[Fishlink] ~~>FISHLINK SUBLEGALS 9/27/02<~~
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bit-bucket@straylight.primelogic.com
Fri, 4 Oct 2002 00:34:56 EDT
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~~>FISHLINK SUBLEGALS 9/27/02<~~
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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. 13 27 SEPTEMBER 2002
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"The biologists told me that many of these dead fish are very bright and
healthy looking, except for the part about them being dead."
.............................Paul Wertz
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IN THIS ISSUE.......
Klamath Fish Kills Continue to Mount, Feds Provide Pulse
Flow - "Too Little, Too Late." 6:13/01
Congressman Mike Thompson, PCFFA, IFR, Others
Sue For More Klamath Flows. 6:13/02
Oregon Closes State Hatcheries. 6:13/06
NMFS Considers Experimental Gear Permits For Pacific
Groundfish Fishery. 6:13/09
OceanFest 2002 Set For 12 October in San Francisco's
Presidio. 6:13/10
AND MORE......
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6:13/01. KLAMATH FISH KILL MOUNTS, FEDS PROVIDE
WATER "TOO LITTLE TOO LATE": Massive die-offs of chinook, as
well as endangered coho salmon, continued this past week in the lower
Klamath River, with losses estimated as high as 30,000 out of a total
estimated spawning run of 60,000 fish. The number of fish killed in this
Northern California/Southern Oregon watershed is mounting (see
Sublegals 6:12/07). The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (BOR),
meanwhile, announced on 27 September that it would voluntarily
release more water from the Klamath Irrigation Project to help
downriver salmon. The fish are dying from lack of cool water caused by
the Bureau's prior water cutbacks. Initially, BOR claimed any water
released from Upper Klamath Lake would be too hot to do any good.
However, Upper Klamath Lake official gauge data actually shows that
water temperatures in Upper Klamath Lake have been well below
temperature levels harmful to salmon since early August.
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) made the request for
more flows from the Bureau in an effort to halt the current die-off,
which biologists believe was triggered, in part, by extremely low flows
released below Iron Gate Dam by BOR. Iron Gate Dam flows (which
start at about river mile 190 at the dam) are a critical component of the
total water available for fish in the river, and typically account for 85
percent of the total river flow at Seid (river mile 130), 65 percent at
Orleans (river mile 59) and one-third of the total volume of the river at
the estuary, according to the NMFS 2002-2012 Biological Opinion
(BiOp). BOR's decision this past spring to make full deliveries to Upper
Basin Klamath Project irrigators even in a dry year was calculated based
on political considerations, not scientific data (see Sublegals, 5:18/01;
5:17/02). The Bureau deliberately reduced downriver flows required for
salmon this year, holding them 25 percent lower this year than during
the 2001 record drought in the Basin, in spite of more rainfall this water
year. The additional water BOR will now release is only a voluntary
two-week "pulse" of water, bringing the total flows below Iron Gate
Dam temporarily to 1,300 cubic feet per second (cfs). They will then be
dropped back to nearly the same levels as caused the die-off. On or
around 14 October, BOR's official 2002 water plan calls for an in-river
Iron Gate Dam flow of only 876 cfs, which would likely leave the
incoming coho salmon spawners (and what is left of the chinook salmon
runs) stranded, and their egg nests ("redds") dewatered, according to
California Department of Fish & Game (CDFG) officials.
Protesting the BOR decision, CDFG stated in a 27 September
Position Statement to BOR and NMFS: "DFG does not support the
NMFS pulse flow recommendation in the Klamath River without
sustaining adequate flows through the spawning and incubation season.
While the pulse flows will likely help induce movement of salmon and
steelhead currently holding in the lower Klamath River, once flows are
reduced, similar water quality and disease problems may occur in
upstream areas."
CDFG continued, stating "If warm and dry weather persists for the
next few weeks, reductions in flow ... may result in: (1) stranding of
infected fish with migrating uninfected fish in high densities at the
mouths of major tributaries throughout the entire length of the Klamath
River below Iron Gate Dam which could lead to further fish kills; (2)
Decreased water quality conditions and elevated temperatures in
upstream locations once flows are reduced with subsequent adverse
impacts on anadromous fish such as increased susceptibility to disease
and reduced egg viability; (3) Inadequate spawning and incubation flows
for healthy fish using the main stem Klamath River resulting in poor egg
survival, and; (4) Inadequate flows that will impede long-term recovery
of Klamath River fishery resources, particularly given the magnitude of
the fish kill."
