[Fishlink] ~~>FISHLINK SUBLEGALS 4/12/02<~~
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~~>FISHLINK SUBLEGALS 4/12/02<~~
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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. 05, NO. 15 12 APRIL
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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"This season represents a start towards a better future for the salmon
fishery." ..... Dave Bitts
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IN THIS ISSUE.......
Ocean Salmon Season Looking Better, Reflecting Better
Conditions, Progress on Restoration. 5:15/01.
Fishermen Denied Intervention In Critical Habitat Suit. 5:15/02.
Bill To Delay Agriculture Pesticide Controls In
California Set For Hearing 23 April. 5:15/07.
Genetically Modified Fish Controls Opposed By
Monsanto And Agribusiness. 5:15/09.
Bill Requiring Testing of Waters, Fish Around
California Offshore Oil Rigs Passes Committee. 5:15/14.
AND MORE......
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5:15/01. FAVORABLE SALMON SEASON THIS YEAR
REFLECTS BETTER MODELING, GOOD RAINFALL AND
OCEANIC CONDITIONS, RESTORATION PROGRESS: The Pacific
Fishery Management Council (PFMC), at its 8-12 April meeting in
Portland, Oregon, adopted management measures for the 2002 ocean
salmon fishery offshore California, Oregon and Washington (see
Sublegals, 5:13/05). The measures are recommendations to the Secretary
of Commerce, who must approve them. The best news was for
California, where the king (chinook) season will begin on 1 May from
Point Arena south to the Mexican border, and extend uninterrupted until
30 September. For most of the past decade, the commercial season
opener had been restricted to the area south of Point San Pedro (just
south of San Francisco). Most encouraging for California's salmon
fishermen was the fact there will be more of a north coast season, with a
10-day July opening in Fort Bragg with a 10,000 fish quota, and an
August and September opening. This is a vast improvement over the
September fishery only season for Fort Bragg, once the largest salmon
port on the coast, which has existed most of the past decade. The July
and August fishery will greatly help the local fleet there that has had to
travel far south the last 10 years to fish. For the Eureka and Crescent
City areas there will be a small quota fishery beginning on 16 August for
3,000 chinook and a 10,000 fish September fishery. The north coast
openings for California this year could be crucial for the fleet if there is
another northern shift of stocks as happened in 2001 (see Sublegals,
5:10/03). There will also be a weekday fishery only in October offshore
San Francisco Bay. Fishing for coho (silver) salmon, however, is
prohibited throughout the California troll fishery.
For Oregon, the season from Cape Falcon south to Florence for
chinook began 20 March and extends through 15 July when it is closed
for two weeks, opening again 1 August and running through October.
For the area south of Florence to Humbug Mountain the season opened
20 March and runs through 30 June, reopening on 17 July and extending
through October. The fishery from Humbug Mountain to the California
border also opened on 20 March, but is subject to many more
restrictions than the fishery to the north to meet Klamath in-river fishery
obligations and maintain Klamath spawning escapement. For
Washington State (Cape Falcon to the Canadian border), the ocean troll
fishery opens May Day and extends until 30 June for a 50,000 chinook
quota, and reopens on 1 July for a 32,500 chinook quota. There is also a
selective fishery for marked hatchery coho that begins 1 August with a
5,000 fish quota.
The recreational fishery measures were also an improvement over
2001, with California anglers having fewer restrictions as a result of
higher abundance of the listed winter-run chinook.
The constraints on the California ocean fishery to accessing abundant
(and mostly hatchery-origin) Central Valley fall-run chinook are: 1)
ESA-listed Sacramento winter-run and spring-run chinook; 2) Klamath
chinook (tribal fisheries, escapement); 3) ESA-listed coho, and; 4)
ESA-listed coastal chinook. For Oregon and Washington the constraints
are primarily: 1) ESA-listed Columbia/Snake stocks; 2) Oregon
ESA-listed coho natural runs (also affecting California), and; 3) treaty
tribal fishing rights. For California, the greater accuracy of the new
Klamath Model means a fishery north to Point Arena from the beginning
of the season for the first time in years. And all along the coast, good
oceanic conditions (strong upwellings, abundant forage) and above
average rainfall/snowpack has contributed to greater abundance than in
past years in most areas. On top of this have been ongoing watershed
restoration programs by fishermen, such as the commercial salmon
stamp, various state restoration programs and enforcement of the
Endangered Species Act (ESA), all contributing to greater numbers of
fish. The PCFFA Salmon Strategy Team worked collaboratively with
state and federal biologists to implement better modeling, allowing the
best possible commercial and sport seasons while still meeting the
biological needs of the fish and legal obligations, such as tribal fisheries.
This year's PCFFA Team at the Portland PFMC meeting consisted of
Vice-President Dave Bitts, Barbara Emley and Duncan MacLean.
"The fleet really owes our Salmon Strategy Team and the biologists
from NMFS [National Marine Fisheries Service] and Fish & Game
[California] a debt of gratitude for their hard work in achieving this
season's management structure, while assuring that our fishery is
conducted sustainably, fosters recovery of listed stocks and honors the
commitment to the tribes," said PCFFA President Pietro Parravano. "I
am especially pleased that we have gotten some fishing time for Fort
Bragg. Our efforts over the years to restore fish stocks, and even suing to
make sure fish habitat protected, is paying off. How fitting that it will
help the very community where the salmon restoration movement began
nearly 50 years ago. This is to the memory of Nat Bingham, Bill Grader,
Mike Maahs, Ray Welsh, Frank Haun and all the others from that port
who believed in our great salmon fishery. Our job now is to work even
harder to protect and rebuild salmon populations. There will be no
retreat. We will continue moving forward until we again have full
seasons." For more information on the 2002 Pacific ocean salmon
fishing management measures, go to: www.pcouncil.org.
5:15/02. PCFFA REFUSED INTERVENOR STATUS BY FEDERAL
JUDGE IN LITIGATION TO PROTECT CRITICAL SALMON
HABITAT: Northwest Fishletter reported 12 April that U.S. District
Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly has denied a motion by PCFFA and
other fishing and conservation groups to intervene in a lawsuit filed by
the National Association of Home Builders against the National Marine
Fisheries Service (NMFS) to overturn the Endangered Species Act
(ESA) designation of salmonid critical fish habitat (see Sublegals,
5:11/01). "The suit concerns the wholesale designation of 'critical
habitat' for 19 ESA-listed environmentally significant units of salmon
and steelhead on the West Coast. By filing a consent decree last month,
NMFS had offered to rescind its designations and do its evaluations all
over again, including analyzing the economic effects of listings that the
agency had previously decided were negligible," said the Fishletter
report. Judge Kollar-Kotelly did, however, grant PCFFA, which is
represented by Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund in this matter, amicus
status, which she refused to grant Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF). PLF
represents primarily developers and other land interests responsible for
habitat destruction. The court ordered NMFS and Home Builders to file
a joint reply in support of the consent decree. It should be completed in
the next week or so. To see the Fishletter article, go to:
http://www.newsdata.com/enernet/fishletter/index.html#2.
