[Fishlink] ~~>FISHLINK SUBLEGALS 1/4/02<~~
bit-bucket@straylight.primelogic.com
bit-bucket@straylight.primelogic.com
Tue, 8 Jan 2002 04:03:07 EST
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~~>FISHLINK SUBLEGALS 1/4/02<~~
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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. 5, NO. 01 4 JANUARY 2002
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"I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully."
......U.S. President George W. Bush
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Welcome to the new and improved Sublegals! You will notice below
that there is a link to our new archives web site which provides a PDF
version (via Adobe Acrobat) of Sublegals, which is much easier to read
and print out. We have also pasted the text below for those that still
wish to read it through your email. In addition to the new look this is
part of our Sublegals Fundraiser to support the Institute for Fisheries
Resources and the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations
in publishing this weekly newsletter free of charge. We have recently
passed our 100th issue, with almost now funding and we are looking
forward to building more support so we can continue this important
effort. Please go to http://www.sublegals.net and click on DONATE
NOW to view our sponsorship levels and thank you gifts. Then click on
the date for today's issue. Thank you for your continued support!
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IN THIS ISSUE.......
HIGH CONCENTRATIONS OF MERCURY FOUND AROUND
OFFSHORE OIL RIGS. 5:01/01.
FDA SAYS PETITION FOR MORATORIUM ON APPROVAL OF
GENETICALLY ENGINEERED FISH A HIGH PRIORITY. 5:10/05.
KLAMATH SLAPP SUIT DISMISSED. 5:01/06.
POSSIBLE LINK BETWEEN GLOBAL WARMING AND
DECLINING CODFISH POPULATIONS. 5:01/10.
PCFFA CALLS FOR NMFS ACTION TO PROTECT SAN
FRANCISCO BAY ESTUARY. 5:01/14.
AND MORE.......
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DISCLAIMER: As part of our new "Search for Sarcasm, Find the
Fringe" contest during our fundraiser, one article in this week's
Sublegals is fictitious, a creation of the Sublegals staff to bring some
levity to the usually grave fisheries news we must report to our readers.
The challenge to our readers is to locate the decoy article and submit
your guess to av_ifr@pacbell.net for a chance to be this week's winner.
Because truth can be "stranger than fiction," the fabricated article will
never be one featured in the table of contents and will always contain
the word "fringe" in the body of the article. The winner will be selected
from among those submitting correct answers. Winners will be
enshrined in the "Fellowship of Fringeheads" and receive great prizes.
Congratulations to Rick Jerema of Bison Spot Prawns in Egmont,
British Columbia whose name was drawn from those correctly
identifying last week's Fringe article, "First MPA Site Selected for
'Baja-to-Bering' Initiative" (Sublegals, 4:26/12).
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5:01/01. HIGH CONCENTRATIONS OF MERCURY FOUND
AROUND OFFSHORE OIL RIGS: It's not the kind of mineral
supplement you were looking for in your diet. The Mobile Register
reported on 1 January that it has documented offshore oil and gas rigs to
be an "unusually dangerous source of mercury pollution in the Gulf of
Mexico." The mercury around the rigs, found in the barite used in the
drill muds, is in concentrations 12 times higher than that established by
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as being the safe level
in the marine environment, and has contaminated fish in the area.
"Mercury concentrations in the sand around some rigs were as high as
levels found at some federal Superfund sites now closed to fishing as a
result of severe contamination by the toxic metal," according to the
article by Ben Raines. It was also learned that the Minerals
Management Service (MMS), the U.S. Department of Interior agency
charged with overseeing offshore oil and gas leasing and development,
has known of the problem for over 20 years, but has never publicly
disclosed the fact. MMS has a program to convert oil rigs to offshore
fishing reefs, "rigs-to-reefs," thus permitting oil companies to abandon
oil platforms at the cessation of their useful life, thereby avoiding
removal and clean-up of the seabed. Despite its knowledge of the
mercury contamination, MMS has promoted fishing around both active
and abandoned rigs, instead of issuing health warnings.
During the past year, the Register "sponsored mercury testing of
samples of several of the most popular game and restaurant fish in the
Gulf, including grouper, amberjack, cobia, redfish and king mackerel.
Almost all of the fish tested were found to contain so much mercury that
they would not be acceptable for sale to the public under guidelines
developed by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA). The
Register followed up the fish testing by sponsoring hair tests on some
Gulf Coast residents who said they ate fish at least once a week. All but
14 of the 65 tested were found to be over the EPA's safe limit for
methylmercury in the human body. Some residents registered 10 to 11
times the safe level of one part per million. Methylmercury, formed
when certain organisms ingest mercury, is a potent neurotoxin thought
to cause birth defects, neurological impairments and heart problems at
the levels discovered in the Register's hair testing.
There are some 4,000 oil rigs currently operating in the Gulf of
Mexico and MMS is conducting more lease sales that will further
increase the number of platforms (see Sublegals, 5:01/02 below).
According to the Register report, federal regulators initially considered
"zero discharge" regulations for some of the drilling fluids used in the
Gulf, before encountering stiff resistance and a lawsuit from the oil
industry. The industry argued that it could not afford to haul all used
muds to shore. In the end, the EPA didn't enact the zero discharge
policy; instead it lowered the allowable mercury levels in drill muds and
prohibited their being dumped within 3 miles from shore.
The toxicity of drill muds has been one of the long-standing
complaints of commercial fishermen in the Santa Barbara Channel and
was one of the major reasons for opposition from PCFFA and other
fishing groups to new offshore oil and gas drilling along the Pacific
Coast. Most of that concern, however, was in regards to diesel oil added
to the muds; fishing groups had no knowledge of mercury contamination
at the time, nor did MMS disclose the existence of that contaminant.
This past year, Chevron and United Anglers promoted a "rigs-to-reefs"
measure, SB 1, in the California Legislature, but the bill, opposed by
conservation and commercial fishing groups, was vetoed by Governor
Gray Davis (see Sublegals, 4:16/01; 4:10/11; 4:07/15; 4:06/15; 4:04/06;
4:03/10; 4:02/16; 3:09/14). To see the Mobile Register article in full,
you should go to:
http://www.al.com/news/mobileregister/index.ssf?/xml/story.ssf/
html_standard.xsl?/base/news/10097073361583726.xml.
