[Fishlink] ~~>FISHLINK SUBLEGALS 3/8/02<~~
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~~>FISHLINK SUBLEGALS 3/8/02<~~
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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. 10 8 MARCH 2002
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This week's issue of Sublegals is available in PDF format on the web at
www.sublegals.net. We have also pasted the text below for those who
still wish to read it through your email. In the coming weeks we will be
posting all past issues as well as a search engine. In addition to this new
look, we are continuing 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 very little funding, and are
looking to our readers to sustain the continuation of this effort. Go to
www.sublegals.net to donate to this effort. Thank you for your support
of community fisheries education.
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"Say you know the end of the world is coming tomorrow morning.
How do you want to face it? With a calm mind and an open heart, yes?
Now say the world isn't going to end. How do you want to wake up in
the morning and approach your work? With a calm mind and an open
heart. End of the world or not -- same answer. Go on with your work.
.........Mother Myriam (as related by Freeman House)
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IN THIS ISSUE.......
Fishery Budgets, Transgenic Fish, Lead Issues For California's
Legislative Fisheries Forum. 5:10/01.
NRC Report On Impacts Of Bottom Trawls On Seafloor
To Be Released On Monday, 18 March. 5:10/02.
Optimistic Outlook For 2002 Pacific Coast Production
Of Wild Salmon. 5:10/03.
Alaska Senator Calls For International Controls Over
BC Fish Farms. 5:10/11.
Fishermen Urged To Consider Re-Refined Oil For
Vessel's Diesel Engines. 5:10/15.
AND MORE......
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5:10/01. FISHERY BUDGETS, TRANSGENIC FISH, OIL LEASE
SWAPS, SALMON, NEARSHORE FISHERIES AND MLPA LEAD
ISSUES FOR CALIFORNIA'S 30TH ANNUAL FISHERIES FORUM:
Fewer fireworks are expected this coming week for California's Annual
Legislative Forum than those experienced during last week's Maine
Fisheries Forum, where participants were stung by the groundfish
closures ordered for New England waters. Nevertheless, the 30th
California Fisheries Forum, which will be held at the State Capitol on
Wednesday, 13 March (see Sublegals, 5:09/14), is expected to confront a
number of controversial issues facing the State's and west coast fisheries.
Foremost among the issues are the budget cuts threatening California
Department of Fish & Game (CDFG) and the University of California's
Sea Grant programs. The situation is not as dire with Tuesday's passage
of Proposition 40 (see Sublegals, 5:08/08), however some research,
stock assessment and monitoring programs essential to fisheries
management are still on the chopping block. California's salmon
fishermen, meanwhile, are looking at some of the best stock abundance
predictions in recent years and improved season regulations, but they
will have to deal with a world market glut of Chilean and other farmed
salmon impacting the price paid for the higher quality and sustainable
wild salmon.
There will also be a demonstration at the Forum of the innovative and
unique Klamath Resource Information System (KRIS), which the State
is using to compile data, maps (GIS), reports (published and
unpublished), history, graphs and photographs of California's north coast
salmon watersheds into a scientifically peer-reviewed internet service
readily available to scientists, agencies, fishermen and the public
(www.krisweb.com). Other discussions will center around the three
measures before the State Legislature dealing with different aspects of
transgenic fish (see Sublegals, 5:09/01). Discussions will also focus on
the proposed canceling of undeveloped oil leases offshore California in
return for oil companies getting new leases in the Gulf of Mexico (see
Sublegals, 5:07/01), and a call for investigating potential mercury
contamination around existing offshore rigs (see Sublegals, 5:01/01).
Finally, there will be updates on the implementation of the Marine Life
Protection Act (MLPA) dealing with marine protected areas (MPAs) and
the development of the plan for nearshore fisheries management, in
addition to talks on sea urchins, Dungeness crab, steelhead and trout.
The Forum will be held in Room 126 of the State Capitol in
Sacramento beginning at 1000 HRS on the 13th. For more information
or an agenda, contact the Joint Committee on Fisheries & Aquaculture at
(916) 319-3823 or e-mail Committee Consultant Mary Morgan at:
mary.morgan@asm.ca.gov.
5:10/02: NRC REPORT ON IMPACTS OF BOTTOM TRAWLING
DUE OUT ON 18TH: The National Research Council's (NRC) "Effects
of Bottom Trawling on Seafloor Habitat" report is scheduled to be
released to the public on Monday, 18 March. The NRC study is in
response to concerns that have been raised in recent years regarding the
impact bottom trawls, or drag nets, may have on ocean floor habitats and
ecosystems, including rocky outcroppings and corals. Concurrent with
the release of the report, legislation by U.S. Representative Joel Hefley
(R-CO) and other House members will be introduced in the Congress on
the 18th to ban "rockhopper" (roller) bottom trawl gear. NRC's Ocean
Studies Board prepared the report. NRC members are drawn from the
National Academy of Sciences (NAS), the National Academy of
Engineering and the Institute of Medicine. Shortly after the 18th, the
report will be available in through the National Academy Press at:
http://www.nap.edu/.
5:10/03. WILD SALMON PRODUCTION OUTLOOK FOR WEST
COAST BEST IN PAST FEW YEARS, GLUT OF FARMED
SALMON CHALLENGE TO MARKETING: The Pacific Fishery
Management Council will meet next week, 11-15 March, in Sacramento,
to begin its salmon season setting process for 2002 (see below, 5:10/04).
Stock outlooks are the best it has been in the past few years, due to
normal to above normal rainfall and good oceanic conditions, coupled
with some measures to improve in-stream habitat conditions. Except for
California, 2001 was better than the previous several years for the ocean
salmon fishery along the U.S. Pacific Coast. For California, the problem
was a northward shift of stocks into closed Klamath areas and Oregon;
the State's spawning escapement for the Central Valley, however, which
accounts for about 90 percent of the California and Oregon chinook
(king salmon) production, exceeded its goals by nearly four-fold.
For the area from the Canadian Border to Cape Falcon (roughly the
Washington coast), the commercial troll catch was 26,514 chinook and
17,479 coho, compared to 12,932 chinook and 17,294 coho for 2000.
The sport catch was also up with 25,592 chinook and 207,538 coho
compared to 9,234 and 77,515 respectively for 2000. In the area from
Cape Falcon to Humbug Mountain (most of the Oregon coast), the troll
chinook catch was 266,981 compared to 130,164 for 2000. In this area
there is a sport fishery on hatchery coho; recreational landings were
17,394 chinook and 55,088 coho compared to 12,878 and 19,401
respectively for 2000. In the Klamath Management Zone (KMZ)
extending from Humbug Mountain to Horse Mountain, 9722 chinook
were landed compared to 5,634 for 2000 in the ocean commercial
fishery. For the rest of the California coast, the troll landings of chinook
were 173,436 compared to 477,014 for the year before. The sport
landings were also down in the area from 172,377 fish in 2000 to 84,521
in 2001. Fewer fish in the California landings were partially
compensated by the larger size of the fish, but it still meant the third
lowest year in pounds landed in more than 50 years.