In other Klamath news, a U.S. Federal Claims Court Judge has begun
hearing arguments from lawyers representing Klamath Basin
agribusiness interests who claim that a 2001 irrigation water reduction
to protect two species of ESA-listed Klamath Lake sucker and
ESA-listed Klamath River coho salmon "amounted to a taking of their
private property, and that farmers should be compensated," according to
a 10 April Klamath Falls Herald & News article. The irrigators are
seeking between $300 million and $1 billion in compensation and the
case is expected to "take two years to work through the system." PCFFA
has asked the Court to intervene on behalf of the fisheries, and its
application is still pending. To see the article, go to:
http://209.41.184.21/partners/670/public/news283876.html.
5:15/03. DRAG BOATS THREATEN SACRAMENTO SALMON
POPULATIONS: No this is not about fishing boats using bottom trawls,
it's about the racing kind. These racing boats now stand in the way of
addressing one of the worst salmon killers on the Sacramento River, the
Red Bluff Diversion Dam (RBDD). The dam impedes salmon migration
for upstream spawners, but mostly for downstream juvenile migrants
who become disoriented after passing over the dam and are then easy
prey for squawfish (also called 'pike minnow'). The spillway gates have
been lifted to allow passage for the Endangered Species Act
(ESA)-listed winter-run chinook, but remain in place much of the rest of
the year, impeding migration for ESA-listed spring-run chinook, fall and
late-fall chinook, as well as steelhead trout. A number of alternatives
have been proposed, and the favored one is lifting the gates year around
to allow fish passage. However, the City of Red Bluff and some local
boat boosters have opposed this option in their desire to keep drag boat
racing during the summer on the reservoir (when the gates are in place)
that they call Lake Red Bluff. For information on the alternatives being
considered, go to: http://www.tccafishpassage.org/. For more about the
drag boats, go to: http://www.rbdragboats.com/.
5:15/04. NEW EPA POLICY FAVORS FLUSHING HERBICIDES
THROUGH IRRIGATION CANALS: Ignoring a recent higher court
ruling in the Headwaters v. Talent Irrigation District case (243 F.3d 526
(9th Cir. 2001)) that said that irrigation districts cannot flush herbicides
through irrigation canals and into rivers without a permit, on 29 March
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a policy
statement, in direct defiance of the ruling by the U.S Ninth Circuit Court
of Appeals, that pollution discharge permits for these actions were not
necessary. The original Talent Irrigation District case (see Sublegals
3:13/11) arose out of the highly polluted Klamath Basin, where several
irrigation districts routinely follow the practice of flushing herbicides
through irrigation canals and directly back into the Klamath River, home
of ESA listed coho salmon, a practice that would be illegal under the
court's ruling without a pollution discharge permit. Under the new EPA
policy, however, no such permit, and therefore no analysis of the
environmental impacts of flushing high concentrations of herbicides into
the Klamath River, would be required by state agencies. For the EPA's
29 March release on this new policy see:
http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/whatsnew.cfm?program_id=0. For the
five-page policy statement itself see:
http://www.epa.gov/npdes/pubs/talentfinal.pdf. The story was also
covered in the 29 March San Francisco Chronicle, and that article can
be seen in full at their web site at:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2002/03/29/n
ational1840EST0717.DTL.
5:15/05. FIGHT OVER PESTICIDE SPRAYS INTO WILLAPA
BAY: Since 1963, Washington State's Willapa Bay-Grays Harbor
commercial oyster farmers have been routinely spaying large quantities
of the pesticide carbaryl, a potent neurotoxin as will as an endocrine
disruptor known to disrupt normal salmonid development, to kill native
shrimp populations that churn up bottom sediment and make it more
difficult for farmed oysters to be cultivated. However, carbaryl also
kills native crabs and many other aquatic organisms, and may be
bio-accumulating in the food chain. The oyster growers have applied to
the Washington Department of Ecology for a five-year permit to
continue to spray, with an agency decision due in a few weeks. Under a
new ruling by the Ninth Circuit Federal Appeals Court in the Talent
Irrigation District case, the spraying of any pesticide into waterways
requires a permit, which can then trigger an environmental review and
monitoring requirements and well as mitigation measures as part of the
permit. However, the EPA has also vowed not to enforce these permit
requirements (see Sublegals, 5:15/04 above). For more about the
problem see: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/65659_oyster08.shtml.
5:15/06. 2OTH ANNUAL PESTICIDES FORUM TO LOOK AT
IMPACTS ON SALMON: The 20th Annual National Forum on
Pesticides will be held near Seattle at Bastyr University, 26-28 April,
organized on the theme "Streams to Schools: Finding Alternatives to
Pesticides." A major topic of discussion at the Forum will be the impact
of pesticides on salmonids, which are increasingly being considered an
indicator species of pesticide impacts on humans. The Forum will
include a number of workshops on decreasing pesticide use in
communities and in watersheds, and is sponsored by a number of
organizations working to reduce pesticide use nationally and
internationally. For more information see:
http://www.beyondpesticides.org.
5:15/07. BILL TO DELAY CALIFORNIA CONTROL OVER
POLLUTED AGRICULTURAL RUN-OFF SET FOR HEARING ON 23
APRIL: AB 2226 by California Assemblyman Simon Salinas
(D-Salinas), which would extend the State's waiver over control of
agricultural run-off, has been scheduled for hearing on Tuesday, 23
April, before the California Legislature's Assembly Environmental
Safety & Toxic Materials Committee at the State Capitol in Sacramento
(see Sublegals, 5:12/04). This bill, if approved, is seen as a set back to
efforts to clean-up agricultural waste waters that continue to threaten
many of the state's important fisheries, including salmon migrating
through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and even nearshore species
in places such as Monterey Bay. For more information, contact the
Environmental Safety & Toxic Materials Committee at: (916) 319-3965.
