation, go to:
http://www.publicaffairs.noaa.gov/releases2001/sep01/noaa01r134.html.
To view the Federal Register notice, go to:
http://www.nefsc.nmfs.gov/press_release/recplaninfo.pdf. To view
information on Atlantic salmon and the ESA, go to:
http://www.nero.nmfs.gov/atsalmon/.
4:12/06. PFMC SALMON TECHNICAL TEAM TO MEET IN
SANTA CRUZ: The Pacific Fishery Management Council's (PFMC)
Salmon Technical Team (STT) will meet 9-10 October, beginning at
0800 HRS, in a public session to review the content and process for
development of the preseason salmon fishery documents. The meeting
will be held at National Marine Fisheries Service's Santa Cruz
Laboratory, 110 Shaffer Road in Santa Cruz, California. For
information, go to: http://www.pcouncil.org.
4:12/07. NATIONAL WILD FISH HEALTH SURVEY RELEASED
BY USFWS: On 20 September, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
(USFWS) unveiled an extensive database outlining the distribution of
disease associated pathogens in America's wild and free-ranging fish
populations, data viewed as critical to fishery management decisions
throughout the United States. According to the agency's scientists, it
points to "a relatively healthy picture."
The National Wild Fish Health Survey is the first effort to develop an
accessible, reliable and scientifically sound database that documents the
national distribution of specific pathogens (organisms capable of
causing disease) in free-ranging fish. The project was prompted in
1996, in part, when whirling disease began killing trout in Montana and
Colorado. Biologists have expressed concern about earlier theories that
more fish pathogens might be infecting fish populations previously
believed immune to certain diseases, but the Survey does not show that
to be happening. The Survey was conducted through a partnership of
natural resource management organizations, including other federal,
Native American, state and non-governmental organizations.
Understanding the distribution of fish pathogens throughout the
United States, according to USFWS, will help strengthen the biological
basis of laws and regulations that govern the sale and transport of
aquatic species as well as aquaculture products. In recent years
aquaculture operations have become a major vector of disease to wild
fish populations as well as the major source of invasive species (more so
even than ballast water transport). The Survey will aid biologists
working on restoration and recovery of threatened and endangered
species. Knowledge about pathogens of imperiled species and the
ecosystems into which they are to be reintroduced will significantly
improve the success of such management actions in returning or
restoring imperiled species to their natural habitats. The survey is
available at: http://wildfishsurvey.fws.gov.
4:12/08. CALVERT CALFED BILL TO BE HEARD AS EARLY AS
3 OCTOBER? The U.S. House of Representatives' Resources
Committee is expected to "mark-up" Representative Ken Calvert's
(R-CA) CALFED authorization bill (H.R. 1985) in the coming weeks,
perhaps as early as 3 October. The bill recently passed out of the
Subcommittee on Water & Power (see Sublegals, 4:11/05), which
Calvert, a Southern California (Riverside) Congressman, chairs. Called
the Western Water Enhancement Security Act, H.R. 1985 would, among
other things, authorize $1 billion in funding for the CALFED Bay-Delta
Restoration Program in 2002, but in ways that do little to further the
restoration of California1s faltering Bay-Delta ecosystem and protect its
numerous threatened and endangered fish and wildlife species,
including Endangered Species Act (ESA) listed winter and spring-run
chinook salmon.
CALFED is the joint federal and state agency program (established
by the Bay-Delta Accord of December 1994) aimed at restoring the
Sacramento-San Joaquin-San Francisco Bay-Delta ecosystem that has
been degraded by massive water diversions by federal, state, and local
water projects over the last 60 years. The San Francisco Bay-Delta is
the most important estuary on the west coast of North and South
America and supports or has supported numerous economically
significant commercial fish stocks, including chinook salmon,
Dungeness crab, herring and oysters. As a consequence of the fresh
water diversions, however, numerous fish and wildlife species in the
Bay-Delta estuary are on the brink of extinction. But CALFED -- once
intended to be the comprehensive mechanism to restore the ecosystem
and save these species -- has been virtually high-jacked, according to
fishing and conservation groups, by the same water development
interests that degraded the ecosystem in the first place. These same
interests are now placing their bets on Calvert's CALFED authorization
bill.