Where did the California fish go? Obviously they went north where
catches of chinook from the KMZ northward were up. A lot also went
upriver, where there was a record escapement of 494,200 natural
spawning fall-run adults (31,900 jacks) and 67,300 fall-run back to the
hatcheries (5,800 jacks), far exceeding the range set for spawning
escapement into the Central Valley of 120,000-180,000 adults. Late
fall-run, as well as Endangered Species Act (ESA) listed winter and
spring-run chinook spawning numbers were also up last season from
2000. Late-fall escapement was 14,500 compared to 10,200 in 2000 and
was the highest since 1988. Spring-run were at 12,500 compared to
5,500 in 2,000. Except for the 1998 record of 23,600, this was the largest
escapement of springers by far since 1981. Winter-run numbers are
estimated at around 11,000 for this past year, but counting has been
difficult since the gates at the Red Bluff Diversion Dam, where they are
tallied, are lifted and escapement numbers are now being estimated by
carcass surveys. To the north in the Klamath, the adult spawning
escapement of chinook was at 186,000 fish, one of the better returns in
the past two decades, but no record. Coho in the Klamath Basin are
listed under the ESA and there is no take. Spawning escapement in most
of the coastal streams was also up.
In the Eel River, fall-run numbers were better than in past years and
in little Lagunitas Creek in Marin County, a predominately coho and
steelhead stream, there were about 60 chinook spawners and over 20
chum salmon (a rarity south of the Columbia). For more information on
the returns go to CDFG's website at:
www.dfg.ca.gov/mrd/oceansalmon.html. In the meantime, marketing of
wild salmon from California to Alaska will be a challenge due to the glut
of farmed salmon on the world market, much of it dumped on the U.S.
market from Chile. Wild salmon producers are making headway,
however, in consumer education efforts, and the proposed seafood
labeling language in the Senate version of the Farm Bill (see Sublegals,
5:08/03) to require information on whether fish are wild or farmed and
their country of origin will really help the wild salmon industry if
approved by the Congress.
5:10/04. PFMC TO MEET IN SACRAMENTO, BEGINNING OF
SALMON SEASON SETTING PROCESS: The Pacific Fishery
Management Council and its various advisory committees and panels
will meet in Sacramento, California the week of 11-15 March. The
agenda includes, in addition to adopting a set of options for the 2002
ocean salmon fisheries, the adoption of a fishery management plan
(FMP) for highly migratory species (e.g., albacore, swordfish, sharks),
adopting incidental catch regulations for the 2002 Pacific halibut season,
and adoption of Amendment to the coastal pelagic species FMP. The
meeting will be held at the Red Lion Hotel, 1401 Arden Way in
Sacramento. For more information, call the PFMC at (503) 326-6352, or
the Red Lion at (916) 922-8041, or go to: www.pcouncil.org.
5:10/05. WESTLANDS WATER DISTRICT LAWSUIT
THREATENS TO UNDERMINE CALFED, SALMON
PROTECTIONS: On 25 February, the Westlands Water District and the
San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority filed suit in U.S. District
Court for the Eastern District of California (Fresno) against the
Departments of Interior and Commerce, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife
Service (USFWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)
(Civ. Case No. F-02-5209), seeking to enjoin these CALFED agencies
from implementing Endangered Species Act (ESA) protection for winter
and spring-run chinook salmon and other fish, and, by implication,
CALFED's Environmental Water Account (EWA). Westlands and San
Luis & Delta Mendota are located on the west side of the San Joaquin
Valley and principally serve corporate agricultural operations made
possible when the state and federal water projects made cheap water
available to this arid section of the Central Valley for irrigated
agriculture. They are among California's most junior water rights
holders.
The EWA is designed to allow Delta pumping to be reduced, in order
to protect endangered species and restore the Bay-Delta ecosystem,
while simultaneously providing water for South-of-Delta water users. If
successful, Westlands' new suit would directly block the implementation
of the CALFED plan by preventing NMFS and USFWS from being able
to require reductions in Delta pumping under the ESA. The suit also
includes "junk science" claims in the wake of the Klamath National
Academy of Science reports (see 5:10/06 below). The litigation is
another in a series of suits brought by Westlands against the federal
agencies and even other water districts; it previously, for example, sued
to challenge the use of "b2" water (800,000 acre-feet) allocated under the
Central Valley Project Improvement Act (CVPIA) for fish and wildlife.
This lawsuit is seen as a key test of the Department of Interior's support
for CALFED.
5:10/06. U.S. HOUSE RESOURCES COMMITTEE HEARING ON
NAS KLAMATH REPORT: Following up on the National Academy of
Sciences (NAS) Klamath Basin Committee's "Interim Report," House
Resources Committee Chairman James Hansen (R-UT) has called a full
Committee hearing for Wednesday, 13 March, to review the report and
its conclusion that the statistical correlation between lake levels and lake
fish survival was inconclusive (see Sublegals 5:06/01). Hansen, long a
proponent of eliminating the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA),
however, left little doubt of his intent to use the hearing as an anti-ESA
political platform, preceding the hearing with his own press release, even
prior to taking any testimony, saying: "This latest travesty in the
enforcement of the Endangered Species Act should be one more nail in
the coffin of that broken law." (press release at:
http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/press/2002/2002_0204basin..htm).
The hearing itself will be available on audio via the Internet starting at
0700 HRS PST. For the hearing schedule and Real Audio link see:
http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/schedule.htm.
5:10/07. PRESIDENT APPOINTS CABINET LEVEL KLAMATH
TASK FORCE: On 1 March, U.S. President George W. Bush
designated a cabinet level "Klamath River Basin Federal Working
Group" consisting of the Secretaries of Interior, Commerce, Agriculture
and White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Chairman
James L. Connaughton, to advise him on "immediate and long-term
actions necessary to enhance water quality and quantity, and to address
other complex economic and natural resource issues in the Klamath
River Basin." Interior Secretary Gale Norton will chair the Task Force.
In formulating its advice, the Working Group is also "encouraged to seek
input from stakeholders, including members of the farming and fishing
communities; residents of the Basin; representatives of conservation,
environmental, and water use organizations, and existing coordinating
entities; the States of Oregon and California; local governments; and
representatives of Klamath River Basin Tribal governments."