5:15/08. SETTLEMENT REACHED IN LITIGATION ON DOW
CHEMICAL DISCHARGES INTO DELTA: On 3 April a Contra Costa
County (California) Superior Court approved a settlement agreement
between San Francisco Baykeeper and Dow Chemical Company in a
five-year legal battle over the chemical company's unlawful discharge of
contaminated water into the New York Slough, which empties directly
into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Rivers and from there into the San
Francisco Bay. "Under the terms of the settlement, Dow will pay $3
million toward a wetland restoration project, and will clean up
contaminated groundwater using an innovative new technology,"
according to a 4 April report in the San Francisco Chronicle. "The
bioremediation technology involves injecting nutrients into the aquifer
to encourage microbes to consume toxic chemicals. The groundwater in
the area is currently contaminated with carbon tetrachloride,
perchlorethylene, methylene chloride, and trichloroethylene, which are
suspected of causing cancer and other health problems." The San
Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is the migratory path for
one of the largest chinook populations between Sierra streams and the
sea. For more information and the full article, go to:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2002/04/
04/BA149284.DTL.
5:15/09. MONSANTO, AGRIBUSINESS OPPOSE CALIFORNIA
GMO CONTROLS, SAYING FRANKENFISH ARE GOOD FOR YOU:
In response to California legislation aimed at preventing the
introduction of genetically modified fish into that state (SB 1525 -
Sher), and requiring the labeling of transgenic fish sold in the state (AB
2962 - Strom-Martin), Monsanto Corporation lobbyists went to work
and drafted a letter of opposition to the two measures by groups
supporting unfettered use and sale of transgenic fish in California (see
Sublegals, 5:09/01). The giant chemical company, a major
manufacturer of genetically modified soy and corn seed, was unwilling
to sign its own letter, choosing instead to remain in the background, but
12 organizations did sign on; they are: the California Fisheries &
Seafood Institute; Biotechnology Industry Organization; California
Grocers Association; BIOCOM; California Plant Health Association;
California Chamber of Commerce; California Retailers Association;
California Farm Bureau; California Seed Association; Grocery
Manufacturers of America; California Grain & Feed Association, and;
the National Food Processors Association. The California Aquaculture
Association is also in opposition, but has expressed a willingness to
work with the authors to resolve differences. The "dirty dozen," as they
are being termed, however, have indicated no desire for compromise
and fear that any precedent to be set regulating genetically modified
organisms (GMOs) would limit their business.
SB 1525 was heard by the Senate Natural Resources & Wildlife
Committee on 9 April, but was put over for a vote on the 23rd. At the
9th hearing the lobbyist for the California Fisheries & Seafood Institute,
Rob Ross, revealed that he was working for Aqua Bounty (the
manufacturer of genetically modified salmon for aquaculture
operations) and opposing the legislation. In other news, the coordinator
for the California Department of Fish & Game's head aquaculture
promoter, Robert Hulbrock, who chairs the National Association of
State Aquaculture Coordinators (NASAC), wrote a letter opposing the
Sher measure, saying the matter should be left up to the Bush
Administration. Support for the measures to regulate and label
genetically modified fish is coming from fishermen's associations,
conservation groups and food safety organizations. S. 1525 will be
reheard on the 23rd before the Senate Natural Resources & Wildlife
Committee. AB 2962 has been set for hearing that same day in the
Assembly Health Committee. "No Frankenfish" buttons are available
from PCFFA for $1.00 (includes handling, postage). For more
information, e-mail: PCFFAfish@aol.com.
5:15/10. SEAFOOD LABELING BILLS ADOPTED IN MISSISSIPPI
AND ALASKA: As California prepares to take up a bill to require the
labeling of genetically-modified fish in markets, when AB 2965
(Strom-Martin) is heard by the Assembly Health Committee next week
(see Sublegals, 5:15/09 above), WorldCatch News Network reported in
two different editions, 5 and 8 April, that the states of Mississippi and
Alaska have adopted their own seafood labeling regulations. The origin
of domestic and imported catfish must be clearly shown on labels under
legislation signed last week by Mississippi Governor Ronnie Musgrove,
reported WorldCatch. The new law requires restaurants to show on
menus where they got catfish, and retailers and wholesalers must also
tell the source of their fish; the law is intended to keep imported catfish
from being marketed under the general label of catfish. To see
Mississippi's new labeling law, go to:
http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2002/html/SB/2300-2399/
SB2345SG.htm.
In Alaska last week, Governor Tony Knowles signed SB 208 by
Senator Jerry Ward (R-Nikiski) that allows wholesalers and retailers
selling salmon, halibut and blackcod (sablefish) to label their product
"wild" so consumers "can differentiate between farmed and wild
seafood in the marketplace. The new law also allows wholesalers and
retailers in the state to label or advertise the product as antibiotic-free,
hormone-free, and free from added colors and additives," according to
the WorldCatch report. To see the bill, go to:
http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill_text.asp?hsid=SB0208D&ses
sion=22. Meanwhile, in Washington, DC, the fate of U.S. Senator Ted
Stevens' (R-AK) language in the Senate version of the Farm Bill,
requiring country of origin labeling and labels to distinguish wild from
farmed fish for all seafood sold in the U.S., is now being decided in a
conference committee (see Sublegals, 5:08/03). To see the two
WorldCatch reports on new state labeling requirements, go to:
www.worldcatch.com.
5:15/11. FINAL ACTION ON SEABIRD AVOIDANCE
REGULATIONS BY NORTH PACIFIC COUNCIL: The North Pacific
Fisheries Management Council has finalized and adopted new
regulations, crafted and recommended by the Alaska longline fleet, that
will significantly reduce and potentially eliminate the impact of longline
operations on Pacific seabirds, some of which (like the albatross) are
protected species under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA).
These new regulations include added weights on baited hooks to make
them sink faster, plus brightly colored plastic streamers placed at the
rear of longline vessels to frighten away seabirds who might otherwise
try to take the baited hooks for the short time they are on the surface.
These measures were developed, implemented and tested by the
longline fleet itself, and have demonstrated a significant reduction of
seabird encounter rates with minimal costs. The program is an example
of a creative and productive collaboration between scientists and the
commercial fishing fleet that has resolved an important resource
problem, and a model for similar issues elsewhere. For more
information on the "Program to Reduce Seabird Bycatch in the Alaska
Longline Fisheries," see:
http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/protectedresources/seabirds.html. The
regulations are available from at:
http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/protectedresources/seabirds/
avoidanceaction.pdf.