5:01/02. GULF OF MEXICO OFFSHORE OIL LEASES
AUCTIONED OFF FOR FIRST TIME IN 13 YEARS: In early
December 2001, the U.S. Minerals Management Service (MMS) opened
bidding among oil companies for offshore petroleum leases in the Gulf
of Mexico. It was the first time a lease sale has been held for offshore
tracts in the Gulf in 13 years, according to a 13 December report in Land
Letter. MMS has opened 95 tracts in a 1.5 million acre area in the
eastern Gulf of Mexico about 100 miles from the Florida, Alabama and
Mississippi shorelines. The Bush Administration originally wanted to
lease 5.9 million acres, but agreed to reduce the size after protests by
environmentalists and businesses who argued that earlier lease proposals
would have brought oil development too close to reefs, beaches and
tourist areas. Lease 181 Sale brought in 14 companies that made 190
bids totaling $458.9 million. The sales were the first in the region since
1988, but two other auctions are slated to take place in the next five
years, the next in 2003.
The Florida Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) and other groups
are opposing the lease program due to concern over pollution damage to
fisheries, reefs and endangered sea turtle populations. Oil facilities on
shore would also destroy wetlands that support shrimp production.
Wetlands are already being lost at the rate of 35 square miles each year
in Louisiana alone. With more than 4,000 oil rigs now dotting the
western and central sections of the Gulf, offshore oil development
threatens many Gulf fisheries. On the west coast, offshore oil
development is subject to a moratorium which has to be renewed
annually and which the Bush Administration's Energy Plan calls for
lifting (see Sublegals 4:01/17). Since 11 September the Administration
and oil development interests have increasingly called for removal of
environmental constraints on offshore oil production in the interests of
'national security.' For more information about problems with the
offshore oil lease program and oil development in the Gulf of Mexico
go to: http://floridapirg.org/FL.asp?id2=2617&id3=FL&id4=FLHP&.
5:01/03. "CANADA FISHERIES WORLD" NOW ONLINE:
Fisheries Services Inc. has announced publication of its newsletter
called Canada Fisheries World. The newsletter, available online at
www.canfishworld.com, is the only fisheries newsletter of its kind in
Canada dedicated to the Canadian fish harvesting, aquaculture,
processing and marketing sectors. News is compiled from various
sources of particular interest to Canada, but also applicable to
international readers, geared to business and to governments and others
who do business with the Canadian fish and seafood industry. Canada
Fisheries World is sold by subscription for either online access or online
access and text/hard copy. The prices (in Canadian dollars) are: Online
access $39.00, Text/hard copy including online access $60.00 (in
Canada) and $80.00 (outside Canada). For information on a
subscription, go to: info@canfishworld.com.
5:01/04. CHILE MEETING OF WORLD FISHERIES FORUM
COORDINATION COMMITTEE: Fishing men and women from
Iceland, France, Canada, Mexico, El Salvador, Panama, Chile and the
United States met at the Coordination Committee of the World Fisheries
Forum (WFF) in Chile 13-19 of December 2001. PCFFA President
Pietro Parravano attended the meeting, which was hosted by the
Confederacion Nacional de Pescadores Artesendes de Chile
(CONAPACH). In addition to the business portion of the WFF meeting,
committee members had a chance to discuss local and regional issues
with the local fishing men and women in several coastal communities.
Significant areas of concern for Chilean fishermen included mandated
Individual Fishing Quotas (IFQ), the increase of coastal pollution, and
the negative impacts of the industrial scale salmon farms on coastal
communities and marine ecosystems. Specific examples of the latter
include the displacement of local fishing people from their traditional
fishing areas and the existence of fecal matter at least one meter thick
under salmon farm cages.
At the Coordination Committee meeting Pedro Avendano of
Valparaiso was chosen to head the WFF General Secretariat, with
central office space in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (donated by the
Canadian Council of Professional Fish Harvesters). The Marine
Stewardship Council (MSC) gave a presentation on their certification
process. Avendano is to investigate the possibility of coordination
between the MSC Foundation and the WFF. Reports were also given
regarding alliances being created between fishermen and farmers in
Cuba and support for the formation of a similar alliance in France. The
next meeting of the Coordination Committee will take place in January
2003 in Central America. For more information e-mail:
fish@ccpfh-ccpp.org.
5:01/05. FDA PROMISES "HIGH PRIORITY" ON
CONSIDERATION OF GENETICALLY MODIFIED FISH; ORDERS
CRACKDOWN ON FARMED FISH CONTAINING
UNAUTHORIZED DRUGS: The U.S. Food & Drug Administration
(FDA) has told the Center for Food Safety that it is giving high priority
to answering the petition filed by the Center on behalf of itself and some
60 other organizations (including PCFFA), calling for a moratorium on
the approval of genetically engineered (GE) fish (see Sublegals, 4:16/13;
4:02/06; 3:19/03; 3:15/19; 3:12/09; 3:07/15; 3:05/15; 2:16/11). An
application is currently pending before the FDA for approval of an
experimental GE salmon developed by Aqua Bounty Farms for use in
aquaculture operations. The FDA process is secret. However, it has
been learned that both the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)
and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) have advised the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to not allow GE fish in net
pens in Maine due to the recent listing under the Endangered Species
Act (ESA) of Atlantic salmon in that state's rivers. In June of this past
year, the National Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization
(NASCO), consisting of Canada, Denmark, the European Union (EU),
Iceland, Norway, Russia and the U.S., established guidelines for GE fish
that state its member nations will "take all possible actions to ensure
that the use of transgenic salmon, in any part of the NASCO
Conservation Area is confined to secure, self-contained, land-based
facilities." For more information, go to:
http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org.
The FDA has also announced a crackdown on imported aquaculture
products (e.g., salmon, shrimp) that may contain unauthorized drugs,
according to a 2 January WorldCatch News Network report. Only five
drugs have been authorised for use in aquaculture by the U.S.; these are
formalin solution, MS-222 (tricaine metasulfonate), oxytetracycline,
sulfamerazine, and sulfadimetoxine/ormetoprim combinations. For more
information, go to: www.worldcatch.com.
5:01/06. KLAMATH SLAPP SUIT DISMISSED: A nuisance
lawsuit filed in California against PCFFA, IFR and several conservation
organizations that were plaintiffs in litigation to reform Klamath Basin
federal water practices has been dismissed (see Sublegals 4:09/04). The
suit, brought as a class-action "on behalf of all those persons who own
farmland ... in the Tulelake Irrigation District" who suffered economic
losses from last year's drought-related water cutbacks, claimed, among
other things, a massive conspiracy on behalf of the plaintiffs to buy up
and profit from potentially reduced property values for Klamath Basin
farmlands, that the coho salmon and other species of fish in question
were not in reality endangered (even though federally listed) along with
various other spurious allegations. The suit was intended as a SLAPP
suit (for "strategic litigation against public participation") to intimidate
critics of the way the Klamath federal water project has been operated in
the past and to prevent those critics from advocating reforms in the
future. Frivolous litigation, such as this SLAPP suit, however, can result
in severe sanctions and even disbarment for attorneys who bring them
without good cause. The case, Kirby v. Sierra Club, et. al., (Siskiyou
County Superior Court No. SCCVCV0101363) was dismissed in return
for a waiver of the defendants' rights to ask for sanctions, costs and
attorney's fees. For more information on the case contact the Siskiyou
County Superior Court Clerk's office at: (530) 842-8182.