While touted by the Upper Basin irrigators, and also Congressman
Greg Walden (R-OR) and U.S. Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR) as a
major victory for irrigators' water needs, the Working Group merely
reflects the current informal working relationship among these
departments on Klamath issues, currently being coordinated through
CEQ. It also reflects inter-agency working relationships that would be
required under the Wyden provision of the Senate Farm Bill (S. 1731)
for the creation of a Basin-wide plan for spending the $175 million in
funds targeted in that bill to Klamath Basin restoration (see Sublegals
5:07/05). The Working Group also announced some measures on 8
March, including 'fast-tracking' the installation of fish screens on the
A-Canal (over 10 years late), extensions on disaster relief signups and
other minor issues. However, without the Wyden provision in the Farm
Bill, there is relatively little that the Task Force can do, for lack of
funding. To see the President's Memorandum creating the Working
Group and his statement on the issue, go to:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/03/20020301-10.html.
5:10/08. NOAA ANNOUNCES 15 APRIL DEADLINE FOR
SALMON HABITAT RESTORATION GRANTS: On 12 February, the
National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced
the availability of grant funds for community-based salmon and marine
resources habitat restoration projects. The request for proposals was
published at 67 Federal Register pp. 6500-6504 (12 February 2000).
Typical project awards will range from $50,000 to $200,000. For more
information contact Robin J. Bruckner or Alison Ward, (301) 713-0174
or by email to: Robin.Bruckern@noaa.gov or to
Alison.Ward@noaa.gov. Further information on the Community-based
Restoration Program (CRP) can be found at:
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/habitat/restoration/community/index.html.
5:10/09. HOUSE BILL WOULD AUTHORIZE BUREAU OF
RECLAMATION STUDY OF EASTERN OREGON RIVERS: On 6
March, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1883, a bill
introduced by Congressman Greg Walden (R-OR), that would authorize
the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) to conduct feasibility studies on
"water optimization" for a number of Eastern Oregon rivers. The bill is
backed by irrigators who depend on water from the Burnt, Malheur,
Owyhee and Power Rivers in Oregon's extremely arid east side,
apparently hoping to avoid the kind of water over-appropriation
problems that have plagued the Klamath Basin. A similar bill,
sponsored by U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), S. 238, is already
pending in the Senate. For more information or a copy of these bills go
to: http://thomas.loc.gov.
5:10/10. WASHINGTON LEGISLATURE GRAPPLES WITH
WATER RIGHT TRACKING: The Washington State Legislature is
considering legislation, S.B. 6279, to improve its woefully inadequate
system for tracking water rights. Water metering is now required in the
state as a result of a lawsuit brought by PCFFA and other groups, and by
a court order issued in February, 2000 (see Sublegals 1:07/07), but after
decades of neglected record keeping the state now has no easy way to
tell who owns what water right. The bill would direct the Department of
Ecology to work with county auditors to improve the state's system for
water rights ownership information. For bill information and legislative
history of the bill see: http://www.leg.wa.gov/wsladm/bills.cfm.
5:10/11. ALASKA SENATOR CALLS FOR INTERNATIONAL
CONTROLS OVER B.C. FISH FARMS: In a 15 February letter to U.S.
Secretary of State Colin Powell, U.S. Senator Frank Murkowski (R-AK)
has called for a new annex to the Pacific Salmon Treaty, the
international agreement between Canada and the U.S. which deals with
west coast transboundary salmon management, to deal with British
Columbia salmon farms which are allowing Atlantic salmon to escape in
large numbers into Alaskan waters. The Canadian government lifted its
long standing moratorium on new salmon farms in January, 2002,
despite many objections, an action which is likely to result in major fish
farm industry expansion (see Sublegals, 5:06/05; 5:03/06; 4:14/09;
4:07/05). The letter noted: "There are a number of valid reasons to be
concerned, including pollution of coastal waters from unused food and
fish wastes, the possibility of transmitting diseases to native species, and
the possibility that antibiotics used in farmed salmon will lead to more
forms of various disease-causing organisms. However, by far the most
serious danger is that Atlantic salmon, a non-native species on the West
Coast, will become established in the region's streams. This is not an
unwarranted fear. Fish farms on the British Columbia coast have been
plagued by mass escapes....." (see Sublegals, 2:08/03; 2:07/7). For more
information and a copy of the letter see:
http://murkowski.senate.gov/releases107/02-19-02-2.html. Also, the
Alaska Department of Fish & Game's (ADFG) white paper on Atlantic
salmon has recently been updated; it can be viewed by going to:
http://www.state.ak.us/adfg/geninfo/special/AS/AS_home.htm.
5:10/12. B.C. TRIBE CHALLENGES FISH FARM LICENSE TO
KILL SEALS: The 6 March issue of the Victoria Times Colonist reports
that the First Nation Kwicksutaineuk/Ah-kwa-mish Tribe is legally
challenging a British Columbia fish farms' license that allows it to kill
seals in the Broughton Archipelago off northwest Vancouver Island.
The Tribe filed an application for review of the license of Heritage
Aquaculture's Burdwood Islands operation in Federal Court in
Vancouver on 5 March as a test case. More than 20 of B.C.'s
approximately 90 salmon fish farms are in the Broughton Archipelago,
all have similar licenses to kill seals, and at least 10 are also within the
Tribe's traditional territory. Preliminary numbers from Canada's
Department of Fisheries & Oceans (DFO) indicated at least 395 seals
and sea lions were killed at B.C. fish farms in 2001, and another 719 in
2000 (see Sublegals 1:24/18). The Tribe, which has a traditional right to
hunt seals, is both disturbed by potential population declines and by
failure of the Canadian government to consult with them before issuing
the licenses. For more, search the newspaper archives under 'sea lions'
at: http://www.canada.com/victoria/timescolonist.
5:10/13. COLUMBIA DEEPENING PROJECT GETS SECOND
LOOK, CORPS BENEFITS ANALYSIS QUESTIONED: The U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers (COE) is preparing a supplement to the "Final
Integrated Feasibility Report" of its Columbia River channel deepening
project. The original analysis is being revisited "to add new information
from the recently transmitted biological assessment prepared by the
Corps of Engineers for the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)
and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service," among other reasons. The COE
expects to issue a notice of intent for this review with a hearing schedule
within the next 2 weeks. The project, pushed hard by the Port of Portland
as essential to handle deep draft international barge traffic, has long been
criticized by downriver ports and salmon advocates as a taxpayer
boondoggle that would destroy most of the last remaining 10 percent of
salmon habitat in the Columbia River estuary and do little for the
economy (see Sublegals 5:02/17). Now an extensive investigative report
by The Oregonian (published 2-4 March) confirms much of this
criticism, finding that the Corps greatly overstated the economic benefits
of the project, understated its costs, and even allowed Port of Portland's
contractors to draft its own economic analysis, among other
irregularities.