Similar experimental gear are being researched for the Hawaii
longline tuna fisheries, a joint project of the Hawaii Longline
Association, National Audubon Society and National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), with a demonstrated reduction of seabird bycatch to at
or very near zero, and with an actual total savings in bait costs to the
vessel owner. For more information on this project, contact Eric Gilman
at: egilman@lava.net.
5:15/12. CDFG ORDERS GILLNET CLOSURE ALONG
CALIFORNIA COAST: On 5 April, the California Department of Fish
& Game (CDFG) issued a notice of an emergency closure of the gill and
trammel net fisheries in ocean waters of 60 fathoms or less from Point
Reyes to Point Arguello. The closure takes effect 26 April. The new
closure is similar to one issued in September 2000, that has since
expired, closing the fishery due to concerns regarding the incidental take
of seabirds and marine mammals. That closure covered the area from
Point Reyes to Yankee Point, and from Point Sal to Point Arguello. This
net fishery principally targets California halibut and certain rockfish
species. On 4 April, copies of the CDFG Director's Order and the
Statement of Reasons for the emergency rulemaking were submitted to
the California Office of Administrative Law (OAL). Copies of these
documents are available by going to:
http://www.dfg.ca.gov/mrd/gillnet/emergency.html.
5:15/13. NEW SEA GRANT PUBLICATION ON
COMMUNICATIONS IN FISHING COMMUNITIES: Oregon State
University's Sea Grant program has published a new booklet, An
Investment in Trust: Communication in the Commercial Fishing and
Fisheries Management Communities (ORESU-G-01-004). The
publication "is an attempt to look at communications in context and to
assess the current state of communications between and among the
fishing community and the fisheries management community." Written
by Jennifer Gilden and Flaxen D.L. Conway, it is available for $7.00
(US) plus $3.00 postage from OSU Sea Grant Communications by
emailing to: sea.grant.communications@orst.edu.
5:15/14. LEGISLATION REQUIRING TESTING OF WATERS,
FISH AROUND CALIFORNIA OFFSHORE OIL RIGS PASSES FIRST
COMMITTEE; BC GETTING READY TO DRILL: AB 2215 by
California Assemblymembers Virginia Strom-Martin (D-Duncan Mills)
and Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) to establish a joint agency
task force to test the waters and fish around oil rigs offshore California
for mercury and other heavy metals contamination passed the State
Legislature's Assembly Environmental Health & Toxic Materials
Committee on 9 April and will be heard next in the Assembly Water,
Parks & Wildlife Committee on 23 April. The bill was introduced, at
the request of PCFFA, following findings, reported by the Mobile
Register, of extensive mercury contamination of the waters and fish
around oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico (see Sublegals, 5:01/01). To
see the Associated Press report, go to:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20020411-1658-ca-mercury-
oilrigs.html. To see the Mobile Register report on the
Strom-Martin/Jackson legislation, AB 2215, go to:
http://www.al.com/news/mobileregister/index.ssf?/xml/story.ssf/html_st
andard.xsl?/base/news/1018171044186960.xml.
To the north in Canada, the Financial Post reported on 8 April that
British Columbia is close to ending its moratorium on offshore oil and
gas development. The moratorium has been in place since 1959. It was
temporarily lifted in 1966 to permit the drilling of 14 exploratory wells.
In 1972, the government of Canada, which has jurisdictional precedence
in the development of offshore resources, re-invoked the moratorium,
said the Post report. The BC offshore oil and gas moratorium is
supported by the Province's fishermen, aboriginal groups and
conservation organizations. The current governments in Victoria and
Ottawa, however, are pushing offshore oil development at the risk of
Canada's Pacific coast fisheries. The Post went on to report that the
"Charlotte Basin has drawn the most interest from the oil and gas
industry. It could contain 10 billion barrels of oil and 26 trillion cubic
feet of natural gas -- about 2 1/2 times the Hibernia reserves off
Canada's east coast -- according to preliminary Geological Survey of
Canada data. Chevron Canada Ltd. and Petro-Canada are the only oil
companies with leases to the estimated $100-billion worth of reserves."
To see the complete Financial Post article on the offshore oil
moratorium, go to: http://www.nationalpost.com/home/story.html?f=/
stories/20020408/572982.html.
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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<HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><FONT SIZE=2>PLEASE HELP SUPPORT THE SUBLEGALS NEWSLETTER.
<BR>To donate go to: www.sublegals.net. Sublegals is published free
<BR>of charge and is dependent on your contributions.
<BR>##########################################################
<BR> ~~>FISHLINK SUBLEGALS 4/12/02<~~
<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. 05, NO. 15 12 APRIL 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>"This season represents a start towards a better future for the salmon
<BR>fishery." ..... Dave Bitts
<BR>##########################################################
<BR>IN THIS ISSUE.......
<BR>
<BR>Ocean Salmon Season Looking Better, Reflecting Better
<BR>Conditions, Progress on Restoration. 5:15/01.
<BR>
<BR>Fishermen Denied Intervention In Critical Habitat Suit. 5:15/02.
<BR>
<BR>Bill To Delay Agriculture Pesticide Controls In
<BR>California Set For Hearing 23 April. 5:15/07.
<BR>
<BR>Genetically Modified Fish Controls Opposed By
<BR>Monsanto And Agribusiness. 5:15/09.
<BR>
<BR>Bill Requiring Testing of Waters, Fish Around
<BR>California Offshore Oil Rigs Passes Committee. 5:15/14.
<BR>
<BR>AND MORE......
<BR>##########################################################
<BR>5:15/01. FAVORABLE SALMON SEASON THIS YEAR
<BR>REFLECTS BETTER MODELING, GOOD RAINFALL AND
<BR>OCEANIC CONDITIONS, RESTORATION PROGRESS: The Pacific
<BR>Fishery Management Council (PFMC), at its 8-12 April meeting in
<BR>Portland, Oregon, adopted management measures for the 2002 ocean
<BR>salmon fishery offshore California, Oregon and Washington (see
<BR>Sublegals, 5:13/05). The measures are recommendations to the Secretary
<BR>of Commerce, who must approve them. The best news was for
<BR>California, where the king (chinook) season will begin on 1 May from
<BR>Point Arena south to the Mexican border, and extend uninterrupted until
<BR>30 September. For most of the past decade, the commercial season
<BR>opener had been restricted to the area south of Point San Pedro (just
<BR>south of San Francisco). Most encouraging for California's salmon
<BR>fishermen was the fact there will be more of a north coast season, with a
<BR>10-day July opening in Fort Bragg with a 10,000 fish quota, and an
<BR>August and September opening. This is a vast improvement over the
<BR>September fishery only season for Fort Bragg, once the largest salmon
<BR>port on the coast, which has existed most of the past decade. The July
<BR>and August fishery will greatly help the local fleet there that has had to
<BR>travel far south the last 10 years to fish. For the Eureka and Crescent
<BR>City areas there will be a small quota fishery beginning on 16 August for
<BR>3,000 chinook and a 10,000 fish September fishery. The north coast
<BR>openings for California this year could be crucial for the fleet if there is
<BR>another northern shift of stocks as happened in 2001 (see Sublegals,
<BR>5:10/03). There will also be a weekday fishery only in October offshore
<BR>San Francisco Bay. Fishing for coho (silver) salmon, however, is
<BR>prohibited throughout the California troll fishery.