As its title implies, the primary focus of the Western Water
Enhancement Security Act is on water storage development which
means further diversions of water from the Delta and Bay that are
already suffering from inadequate freshwater inflows necessary to
sustain its ecosystem and fish populations. Calvert's bill increases water
subsidies for agribusiness. H.R.1985 radically departs from the
CALFED program goals of restoring the Bay-Delta ecosystem and
increasing water supply reliability by adopting a new policy of
increasing water diversions by building even more surface storage
projects. H.R.1985 targets new surface water supply storage projects
identified by CALFED, including a modest 6-12 foot raise of Shasta
dam, the Sites offstream storage reservoir in the Sacramento Valley,
enlargement of Los Vaqueros reservoir in Contra Costa County,
construction of new storage in the already over-developed San Joaquin
watershed, and construction of a San Luis bypass. These projects would
be pre-authorized unless specifically blocked by Congress within 60
days after submission of a final report by CALFED.
Other provisions of H.R.1985 that have been identified as
problematic by fishing (including PCFFA) and conservation
organizations include:
* A guarantee that San Joaquin agribusiness, which uses more
developed water than any other region in the state, will receive 70
percent of the water specified in their federal contracts, regardless of
ecosystem or consumptive needs (urban and agricultural) elsewhere in
the state.
* Limits funding for ecosystem restoration by requiring an equal level of
funding for water supply development.
* Limits habitat acquisition to meet ecosystem restoration goals by
requiring CALFED to mitigate the impacts of habitat acquisition on
local communities and prohibiting new acquisitions until management
plans are completed for existing public lands.
* Requires that the acquisition of water for ecosystem restoration avoid
impacts on federal and state water contractors, and water rights holders.
This provision is regarded as absurd - there is not enough water falling
from the sky in California to meet every need without harming some
special interest.
* Creates a "federal pork barrel dream for special interests" by providing
$1.3 billion in loans for so called "small" reclamation projects that could
cost as much as $50 million per project, and $328 million annually in
competitive grants for local water supply projects.
Fishing and conservation groups also point to numerous things H.R.
1985 fails to do, including:
* Establish dedicated funding for ecosystem restoration, including
CALFED's proposed $35 million annual water user fee.
* Secure sufficient water to restore the environment.
* Fully implement CALFED water efficiency and conservation programs
for urban and agricultural users.
* Ensure that all water related projects are consistent with CALFED
restoration objectives.
* Ensure that beneficiaries pay for new water storage projects.
Another CALFED authorization bill, H.R. 2404, by Representative
George Miller has been introduced striking a balance in the program by
promoting water conservation and agriculture, without sacrificing the
Bay-Delta ecosystem or fishery restoration. That bill, however, has not
been taken up by the full Resources Committee or any of its
subcommittees. Persons wishing to comment on Calvert's H.R. 1985
can do so by writing: The Honorable James Hansen, Chairman,
Committee on Resources, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington,
DC 20515. For information, go to:
http://briefcase.yahoo.com/ewcpacket.
4:12/09. SAN FRANCISCO BAY ESTUARY CONFERENCE SET
FOR 9-11 OCTOBER: "San Francisco Estuary: Achievements, Trends
and the Future" is the title of the fifth biennial State of the Estuary
Conference set for 9-11 October at the Palace of Fine Arts in San
Francisco. The conference dedicates one day (10/10) to ecosystem
restoration, which will be of interest to commercial and recreational
fishermen concerned with populations of salmon, striped bass, herring,
oysters, crabs, as well as California halibut. For more information on the
State of the Estuary Conference, or to register, go to:
http://www.abag.ca.gov/events/estuary_state.
4:12/10. COE EXTENDS COMMENT PERIOD FOR WETLANDS
PERMIT PROPOSAL: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE) has
extended until 9 October the comment period on its new Nationwide
Permit (NWP) proposal for diking and filling of wetlands. The latest
proposal from COE would significantly weaken protections for the
nation's wetlands. This is a concern for fisheries: an estimated 85
percent of all commercially valuable fish and shellfish species are
dependent on wetlands during some period of their lives. The current
proposal would: 1) weaken existing floodplain restrictions, including
removal of restrictions against building single family homes in the
floodplain; 2) weaken existing stream restrictions, which will lead to
severe stream destruction from subdivision, agriculture and other
activities; 3) not strengthen existing mitigation requirements; and 4)
allow for gross violations of the Clean Water Act by, among other
things, allowing mountaintop removal mining. For more information
on the NWP proposal, go to:
http://whistler.sierraclub.org:8080/takeaction/cleanwater/index5.jsp.