5:01/07. KLAMATH HEADGATES GET NEW SECURITY: The
Associated Press reported on 1 January that the U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation (BOR) has now completed installation of new security
fences, video cameras and motion detectors to guard the Klamath
Irrigation Project headgates against tampering. Last year, farmers
stormed the headgates and illegally forced them open several times to
take water to which they were not legally entitled, defying federal water
cutbacks necessary due to severe drought and fish and wildlife
protections and undermining protections ordered to prevent extinction
of coho salmon in the Lower Klamath River (see Sublegals 4:01/01).
The security system cost $90,000 and BOR had to spend over $750,000
to guard the headgates in summer 2001, diverting money away from its
emergency water purchase program. At the going rate of $35/acre-foot
for replacement well water which was readily available, this amounts to
enough money to have purchased 24,000 acre-feet of water during last
year's drought, enough to fully irrigate 12,000 acres of prime croplands.
For more, see the 1 January Olympian article located at:
http://news.theolympian.com/stories/20020101/Northwest/161057.shtml.
5:01/08. 2002 COLUMBIA SALMON RETURNS FORECASTED
TO BE GOOD: On 18 December, the Oregonian reported that 2002
Columbia River spring chinook runs (mostly hatchery fish) are predicted
to be the second largest on record, setting the stage for efforts to take
advantage of good ocean conditions to boost wild salmon recovery
efforts before the expected crash due in 2004 and 2005 due to
significant in-river fish kills during 2001. Some early immature adults,
or 'jack,' returns for those year classes might also indicate how much
damage was done by last year's spill cutoff, drought and excessive
reliance on barging (see Sublegals 4:01/02; 3:24/02; 3:18/01). The
predictive model used, however, contains substantial uncertainty, and
did not predict the record Columbia River returns of hatchery fish in
2001. Wild fish returns in 2001, however, still remained well below
ten-year averages. For more see:
http://www.oregonlive.com/printer/printer.ssf?/xml/story.ssf/
html_standard.xsl?/base/news/100868013331373120.xml.
5:01/09. WEST COAST'S LARGEST FISHING ORGANIZATION
TO CHANGE NAME; IT'S GOOD-BYE PCFFA AND HELLO FLF:
Following the lead of organizations and corporations such as
Environmental Defense, the Ocean Conservancy and EXXON, the
PCFFA will be getting a new name effective 15 March. The name
change takes place after the PCFFA Board formally notices the
amendment to the organization's by-laws at its Bodega Bay meeting (see
Sublegals, 4:26/02), and adopts the change at its February meeting.
Formal announcement of the new name, Fishermen's Liberation Front
(FLF), is planned for the Fishermen's Forum in Sacramento, California
in March. The name was developed with the aid of a professional
naming organization, Nominex, which has had considerable success in
developing product names, particularly in the automobile field (e.g.,
Acura, Infiniti, Lexus, DeSoto); the final name was selected after
extensive focus group sessions. One of the other suggested names,
Shining Sea, was rejected as sounding too much like a cult, too
Peruvian.
"Let's face it, PCFFA was just too long of a name and no one ever got
it right, even after 25 years," said PCFFA Executive Director Zeke
Grader. "We needed something less Lutheran and less Quaker sounding,
shorter and with more passion and pizzaz; beside we're no longer just
Pacific Coast." Grader reported a good response to the new name from
the focus groups and overwhelming support from reporters and the
media. In addition to the name change, there will also be a change of
logo. Gone is the middle-aged white guy in a sou'wester, replaced by a
raised arm with a clinched fist holding a gaff hook (the logo previously
used by PCFFA's Fishermen's Legal Defense Fund). The only negative
response to the name change has come from the Klamath Basin "Bucket
Brigade, " where a spokesman was quoted as saying, "Don't matter what
they [PCFFA] call themselves, they're still just a bunch of fringe
environmentalists paid by the United Nations to promote Agenda 21,
world communism and rural cleansing. Real fishers [sic] don't care
about water flows or conservation. If they come flying over here in their
black helicopters, we'll shoot them down." For more information, go to:
www.pcffa.org.
5:01/10. UK RESEARCH ON POSSIBLE LINK BETWEEN
GLOBAL WARMING AND FALLING COD NUMBERS: It's not just
the Bering Sea where scientists are worried about the impact of global
warming on fish stocks. WorldCatch News Network reported 28
December that scientists at Britain's University of East Anglia are
involved in a major research project investigating a possible link
between global warming and falling numbers of cod. Researchers are
analyzing sea samples containing zooplankton, the staple diet of cod and
other species such as haddock. Previous studies in the North Sea have
shown a 90 per cent decline of zooplankton in the past 40 years at a time
when cod, haddock, herring and mackerel levels have also fallen,
fueling speculation that over-fishing may not be the sole cause of their
decline, said the WorldCatch report. One theory being investigated is
that rising water temperatures could be affecting ocean circulation
patterns, moving zooplankton north into waters away from traditional
fishing grounds. To see the full article, go to: www.worldcatch.com.
5:01/11. 2001 SECOND HOTTEST YEAR ON RECORD SAYS
UN WEATHER AGENCY; SCIENTISTS SAY UNEXPECTED
GLOBAL WARMING IMPACTS COULD HIT SUDDENLY;
IMPACTS ALREADY SEVERE FOR ISLAND NATIONS: Earth's
temperature in 2001 was the second highest on record since record
keeping began 140 years ago, according to the United Nation's World
Meteorological Organization (WMO). Nine of the 10 warmest years in
the last four decades have occurred since 1990, and temperatures are
also now rising three times faster than in the early 1900's, according to
WMO data. Warming temperatures also led to increases in the severity
and frequency of storms, droughts and other unusual weather conditions
in 2001. Information on the WMO can be found at: http://www.wmo.ch.
The WMO data, released on 18 December, is at:
http://www.wmo.ch/web/Press/Press670.html.
Rising sea levels have also begun to seriously impact low-lying
island nations, creating the first wave of world climate change refugees.
Associated Press reported 17 October that the Pacific island nation of
Tuvalu will begin evacuating the population of its nine islands, midway
between Hawaii and Australia, in 2002. Tuvalu has an agreement with
New Zealand to accept a certain number of refugees each year. Paani
Laupepa, Assistant Secretary of Tuvalu's Ministry of Natural Resources,
Energy & Environment, cited coastal erosion, droughts, unusually
severe storms and salt water intrusion into the islands' limited fresh
water wells, all caused by rising worldwide sea levels, as seriously
affecting the low-lying nation's ability to grow food and support its
current population of 10,000. For more information about Tuvalu see:
http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/tv.html.