In a 26 September letter, CDFG also recommended BOR release
sufficient water to the Klamath River to meet minimum Iron Gate Dam
flows of 1200 cfs throughout October, 1400 cfs in November, 1600 cfs
in December, 2000 cfs in January, 2200 cfs in February, 2400 cfs in
March and 2200 cfs in April to support salmonid egg incubation and
winter rearing. These are the flow recommendations from a study
commissioned by several federal agencies (the "Hardy Phase II Flow
Study") that was intended to answer the question of what flow
ESA-listed fish need for recovery in the Klamath River. That study,
however, has never been formally released and is still being held up
within the U.S Department of Interior. CDFG also said in that letter,
"The DFG believes that the flow schedule outlined above is essential to
ensure the desired objective of reducing the current fish kill is achieved
and healthy fish that move upstream can spawn successfully."
The current BOR water plan for the remainder of this water year,
however, would require in-river flows below Iron Gate Dam of only 879
cfs throughout October, 873 cfs in November, 889 cfs in December, 888
cfs in January, 747 cfs in February, 849 cfs in 1-15 March, 993 cfs 15-31
March, 969 cfs in 1-15 April and 922 cfs 16-30 April, 2003. In every
case, if the current 2002 BOR water plan is followed, water flows in the
Klamath would be less than Tribal scientists, CDFG officials and the
NMFS BiOp itself say is necessary to prevent the extinction of
threatened coho salmon and prevent serious depletion of chinook and
steelhead stock throughout the Klamath Basin. Nevertheless the NMFS
BiOp allows the BOR to operate the project for several more years in
accordance with these rock-bottom flow schedules, while phasing in
some additional flows over the next ten years. The current minimum
"spawner floor" for fall chinook in the Klamath Basin is 35,000 adults.
A loss of 30,000 out of the originally anticipated spawner run of 60,000
would drop the recruitment levels so low that in the year 2005, when
this year-class matures, commercial salmon harvests will likely be
closed or severely restricted from as far south as Monterey Bay and as
far north as Washington State, resulting in massive economic losses for
coastal and fishing dependent communities. Recreational and Tribal
fisheries will also likely take huge losses as well, in addition to the
losses they have already directly suffered this year due to the massive
die-off itself.
For more information on the Klamath fish kill, see the 22 September
Eureka Times-Standard
at:http://www.times-standard.com/cda/article/print/0,1674,127%257E28
96%257E876082,00.html, the 25 September Los Angeles Times article
at: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-deadfish25sep25.story, the
AP report in the 26 September San Francisco Chronicle at:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2002/09/26
/state2022EDT0188.DTL, and the two reports in the 27 September
Oregonian, at: http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?
xml/story.ssf/html_standard.xsl?/base/front_page/1033127755314151.x
ml, and at:
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/xml/story.ssf/htm
l_standard.xsl?/base/front_page/1033127755314150.xml.
6:13/02. CONGRESSMAN, PCFFA, IFR AND OTHERS FILE SUIT
FOR MORE KLAMATH WATER TO PREVENT FURTHER FISH
KILLS: On 26 September U.S. Representative Mike Thompson (D-CA),
together with PCFFA, IFR and a number of other fish and conservation
groups, sued the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) seeking a U.S. District Court
(Northern California) order invalidating the current NMFS Biological
Opinion (BiOp) for the Klamath River. The current BiOp has allowed
BOR's wanton reduction of water to the Klamath - flows essential for
fish survival - resulting in this year's record kill of spawning chinook
and coho salmon.
NMFS' Klamath BiOp, if allowed to stand, would permit kills of the
sort that happened this year for nearly another decade. Thompson,
whose Congressional district includes the Northern California fishing
ports (e.g., Fort Bragg, Eureka) that have been most affected by years of
increasingly severe losses of the Klamath River-origin commercial and
recreational fisheries, was in Baghdad at the time the suit was filed, but
plans to be in Washington next week to personally deliver dead Klamath
salmon to the Department of Interior. The Congressman has been a
champion of salmon restoration since he was in the California State
Senate and has continued in that vein as a member of the U.S. House of
Representatives.
The action filed Thursday is a continuation of a prior lawsuit begun
earlier this year to challenge springtime flows, but amended to include
the new NMFS Biological Opinion and additional causes of action. The
case is PCFFA v. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. District Court for
Northern California, Oakland Division, Civ. No. C02-2006 SBA. The
litigation became necessary when BOR reverted this year to its old
policy of fulfilling all the federally subsidized irrigation water demands
of Klamath Project irrigators before all other legal obligations, leaving
the dregs (including highly polluted irrigation return flows) to run
downriver where the flow was too little and too polluted to support
spawning salmon and steelhead populations.