4:12/11. UN SURVEY DOCUMENTS CORAL REEFS DYING AT
ACCELERATED PACE: The United Nations Environment Program
(UNEP) Coral Reef Unit has compiled a new atlas of coral reefs
worldwide which shows that most of the world's coral reefs are dying at
a much faster rate than previously thought. The UNEP World
Conservation Monitoring Center has also found that coral reefs occupy a
much smaller area of the oceans than previously believed, and that
virtually all of the world's largest reefs in Southeast Asia are threatened
by combinations of pollution, reef fishing with the use of dynamite or
cyanide to stun fish, and by global warming. Coral reefs cumulatively
cover 113,720 square miles (about half the size of France), but this is
only about 0.1 percent of the world's oceans.
Despite the small area of ocean waters occupied by coral reefs, they
nevertheless provide vital marine ecosystems for many fish species and
fisheries, prevent coastal erosion as well as now being a primary source
for various compounds increasingly important in medicine, including
AZT, a treatment for the AIDS virus. For more information see:
http://www.unep.ch/coral.html.
4:12/12. NATIONAL FISHERY LAW SYMPOSIUM SCHEDULED
FOR NOVEMBER IN SEATTLE: The 19th Annual National Fishery
Law Symposium, sponsored by the University of Washington School of
Law, will be held this year in Seattle on 1-2 November. Details and the
program are posted on UW's Continuing Legal Education (CLE) website
at: www.uwcle.org. The cost of registration is $245 prior to 18 October
and $265 thereafter. For further information, contact Kathy Kline at:
kkline at u.washington.edu.
4:12/13. MPAS - ARTICLE IN BIOMEDNET NEWS, PFMC AD
HOC MEETING, PMCC JANAUARY FISHERMEN'S FORUM: In the
latest in news on Marine Protected Areas, BioMedNet News featured an
extensive article by Jay Withgott in its 5 September issue, titled "Send in
the Marine Reserves." The article, which includes coverage of the
implementation of California's Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) and
the Channel Islands marine reserve discussions, can be seen at:
http://news.bmn.com.
The Pacific Fishery Management Council's (PFMC) Ad Hoc Marine
Reserves Subcommittee, meanwhile, has scheduled a two-day public
work session to evaluate the scientific basis for determining the size of
marine protected areas. The meeting will be held at Victoria Hall, 33
West Victoria Street in Santa Barbara, California, on 1-2 October,
beginning at 1000 HRS on Monday. For more information, visit the
PFMC website at: www.pcouncil.org.
Finally, on 24-26 January 2002, the Pacific Marine Conservation
Council (PMCC) will host a Fishermen's Forum in Portland, Oregon on
the issue of stakeholder participation in West Coast MPA efforts. The
two-day workshop is intended to facilitate informed and effective
participation by fishermen in the processes for considering marine
reserves. It will include presentations from individuals with background
and experience on marine reserves (pros and cons) including managers,
fishermen, scientists, economists and others. A second step in this
process may be hosting individual town-hall meetings in the fishing
communities themselves, according to PMCC. For more information,
contact Jennifer Bloeser at: Jennifer at pmcc.org, or go to the PMCC's
website at: http://www.pmcc.org/, or e-mail:
fishermensforum at pmcc.org for more information.
4:12/14. NMFS TO PREPARE ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENT
FOR KING AND TANNER CRAB ITQ FISHERIES: On 20 September,
the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) published notice in the
Federal Register (Vol. 66, No. 183, pp. 48410-48411) of its intent to
prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in accordance with
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) for the Fishery
Management Plan for Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands (BSAI) King and
Tanner Crabs (FMP). The North Pacific Fishery Management Council
proposes to rationalize the BSAI crab fisheries through an Individual
Fishing Quota (IFQ) Program, or a cooperative program. The scope of
the EIS will be a programmatic review of the FMP, examining all
activities addressing the conduct of the BSAI crab
fisheries authorized under the FMP, including components of proposed
rationalization programs, and potential changes to the management of
the fisheries under these programs. NMFS will hold public scoping
meetings and accept written comments to determine the issues of
concern and the appropriate range of management alternatives to be
addressed in the EIS.