On 11 December, the National Research Council (NRC) issued a
scientific report by its Committee on Abrupt Climate Change titled
"Abrupt Climate Change: Inevitable Surprises," which noted the
likelihood of sudden and unexpected major climatic "phase shifts"
which may drive major regional temperature and rainfall pattern
changes not over 100 years, as previously predicted, but in a time span
of as little as 10 years. Such short time spans would leave many areas,
particularly coastal communities and rural agricultural communities,
unable to adequately respond. The 11 December report is under "Top
News" at: http://www4.nationalacademies.org/news.nsf.
Another related NRC report is "Climate Change Science: An
Analysis of Some Key Questions," prepared in response to questions
submitted from U.S. President George W. Bush about whether global
warming was in fact happening or should be of national concern. The
scientists concluded that in spite of some uncertainties it was clear that
global warming was in fact happening, the pace was accelerating, and
that the U.S. and other nations should be prepared to deal with its
consequences, which could include prolonged drought, sustained severe
El Nino's (directly impacting fisheries), and severe weather conditions
in much of the nation. That report is available at:
http://www.nap.edu/catalog.10139.html.
5:01/12. SNOW PACK RESULTS FOR NORTHWEST
ENCOURAGING: The 28 December Oregonian reported that Northwest
snowpacks in December 2001 were considerably above normal levels
for that month, including 166 percent above normal in the Upper
Klamath Basin. The results are encouraging for depleted reservoirs,
listed coho and other salmon stocks, as well as drought-stricken farmers
in the Klamath Irrigation Project. The Upper Klamath Basin suffered
record-breaking drought in 2001, with snow pack this time of the year in
2000 at only 58 percent of normal. Projections by the Oregon State
Climatologist are for a nearly normal water year this season. For more
information see the Oregonian archive page under that date at:
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?month.
5:01/13. PERIOD EXTENDED FOR ADOPTION OF CALIFORNIA
NEARHSORE FISHERIES MANAGEMENT PLAN: The California
Fish & Game Commission has announced the extension of time for its
adoption of the Nearshore Fishery Management Plan (NFMP). The
extension is to consider public comments from an independent scientific
review panel and integrate them into the revised draft NFMP, and also
to make the plan easier to read. The extended adoption schedule calls
for a public comment period beginning at the 4-5 April Commission
meeting in Long Beach; two special hearings in May; and adoption at
the Commission 1-2 August meeting in San Luis Obispo. The draft
NFMP is at: www.dfg.ca.gov/mrd/nfmp. For more information, contact
Maura Leos at: mleos@dfg.ca.gov.
5:01/14. NMFS ASKED TO IDENTIFY AND TAKE ACTION TO
PROTECT SAN FRANCISCO BAY ESTUARY: Next week the
PCFFA will call on the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to
identify actions being taken to protect the San Francisco Bay estuary,
including those of other responsible agencies as well as planned NMFS
actions (see Sublegals, 4:26/01). A copy of the letter will be posted on
both the Sublegals and PCFFA website; go to: www.sublegals.net.
5:01/15. IT'S JANUARY AND IT'S SUBLEGALS PLEDGE
MONTH: Sublegals, which is published weekly by PCFFA and IFR
staff, operates on a shoestring at best. Producing it, however, costs staff
time and money. To keep these weekly fishery briefing "shorts" coming
to you, we are asking readers for a small donation. In return, your
support will help keep Sublegals coming and you will also get a great
gift in appreciation. At the $25.00 level, readers get a coffee mug, with
our Sarcastic Fringehead logo; at the $50.00 level there's the mug, the
gray (because the news isn't just black or white) 100% organic cotton
t-shirt (Patagonia) with our logo; and at the $100.00 level, there's the
mug, the t-shirt and the 2002 Cape Cod Fishermen's "fishcake" calendar.
To pledge or learn more, go to: www.sublegals.net/fundraiser.htm.
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NEWS, COMMENTS, CORRECTIONS: Submit your news items,
comments or any corrections to Allison Vogt, Editor at:
ifrfish@pacbell.net or call the IFR/PCFFA office with the news and a
source at either: (415) 561-FISH (Southwest Office) or (541) 689-2000
(Northwest Office.
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<BR> ~~>FISHLINK SUBLEGALS 1/4/02<~~
<BR>##########################################################
<BR> A WEEKLY QUOTA OF FISHERY SHORTS CAUGHT AND
<BR> LANDED BY THE INSTITUTE FOR FISHERIES RESOURCES
<BR> AND THE PACIFIC COAST FEDERATION OF FISHERMEN'S
<BR> ASSOCIATIONS
<BR>
<BR>VOL. 5, NO. 01 4 JANUARY 2002
<BR>##########################################################
<BR>"I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully."
<BR>......U.S. President George W. Bush
<BR>##########################################################
<BR>Welcome to the new and improved Sublegals! You will notice below
<BR>that there is a link to our new archives web site which provides a PDF
<BR>version (via Adobe Acrobat) of Sublegals, which is much easier to read
<BR>and print out. We have also pasted the text below for those that still
<BR>wish to read it through your email. In addition to the new look this is
<BR>part of our Sublegals Fundraiser to support the Institute for Fisheries
<BR>Resources and the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations
<BR>in publishing this weekly newsletter free of charge. We have recently
<BR>passed our 100th issue, with almost now funding and we are looking
<BR>forward to building more support so we can continue this important
<BR>effort. Please go to http://www.sublegals.net and click on DONATE
<BR>NOW to view our sponsorship levels and thank you gifts. Then click on
<BR>the date for today's issue. Thank you for your continued support!
<BR>##########################################################
<BR>IN THIS ISSUE.......
<BR>
<BR>HIGH CONCENTRATIONS OF MERCURY FOUND AROUND
<BR>OFFSHORE OIL RIGS. 5:01/01.
<BR>
<BR>FDA SAYS PETITION FOR MORATORIUM ON APPROVAL OF
<BR>GENETICALLY ENGINEERED FISH A HIGH PRIORITY. 5:10/05.
<BR>
<BR>KLAMATH SLAPP SUIT DISMISSED. 5:01/06.
<BR>
<BR>POSSIBLE LINK BETWEEN GLOBAL WARMING AND
<BR>DECLINING CODFISH POPULATIONS. 5:01/10.
<BR>
<BR>PCFFA CALLS FOR NMFS ACTION TO PROTECT SAN
<BR>FRANCISCO BAY ESTUARY. 5:01/14.
<BR>
<BR>AND MORE.......