Plaintiffs in this action claim the current NMFS BiOp is defective in
several regards. Even though NMFS' opinion was that the proposed
operations of the BOR in the Klamath Irrigation Project would cause
"jeopardy" (i.e., eventual extinction of coho salmon listed under the
federal Endangered Species Act), the federal fishery agency nevertheless
allowed the BOR operations to continue as usual for several more years,
proposing a gradual phase in of greater water flows eventually sufficient
to protect against jeopardy. The result of that "do nothing quickly"
policy, however, has been major system-wide collapse and a major fish
die-off this year, just as predicted by many of the plaintiff groups, Tribal
scientists, California Department of Fish & Game biologists, as well as
many scientists within NMFS itself. For more information on the suit,
visit the PCFFA website: www.pcffa.org. In addition to Congressman
Thompson, PCFFA and IFR, plaintiffs include the Northcoast
Environmental Center, Klamath Forest Alliance, Oregon Natural
Resources Council, The Wilderness Society, Waterwatch of Oregon,
Defenders of Wildlife and Headwaters. Plaintiffs are represented by
Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund.
6:13/03. THE BLAME GAME - BOR AND IRRIGATORS
ATTEMPT TO DIVERT RESPONSIBILITY FOR KLAMATH FISH
KILLS: In the midst of the worst salmon kill in recent history, the U.S.
Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), which operates the Klamath Irrigation
Project, and the Klamath Water Users Association (KWUA), whose
members contract for the BOR water are scrambling to divert attention
away from themselves and their actions that resulted in the massive fish
die-off. KWUA has clamored for full water deliveries from the project,
and lobbied Congress and the Bush Administration to give them what
they wanted regardless of the impacts on the fish or Tribal trust
responsibilities. BOR, a Department of Interior agency, has been
complicit, ignoring extensive studies documenting the flow levels
required by the fish. The Bureau was successful this year in pressuring
the National Marine Fisheries Service to issue a weak and toothless
Biological Opinion for the river, thereby reducing flows often to less
than 50 percent of that recommended for fish survival (see 3 May 2002
PCFFA statement and flow regime graph at: www.pcffa.org). BOR and
Interior officials are claiming "more study" is needed to determine what
caused the salmon kill, and that the Klamath system is "extremely
complex," in an effort to escape responsibility. KWUA is also trying to
assert that there is no agreement among scientists on the cause of the
die-off and have contacted their Congressional representatives in
Washington, asking them to exert political pressure on Reclamation,
NOAA and other Bush Administration officials to respond to news
reports similarly.
While federal officials were trying to give the issue a "scientific
uncertainty" spin in the face of overwhelming evidence that the low
flows and corresponding high temperatures were the cause of the fish
kill, California Department of Fish & Game (CDFG) personnel and
Tribal biologists have stated repeatedly and clearly what caused the
salmon to die - lack of water.
CDFG's laboratory has confirmed that the fish were infected with
columnaris and a parasite called ichthyophthirius (commonly referred to
as "ich"). Both conditions were exacerbated by warm water (in turn
related to low flows) and so little water that the fish crowded together in
whatever thermal refuges they can find and thus passed it to each other.
Crowding played a big part of this die-off according to CDFG officials,
who also noted that Department personnel recorded a river temperature
of 72 degrees F. on Friday, 20 September, a critical day in the beginning
of the salmon kill. Temperatures above about 68 degrees F. can be fatal
to salmonids, who are coldwater fish, with temperatures around 58 F.
optimal for adult spawners. CDFG and Tribal biologists say that more
water from the Klamath Project would have at least eased the crowding
situation and would have helped diffuse and disperse infectious particles
given off by fish infected with ich as well as moderated water
temperatures and daily temperature "spikes."
PCFFA Executive Director Zeke Grader was more blunt in his
assessment of Interior's "scientific uncertainty" red herrings. "There is,
in fact, more evidence for the low flows killing these fish than there is
for Iraq having weapons of mass destruction. It's time the
Administration began connecting the dots," said Grader.
6:13/04. CONFERENCE ON AGRICULTURE ADJUSTING TO
TMDLS: The United States Committee on Irrigation & Drainage, along
with the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA), will
sponsor a four day conference aimed at assisting irrigated agriculture to
"address and respond to the scientific, environmental, economic and
political/social issues related to TMDLs, including pollution sources,
regulations, costs and impacts." Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs)
are pollutant maximum standards established under the federal Clean
Water Act for impaired waterways (e.g., rivers). In 1997 PCFFA
successfully sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to
force the implementation of TMDL standards for 19 salmon bearing
coastal rivers in Northern California and has been pressing for TMDLs
in other waterways that are critical for fish production as well.