Salmon fishermen and downriver crabbers have previously
successfully sued the COE and NMFS (see Sublegals 4:04/12; 2:08/05;
2:06/10) to halt the project for lack of analysis of its economic impacts
to fisheries. Additionally, evidence has accumulated that dredge spoils
dumped in the lower estuary cause wave amplification which poses a
serious safety hazard for small boat fishermen, an impact the COE has
also mostly ignored (see Sublegals 4:15/01; 4:13/05). The Oregonian
redid the economic cost-benefit ratio the COE reported as $2.10 for
every dollar spent and concluded that the project would actually lose
money, with a true benefit ratio of only $0.88 per dollar. For the
complete Oregonian articles, go to:
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?month under the
2-4 March issues.
By law the COE is not supposed to undertake projects with a negative
net economic benefit. However, this would not be the first time the COE
has deliberately overstated economic benefits in order to push through an
unnecessary project under political pressure, and there have been a
number of renewed calls for COE reforms. For instance, U.S. Senators
Bob Smith (R-NH), John McCain (R-AZ) and Russ Feingold (D-WS) on
6 March introduced the "Corps of Engineers Modernization &
Improvement Act," S. 1987, that would require an independent review of
COE proposed projects costing more than $25 million, or which would
significantly affect fish and wildlife. For more information on the bill
see: http://www.senate.gov/~feingold/releases/02/03/2002305B16.html.
5:10/14. B.C. OFFSHORE OIL DEVELOPMENT CRASHES
AGAINST TRIBAL LAND CLAIMS: The Haida Indian Nation filed
suit in the British Columbia Supreme Court on 6 March, claiming
management authority over British Columbia's oil-rich Queen Charlotte
Islands as a way to halt Provincial plans to develop that area's large oil
reserves. Like the vast majority of native groups in B.C., the Haida
never signed a treaty with the Canadian government, which courts have
interpreted to mean that they retained ultimate ownership of all their
aboriginal lands. The Haida won a similar ruling just days earlier
against logging companies operating on the islands, with the Supreme
Court ruling that those logging operations could not proceed without
Haida consultation and consent. The Haida are strongly opposed to any
offshore oil development, and their strong entry into the B.C. offshore
oil debate was generally welcomed by local fishermen who have been
fighting their own B.C. Liberal government to prevent planned offshore
oil development which would likely damage the nearshore fisheries (see
Sublegals, 5:07/02). The Haida have occupied the islands continuously
for more than 10,000 years, have roughly 7,000 members and currently
compose about 35 percent of the population of the many islands within
the 5,800 square kilometer area. For more information see the 6 March
issue of the Vancouver Province at:
http://www.canada.com/search/site/story.asp?id=1FC609F9-0888-4679-
B24F-0A07A0891AB3.
5:10/15. FISHERMEN URGED TO USE RE-REFINED OIL IN
ENGINES TO REDUCE OIL DEMAND, DUMPING OF USED OIL:
Re-refined oil is used motor oil that undergoes an extensive re-refining
process to remove contaminants. Using mechanisms similar to those
used by traditional refineries to produce virgin base oil from crude oil,
re-refiners remove impurities from used oil through vacuum distillation
and hydrotreatment. The re-refined base oil is then combined with a
fresh additives package. According to the American Petroleum Institute,
certified re-refined oil is of equal quality to oil made from a virgin base
stock. API certified re-refined oil must pass the same tests that virgin
oils do, including cold start and pumpability, rust corrosion, engine
wear, high temperature oil thickening, deposit and phosphorous tests.
Re-refined oil is being used extensively in both private and public
vehicle fleets. It is also being used in marine settings by the U.S. Coast
Guard, and on ferry fleets in Galveston, Texas. In terms of cost,
re-refined oil is priced competitively with virgin oils, and in some
instances may be a few cents per quart cheaper. For a free video and
information packet on re-refined oil, call (916) 341-6457. For online
information, visit www.ciwmb.ca.gov/usedoil/rerefined. For a list of
re-refiners, blenders and distributors of re-refined oil in California, visit
www.ciwmb.ca.gov/usedoil/rerefined/distibutors
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>PLEASE HELP SUPPORT THE SUBLEGALS NEWSLETTER.
<BR>To donate go to: www.sublegals.net. Sublegals is published free
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<BR>##########################################################
<BR> ~~>FISHLINK SUBLEGALS 3/8/02<~~
<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. 10 8 MARCH 2002
<BR>##########################################################
<BR>This week's issue of Sublegals is available in PDF format on the web at
<BR>www.sublegals.net. We have also pasted the text below for those who
<BR>still wish to read it through your email. In the coming weeks we will be
<BR>posting all past issues as well as a search engine. In addition to this new
<BR>look, we are continuing our Sublegals Fundraiser to support the Institute
<BR>for Fisheries Resources and the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's
<BR>Associations in publishing this weekly newsletter free of charge. We
<BR>have recently passed our 100th issue, with very little funding, and are
<BR>looking to our readers to sustain the continuation of this effort. Go to
<BR>www.sublegals.net to donate to this effort. Thank you for your support
<BR>of community fisheries education.
<BR>##########################################################
<BR> "Say you know the end of the world is coming tomorrow morning.
<BR>How do you want to face it? With a calm mind and an open heart, yes?
<BR>Now say the world isn't going to end. How do you want to wake up in
<BR>the morning and approach your work? With a calm mind and an open
<BR>heart. End of the world or not -- same answer. Go on with your work.
<BR>.........Mother Myriam (as related by Freeman House)
<BR>##########################################################
<BR>IN THIS ISSUE.......
<BR>
<BR>Fishery Budgets, Transgenic Fish, Lead Issues For California's
<BR>Legislative Fisheries Forum. 5:10/01.
<BR>
<BR>NRC Report On Impacts Of Bottom Trawls On Seafloor
<BR>To Be Released On Monday, 18 March. 5:10/02.
<BR>
<BR>Optimistic Outlook For 2002 Pacific Coast Production
<BR>Of Wild Salmon. 5:10/03.
<BR>
<BR>Alaska Senator Calls For International Controls Over
<BR>BC Fish Farms. 5:10/11.
<BR>
<BR>Fishermen Urged To Consider Re-Refined Oil For
<BR>Vessel's Diesel Engines. 5:10/15.
<BR>
<BR>AND MORE......
