[Fishlink] ~~>FISHLINK SUBLEGALS 9/13/02<~~
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Fri, 20 Sep 2002 15:53:53 EDT
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~~>FISHLINK SUBLEGALS 9/13/02<~~
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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. 06, NO. 11 13 SEPTEMBER 2002
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"America's food safety system has been expertly designed not to protect
the public health but to protect the meatpacking industry from liability.
While many Americans fret about the risks of bioterrorism, a much more
immediate threat comes from the all-American meal."... Eric Schlosser
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IN THIS ISSUE.......
PFMC Adopts Most Restrictive Management Measures
Ever for Pacific Groundfish Fishery. 6:11/01.
Nearshore Fishery Plan Approved by California Fish
& Game Commission. 6:11/03
Appointments Made to California Ocean Trust
Sans Fishermen. 6:11/07
Fishery Agency Gets Award for 9-11 Security Efforts
Paid For With Fishermen Fees. 6:11/09
BC Fish Farm Moratorium Lifted as Thousands More
Atlantic Salmon Escape. 6:11/11
AND MORE......
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6:13/01. PFMC ADOPTS 2003 GROUNDFISH MANAGEMENT
MEASURES: The need to limit the total bycatch amount of bocaccio to
less than 20 metric tons in the Pacific groundfish fishery was the driving
force behind the 2003 harvest guidelines adopted late Friday evening, 13
September, in Portland by the Pacific Fisheries Management Council
(PFMC). The Council set low Optimum Yields (OYs) for many
groundfish species and decided on depth-based restrictions as the means
to reach these OYs (see Sublegals, 6:07/18; 6:04/01; 5:25/01; 5:23/01).
Generally, opportunities for targeting groundfish species will be
extremely limited and focused on areas outside of 20 to 250 fathoms,
with some movement of the fathom lines throughout the year. The
recommended measures will now be sent to the Secretary of Commerce
(National Marine Fisheries Service) for final approval. The specific
harvest levels and restrictions the Council adopted to recommend can be
found on the PFMC website at www.pcouncil.org
For California south of Cape Mendocino, the PFMC approved a
"California Rockfish Conservation Area" that follows the depth-based
restrictions by prohibited gear types and species targeted, yet provides
for multiple exceptions to allow fishing for other species than
groundfish. The plan drew criticism from fishermen over the short notice
they received about it and the inability to accurately gauge what the
actual catches will be because of limited numbers of observers and
recreational fishing vessels' exemptions to mandatory observers. The
issue of how to accurately determine what was going to be caught was
raised by numerous participants at the meeting. Dr. Bill Hogarth, head of
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), attended the PFMC meeting
and spoke about accountability midweek. He challenged the Council to
develop some means of accountability by which to measure if the harvest
goals were being met and echoed the dissatisfaction expressed by many
fishermen about their current inability to plan for their businesses. He
also stated that he would direct his staff to immediately address the
Marine Recreational Fisheries Survey (MRFS) and begin working on
ways to improve this system, which has reportedly misestimated bycatch
rates by as much as 80 percent.
While the PFMC agreed that there must be an increase in the
federally funded observer program, it did not anticipate that the number
of observers would be able to meet the demands for observers. The
Council also had to address the issue of how to enforce the depth-based
management as the Coast Guard (and apparently the California
Department of Fish & Game - see 6:11/09 below) are not going to be
able to devote enough resources to fisheries enforcement, in part because
of their increased attention to threats to national security.
In response to the concern about being able to enforce depth-based
management measures, the PFMC approved the use of Vessel
Monitoring Systems (VMS) to be mandatory on boats for the following
year. The costs are estimated to be $2,000 for the unit that can be used to
track a vessel as it goes through the closed zones. The Council will
recommend that the federal government initially provide for the costs,
but they will still support their mandatory use even if fishermen must
purchase them.
There was overwhelming dissatisfaction from the attendees of the
meeting regarding process. On several occasions during the meeting, the
Groundfish Advisory Panel (GAP) representative declared that the GAP
could not comment on the issue currently being discussed because they
had not received the information in advance. Members of the GAP found
themselves waiting for information for much of the first two days of the
meeting. Members of the public also spoke about being confused and
unable to find the information that was needed to effectively comment
on the proposed management measures. The Council itself
acknowledged these problems and discussed ways to improve this in the
future while the GAP was attempting to prepare their comments late on
Friday.