<BR>
<BR>For Oregon, the season from Cape Falcon south to Florence for
<BR>chinook began 20 March and extends through 15 July when it is closed
<BR>for two weeks, opening again 1 August and running through October.
<BR>For the area south of Florence to Humbug Mountain the season opened
<BR>20 March and runs through 30 June, reopening on 17 July and extending
<BR>through October. The fishery from Humbug Mountain to the California
<BR>border also opened on 20 March, but is subject to many more
<BR>restrictions than the fishery to the north to meet Klamath in-river fishery
<BR>obligations and maintain Klamath spawning escapement. For
<BR>Washington State (Cape Falcon to the Canadian border), the ocean troll
<BR>fishery opens May Day and extends until 30 June for a 50,000 chinook
<BR>quota, and reopens on 1 July for a 32,500 chinook quota. There is also a
<BR>selective fishery for marked hatchery coho that begins 1 August with a
<BR>5,000 fish quota.
<BR>
<BR>The recreational fishery measures were also an improvement over
<BR>2001, with California anglers having fewer restrictions as a result of
<BR>higher abundance of the listed winter-run chinook.
<BR>
<BR>The constraints on the California ocean fishery to accessing abundant
<BR>(and mostly hatchery-origin) Central Valley fall-run chinook are: 1)
<BR>ESA-listed Sacramento winter-run and spring-run chinook; 2) Klamath
<BR>chinook (tribal fisheries, escapement); 3) ESA-listed coho, and; 4)
<BR>ESA-listed coastal chinook. For Oregon and Washington the constraints
<BR>are primarily: 1) ESA-listed Columbia/Snake stocks; 2) Oregon
<BR>ESA-listed coho natural runs (also affecting California), and; 3) treaty
<BR>tribal fishing rights. For California, the greater accuracy of the new
<BR>Klamath Model means a fishery north to Point Arena from the beginning
<BR>of the season for the first time in years. And all along the coast, good
<BR>oceanic conditions (strong upwellings, abundant forage) and above
<BR>average rainfall/snowpack has contributed to greater abundance than in
<BR>past years in most areas. On top of this have been ongoing watershed
<BR>restoration programs by fishermen, such as the commercial salmon
<BR>stamp, various state restoration programs and enforcement of the
<BR>Endangered Species Act (ESA), all contributing to greater numbers of
<BR>fish. The PCFFA Salmon Strategy Team worked collaboratively with
<BR>state and federal biologists to implement better modeling, allowing the
<BR>best possible commercial and sport seasons while still meeting the
<BR>biological needs of the fish and legal obligations, such as tribal fisheries.
<BR>This year's PCFFA Team at the Portland PFMC meeting consisted of
<BR>Vice-President Dave Bitts, Barbara Emley and Duncan MacLean.
<BR>
<BR>"The fleet really owes our Salmon Strategy Team and the biologists
<BR>from NMFS [National Marine Fisheries Service] and Fish & Game
<BR>[California] a debt of gratitude for their hard work in achieving this
<BR>season's management structure, while assuring that our fishery is
<BR>conducted sustainably, fosters recovery of listed stocks and honors the
<BR>commitment to the tribes," said PCFFA President Pietro Parravano. "I
<BR>am especially pleased that we have gotten some fishing time for Fort
<BR>Bragg. Our efforts over the years to restore fish stocks, and even suing to
<BR>make sure fish habitat protected, is paying off. How fitting that it will
<BR>help the very community where the salmon restoration movement began
<BR>nearly 50 years ago. This is to the memory of Nat Bingham, Bill Grader,
<BR>Mike Maahs, Ray Welsh, Frank Haun and all the others from that port
<BR>who believed in our great salmon fishery. Our job now is to work even
<BR>harder to protect and rebuild salmon populations. There will be no
<BR>retreat. We will continue moving forward until we again have full
<BR>seasons." For more information on the 2002 Pacific ocean salmon
<BR>fishing management measures, go to: www.pcouncil.org.
<BR>
<BR>5:15/02. PCFFA REFUSED INTERVENOR STATUS BY FEDERAL
<BR>JUDGE IN LITIGATION TO PROTECT CRITICAL SALMON
<BR>HABITAT: Northwest Fishletter reported 12 April that U.S. District
<BR>Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly has denied a motion by PCFFA and
<BR>other fishing and conservation groups to intervene in a lawsuit filed by
<BR>the National Association of Home Builders against the National Marine
<BR>Fisheries Service (NMFS) to overturn the Endangered Species Act
<BR>(ESA) designation of salmonid critical fish habitat (see Sublegals,
<BR>5:11/01). "The suit concerns the wholesale designation of 'critical
<BR>habitat' for 19 ESA-listed environmentally significant units of salmon
<BR>and steelhead on the West Coast. By filing a consent decree last month,
<BR>NMFS had offered to rescind its designations and do its evaluations all
<BR>over again, including analyzing the economic effects of listings that the
<BR>agency had previously decided were negligible," said the Fishletter
<BR>report. Judge Kollar-Kotelly did, however, grant PCFFA, which is
<BR>represented by Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund in this matter, amicus
<BR>status, which she refused to grant Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF). PLF
<BR>represents primarily developers and other land interests responsible for
<BR>habitat destruction. The court ordered NMFS and Home Builders to file
<BR>a joint reply in support of the consent decree. It should be completed in
<BR>the next week or so. To see the Fishletter article, go to:
<BR>http://www.newsdata.com/enernet/fishletter/index.html#2.