<BR>##########################################################
<BR> 5:10/01. FISHERY BUDGETS, TRANSGENIC FISH, OIL LEASE
<BR>SWAPS, SALMON, NEARSHORE FISHERIES AND MLPA LEAD
<BR>ISSUES FOR CALIFORNIA'S 30TH ANNUAL FISHERIES FORUM:
<BR>Fewer fireworks are expected this coming week for California's Annual
<BR>Legislative Forum than those experienced during last week's Maine
<BR>Fisheries Forum, where participants were stung by the groundfish
<BR>closures ordered for New England waters. Nevertheless, the 30th
<BR>California Fisheries Forum, which will be held at the State Capitol on
<BR>Wednesday, 13 March (see Sublegals, 5:09/14), is expected to confront a
<BR>number of controversial issues facing the State's and west coast fisheries.
<BR>Foremost among the issues are the budget cuts threatening California
<BR>Department of Fish & Game (CDFG) and the University of California's
<BR>Sea Grant programs. The situation is not as dire with Tuesday's passage
<BR>of Proposition 40 (see Sublegals, 5:08/08), however some research,
<BR>stock assessment and monitoring programs essential to fisheries
<BR>management are still on the chopping block. California's salmon
<BR>fishermen, meanwhile, are looking at some of the best stock abundance
<BR>predictions in recent years and improved season regulations, but they
<BR>will have to deal with a world market glut of Chilean and other farmed
<BR>salmon impacting the price paid for the higher quality and sustainable
<BR>wild salmon.
<BR>
<BR> There will also be a demonstration at the Forum of the innovative and
<BR>unique Klamath Resource Information System (KRIS), which the State
<BR>is using to compile data, maps (GIS), reports (published and
<BR>unpublished), history, graphs and photographs of California's north coast
<BR>salmon watersheds into a scientifically peer-reviewed internet service
<BR>readily available to scientists, agencies, fishermen and the public
<BR>(www.krisweb.com). Other discussions will center around the three
<BR>measures before the State Legislature dealing with different aspects of
<BR>transgenic fish (see Sublegals, 5:09/01). Discussions will also focus on
<BR>the proposed canceling of undeveloped oil leases offshore California in
<BR>return for oil companies getting new leases in the Gulf of Mexico (see
<BR>Sublegals, 5:07/01), and a call for investigating potential mercury
<BR>contamination around existing offshore rigs (see Sublegals, 5:01/01).
<BR>Finally, there will be updates on the implementation of the Marine Life
<BR>Protection Act (MLPA) dealing with marine protected areas (MPAs) and
<BR>the development of the plan for nearshore fisheries management, in
<BR>addition to talks on sea urchins, Dungeness crab, steelhead and trout.
<BR>
<BR> The Forum will be held in Room 126 of the State Capitol in
<BR>Sacramento beginning at 1000 HRS on the 13th. For more information
<BR>or an agenda, contact the Joint Committee on Fisheries & Aquaculture at
<BR>(916) 319-3823 or e-mail Committee Consultant Mary Morgan at:
<BR>mary.morgan@asm.ca.gov.
<BR>
<BR> 5:10/02: NRC REPORT ON IMPACTS OF BOTTOM TRAWLING
<BR>DUE OUT ON 18TH: The National Research Council's (NRC) "Effects
<BR>of Bottom Trawling on Seafloor Habitat" report is scheduled to be
<BR>released to the public on Monday, 18 March. The NRC study is in
<BR>response to concerns that have been raised in recent years regarding the
<BR>impact bottom trawls, or drag nets, may have on ocean floor habitats and
<BR>ecosystems, including rocky outcroppings and corals. Concurrent with
<BR>the release of the report, legislation by U.S. Representative Joel Hefley
<BR>(R-CO) and other House members will be introduced in the Congress on
<BR>the 18th to ban "rockhopper" (roller) bottom trawl gear. NRC's Ocean
<BR>Studies Board prepared the report. NRC members are drawn from the
<BR>National Academy of Sciences (NAS), the National Academy of
<BR>Engineering and the Institute of Medicine. Shortly after the 18th, the
<BR>report will be available in through the National Academy Press at:
<BR>http://www.nap.edu/.
<BR>
<BR> 5:10/03. WILD SALMON PRODUCTION OUTLOOK FOR WEST
<BR>COAST BEST IN PAST FEW YEARS, GLUT OF FARMED
<BR>SALMON CHALLENGE TO MARKETING: The Pacific Fishery
<BR>Management Council will meet next week, 11-15 March, in Sacramento,
<BR>to begin its salmon season setting process for 2002 (see below, 5:10/04).
<BR>Stock outlooks are the best it has been in the past few years, due to
<BR>normal to above normal rainfall and good oceanic conditions, coupled
<BR>with some measures to improve in-stream habitat conditions. Except for
<BR>California, 2001 was better than the previous several years for the ocean
<BR>salmon fishery along the U.S. Pacific Coast. For California, the problem
<BR>was a northward shift of stocks into closed Klamath areas and Oregon;
<BR>the State's spawning escapement for the Central Valley, however, which
<BR>accounts for about 90 percent of the California and Oregon chinook
<BR>(king salmon) production, exceeded its goals by nearly four-fold.
<BR>
<BR> For the area from the Canadian Border to Cape Falcon (roughly the
<BR>Washington coast), the commercial troll catch was 26,514 chinook and
<BR>17,479 coho, compared to 12,932 chinook and 17,294 coho for 2000.
<BR>The sport catch was also up with 25,592 chinook and 207,538 coho
<BR>compared to 9,234 and 77,515 respectively for 2000. In the area from
<BR>Cape Falcon to Humbug Mountain (most of the Oregon coast), the troll
<BR>chinook catch was 266,981 compared to 130,164 for 2000. In this area
<BR>there is a sport fishery on hatchery coho; recreational landings were
<BR>17,394 chinook and 55,088 coho compared to 12,878 and 19,401
<BR>respectively for 2000. In the Klamath Management Zone (KMZ)
<BR>extending from Humbug Mountain to Horse Mountain, 9722 chinook
<BR>were landed compared to 5,634 for 2000 in the ocean commercial
<BR>fishery. For the rest of the California coast, the troll landings of chinook
<BR>were 173,436 compared to 477,014 for the year before. The sport
<BR>landings were also down in the area from 172,377 fish in 2000 to 84,521
<BR>in 2001. Fewer fish in the California landings were partially
<BR>compensated by the larger size of the fish, but it still meant the third
<BR>lowest year in pounds landed in more than 50 years.