<BR>##########################################################
<BR>DISCLAIMER: As part of our new "Search for Sarcasm, Find the
<BR>Fringe" contest during our fundraiser, one article in this week's
<BR>Sublegals is fictitious, a creation of the Sublegals staff to bring some
<BR>levity to the usually grave fisheries news we must report to our readers.
<BR>The challenge to our readers is to locate the decoy article and submit
<BR>your guess to av_ifr@pacbell.net for a chance to be this week's winner.
<BR>Because truth can be "stranger than fiction," the fabricated article will
<BR>never be one featured in the table of contents and will always contain
<BR>the word "fringe" in the body of the article. The winner will be selected
<BR>from among those submitting correct answers. Winners will be
<BR>enshrined in the "Fellowship of Fringeheads" and receive great prizes.
<BR>Congratulations to Rick Jerema of Bison Spot Prawns in Egmont,
<BR>British Columbia whose name was drawn from those correctly
<BR>identifying last week's Fringe article, "First MPA Site Selected for
<BR>'Baja-to-Bering' Initiative" (Sublegals, 4:26/12).
<BR>##########################################################
<BR>
<BR>5:01/01. HIGH CONCENTRATIONS OF MERCURY FOUND
<BR>AROUND OFFSHORE OIL RIGS: It's not the kind of mineral
<BR>supplement you were looking for in your diet. The Mobile Register
<BR>reported on 1 January that it has documented offshore oil and gas rigs to
<BR>be an "unusually dangerous source of mercury pollution in the Gulf of
<BR>Mexico." The mercury around the rigs, found in the barite used in the
<BR>drill muds, is in concentrations 12 times higher than that established by
<BR>the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as being the safe level
<BR>in the marine environment, and has contaminated fish in the area.
<BR>"Mercury concentrations in the sand around some rigs were as high as
<BR>levels found at some federal Superfund sites now closed to fishing as a
<BR>result of severe contamination by the toxic metal," according to the
<BR>article by Ben Raines. It was also learned that the Minerals
<BR>Management Service (MMS), the U.S. Department of Interior agency
<BR>charged with overseeing offshore oil and gas leasing and development,
<BR>has known of the problem for over 20 years, but has never publicly
<BR>disclosed the fact. MMS has a program to convert oil rigs to offshore
<BR>fishing reefs, "rigs-to-reefs," thus permitting oil companies to abandon
<BR>oil platforms at the cessation of their useful life, thereby avoiding
<BR>removal and clean-up of the seabed. Despite its knowledge of the
<BR>mercury contamination, MMS has promoted fishing around both active
<BR>and abandoned rigs, instead of issuing health warnings.
<BR>
<BR>During the past year, the Register "sponsored mercury testing of
<BR>samples of several of the most popular game and restaurant fish in the
<BR>Gulf, including grouper, amberjack, cobia, redfish and king mackerel.
<BR>Almost all of the fish tested were found to contain so much mercury that
<BR>they would not be acceptable for sale to the public under guidelines
<BR>developed by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA). The
<BR>Register followed up the fish testing by sponsoring hair tests on some
<BR>Gulf Coast residents who said they ate fish at least once a week. All but
<BR>14 of the 65 tested were found to be over the EPA's safe limit for
<BR>methylmercury in the human body. Some residents registered 10 to 11
<BR>times the safe level of one part per million. Methylmercury, formed
<BR>when certain organisms ingest mercury, is a potent neurotoxin thought
<BR>to cause birth defects, neurological impairments and heart problems at
<BR>the levels discovered in the Register's hair testing.
<BR>
<BR>There are some 4,000 oil rigs currently operating in the Gulf of
<BR>Mexico and MMS is conducting more lease sales that will further
<BR>increase the number of platforms (see Sublegals, 5:01/02 below).
<BR>According to the Register report, federal regulators initially considered
<BR>"zero discharge" regulations for some of the drilling fluids used in the
<BR>Gulf, before encountering stiff resistance and a lawsuit from the oil
<BR>industry. The industry argued that it could not afford to haul all used
<BR>muds to shore. In the end, the EPA didn't enact the zero discharge
<BR>policy; instead it lowered the allowable mercury levels in drill muds and
<BR>prohibited their being dumped within 3 miles from shore.
<BR>
<BR>The toxicity of drill muds has been one of the long-standing
<BR>complaints of commercial fishermen in the Santa Barbara Channel and
<BR>was one of the major reasons for opposition from PCFFA and other
<BR>fishing groups to new offshore oil and gas drilling along the Pacific
<BR>Coast. Most of that concern, however, was in regards to diesel oil added
<BR>to the muds; fishing groups had no knowledge of mercury contamination
<BR>at the time, nor did MMS disclose the existence of that contaminant.
<BR>This past year, Chevron and United Anglers promoted a "rigs-to-reefs"
<BR>measure, SB 1, in the California Legislature, but the bill, opposed by
<BR>conservation and commercial fishing groups, was vetoed by Governor
<BR>Gray Davis (see Sublegals, 4:16/01; 4:10/11; 4:07/15; 4:06/15; 4:04/06;
<BR>4:03/10; 4:02/16; 3:09/14). To see the Mobile Register article in full,
<BR>you should go to:
<BR>http://www.al.com/news/mobileregister/index.ssf?/xml/story.ssf/
<BR>html_standard.xsl?/base/news/10097073361583726.xml.
<BR>
<BR>5:01/02. GULF OF MEXICO OFFSHORE OIL LEASES
<BR>AUCTIONED OFF FOR FIRST TIME IN 13 YEARS: In early
<BR>December 2001, the U.S. Minerals Management Service (MMS) opened
<BR>bidding among oil companies for offshore petroleum leases in the Gulf
<BR>of Mexico. It was the first time a lease sale has been held for offshore
<BR>tracts in the Gulf in 13 years, according to a 13 December report in Land
<BR>Letter. MMS has opened 95 tracts in a 1.5 million acre area in the
<BR>eastern Gulf of Mexico about 100 miles from the Florida, Alabama and
<BR>Mississippi shorelines. The Bush Administration originally wanted to
<BR>lease 5.9 million acres, but agreed to reduce the size after protests by
<BR>environmentalists and businesses who argued that earlier lease proposals
<BR>would have brought oil development too close to reefs, beaches and
<BR>tourist areas. Lease 181 Sale brought in 14 companies that made 190
<BR>bids totaling $458.9 million. The sales were the first in the region since
<BR>1988, but two other auctions are slated to take place in the next five
<BR>years, the next in 2003.
<BR>
<BR>The Florida Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) and other groups
<BR>are opposing the lease program due to concern over pollution damage to
<BR>fisheries, reefs and endangered sea turtle populations. Oil facilities on
<BR>shore would also destroy wetlands that support shrimp production.