<BR>
<BR>In other Klamath news, a U.S. Federal Claims Court Judge has begun
<BR>hearing arguments from lawyers representing Klamath Basin
<BR>agribusiness interests who claim that a 2001 irrigation water reduction
<BR>to protect two species of ESA-listed Klamath Lake sucker and
<BR>ESA-listed Klamath River coho salmon "amounted to a taking of their
<BR>private property, and that farmers should be compensated," according to
<BR>a 10 April Klamath Falls Herald & News article. The irrigators are
<BR>seeking between $300 million and $1 billion in compensation and the
<BR>case is expected to "take two years to work through the system." PCFFA
<BR>has asked the Court to intervene on behalf of the fisheries, and its
<BR>application is still pending. To see the article, go to:
<BR>http://209.41.184.21/partners/670/public/news283876.html.
<BR>
<BR>5:15/03. DRAG BOATS THREATEN SACRAMENTO SALMON
<BR>POPULATIONS: No this is not about fishing boats using bottom trawls,
<BR>it's about the racing kind. These racing boats now stand in the way of
<BR>addressing one of the worst salmon killers on the Sacramento River, the
<BR>Red Bluff Diversion Dam (RBDD). The dam impedes salmon migration
<BR>for upstream spawners, but mostly for downstream juvenile migrants
<BR>who become disoriented after passing over the dam and are then easy
<BR>prey for squawfish (also called 'pike minnow'). The spillway gates have
<BR>been lifted to allow passage for the Endangered Species Act
<BR>(ESA)-listed winter-run chinook, but remain in place much of the rest of
<BR>the year, impeding migration for ESA-listed spring-run chinook, fall and
<BR>late-fall chinook, as well as steelhead trout. A number of alternatives
<BR>have been proposed, and the favored one is lifting the gates year around
<BR>to allow fish passage. However, the City of Red Bluff and some local
<BR>boat boosters have opposed this option in their desire to keep drag boat
<BR>racing during the summer on the reservoir (when the gates are in place)
<BR>that they call Lake Red Bluff. For information on the alternatives being
<BR>considered, go to: http://www.tccafishpassage.org/. For more about the
<BR>drag boats, go to: http://www.rbdragboats.com/.
<BR>
<BR>5:15/04. NEW EPA POLICY FAVORS FLUSHING HERBICIDES
<BR>THROUGH IRRIGATION CANALS: Ignoring a recent higher court
<BR>ruling in the Headwaters v. Talent Irrigation District case (243 F.3d 526
<BR>(9th Cir. 2001)) that said that irrigation districts cannot flush herbicides
<BR>through irrigation canals and into rivers without a permit, on 29 March
<BR>the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a policy
<BR>statement, in direct defiance of the ruling by the U.S Ninth Circuit Court
<BR>of Appeals, that pollution discharge permits for these actions were not
<BR>necessary. The original Talent Irrigation District case (see Sublegals
<BR>3:13/11) arose out of the highly polluted Klamath Basin, where several
<BR>irrigation districts routinely follow the practice of flushing herbicides
<BR>through irrigation canals and directly back into the Klamath River, home
<BR>of ESA listed coho salmon, a practice that would be illegal under the
<BR>court's ruling without a pollution discharge permit. Under the new EPA
<BR>policy, however, no such permit, and therefore no analysis of the
<BR>environmental impacts of flushing high concentrations of herbicides into
<BR>the Klamath River, would be required by state agencies. For the EPA's
<BR>29 March release on this new policy see:
<BR>http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/whatsnew.cfm?program_id=0. For the
<BR>five-page policy statement itself see:
<BR>http://www.epa.gov/npdes/pubs/talentfinal.pdf. The story was also
<BR>covered in the 29 March San Francisco Chronicle, and that article can
<BR>be seen in full at their web site at:
<BR>http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2002/03/29/n
<BR>ational1840EST0717.DTL.
<BR>
<BR>5:15/05. FIGHT OVER PESTICIDE SPRAYS INTO WILLAPA
<BR>BAY: Since 1963, Washington State's Willapa Bay-Grays Harbor
<BR>commercial oyster farmers have been routinely spaying large quantities
<BR>of the pesticide carbaryl, a potent neurotoxin as will as an endocrine
<BR>disruptor known to disrupt normal salmonid development, to kill native
<BR>shrimp populations that churn up bottom sediment and make it more
<BR>difficult for farmed oysters to be cultivated. However, carbaryl also
<BR>kills native crabs and many other aquatic organisms, and may be
<BR>bio-accumulating in the food chain. The oyster growers have applied to
<BR>the Washington Department of Ecology for a five-year permit to
<BR>continue to spray, with an agency decision due in a few weeks. Under a
<BR>new ruling by the Ninth Circuit Federal Appeals Court in the Talent
<BR>Irrigation District case, the spraying of any pesticide into waterways
<BR>requires a permit, which can then trigger an environmental review and
<BR>monitoring requirements and well as mitigation measures as part of the
<BR>permit. However, the EPA has also vowed not to enforce these permit
<BR>requirements (see Sublegals, 5:15/04 above). For more about the
<BR>problem see: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/65659_oyster08.shtml.
<BR>
<BR>5:15/06. 2OTH ANNUAL PESTICIDES FORUM TO LOOK AT
<BR>IMPACTS ON SALMON: The 20th Annual National Forum on
<BR>Pesticides will be held near Seattle at Bastyr University, 26-28 April,
<BR>organized on the theme "Streams to Schools: Finding Alternatives to
<BR>Pesticides." A major topic of discussion at the Forum will be the impact
<BR>of pesticides on salmonids, which are increasingly being considered an
<BR>indicator species of pesticide impacts on humans. The Forum will
<BR>include a number of workshops on decreasing pesticide use in
<BR>communities and in watersheds, and is sponsored by a number of
<BR>organizations working to reduce pesticide use nationally and
<BR>internationally. For more information see:
<BR>http://www.beyondpesticides.org.
<BR>
<BR>5:15/07. BILL TO DELAY CALIFORNIA CONTROL OVER
<BR>POLLUTED AGRICULTURAL RUN-OFF SET FOR HEARING ON 23
<BR>APRIL: AB 2226 by California Assemblyman Simon Salinas
<BR>(D-Salinas), which would extend the State's waiver over control of
<BR>agricultural run-off, has been scheduled for hearing on Tuesday, 23
<BR>April, before the California Legislature's Assembly Environmental
<BR>Safety & Toxic Materials Committee at the State Capitol in Sacramento
<BR>(see Sublegals, 5:12/04). This bill, if approved, is seen as a set back to
<BR>efforts to clean-up agricultural waste waters that continue to threaten
<BR>many of the state's important fisheries, including salmon migrating
<BR>through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and even nearshore species
<BR>in places such as Monterey Bay. For more information, contact the
<BR>Environmental Safety & Toxic Materials Committee at: (916) 319-3965.