<BR>
<BR> Where did the California fish go? Obviously they went north where
<BR>catches of chinook from the KMZ northward were up. A lot also went
<BR>upriver, where there was a record escapement of 494,200 natural
<BR>spawning fall-run adults (31,900 jacks) and 67,300 fall-run back to the
<BR>hatcheries (5,800 jacks), far exceeding the range set for spawning
<BR>escapement into the Central Valley of 120,000-180,000 adults. Late
<BR>fall-run, as well as Endangered Species Act (ESA) listed winter and
<BR>spring-run chinook spawning numbers were also up last season from
<BR>2000. Late-fall escapement was 14,500 compared to 10,200 in 2000 and
<BR>was the highest since 1988. Spring-run were at 12,500 compared to
<BR>5,500 in 2,000. Except for the 1998 record of 23,600, this was the largest
<BR>escapement of springers by far since 1981. Winter-run numbers are
<BR>estimated at around 11,000 for this past year, but counting has been
<BR>difficult since the gates at the Red Bluff Diversion Dam, where they are
<BR>tallied, are lifted and escapement numbers are now being estimated by
<BR>carcass surveys. To the north in the Klamath, the adult spawning
<BR>escapement of chinook was at 186,000 fish, one of the better returns in
<BR>the past two decades, but no record. Coho in the Klamath Basin are
<BR>listed under the ESA and there is no take. Spawning escapement in most
<BR>of the coastal streams was also up.
<BR>
<BR> In the Eel River, fall-run numbers were better than in past years and
<BR>in little Lagunitas Creek in Marin County, a predominately coho and
<BR>steelhead stream, there were about 60 chinook spawners and over 20
<BR>chum salmon (a rarity south of the Columbia). For more information on
<BR>the returns go to CDFG's website at:
<BR>www.dfg.ca.gov/mrd/oceansalmon.html. In the meantime, marketing of
<BR>wild salmon from California to Alaska will be a challenge due to the glut
<BR>of farmed salmon on the world market, much of it dumped on the U.S.
<BR>market from Chile. Wild salmon producers are making headway,
<BR>however, in consumer education efforts, and the proposed seafood
<BR>labeling language in the Senate version of the Farm Bill (see Sublegals,
<BR>5:08/03) to require information on whether fish are wild or farmed and
<BR>their country of origin will really help the wild salmon industry if
<BR>approved by the Congress.
<BR>
<BR> 5:10/04. PFMC TO MEET IN SACRAMENTO, BEGINNING OF
<BR>SALMON SEASON SETTING PROCESS: The Pacific Fishery
<BR>Management Council and its various advisory committees and panels
<BR>will meet in Sacramento, California the week of 11-15 March. The
<BR>agenda includes, in addition to adopting a set of options for the 2002
<BR>ocean salmon fisheries, the adoption of a fishery management plan
<BR>(FMP) for highly migratory species (e.g., albacore, swordfish, sharks),
<BR>adopting incidental catch regulations for the 2002 Pacific halibut season,
<BR>and adoption of Amendment to the coastal pelagic species FMP. The
<BR>meeting will be held at the Red Lion Hotel, 1401 Arden Way in
<BR>Sacramento. For more information, call the PFMC at (503) 326-6352, or
<BR>the Red Lion at (916) 922-8041, or go to: www.pcouncil.org.
<BR>
<BR> 5:10/05. WESTLANDS WATER DISTRICT LAWSUIT
<BR>THREATENS TO UNDERMINE CALFED, SALMON
<BR>PROTECTIONS: On 25 February, the Westlands Water District and the
<BR>San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority filed suit in U.S. District
<BR>Court for the Eastern District of California (Fresno) against the
<BR>Departments of Interior and Commerce, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife
<BR>Service (USFWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)
<BR>(Civ. Case No. F-02-5209), seeking to enjoin these CALFED agencies
<BR>from implementing Endangered Species Act (ESA) protection for winter
<BR>and spring-run chinook salmon and other fish, and, by implication,
<BR>CALFED's Environmental Water Account (EWA). Westlands and San
<BR>Luis & Delta Mendota are located on the west side of the San Joaquin
<BR>Valley and principally serve corporate agricultural operations made
<BR>possible when the state and federal water projects made cheap water
<BR>available to this arid section of the Central Valley for irrigated
<BR>agriculture. They are among California's most junior water rights
<BR>holders.
<BR>
<BR> The EWA is designed to allow Delta pumping to be reduced, in order
<BR>to protect endangered species and restore the Bay-Delta ecosystem,
<BR>while simultaneously providing water for South-of-Delta water users. If
<BR>successful, Westlands' new suit would directly block the implementation
<BR>of the CALFED plan by preventing NMFS and USFWS from being able
<BR>to require reductions in Delta pumping under the ESA. The suit also
<BR>includes "junk science" claims in the wake of the Klamath National
<BR>Academy of Science reports (see 5:10/06 below). The litigation is
<BR>another in a series of suits brought by Westlands against the federal
<BR>agencies and even other water districts; it previously, for example, sued
<BR>to challenge the use of "b2" water (800,000 acre-feet) allocated under the
<BR>Central Valley Project Improvement Act (CVPIA) for fish and wildlife.
<BR>This lawsuit is seen as a key test of the Department of Interior's support
<BR>for CALFED.
<BR>
<BR> 5:10/06. U.S. HOUSE RESOURCES COMMITTEE HEARING ON
<BR>NAS KLAMATH REPORT: Following up on the National Academy of
<BR>Sciences (NAS) Klamath Basin Committee's "Interim Report," House
<BR>Resources Committee Chairman James Hansen (R-UT) has called a full
<BR>Committee hearing for Wednesday, 13 March, to review the report and
<BR>its conclusion that the statistical correlation between lake levels and lake
<BR>fish survival was inconclusive (see Sublegals 5:06/01). Hansen, long a
<BR>proponent of eliminating the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA),
<BR>however, left little doubt of his intent to use the hearing as an anti-ESA
<BR>political platform, preceding the hearing with his own press release, even
<BR>prior to taking any testimony, saying: "This latest travesty in the
<BR>enforcement of the Endangered Species Act should be one more nail in
<BR>the coffin of that broken law." (press release at:
<BR>http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/press/2002/2002_0204basin..htm).
<BR>The hearing itself will be available on audio via the Internet starting at
<BR>0700 HRS PST. For the hearing schedule and Real Audio link see:
<BR>http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/schedule.htm.
<BR>
<BR> 5:10/07. PRESIDENT APPOINTS CABINET LEVEL KLAMATH
<BR>TASK FORCE: On 1 March, U.S. President George W. Bush
<BR>designated a cabinet level "Klamath River Basin Federal Working
<BR>Group" consisting of the Secretaries of Interior, Commerce, Agriculture
<BR>and White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Chairman
<BR>James L. Connaughton, to advise him on "immediate and long-term
<BR>actions necessary to enhance water quality and quantity, and to address
<BR>other complex economic and natural resource issues in the Klamath
<BR>River Basin." Interior Secretary Gale Norton will chair the Task Force.