The PFMC also approved a handful of decisions available on their
website at www.pcouncil.org. These include several Essential Fish
Habitat (EFH) decisions (approving a letter to the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers on the Columbia River dredging), directing its Science &
Statistical Committee to review modifications to the Chinook Salmon
FRAM, approving a letter to the California Fish & Game Commission
on marine reserves in state waters of the Channel Islands National
Marine Sanctuary, changes to the Area 2A Pacific Halibut Catch Sharing
Plan, updates to the 2002 pacific sardine fishery, and several
administrative matters. For complete details on all the actions taken visit
the Council website. More information will also be available in next
week's issue of Sublegals.
6:11/02. NMFS ESTABLISHES DARKBLOTCHED ROCKFISH
CONSERVATION AREA FOR PACIFIC COAST GROUNDFISH
FISHERY: In the 13 September Federal Register (Vol. 67, No.178,
pp.5793-57981), the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)
published notice of an emergency rule to set depth-based management
measures for the Pacific Coast groundfish fishery to be effective from 10
September 2002 to 12 March 2003. The rule sets new depth-based
management measures that create a darkblotched rockfish conservation
area (DBCA). The DBCA will limit the incidental catch of darkblotched
rockfish, an overfished species, while allowing the limited entry trawl
fishery access to healthy deepwater groundfish stocks (e.g., Dover sole,
thornyhead, blackcod) and nearshore flatfish species (e.g., Dover sole
(seasonally), petrale sole, arrowtooth flounder, English sole) outside the
DBCA. This action, according to NMFS, is intended to allow the
fisheries to access the optimum yields (OYs) of healthy groundfish
stocks while protecting overfished darkblotched rockfish. Comments are
due 15 October and should be sent to: Rodney McInnis, Acting
Administrator, Southwest Region, NMFS, 501 West Ocean Blvd., Suite
4200, Long Beach, CA 90802-4213, fax: (562) 980-4047; or to Robert
Lohn, Administrator, Northwest Region, NMFS, 7600 Sand Point Way
N.E., Bldg. 1, Seattle, WA 98115-0070, fax: (206) 526-6736. Comments
will not be accepted if submitted via e-mail or Internet. For more
information, e-mail Svein Fougner (Southwest Region, NMFS) at:
svein.fougner@noaa.gov or Carrie Nordeen (Northwest Region, NMFS)
at: carrie.nordeen@noaa.gov.
6:11/03. CALIFORNIA FISH & GAME COMMISSION ADOPTS
NEARSHORE FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLAN: At its 30 August
meeting in Oakland (see Sublegals, 6:07/19), the California Fish &
Game Commission adopted the first-ever Nearshore Fishery
Management Plan (NFMP) for state waters. The development of the plan
was mandated as part of the Marine Life Management Act (MLMA)
authored by State Assemblyman Fred Keeley (D-Boulder Creek) and
passed by the California Legislature in 1998. The California Department
of Fish & Game (CDFG) produced the plan with input from its
Nearshore Advisory Committee and numerous public hearings. The
NFMP is designed to guide the Department's management of both the
recreational and commercial harvest of 19 finfish species found in
nearshore ocean waters along the state's 1100-mile coastline. Some of
the species in the plan include rockfish species also covered by the
Pacific Fishery Management Council's Groundfish Fishery Management
Plan for federal waters offshore California.
According to CDFG, "the NFMP provides a framework of strategies
to guide future fisheries management." The preferred option strategies
selected from the plan call for the Department to:
*Manage the nearshore fishery on a regional basis;
*Use a three stage approach for implementing key management
measures that change as available information increases;
*To use marine protected areas (through the Marine Life Protection Act
process) as a potential tool to help replenish nearshore stocks; and
*Implement a restricted access program for the state's commercial
fishery to reduce fishing capacity to a biologically and economically
sustainable level.
The NFMP is the result of three years of work by the Department.
Now that it is adopted, the NFMP is intended to serve as a foundation to
be used for fishery management decisions and regulations in the future.
The next step will be to determine total allowable catch levels for the 19
nearshore species included in the plan and to consider how best to
allocate those resources among the various user groups. At its next
meeting scheduled for Crescent City 24-25 October, the Commission is
expected to certify the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
document generated as part of the NFMP, adopt regulations to
implement the plan, and hear public testimony regarding the Nearshore
Restricted Access Program. To view the NFMP, log on to:
www.dfg.ca.gov/mrd/nfmp/index.html.
6:11/04. CALIFORNIA FISH & GAME COMMISSION MEETING
IN OCTOBER -- AGENDA INCLUDES CRAB TRAP
REGULATIONS, NEARSHORE RESTRICTED ACCESS
PROGRAM: The California Fish & Game Commission will meet 24-25
October at the Del Norte County Board of Supervisors Chambers, 981 H
Street, Suite 100, in Crescent City, California. Agenda items for that
meeting will include final adoption of a rule for the design of escape
panels for Dungeness crab traps and public testimony on a restricted
access program for the commercial nearshore fishery. For more
information on the meeting, go to:
www.dfg.ca.gov/fg_comm/2002mtgs.html.