<BR>
<BR>5:15/08. SETTLEMENT REACHED IN LITIGATION ON DOW
<BR>CHEMICAL DISCHARGES INTO DELTA: On 3 April a Contra Costa
<BR>County (California) Superior Court approved a settlement agreement
<BR>between San Francisco Baykeeper and Dow Chemical Company in a
<BR>five-year legal battle over the chemical company's unlawful discharge of
<BR>contaminated water into the New York Slough, which empties directly
<BR>into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Rivers and from there into the San
<BR>Francisco Bay. "Under the terms of the settlement, Dow will pay $3
<BR>million toward a wetland restoration project, and will clean up
<BR>contaminated groundwater using an innovative new technology,"
<BR>according to a 4 April report in the San Francisco Chronicle. "The
<BR>bioremediation technology involves injecting nutrients into the aquifer
<BR>to encourage microbes to consume toxic chemicals. The groundwater in
<BR>the area is currently contaminated with carbon tetrachloride,
<BR>perchlorethylene, methylene chloride, and trichloroethylene, which are
<BR>suspected of causing cancer and other health problems." The San
<BR>Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is the migratory path for
<BR>one of the largest chinook populations between Sierra streams and the
<BR>sea. For more information and the full article, go to:
<BR>http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2002/04/
<BR>04/BA149284.DTL.
<BR>
<BR>5:15/09. MONSANTO, AGRIBUSINESS OPPOSE CALIFORNIA
<BR>GMO CONTROLS, SAYING FRANKENFISH ARE GOOD FOR YOU:
<BR>In response to California legislation aimed at preventing the
<BR>introduction of genetically modified fish into that state (SB 1525 -
<BR>Sher), and requiring the labeling of transgenic fish sold in the state (AB
<BR>2962 - Strom-Martin), Monsanto Corporation lobbyists went to work
<BR>and drafted a letter of opposition to the two measures by groups
<BR>supporting unfettered use and sale of transgenic fish in California (see
<BR>Sublegals, 5:09/01). The giant chemical company, a major
<BR>manufacturer of genetically modified soy and corn seed, was unwilling
<BR>to sign its own letter, choosing instead to remain in the background, but
<BR>12 organizations did sign on; they are: the California Fisheries &
<BR>Seafood Institute; Biotechnology Industry Organization; California
<BR>Grocers Association; BIOCOM; California Plant Health Association;
<BR>California Chamber of Commerce; California Retailers Association;
<BR>California Farm Bureau; California Seed Association; Grocery
<BR>Manufacturers of America; California Grain & Feed Association, and;
<BR>the National Food Processors Association. The California Aquaculture
<BR>Association is also in opposition, but has expressed a willingness to
<BR>work with the authors to resolve differences. The "dirty dozen," as they
<BR>are being termed, however, have indicated no desire for compromise
<BR>and fear that any precedent to be set regulating genetically modified
<BR>organisms (GMOs) would limit their business.
<BR>
<BR>
<BR>SB 1525 was heard by the Senate Natural Resources & Wildlife
<BR>Committee on 9 April, but was put over for a vote on the 23rd. At the
<BR>9th hearing the lobbyist for the California Fisheries & Seafood Institute,
<BR>Rob Ross, revealed that he was working for Aqua Bounty (the
<BR>manufacturer of genetically modified salmon for aquaculture
<BR>operations) and opposing the legislation. In other news, the coordinator
<BR>for the California Department of Fish & Game's head aquaculture
<BR>promoter, Robert Hulbrock, who chairs the National Association of
<BR>State Aquaculture Coordinators (NASAC), wrote a letter opposing the
<BR>Sher measure, saying the matter should be left up to the Bush
<BR>Administration. Support for the measures to regulate and label
<BR>genetically modified fish is coming from fishermen's associations,
<BR>conservation groups and food safety organizations. S. 1525 will be
<BR>reheard on the 23rd before the Senate Natural Resources & Wildlife
<BR>Committee. AB 2962 has been set for hearing that same day in the
<BR>Assembly Health Committee. "No Frankenfish" buttons are available
<BR>from PCFFA for $1.00 (includes handling, postage). For more
<BR>information, e-mail: PCFFAfish@aol.com.
<BR>
<BR>5:15/10. SEAFOOD LABELING BILLS ADOPTED IN MISSISSIPPI
<BR>AND ALASKA: As California prepares to take up a bill to require the
<BR>labeling of genetically-modified fish in markets, when AB 2965
<BR>(Strom-Martin) is heard by the Assembly Health Committee next week
<BR>(see Sublegals, 5:15/09 above), WorldCatch News Network reported in
<BR>two different editions, 5 and 8 April, that the states of Mississippi and
<BR>Alaska have adopted their own seafood labeling regulations. The origin
<BR>of domestic and imported catfish must be clearly shown on labels under
<BR>legislation signed last week by Mississippi Governor Ronnie Musgrove,
<BR>reported WorldCatch. The new law requires restaurants to show on
<BR>menus where they got catfish, and retailers and wholesalers must also
<BR>tell the source of their fish; the law is intended to keep imported catfish
<BR>from being marketed under the general label of catfish. To see
<BR>Mississippi's new labeling law, go to:
<BR>http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2002/html/SB/2300-2399/
<BR>SB2345SG.htm.
<BR>
<BR>In Alaska last week, Governor Tony Knowles signed SB 208 by
<BR>Senator Jerry Ward (R-Nikiski) that allows wholesalers and retailers
<BR>selling salmon, halibut and blackcod (sablefish) to label their product
<BR>"wild" so consumers "can differentiate between farmed and wild
<BR>seafood in the marketplace. The new law also allows wholesalers and
<BR>retailers in the state to label or advertise the product as antibiotic-free,
<BR>hormone-free, and free from added colors and additives," according to
<BR>the WorldCatch report. To see the bill, go to:
<BR>http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill_text.asp?hsid=SB0208D&ses
<BR>sion=22. Meanwhile, in Washington, DC, the fate of U.S. Senator Ted
<BR>Stevens' (R-AK) language in the Senate version of the Farm Bill,
<BR>requiring country of origin labeling and labels to distinguish wild from
<BR>farmed fish for all seafood sold in the U.S., is now being decided in a
<BR>conference committee (see Sublegals, 5:08/03). To see the two
<BR>WorldCatch reports on new state labeling requirements, go to:
<BR>www.worldcatch.com.