<BR>In formulating its advice, the Working Group is also "encouraged to seek
<BR>input from stakeholders, including members of the farming and fishing
<BR>communities; residents of the Basin; representatives of conservation,
<BR>environmental, and water use organizations, and existing coordinating
<BR>entities; the States of Oregon and California; local governments; and
<BR>representatives of Klamath River Basin Tribal governments."
<BR>
<BR> While touted by the Upper Basin irrigators, and also Congressman
<BR>Greg Walden (R-OR) and U.S. Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR) as a
<BR>major victory for irrigators' water needs, the Working Group merely
<BR>reflects the current informal working relationship among these
<BR>departments on Klamath issues, currently being coordinated through
<BR>CEQ. It also reflects inter-agency working relationships that would be
<BR>required under the Wyden provision of the Senate Farm Bill (S. 1731)
<BR>for the creation of a Basin-wide plan for spending the $175 million in
<BR>funds targeted in that bill to Klamath Basin restoration (see Sublegals
<BR>5:07/05). The Working Group also announced some measures on 8
<BR>March, including 'fast-tracking' the installation of fish screens on the
<BR>A-Canal (over 10 years late), extensions on disaster relief signups and
<BR>other minor issues. However, without the Wyden provision in the Farm
<BR>Bill, there is relatively little that the Task Force can do, for lack of
<BR>funding. To see the President's Memorandum creating the Working
<BR>Group and his statement on the issue, go to:
<BR>http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/03/20020301-10.html.
<BR>
<BR> 5:10/08. NOAA ANNOUNCES 15 APRIL DEADLINE FOR
<BR>SALMON HABITAT RESTORATION GRANTS: On 12 February, the
<BR>National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced
<BR>the availability of grant funds for community-based salmon and marine
<BR>resources habitat restoration projects. The request for proposals was
<BR>published at 67 Federal Register pp. 6500-6504 (12 February 2000).
<BR>Typical project awards will range from $50,000 to $200,000. For more
<BR>information contact Robin J. Bruckner or Alison Ward, (301) 713-0174
<BR>or by email to: Robin.Bruckern@noaa.gov or to
<BR>Alison.Ward@noaa.gov. Further information on the Community-based
<BR>Restoration Program (CRP) can be found at:
<BR>http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/habitat/restoration/community/index.html.
<BR>
<BR> 5:10/09. HOUSE BILL WOULD AUTHORIZE BUREAU OF
<BR>RECLAMATION STUDY OF EASTERN OREGON RIVERS: On 6
<BR>March, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1883, a bill
<BR>introduced by Congressman Greg Walden (R-OR), that would authorize
<BR>the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) to conduct feasibility studies on
<BR>"water optimization" for a number of Eastern Oregon rivers. The bill is
<BR>backed by irrigators who depend on water from the Burnt, Malheur,
<BR>Owyhee and Power Rivers in Oregon's extremely arid east side,
<BR>apparently hoping to avoid the kind of water over-appropriation
<BR>problems that have plagued the Klamath Basin. A similar bill,
<BR>sponsored by U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), S. 238, is already
<BR>pending in the Senate. For more information or a copy of these bills go
<BR>to: http://thomas.loc.gov.
<BR>
<BR> 5:10/10. WASHINGTON LEGISLATURE GRAPPLES WITH
<BR>WATER RIGHT TRACKING: The Washington State Legislature is
<BR>considering legislation, S.B. 6279, to improve its woefully inadequate
<BR>system for tracking water rights. Water metering is now required in the
<BR>state as a result of a lawsuit brought by PCFFA and other groups, and by
<BR>a court order issued in February, 2000 (see Sublegals 1:07/07), but after
<BR>decades of neglected record keeping the state now has no easy way to
<BR>tell who owns what water right. The bill would direct the Department of
<BR>Ecology to work with county auditors to improve the state's system for
<BR>water rights ownership information. For bill information and legislative
<BR>history of the bill see: http://www.leg.wa.gov/wsladm/bills.cfm.
<BR>
<BR> 5:10/11. ALASKA SENATOR CALLS FOR INTERNATIONAL
<BR>CONTROLS OVER B.C. FISH FARMS: In a 15 February letter to U.S.
<BR>Secretary of State Colin Powell, U.S. Senator Frank Murkowski (R-AK)
<BR>has called for a new annex to the Pacific Salmon Treaty, the
<BR>international agreement between Canada and the U.S. which deals with
<BR>west coast transboundary salmon management, to deal with British
<BR>Columbia salmon farms which are allowing Atlantic salmon to escape in
<BR>large numbers into Alaskan waters. The Canadian government lifted its
<BR>long standing moratorium on new salmon farms in January, 2002,
<BR>despite many objections, an action which is likely to result in major fish
<BR>farm industry expansion (see Sublegals, 5:06/05; 5:03/06; 4:14/09;
<BR>4:07/05). The letter noted: "There are a number of valid reasons to be
<BR>concerned, including pollution of coastal waters from unused food and
<BR>fish wastes, the possibility of transmitting diseases to native species, and
<BR>the possibility that antibiotics used in farmed salmon will lead to more
<BR>forms of various disease-causing organisms. However, by far the most
<BR>serious danger is that Atlantic salmon, a non-native species on the West
<BR>Coast, will become established in the region's streams. This is not an
<BR>unwarranted fear. Fish farms on the British Columbia coast have been
<BR>plagued by mass escapes....." (see Sublegals, 2:08/03; 2:07/7). For more
<BR>information and a copy of the letter see:
<BR>http://murkowski.senate.gov/releases107/02-19-02-2.html. Also, the
<BR>Alaska Department of Fish & Game's (ADFG) white paper on Atlantic
<BR>salmon has recently been updated; it can be viewed by going to:
<BR>http://www.state.ak.us/adfg/geninfo/special/AS/AS_home.htm.
<BR>
<BR> 5:10/12. B.C. TRIBE CHALLENGES FISH FARM LICENSE TO
<BR>KILL SEALS: The 6 March issue of the Victoria Times Colonist reports
<BR>that the First Nation Kwicksutaineuk/Ah-kwa-mish Tribe is legally
<BR>challenging a British Columbia fish farms' license that allows it to kill
<BR>seals in the Broughton Archipelago off northwest Vancouver Island.
<BR>The Tribe filed an application for review of the license of Heritage
<BR>Aquaculture's Burdwood Islands operation in Federal Court in
<BR>Vancouver on 5 March as a test case. More than 20 of B.C.'s
<BR>approximately 90 salmon fish farms are in the Broughton Archipelago,
<BR>all have similar licenses to kill seals, and at least 10 are also within the
<BR>Tribe's traditional territory. Preliminary numbers from Canada's
<BR>Department of Fisheries & Oceans (DFO) indicated at least 395 seals
<BR>and sea lions were killed at B.C. fish farms in 2001, and another 719 in
<BR>2000 (see Sublegals 1:24/18). The Tribe, which has a traditional right to
<BR>hunt seals, is both disturbed by potential population declines and by
<BR>failure of the Canadian government to consult with them before issuing
<BR>the licenses. For more, search the newspaper archives under 'sea lions'
<BR>at: http://www.canada.com/victoria/timescolonist.