Written comments will be accepted through 16 November; written
comments on issues and alternatives for the EIS should be sent to: Sue
Salveson, Assistant Regional Administrator for Sustainable
Fisheries, Alaska Region, NMFS, P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK, 99802,
Attn: Lori Gravel. Written comments specifically addressing the
Council's analysis of rationalization programs should be sent to the
North Pacific Fishery Management Council, 605 West 4th Street, Suite
306, Anchorage, AK 99501-2252. For more information, contact:
Gretchen Harrington at: gretchen.harrington at noaa.gov. To view the
Federal Register notice, go to:
http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/aces140html. Additionally, to
see the article by Bob Storrs on this issue that will be appearing in the
November issue of Pacific Fishing, go to: www.pfmag.com.
4:12/15. PEW OCEANS COMMISSION TO MEET IN PORTLAND:
The National Ocean Study being undertaken by the Pew Oceans
Commission will visit and meet in Portland, Oregon on 2-3 October to
study the effects of development on the health of America's coasts.
Several members of the independent Commission, including Dr. Jane
Lubchenco from Oregon State University and PCFFA President Pietro
Parravano, will meet with local and national officials, developers,
conservationists, fishermen and scientists during the two-day visit. The
visit comes in the midst of a two-year review of the policies needed to
restore and protect America's marine environment. On Tuesday, the
Commission's coastal development committee will begin the Portland
workshop with a discussion on efforts to preserve the remaining coastal
habitats, in effect preserving the "best of what's left." That afternoon the
workshop will focus on ways to improve growth management at local
and national levels and discuss the need to reorient government
programs and incentives so that they encourage sound growth and
minimize habitat loss. On the 3rd, the workshop will be a summary
session on how the Commission can best contribute to protecting
threatened coastal habitats and managing growth. Information on the
Pew Oceans Commission, including recently published reports on
marine pollution and aquaculture, is available at www.pewoceans.org.
4:12/16. MENHADEN FISHERY DAMAGING MARINE
ECOSYSTEM? In the September issue of Discover magazine is an
article on the Atlantic seaboard menhaden fishery that concludes the
U.S. fishery on menhaden, a fish used primarily for animal feed, is
undercutting Atlantic and Gulf Coast marine ecosystems. Menhaden are
critical food for many larger fish. They are also filter-feeders, and
removing menhaden contributes to algal blooms and other problems of
eutrophication. The article thus raises yet another type of ecological
degradation caused by modern livestock and poultry production -- along
with water pollution, antibiotic resistance, etc. The article does not
discuss the use of fishmeal and fish oil to feed farmed fish such as
salmon (aquaculture is now a huge user of fish meal and oil). According
to Environmental Defense's Rebecca Goldburg, an aquaculture expert,
menhaden are used primarily for livestock and poultry rather than for
fish feeds but that it's reasonable to expect that other fisheries used for
fishmeal and fish oil production for fish feed may cause ecological
problems similar to the menhaden fishery. To view the article, go to:
www.discover.com.
4:12/17. PFMC COASTAL PELAGIC SPECIES MEETING: The
Pacific Fishery Management Council's Coastal Pelagic Species
Management Team (CPSMT) and Coastal Pelagic Species Advisory
Subpanel (CPSAS) will meet jointly on 10 October, beginning at 0800
HRS, at the California Department of Fish & Game (CDFG) offices,
4665 Lampson Avenue, in Los Alamitos, California. For more
information on this public meeting, go to the PFMC website at:
www.pcouncil.org.
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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Sublegals are a weekly fisheries news bulletin service of Fishlink. For a
free subscription to Fishlink, contact us at: <fish1ifr at aol.com>.
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------- End of forwarded message -------
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dean Staff Kanata On. Canada
dean at staff.ca
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