According to conference organizers, a "significant challenge facing
irrigated agriculture is the regulation and management of contaminants
and pollutants that make their way into streams and reservoirs.
Increasingly, the development and enforcement of TMDLs (total
maximum daily loads, or the amount of a particular pollutant that a
water body can safely absorb on a daily basis) will affect many
stakeholders, including farmers, water districts and environmental
constituencies." Coupled with the conference is a tour of the
Glen-Colusa Irrigation District's (GCID) fish screen, whose construction
PCFFA supported to prevent the kill of endangered winter-run chinook
and other important salmon runs on the Sacramento River. The 520-foot
screen, the longest in the world, assists migrating juvenile salmon to
pass GCID's main diversion facility. The conference will be held 23-26
October at the Doubletree Hotel in Sacramento, California. For more
information, visit the conference website at:
http://www.uscid.org/id_tmdl.html.
6:13/05. WASHINGTON STATE, TRIBES COMPLETE PUGET
SOUND SALMON HATCHERY REVIEW: On 24 September, the
Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission and the Washington
Department of Fish & Wildlife (WDFW) announced completion of a
two-year review of Puget Sound chinook salmon hatcheries. The review,
called a Resource Management Plan, marks the first time that
treaty Indian Tribes on Puget Sound and WDFW have jointly developed
specific, scientific criteria for salmon hatchery operations on a regional
basis. The plan documents changes that have already been made,
provides guidance for future changes, and is expected to serve as a
framework for efforts to recover naturally spawning king salmon
populations, fisheries officials said. WDFW and the treaty Indian Tribes
operate more than 40 chinook hatcheries in Puget Sound that produce
chinook for recreational and commercial purposes. Most of those
hatcheries have been operating for decades as ongoing mitigation for
lost fish-producing habitat; about 85 per cent of fish production from
state facilities is for long term mitigation. For more information, go to
the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission website at:
http://www.nwifc.wa.gov/ or the WDFW website at:
http://www.wa.gov/wdfw.
6:13/06. OREGON HATCHERY CLOSURES: While the Northwest
Indian Fisheries Commission and the Washington Department of Fish &
Wildlife were announcing their review of hatchery operations (see
6:13/05 above), the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife (ODFW)
announced the week before, on 17 September, its closure of four state
salmon hatcheries because of State budget cuts. Closing effective 30
September were the Cedar Creek, Elk River, Salmon River and Trask
River hatcheries. Cedar Creek Hatchery is located near Hebo, Elk River
Hatchery is east of Port Orford, Salmon River Hatchery is near Otis, and
Trask River Hatchery is by Tillamook. Fish in the hatcheries were
released beginning 23 September. Once the hatcheries are closed, a
technician will remain on site at each location to maintain the facility in
mothball status. Adult fish returning to the hatcheries will remain in the
streams to spawn. Closing the four hatcheries, all of which are 100
percent General Fund supported, is projected to save ODFW
approximately $427,000. These closures, added to cuts being made
elsewhere in the agency, will result in a total of $877,000 in reductions
for ODFW. For more information, go to: www.dfw.state.or.us.
6:13/07. PFMC GROUNDFISH MEETING: The Pacific Fishery
Management Council's (PFMC) Groundfish Fishery Management Plan
Environmental Impact Statement Oversight Committee (Ad Hoc EIS
Oversight Committee) will hold a working meeting, open to the public,
on its draft Groundfish Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement
(PEIS). The meeting will be held 7-8 October in the conference room at
the PFMC office, 7700 NE Ambassador Place, Portland, Oregon.
Upcoming meetings related to West Coast Groundfish Management are
now posted on the PFMC website at:
http://www.pcouncil.org/events/2002/eisos1002.html,
http://www.pcouncil.org/events/2002/vms1002.html,
http://www.pcouncil.org/events/2002/gmt1002.html
The Notice of Availability Form for the SAFE Document, published
July 2002, STAR documents, and SAFE available spring of 2003, can be
downloaded from: http://www.pcouncil.org/groundfish/gfsafe.html.
6:13/08. MORE GROUNDFISH NEWS - COMMENTS
REQUESTED ON CALIFORNIA ROCKFISH CONSERVATION
AREA: The Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) is requesting
comments on the California Rockfish Conservation Area that was
adopted on 13 September by the Council (see Sublegals, 6:11/01).