<BR>
<BR> 5:10/13. COLUMBIA DEEPENING PROJECT GETS SECOND
<BR>LOOK, CORPS BENEFITS ANALYSIS QUESTIONED: The U.S.
<BR>Army Corps of Engineers (COE) is preparing a supplement to the "Final
<BR>Integrated Feasibility Report" of its Columbia River channel deepening
<BR>project. The original analysis is being revisited "to add new information
<BR>from the recently transmitted biological assessment prepared by the
<BR>Corps of Engineers for the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)
<BR>and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service," among other reasons. The COE
<BR>expects to issue a notice of intent for this review with a hearing schedule
<BR>within the next 2 weeks. The project, pushed hard by the Port of Portland
<BR>as essential to handle deep draft international barge traffic, has long been
<BR>criticized by downriver ports and salmon advocates as a taxpayer
<BR>boondoggle that would destroy most of the last remaining 10 percent of
<BR>salmon habitat in the Columbia River estuary and do little for the
<BR>economy (see Sublegals 5:02/17). Now an extensive investigative report
<BR>by The Oregonian (published 2-4 March) confirms much of this
<BR>criticism, finding that the Corps greatly overstated the economic benefits
<BR>of the project, understated its costs, and even allowed Port of Portland's
<BR>contractors to draft its own economic analysis, among other
<BR>irregularities.
<BR>
<BR> Salmon fishermen and downriver crabbers have previously
<BR>successfully sued the COE and NMFS (see Sublegals 4:04/12; 2:08/05;
<BR>2:06/10) to halt the project for lack of analysis of its economic impacts
<BR>to fisheries. Additionally, evidence has accumulated that dredge spoils
<BR>dumped in the lower estuary cause wave amplification which poses a
<BR>serious safety hazard for small boat fishermen, an impact the COE has
<BR>also mostly ignored (see Sublegals 4:15/01; 4:13/05). The Oregonian
<BR>redid the economic cost-benefit ratio the COE reported as $2.10 for
<BR>every dollar spent and concluded that the project would actually lose
<BR>money, with a true benefit ratio of only $0.88 per dollar. For the
<BR>complete Oregonian articles, go to:
<BR>http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?month under the
<BR>2-4 March issues.
<BR>
<BR> By law the COE is not supposed to undertake projects with a negative
<BR>net economic benefit. However, this would not be the first time the COE
<BR>has deliberately overstated economic benefits in order to push through an
<BR>unnecessary project under political pressure, and there have been a
<BR>number of renewed calls for COE reforms. For instance, U.S. Senators
<BR>Bob Smith (R-NH), John McCain (R-AZ) and Russ Feingold (D-WS) on
<BR>6 March introduced the "Corps of Engineers Modernization &
<BR>Improvement Act," S. 1987, that would require an independent review of
<BR>COE proposed projects costing more than $25 million, or which would
<BR>significantly affect fish and wildlife. For more information on the bill
<BR>see: http://www.senate.gov/~feingold/releases/02/03/2002305B16.html.
<BR>
<BR> 5:10/14. B.C. OFFSHORE OIL DEVELOPMENT CRASHES
<BR>AGAINST TRIBAL LAND CLAIMS: The Haida Indian Nation filed
<BR>suit in the British Columbia Supreme Court on 6 March, claiming
<BR>management authority over British Columbia's oil-rich Queen Charlotte
<BR>Islands as a way to halt Provincial plans to develop that area's large oil
<BR>reserves. Like the vast majority of native groups in B.C., the Haida
<BR>never signed a treaty with the Canadian government, which courts have
<BR>interpreted to mean that they retained ultimate ownership of all their
<BR>aboriginal lands. The Haida won a similar ruling just days earlier
<BR>against logging companies operating on the islands, with the Supreme
<BR>Court ruling that those logging operations could not proceed without
<BR>Haida consultation and consent. The Haida are strongly opposed to any
<BR>offshore oil development, and their strong entry into the B.C. offshore
<BR>oil debate was generally welcomed by local fishermen who have been
<BR>fighting their own B.C. Liberal government to prevent planned offshore
<BR>oil development which would likely damage the nearshore fisheries (see
<BR>Sublegals, 5:07/02). The Haida have occupied the islands continuously
<BR>for more than 10,000 years, have roughly 7,000 members and currently
<BR>compose about 35 percent of the population of the many islands within
<BR>the 5,800 square kilometer area. For more information see the 6 March
<BR>issue of the Vancouver Province at:
<BR>http://www.canada.com/search/site/story.asp?id=1FC609F9-0888-4679-
<BR>B24F-0A07A0891AB3.
<BR>
<BR> 5:10/15. FISHERMEN URGED TO USE RE-REFINED OIL IN
<BR>ENGINES TO REDUCE OIL DEMAND, DUMPING OF USED OIL:
<BR>Re-refined oil is used motor oil that undergoes an extensive re-refining
<BR>process to remove contaminants. Using mechanisms similar to those
<BR>used by traditional refineries to produce virgin base oil from crude oil,
<BR>re-refiners remove impurities from used oil through vacuum distillation
<BR>and hydrotreatment. The re-refined base oil is then combined with a
<BR>fresh additives package. According to the American Petroleum Institute,
<BR>certified re-refined oil is of equal quality to oil made from a virgin base
<BR>stock. API certified re-refined oil must pass the same tests that virgin
<BR>oils do, including cold start and pumpability, rust corrosion, engine
<BR>wear, high temperature oil thickening, deposit and phosphorous tests.
<BR>Re-refined oil is being used extensively in both private and public
<BR>vehicle fleets. It is also being used in marine settings by the U.S. Coast
<BR>Guard, and on ferry fleets in Galveston, Texas. In terms of cost,
<BR>re-refined oil is priced competitively with virgin oils, and in some
<BR>instances may be a few cents per quart cheaper. For a free video and
<BR>information packet on re-refined oil, call (916) 341-6457. For online
<BR>information, visit www.ciwmb.ca.gov/usedoil/rerefined. For a list of
<BR>re-refiners, blenders and distributors of re-refined oil in California, visit
<BR>www.ciwmb.ca.gov/usedoil/rerefined/distibutors
<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
<BR>source at either: (415) 561-FISH (Southwest Office) or (541) 689-2000
<BR>(Northwest Office).
<BR>
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