6:11/05. ALASKA OCEANS & WATERSHEDS SYMPOSIUM
TRANSCRIPTS NOW AVAILABLE: The transcripts of presentations
from the 18-19 June 2002 symposium, "Alaska's Oceans & Watersheds"
are now available from the web, including Powerpoint presentations.
For more information, go to:
www.oilspill.state.ak.us/events/Oceans_and_Watersheds_2002/
index.html.
6:11/06. CANDIAN GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES NEW
OCEAN STRATEGY: Earlier this summer, Robert G. Thibault, the
Canadian Minister of Fisheries & Oceans (DFO), released his agency's
"Canada's Ocean Strategy." According to DFO, the document is
intended to be a framework for "the protection and sustainable use of
Canada's marine environment," as well as for resolving conflicts
between user groups, such as fishermen and oil companies. DFO has
been severely criticized in recent months for its support for the lifting of
the moratorium on salmon aquaculture operations in British Columbia
(see 6:11/11 below), and appears poised to lift the current moratorium on
offshore oil development in these same fishing areas. Since Canada's
Ocean Act was passed in 1997 to protect marine resources, continuing
conflicts have arisen between fishermen and those intending to develop
ocean mineral resources (see Sublegals, 6:05/07). For more information,
go to: www.ncr.dfo.ca/media/newsrel/2002/hq-ac77_e.htm. The Ocean
Strategy itself is at:
www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/oceanscanada/newenglish/htmdocs/cos/cos.htm.
6:11/07. APPOINTMENTS MADE TO CALIFORNIA OCEAN
TRUST; OCEAN CONFERENCE SET FOR OCTOBER IN SANTA
BARBARA: California Resources Secretary Mary Nichols has
announced the appointments to the newly-established California Ocean
Trust, a group designated to guide state policy on marine research.
Heading up Nichols' appointments were Charles Kennel, Director of the
Scripps Institution of Oceanography and State Assemblyman Fred
Keeley (D-Boulder Creek). Kennel is a member of the Pew Oceans
Commission, while Keeley was author of California's Marine Life
Management Act (MLMA) and numerous other fisheries and oceans
legislation.
Also appointed by Nichols were: James Kelley, Professor Emeritus,
San Francisco State University; Mark Gold, Executive Director, Heal the
Bay; Geraldine Knatz, Managing Director, Port of Long Beach; Russ
Moll, Director, University of California Sea Grant at San Diego; Burr
Henneman, Pew Fellow, Bolinas. Appointed by the California
Environmental Protection Agency was Beth James, that agency's
Assistant Secretary for Water Programs. Annette Porini, Chief Deputy
Director of the Department of Finance was also appointed to the Trust.
No fisherman nor any fishing industry representative was appointed. The
first meeting of the group is scheduled for early October. For more
information, contact Brian Baird at: brian@resources.ca.gov.
In addition to the Ocean Trust appointments, a conference, called
"California and the World Ocean '02 -- Revisiting and Revising
California's Ocean Agenda" has been scheduled for 27-30 October at the
Fess Parker Resort in Santa Barbara. Of the more than 100 speakers
who will be offering their views, only one commercial fisherman was
invited to speak. For more information on the conference, go to:
http://resources.ca.gov/ocean/CWO_02.
6:11/08. MASS EXTINCTION OF SEABED CREATURES FROM
GLOBAL WARMING FEARED: A recent analysis by the British
Antarctic Survey indicates that if current computer models are correct,
warming ocean waters in the Southern Hemisphere will result in
thousands of species living on the Antarctic seabed becoming extinct,
said BBC News on 9 September. Direct observations show that
Antarctic ocean temperatures are steadily rising, as predicted by current
global warming models, in areas where sea life is particularly sensitive
to temperature changes. When sea spiders, clams, isopods and other
animals were exposed to seawater whose temperature was raised in line
with climatologists' forecasts, "every organism in the study died." In the
Northern Hemisphere, global climate change is believed responsible in
part for decreased fish production in the Bering Sea. For more see:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/sci_tech/2002/leicester_2002/22461
33.stm.