Written comments must be received by 22 October for consideration at
the PFMC's 28 October meeting and comments to be mailed to Council
members must be received by 10 October. For more information on the
Conservation Area, adopted as part of the PFMC's 2003 groundfish
management measures, go to the Council website at: www.pcouncil.org.
For additional information regarding the September PFMC meeting on
groundfish issues, see the 13 September San Jose Mercury at:
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/4065778.htm, the
14 September Los Angeles Times at:
http://www.latimes.com/la-me-fish14sep14005046.story, and the 14
September, Oregonian at:
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/xml/story.ssf/htm
l_standard.xsl?/base/front_page/1032004561142862.xml.
6:13/09. NMFS CONSIDERS EXPERIMENTAL FISHERY
PERMITS FOR PACIFIC GROUNDFISH: The National Marine
Fisheries Service published 27 September, in the Federal Register, (Vol.
67, No. 188, pp. 61061-61062) its announcement of an application for
an exempted fishing permit (EFP) from the California Department of
Fish & Game (CDFG). This EFP application applies to vessels with
valid California State delivery permits fishing for flatfish with small
footrope trawl gear in federal waters off the State of California. If
awarded, the EFP would allow vessels with a federal limited entry
permit to land federally managed groundfish species in excess of
cumulative trip limits and to sell flatfish catch for profit, provided that
the vessels carry state-sponsored observers. Observers would collect
data that are otherwise not available shoreside. This EFP proposal is
intended to promote the objectives of the Pacific Coast Groundfish
Fishery Management Plan (FMP) by providing data that can be used to
enhance management of the groundfish fishery. Comments must be
received by 15 October. Copies of the EFP application are available
from Becky Renko, Northwest Region, NMFS, at (206) 526-6140.
6:13/10. OCEANFEST 2002 SET FOR 12 OCTOBER: The Gulf of
the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary will hold its second annual
OceanFest on Saturday, 12 October, at the Sanctuary's offices on San
Francisco Bay (Old Coast Guard Lifeboat Station) at West Crissy Field
in The Presidio in San Francisco, California. The event will again
feature sustainably-harvested seafood from sanctuary waters, donated by
the Monterey Fish Market and PCFFA. The fish will be prepared by
Chez Panisse, Greens, Hayes Street Grill and Oliveto. In addition to the
seafood, some of the area's best wines and micro-brewed beers will be
served, accompanied by live music, a marine discovery fair, children's
activities and a silent auction. A number of organizations will have
booths for the event, including PCFFA, IFR the Monterey Bay
Aquarium, Aquarium of the Bay and California Academy of Sciences.
The events begin at 1100 HRS. For more information, call (415)
561-6625 or visit: www.farallones.org.
6:13/11. NMFS EXTENDS DEADLINE ON COMMENTS FOR
"RESPONSIBLE" AQUACULTURE; EPA ISSUES EFFLUENT
GUIDELINES: The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has
extended the deadline for comments on its "Draft Code of Conduct for
Responsible Aquaculture in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone" (see
Sublegals, 6:10/07) until 31 October. The Federal Register notice is
posted at: http://click.topica.com/maaaxY0aaTHOka9Dd5fb/. The draft
Code of Conduct is available at: www.nmfs.gov/aquaculture.htm.
Comments on the draft may be sent to Colin Nash, NMFS/WASC, P.O.
Box 130, Manchester, WA 98353 or by fax to (206) 842-8364.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) meanwhile has
published its effluent guidelines for aquaculture in the Federal Register;
which can be found at: www.epa.gov/ost/guide/aquaculture/.
6:13/12. EEZ AQUACULTURE GUIDELINES MEETING
SCHEDULED FOR SEATTLE: A workshop has been scheduled for
Friday, 25 October, in Seattle, Washington to develop recommendations
for implementing a policy framework for aquaculture in the ocean 3 to
200 miles offshore (the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone or "EEZ"). This
workshop is one of four regional gatherings to solicit "stakeholder"
input. The project is being carried out by a multi-disciplinary team
under the leadership of the University of Delaware, Center for the Study
of Marine Policy. More information is available on the project's website
at http://128.175.24.162/sgeez/. The EEZ workshop follows a meeting
of the Pacific Aquaculture Caucus on 24 October, at the Crowne Plaza
Hotel in Seattle. Those planning on attending are asked to RSVP by 18
October to Tim Eichenberg, Oceana, at: TEichenberg@Oceana.org.
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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