<BR>Wetlands are already being lost at the rate of 35 square miles each year
<BR>in Louisiana alone. With more than 4,000 oil rigs now dotting the
<BR>western and central sections of the Gulf, offshore oil development
<BR>threatens many Gulf fisheries. On the west coast, offshore oil
<BR>development is subject to a moratorium which has to be renewed
<BR>annually and which the Bush Administration's Energy Plan calls for
<BR>lifting (see Sublegals 4:01/17). Since 11 September the Administration
<BR>and oil development interests have increasingly called for removal of
<BR>environmental constraints on offshore oil production in the interests of
<BR>'national security.' For more information about problems with the
<BR>offshore oil lease program and oil development in the Gulf of Mexico
<BR>go to: http://floridapirg.org/FL.asp?id2=2617&id3=FL&id4=FLHP&.
<BR>
<BR>5:01/03. "CANADA FISHERIES WORLD" NOW ONLINE:
<BR>Fisheries Services Inc. has announced publication of its newsletter
<BR>called Canada Fisheries World. The newsletter, available online at
<BR>www.canfishworld.com, is the only fisheries newsletter of its kind in
<BR>Canada dedicated to the Canadian fish harvesting, aquaculture,
<BR>processing and marketing sectors. News is compiled from various
<BR>sources of particular interest to Canada, but also applicable to
<BR>international readers, geared to business and to governments and others
<BR>who do business with the Canadian fish and seafood industry. Canada
<BR>Fisheries World is sold by subscription for either online access or online
<BR>access and text/hard copy. The prices (in Canadian dollars) are: Online
<BR>access $39.00, Text/hard copy including online access $60.00 (in
<BR>Canada) and $80.00 (outside Canada). For information on a
<BR>subscription, go to: info@canfishworld.com.
<BR>
<BR>5:01/04. CHILE MEETING OF WORLD FISHERIES FORUM
<BR>COORDINATION COMMITTEE: Fishing men and women from
<BR>Iceland, France, Canada, Mexico, El Salvador, Panama, Chile and the
<BR>United States met at the Coordination Committee of the World Fisheries
<BR>Forum (WFF) in Chile 13-19 of December 2001. PCFFA President
<BR>Pietro Parravano attended the meeting, which was hosted by the
<BR>Confederacion Nacional de Pescadores Artesendes de Chile
<BR>(CONAPACH). In addition to the business portion of the WFF meeting,
<BR>committee members had a chance to discuss local and regional issues
<BR>with the local fishing men and women in several coastal communities.
<BR>Significant areas of concern for Chilean fishermen included mandated
<BR>Individual Fishing Quotas (IFQ), the increase of coastal pollution, and
<BR>the negative impacts of the industrial scale salmon farms on coastal
<BR>communities and marine ecosystems. Specific examples of the latter
<BR>include the displacement of local fishing people from their traditional
<BR>fishing areas and the existence of fecal matter at least one meter thick
<BR>under salmon farm cages.
<BR>
<BR>At the Coordination Committee meeting Pedro Avendano of
<BR>Valparaiso was chosen to head the WFF General Secretariat, with
<BR>central office space in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (donated by the
<BR>Canadian Council of Professional Fish Harvesters). The Marine
<BR>Stewardship Council (MSC) gave a presentation on their certification
<BR>process. Avendano is to investigate the possibility of coordination
<BR>between the MSC Foundation and the WFF. Reports were also given
<BR>regarding alliances being created between fishermen and farmers in
<BR>Cuba and support for the formation of a similar alliance in France. The
<BR>next meeting of the Coordination Committee will take place in January
<BR>2003 in Central America. For more information e-mail:
<BR>fish@ccpfh-ccpp.org.
<BR>
<BR>5:01/05. FDA PROMISES "HIGH PRIORITY" ON
<BR>CONSIDERATION OF GENETICALLY MODIFIED FISH; ORDERS
<BR>CRACKDOWN ON FARMED FISH CONTAINING
<BR>UNAUTHORIZED DRUGS: The U.S. Food & Drug Administration
<BR>(FDA) has told the Center for Food Safety that it is giving high priority
<BR>to answering the petition filed by the Center on behalf of itself and some
<BR>60 other organizations (including PCFFA), calling for a moratorium on
<BR>the approval of genetically engineered (GE) fish (see Sublegals, 4:16/13;
<BR>4:02/06; 3:19/03; 3:15/19; 3:12/09; 3:07/15; 3:05/15; 2:16/11). An
<BR>application is currently pending before the FDA for approval of an
<BR>experimental GE salmon developed by Aqua Bounty Farms for use in
<BR>aquaculture operations. The FDA process is secret. However, it has
<BR>been learned that both the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)
<BR>and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) have advised the U.S.
<BR>Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to not allow GE fish in net
<BR>pens in Maine due to the recent listing under the Endangered Species
<BR>Act (ESA) of Atlantic salmon in that state's rivers. In June of this past
<BR>year, the National Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization
<BR>(NASCO), consisting of Canada, Denmark, the European Union (EU),
<BR>Iceland, Norway, Russia and the U.S., established guidelines for GE fish
<BR>that state its member nations will "take all possible actions to ensure
<BR>that the use of transgenic salmon, in any part of the NASCO
<BR>Conservation Area is confined to secure, self-contained, land-based
<BR>facilities." For more information, go to:
<BR>http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org.
<BR>
<BR>The FDA has also announced a crackdown on imported aquaculture
<BR>products (e.g., salmon, shrimp) that may contain unauthorized drugs,
<BR>according to a 2 January WorldCatch News Network report. Only five
<BR>drugs have been authorised for use in aquaculture by the U.S.; these are
<BR>formalin solution, MS-222 (tricaine metasulfonate), oxytetracycline,
<BR>sulfamerazine, and sulfadimetoxine/ormetoprim combinations. For more
<BR>information, go to: www.worldcatch.com.
<BR>
<BR>5:01/06. KLAMATH SLAPP SUIT DISMISSED: A nuisance
<BR>lawsuit filed in California against PCFFA, IFR and several conservation
<BR>organizations that were plaintiffs in litigation to reform Klamath Basin
<BR>federal water practices has been dismissed (see Sublegals 4:09/04). The
<BR>suit, brought as a class-action "on behalf of all those persons who own
<BR>farmland ... in the Tulelake Irrigation District" who suffered economic
<BR>losses from last year's drought-related water cutbacks, claimed, among
<BR>other things, a massive conspiracy on behalf of the plaintiffs to buy up
<BR>and profit from potentially reduced property values for Klamath Basin
<BR>farmlands, that the coho salmon and other species of fish in question
<BR>were not in reality endangered (even though federally listed) along with
<BR>various other spurious allegations. The suit was intended as a SLAPP
<BR>suit (for "strategic litigation against public participation") to intimidate
<BR>critics of the way the Klamath federal water project has been operated in
<BR>the past and to prevent those critics from advocating reforms in the
<BR>future. Frivolous litigation, such as this SLAPP suit, however, can result
<BR>in severe sanctions and even disbarment for attorneys who bring them
<BR>without good cause. The case, Kirby v. Sierra Club, et. al., (Siskiyou
<BR>County Superior Court No. SCCVCV0101363) was dismissed in return
<BR>for a waiver of the defendants' rights to ask for sanctions, costs and
<BR>attorney's fees. For more information on the case contact the Siskiyou
<BR>County Superior Court Clerk's office at: (530) 842-8182.