6:11/09. CALIFORNIA FISHERMEN SUPPORT HOMELAND
DEFENSE WITH THEIR FEES - CDFG AWARDED FOR POST 9-11
ACTIONS: The California Department of Fish & Game's (CDFG)
Marine Region has been recognized by U.S. Transportation Secretary
Norman Mineta for its efforts in protecting San Francisco Bay and the
Los Angeles and Long Beach harbor complex in the months following
the 11 September 2001 attacks. CDFG received a "Transportation 9-11"
medal for assigning Department patrol boats to help with U.S. Coast
Guard efforts in searching and monitoring all vessels entering these
ports. In October 2001, California Governor Gray Davis ordered two
CDFG marine patrol boats and five teams to active duty to assist the
Coast Guard.
The patrol boat Marlin, based in San Francisco, increased patrols to
provide security within the San
Francisco Bay. The Marlin and its crew guarded all bridge abutments
and worked night patrols in waters surrounding San Francisco
International and Oakland International airports. The patrol boat
Thresher, out of Dana Point (Orange County), conducted 24-hour patrols
off the Los Angeles coast. The Thresher's crew also escorted Coast
Guard officials to military munitions ships, cargo ships, oil tankers and
cruise liners to conduct background checks on crews and passengers.
Recognizing the scope of security work facing the Marine Patrol, CDFG
also assigned the patrol boat Bluefin to the San Francisco Bay, and the
patrol boat Tuna to the Los Angeles and Long Beach harbor complex.
According to CDFG, its "$1 million catamaran-like vessels are capable
of reaching speeds of 38 knots. Each one is state-of-the-art and equipped
with integrated electronics that allow for precise navigation in any
weather. DFG uses the boats to patrol fishing activities along the state's
1,100 miles of coast."
CDFG is a special fund agency; its personnel as well as their
equipment and operating costs are primarily funded from fees, including
fishing licenses (commercial and sport), fishing vessel registrations, fish
landing taxes, fishing permits and stamps, in addition to hunting licenses
and stamps, with very little State General Fund support. The Department
is facing huge budget cuts this year, as a result of declining license
revenues and losses of what little General Funds it does receive, and is
unable to fulfill many of its obligations to the fisheries it is charged with
managing.
"Since the time of American Revolution, commercial fishermen have
been at the forefront of domestic security efforts providing 'eyes and
ears' along the coast as well as producing food for our troops abroad and
those here at home. I can't imagine a single fisherman here in California
complaining about the diversion of the personnel and vessels they pay
for in fees from fisheries work to national security. The fishing industry
is proud to do its part and more," said PCFFA Executive Director Zeke
Grader. "But while we're making sacrifices to help ensure the safety of
our nation from terrorists and other enemies, we don't want to read about
well-connected corporations profiteering during this national
emergency." Following the 11 September attacks, California fishermen
worked with the U.S. Coast Guard to provide information of any
suspicious activities they witnessed at sea (see Sublegals 4:19/02). To
learn more about CDFG's commendation, call Marine Patrol Captain
Frank Spear at: (831) 649-2801. To learn more about corporate
profiteering off the terrorism threat, see "The Security Traders" by
Brendan Koerner in the September/October issue of Mother Jones
Magazine (pp.43-47) at: www.motherjones.com.
6:11/10. STUDY FINDS CLEAN WATER ACT ENFORCEMENT
LAX: The U.S. Public Interest Research Group (USPIRG) has issued a
new report documenting that nearly 30 percent of the United States'
largest industrial, municipal and federal facilities were in serious
violation of the federal Clean Water Act at least once during a recent
15-month period, and that there is still a persistent pattern of lax
enforcement by both federal and state agencies. The Clean Water Act
was intended to make U.S. waterways fishable and swimmable by 1983
and to achieve a zero discharge of pollutants into those waterways by
1985. As the 30th anniversary of its passage approaches, however, the
most recent U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) data indicate
that 40 percent of U.S. surface waters still do not meet that standard. The
report, "Permit to Pollute: How the Government's Lax Enforcement of
the Clean Water Act is Poisoning Our Waters," is available from
USPIRG along with other information on their website located
at:http://uspirg.org/uspirgnewsroom.asp?id2=7553&id3=USPIRGnewsr
oom&.
6:11/11. ITS NOW OFFICIAL: B.C. FISH FARM MORATORIUM
LIFTED, ESCAPE PROBLEMS CONTINUE: The British Columbia
government's Ministry of Agriculture, Food & Fisheries officially
announced the long anticipated lifting of its moratorium on new salmon
farming permits on 12 September, touting what it called the "most
comprehensive regulatory framework in the world." The decision has
been much criticized, and was strongly opposed by commercial and First
Nation's Tribal fisheries groups, environmental groups, the agency's own
scientific advisory teams and many fish biologists. In an effort to quiet
the controversy, the Ministry also simultaneously announced funding for
a new "Aquaculture & the Environment Fund" with $3.75 million
(Canadian) to sponsor additional aquaculture research, endowed a chair
for sustainable aquaculture at the University of British Columbia and
funded a $100,000 "Centre for Shellfish Research" in Nanaimo, B.C.