<BR>
<BR>5:15/11. FINAL ACTION ON SEABIRD AVOIDANCE
<BR>REGULATIONS BY NORTH PACIFIC COUNCIL: The North Pacific
<BR>Fisheries Management Council has finalized and adopted new
<BR>regulations, crafted and recommended by the Alaska longline fleet, that
<BR>will significantly reduce and potentially eliminate the impact of longline
<BR>operations on Pacific seabirds, some of which (like the albatross) are
<BR>protected species under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA).
<BR>These new regulations include added weights on baited hooks to make
<BR>them sink faster, plus brightly colored plastic streamers placed at the
<BR>rear of longline vessels to frighten away seabirds who might otherwise
<BR>try to take the baited hooks for the short time they are on the surface.
<BR>These measures were developed, implemented and tested by the
<BR>longline fleet itself, and have demonstrated a significant reduction of
<BR>seabird encounter rates with minimal costs. The program is an example
<BR>of a creative and productive collaboration between scientists and the
<BR>commercial fishing fleet that has resolved an important resource
<BR>problem, and a model for similar issues elsewhere. For more
<BR>information on the "Program to Reduce Seabird Bycatch in the Alaska
<BR>Longline Fisheries," see:
<BR>http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/protectedresources/seabirds.html. The
<BR>regulations are available from at:
<BR>http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/protectedresources/seabirds/
<BR>avoidanceaction.pdf.
<BR>
<BR>Similar experimental gear are being researched for the Hawaii
<BR>longline tuna fisheries, a joint project of the Hawaii Longline
<BR>Association, National Audubon Society and National Marine Fisheries
<BR>Service (NMFS), with a demonstrated reduction of seabird bycatch to at
<BR>or very near zero, and with an actual total savings in bait costs to the
<BR>vessel owner. For more information on this project, contact Eric Gilman
<BR>at: egilman@lava.net.
<BR>
<BR>5:15/12. CDFG ORDERS GILLNET CLOSURE ALONG
<BR>CALIFORNIA COAST: On 5 April, the California Department of Fish
<BR>& Game (CDFG) issued a notice of an emergency closure of the gill and
<BR>trammel net fisheries in ocean waters of 60 fathoms or less from Point
<BR>Reyes to Point Arguello. The closure takes effect 26 April. The new
<BR>closure is similar to one issued in September 2000, that has since
<BR>expired, closing the fishery due to concerns regarding the incidental take
<BR>of seabirds and marine mammals. That closure covered the area from
<BR>Point Reyes to Yankee Point, and from Point Sal to Point Arguello. This
<BR>net fishery principally targets California halibut and certain rockfish
<BR>species. On 4 April, copies of the CDFG Director's Order and the
<BR>Statement of Reasons for the emergency rulemaking were submitted to
<BR>the California Office of Administrative Law (OAL). Copies of these
<BR>documents are available by going to:
<BR>http://www.dfg.ca.gov/mrd/gillnet/emergency.html.
<BR>
<BR>5:15/13. NEW SEA GRANT PUBLICATION ON
<BR>COMMUNICATIONS IN FISHING COMMUNITIES: Oregon State
<BR>University's Sea Grant program has published a new booklet, An
<BR>Investment in Trust: Communication in the Commercial Fishing and
<BR>Fisheries Management Communities (ORESU-G-01-004). The
<BR>publication "is an attempt to look at communications in context and to
<BR>assess the current state of communications between and among the
<BR>fishing community and the fisheries management community." Written
<BR>by Jennifer Gilden and Flaxen D.L. Conway, it is available for $7.00
<BR>(US) plus $3.00 postage from OSU Sea Grant Communications by
<BR>emailing to: sea.grant.communications@orst.edu.
<BR>
<BR>5:15/14. LEGISLATION REQUIRING TESTING OF WATERS,
<BR>FISH AROUND CALIFORNIA OFFSHORE OIL RIGS PASSES FIRST
<BR>COMMITTEE; BC GETTING READY TO DRILL: AB 2215 by
<BR>California Assemblymembers Virginia Strom-Martin (D-Duncan Mills)
<BR>and Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) to establish a joint agency
<BR>task force to test the waters and fish around oil rigs offshore California
<BR>for mercury and other heavy metals contamination passed the State
<BR>Legislature's Assembly Environmental Health & Toxic Materials
<BR>Committee on 9 April and will be heard next in the Assembly Water,
<BR>Parks & Wildlife Committee on 23 April. The bill was introduced, at
<BR>the request of PCFFA, following findings, reported by the Mobile
<BR>Register, of extensive mercury contamination of the waters and fish
<BR>around oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico (see Sublegals, 5:01/01). To
<BR>see the Associated Press report, go to:
<BR>http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20020411-1658-ca-mercury-
<BR>oilrigs.html. To see the Mobile Register report on the
<BR>Strom-Martin/Jackson legislation, AB 2215, go to:
<BR>http://www.al.com/news/mobileregister/index.ssf?/xml/story.ssf/html_st
<BR>andard.xsl?/base/news/1018171044186960.xml.
<BR>
<BR>To the north in Canada, the Financial Post reported on 8 April that
<BR>British Columbia is close to ending its moratorium on offshore oil and
<BR>gas development. The moratorium has been in place since 1959. It was
<BR>temporarily lifted in 1966 to permit the drilling of 14 exploratory wells.
<BR>In 1972, the government of Canada, which has jurisdictional precedence
<BR>in the development of offshore resources, re-invoked the moratorium,
<BR>said the Post report. The BC offshore oil and gas moratorium is
<BR>supported by the Province's fishermen, aboriginal groups and
<BR>conservation organizations. The current governments in Victoria and
<BR>Ottawa, however, are pushing offshore oil development at the risk of
<BR>Canada's Pacific coast fisheries. The Post went on to report that the
<BR>"Charlotte Basin has drawn the most interest from the oil and gas
<BR>industry. It could contain 10 billion barrels of oil and 26 trillion cubic
<BR>feet of natural gas -- about 2 1/2 times the Hibernia reserves off
<BR>Canada's east coast -- according to preliminary Geological Survey of
<BR>Canada data. Chevron Canada Ltd. and Petro-Canada are the only oil
<BR>companies with leases to the estimated $100-billion worth of reserves."
<BR>To see the complete Financial Post article on the offshore oil
<BR>moratorium, go to: http://www.nationalpost.com/home/story.html?f=/
<BR>stories/20020408/572982.html.
<BR>
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<BR>source at either: (415) 561-FISH (Southwest Office) or (541) 689-2000
<BR>(Northwest Office).
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