<BR>
<BR>5:01/07. KLAMATH HEADGATES GET NEW SECURITY: The
<BR>Associated Press reported on 1 January that the U.S. Bureau of
<BR>Reclamation (BOR) has now completed installation of new security
<BR>fences, video cameras and motion detectors to guard the Klamath
<BR>Irrigation Project headgates against tampering. Last year, farmers
<BR>stormed the headgates and illegally forced them open several times to
<BR>take water to which they were not legally entitled, defying federal water
<BR>cutbacks necessary due to severe drought and fish and wildlife
<BR>protections and undermining protections ordered to prevent extinction
<BR>of coho salmon in the Lower Klamath River (see Sublegals 4:01/01).
<BR>The security system cost $90,000 and BOR had to spend over $750,000
<BR>to guard the headgates in summer 2001, diverting money away from its
<BR>emergency water purchase program. At the going rate of $35/acre-foot
<BR>for replacement well water which was readily available, this amounts to
<BR>enough money to have purchased 24,000 acre-feet of water during last
<BR>year's drought, enough to fully irrigate 12,000 acres of prime croplands.
<BR>For more, see the 1 January Olympian article located at:
<BR>http://news.theolympian.com/stories/20020101/Northwest/161057.shtml.
<BR>
<BR>5:01/08. 2002 COLUMBIA SALMON RETURNS FORECASTED
<BR>TO BE GOOD: On 18 December, the Oregonian reported that 2002
<BR>Columbia River spring chinook runs (mostly hatchery fish) are predicted
<BR>to be the second largest on record, setting the stage for efforts to take
<BR>advantage of good ocean conditions to boost wild salmon recovery
<BR>efforts before the expected crash due in 2004 and 2005 due to
<BR>significant in-river fish kills during 2001. Some early immature adults,
<BR>or 'jack,' returns for those year classes might also indicate how much
<BR>damage was done by last year's spill cutoff, drought and excessive
<BR>reliance on barging (see Sublegals 4:01/02; 3:24/02; 3:18/01). The
<BR>predictive model used, however, contains substantial uncertainty, and
<BR>did not predict the record Columbia River returns of hatchery fish in
<BR>2001. Wild fish returns in 2001, however, still remained well below
<BR>ten-year averages. For more see:
<BR>http://www.oregonlive.com/printer/printer.ssf?/xml/story.ssf/
<BR>html_standard.xsl?/base/news/100868013331373120.xml.
<BR>
<BR>5:01/09. WEST COAST'S LARGEST FISHING ORGANIZATION
<BR>TO CHANGE NAME; IT'S GOOD-BYE PCFFA AND HELLO FLF:
<BR>Following the lead of organizations and corporations such as
<BR>Environmental Defense, the Ocean Conservancy and EXXON, the
<BR>PCFFA will be getting a new name effective 15 March. The name
<BR>change takes place after the PCFFA Board formally notices the
<BR>amendment to the organization's by-laws at its Bodega Bay meeting (see
<BR>Sublegals, 4:26/02), and adopts the change at its February meeting.
<BR>Formal announcement of the new name, Fishermen's Liberation Front
<BR>(FLF), is planned for the Fishermen's Forum in Sacramento, California
<BR>in March. The name was developed with the aid of a professional
<BR>naming organization, Nominex, which has had considerable success in
<BR>developing product names, particularly in the automobile field (e.g.,
<BR>Acura, Infiniti, Lexus, DeSoto); the final name was selected after
<BR>extensive focus group sessions. One of the other suggested names,
<BR>Shining Sea, was rejected as sounding too much like a cult, too
<BR>Peruvian.
<BR>
<BR>"Let's face it, PCFFA was just too long of a name and no one ever got
<BR>it right, even after 25 years," said PCFFA Executive Director Zeke
<BR>Grader. "We needed something less Lutheran and less Quaker sounding,
<BR>shorter and with more passion and pizzaz; beside we're no longer just
<BR>Pacific Coast." Grader reported a good response to the new name from
<BR>the focus groups and overwhelming support from reporters and the
<BR>media. In addition to the name change, there will also be a change of
<BR>logo. Gone is the middle-aged white guy in a sou'wester, replaced by a
<BR>raised arm with a clinched fist holding a gaff hook (the logo previously
<BR>used by PCFFA's Fishermen's Legal Defense Fund). The only negative
<BR>response to the name change has come from the Klamath Basin "Bucket
<BR>Brigade, " where a spokesman was quoted as saying, "Don't matter what
<BR>they [PCFFA] call themselves, they're still just a bunch of fringe
<BR>environmentalists paid by the United Nations to promote Agenda 21,
<BR>world communism and rural cleansing. Real fishers [sic] don't care
<BR>about water flows or conservation. If they come flying over here in their
<BR>black helicopters, we'll shoot them down." For more information, go to:
<BR>www.pcffa.org.
<BR>
<BR>5:01/10. UK RESEARCH ON POSSIBLE LINK BETWEEN
<BR>GLOBAL WARMING AND FALLING COD NUMBERS: It's not just
<BR>the Bering Sea where scientists are worried about the impact of global
<BR>warming on fish stocks. WorldCatch News Network reported 28
<BR>December that scientists at Britain's University of East Anglia are
<BR>involved in a major research project investigating a possible link
<BR>between global warming and falling numbers of cod. Researchers are
<BR>analyzing sea samples containing zooplankton, the staple diet of cod and
<BR>other species such as haddock. Previous studies in the North Sea have
<BR>shown a 90 per cent decline of zooplankton in the past 40 years at a time
<BR>when cod, haddock, herring and mackerel levels have also fallen,
<BR>fueling speculation that over-fishing may not be the sole cause of their
<BR>decline, said the WorldCatch report. One theory being investigated is
<BR>that rising water temperatures could be affecting ocean circulation
<BR>patterns, moving zooplankton north into waters away from traditional
<BR>fishing grounds. To see the full article, go to: www.worldcatch.com.