For the official B.C. government announcement see:
http://os8150.pb.gov.bc.ca/4dcgi/nritem?5548.
The David Suzuki Foundation, which has funded extensive research
on the province's salmon aquaculture industry, called the government's
statements that new waste regulations will result in a sustainable
aquaculture industry "nonsense," pointing out that highly polluting open
ocean net pen operations will continue to be used. For more see:
http://ens-news.com/ens/sep2002/2002-09-13-04.asp.
In addition to known pollution problems (see Sublegals 4:09/01)
British Columbia farmed salmon continue to escape from fish farms
regularly, increasing the risk of interbreeding and transmission of
diseases to wild salmon population already in serious decline (see
Sublegals 6:05/04; 4:16/04; 2:08/03; 2:07/07). In the latest incident,
CKNW radio in Vancouver, B.C. reported that on 13 September, just
one day after officials in Victoria lifted the B. C. moratorium, the vessel
Canadian Pine ran aground in the waters off Ucluelet, breaking in two
and releasing its cargo of 3,400 cultured Atlantic salmon into the Pacific
sound. The vessel was a fish farm utility boat. Just the day before,
Environment Canada had also granted a permit to a salmon farm
operation allowing it to dump 2,800 tons of dead farmed salmon directly
into the ocean. For more see:
www.cknw.com/news_item.html?20020913152726000.
6:11/12. SCIENTISTS PREPARE FOR DECOMMISSIONING OF
ELWHA DAMS: Scientists from several agencies and Tribes are
finishing up the first comprehensive survey of Washington State's Elwha
River fish habitat and fish populations in preparation for the
decommissioning and final removal of the 105-foot Elwha Dam and
210-foot Glines Canyon Dam. Congress authorized their removal in
1992 (Elwha River Restoration Act), but Congressional funding was
held up for years as a political ploy by former U.S. Senator Slade Gorton
(R-WA). Decommissioning presents scientists a golden opportunity to
chart a "before and after" picture of the impacts of dam removal on
aquatic ecosystems, data that will be very important in designing other
dam decommissioning and removal project in the future. Like the Elwha
dams, many thousands of dams nationwide have outlived their
usefulness and must soon be removed.
The Elwha River was once home to large populations of all five
major salmon species (coho, chinook, pink, chum and sockeye), and is
still considered the single best place for salmon recovery in the Pacific
Northwest. The river once produced as many as 390,000 adult fish,
scientists estimate, but today only about 3,000 naturally spawning
salmon of all species still inhabit the river, which has been completely
blocked by the Elwha dam since completion in 1913. An important
aspect of the study is to see how these fish respond to both the
short-term dam removal sediment problems as well as renewed access to
historic spawning areas. Most of the spawning areas above the dams are
in nearly pristine condition, protected as part of Olympic National Park.
The river will be restored to its natural channel. The $178 million project
is expected to take two and a half years, begin in 2005 and be completed
sometime in 2007. For more information, go to:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/
134516760_elwha19m.html.
6:11/13. BUREAU OF RECLAMATION BEGINS STUDY OF
REMOVAL OF UPPER KLAMATH BASIN'S CHILOQUIN DAM:
The aging Chiloquin Dam that blocks the Sprague River, one mile
upstream from its confluence with the Williamson River that flows into
Upper Klamath Lake in the Upper Klamath Basin, is being studied for
removal by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (BOR). The dam, built in
1914 to supply water to the Modoc Point Irrigation District, blocks
access to what was once important spawning habitat for the endangered
Lost River and Shortnose suckers. Ways to correct that fish passage
problem are the subject of the BOR feasibility study, which may result in
a recommendation for Chiloquin Dam removal. However, damaged
habitat above the dam, plus the risk of sediment surges into the little
remaining good spawning habitat still left, have raised concerns. The
feasibility study was one of the few action items to come out of
Congress to help remedy decades of broad-scale damage to the aquatic
ecosystem in the Upper Klamath Basin, and was a provision (Sec.
10905) inserted into the Farm Security & Rural Investment Act of 2002
("Farm Bill") signed into law as P.L. 107-171 on 13 May 2002. The law
requires BOR to report back to the Secretary of Interior and Congress
with a recommendation within one year of enactment. For more see:
www.mp.usbr.gov/mp140/news/2002/MP-02-058.pdf.
NEWS, COMMENTS, CORRECTIONS: Submit your news items,
comments or any corrections to 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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