<BR>
<BR>5:01/11. 2001 SECOND HOTTEST YEAR ON RECORD SAYS
<BR>UN WEATHER AGENCY; SCIENTISTS SAY UNEXPECTED
<BR>GLOBAL WARMING IMPACTS COULD HIT SUDDENLY;
<BR>IMPACTS ALREADY SEVERE FOR ISLAND NATIONS: Earth's
<BR>temperature in 2001 was the second highest on record since record
<BR>keeping began 140 years ago, according to the United Nation's World
<BR>Meteorological Organization (WMO). Nine of the 10 warmest years in
<BR>the last four decades have occurred since 1990, and temperatures are
<BR>also now rising three times faster than in the early 1900's, according to
<BR>WMO data. Warming temperatures also led to increases in the severity
<BR>and frequency of storms, droughts and other unusual weather conditions
<BR>in 2001. Information on the WMO can be found at: http://www.wmo.ch.
<BR>The WMO data, released on 18 December, is at:
<BR>http://www.wmo.ch/web/Press/Press670.html.
<BR>
<BR>Rising sea levels have also begun to seriously impact low-lying
<BR>island nations, creating the first wave of world climate change refugees.
<BR>Associated Press reported 17 October that the Pacific island nation of
<BR>Tuvalu will begin evacuating the population of its nine islands, midway
<BR>between Hawaii and Australia, in 2002. Tuvalu has an agreement with
<BR>New Zealand to accept a certain number of refugees each year. Paani
<BR>Laupepa, Assistant Secretary of Tuvalu's Ministry of Natural Resources,
<BR>Energy & Environment, cited coastal erosion, droughts, unusually
<BR>severe storms and salt water intrusion into the islands' limited fresh
<BR>water wells, all caused by rising worldwide sea levels, as seriously
<BR>affecting the low-lying nation's ability to grow food and support its
<BR>current population of 10,000. For more information about Tuvalu see:
<BR>http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/tv.html.
<BR>
<BR>On 11 December, the National Research Council (NRC) issued a
<BR>scientific report by its Committee on Abrupt Climate Change titled
<BR>"Abrupt Climate Change: Inevitable Surprises," which noted the
<BR>likelihood of sudden and unexpected major climatic "phase shifts"
<BR>which may drive major regional temperature and rainfall pattern
<BR>changes not over 100 years, as previously predicted, but in a time span
<BR>of as little as 10 years. Such short time spans would leave many areas,
<BR>particularly coastal communities and rural agricultural communities,
<BR>unable to adequately respond. The 11 December report is under "Top
<BR>News" at: http://www4.nationalacademies.org/news.nsf.
<BR>
<BR>Another related NRC report is "Climate Change Science: An
<BR>Analysis of Some Key Questions," prepared in response to questions
<BR>submitted from U.S. President George W. Bush about whether global
<BR>warming was in fact happening or should be of national concern. The
<BR>scientists concluded that in spite of some uncertainties it was clear that
<BR>global warming was in fact happening, the pace was accelerating, and
<BR>that the U.S. and other nations should be prepared to deal with its
<BR>consequences, which could include prolonged drought, sustained severe
<BR>El Nino's (directly impacting fisheries), and severe weather conditions
<BR>in much of the nation. That report is available at:
<BR>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.10139.html.
<BR>
<BR>5:01/12. SNOW PACK RESULTS FOR NORTHWEST
<BR>ENCOURAGING: The 28 December Oregonian reported that Northwest
<BR>snowpacks in December 2001 were considerably above normal levels
<BR>for that month, including 166 percent above normal in the Upper
<BR>Klamath Basin. The results are encouraging for depleted reservoirs,
<BR>listed coho and other salmon stocks, as well as drought-stricken farmers
<BR>in the Klamath Irrigation Project. The Upper Klamath Basin suffered
<BR>record-breaking drought in 2001, with snow pack this time of the year in
<BR>2000 at only 58 percent of normal. Projections by the Oregon State
<BR>Climatologist are for a nearly normal water year this season. For more
<BR>information see the Oregonian archive page under that date at:
<BR>http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?month.
<BR>
<BR>5:01/13. PERIOD EXTENDED FOR ADOPTION OF CALIFORNIA
<BR>NEARHSORE FISHERIES MANAGEMENT PLAN: The California
<BR>Fish & Game Commission has announced the extension of time for its
<BR>adoption of the Nearshore Fishery Management Plan (NFMP). The
<BR>extension is to consider public comments from an independent scientific
<BR>review panel and integrate them into the revised draft NFMP, and also
<BR>to make the plan easier to read. The extended adoption schedule calls
<BR>for a public comment period beginning at the 4-5 April Commission
<BR>meeting in Long Beach; two special hearings in May; and adoption at
<BR>the Commission 1-2 August meeting in San Luis Obispo. The draft
<BR>NFMP is at: www.dfg.ca.gov/mrd/nfmp. For more information, contact
<BR>Maura Leos at: mleos@dfg.ca.gov.
<BR>
<BR>5:01/14. NMFS ASKED TO IDENTIFY AND TAKE ACTION TO
<BR>PROTECT SAN FRANCISCO BAY ESTUARY: Next week the
<BR>PCFFA will call on the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to
<BR>identify actions being taken to protect the San Francisco Bay estuary,
<BR>including those of other responsible agencies as well as planned NMFS
<BR>actions (see Sublegals, 4:26/01). A copy of the letter will be posted on
<BR>both the Sublegals and PCFFA website; go to: www.sublegals.net.
<BR>
<BR>5:01/15. IT'S JANUARY AND IT'S SUBLEGALS PLEDGE
<BR>MONTH: Sublegals, which is published weekly by PCFFA and IFR
<BR>staff, operates on a shoestring at best. Producing it, however, costs staff
<BR>time and money. To keep these weekly fishery briefing "shorts" coming
<BR>to you, we are asking readers for a small donation. In return, your
<BR>support will help keep Sublegals coming and you will also get a great
<BR>gift in appreciation. At the $25.00 level, readers get a coffee mug, with
<BR>our Sarcastic Fringehead logo; at the $50.00 level there's the mug, the
<BR>gray (because the news isn't just black or white) 100% organic cotton
<BR>t-shirt (Patagonia) with our logo; and at the $100.00 level, there's the
<BR>mug, the t-shirt and the 2002 Cape Cod Fishermen's "fishcake" calendar.
<BR>To pledge or learn more, go to: www.sublegals.net/fundraiser.htm.
<BR>##########################################################
<BR>NEWS, COMMENTS, CORRECTIONS: Submit your news items,
<BR>comments or any corrections to Allison Vogt, Editor at:
<BR>ifrfish@pacbell.net or call the IFR/PCFFA office with the news and a
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