[Fishlink] ~~>FISHLINK SUBLEGALS 10/4/02<~~

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                     ~~>FISHLINK SUBLEGALS 10/4/02<~~
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       A WEEKLY QUOTA OF FISHERY SHORTS CAUGHT AND
     LANDED BY THE INSTITUTE FOR FISHERIES RESOURCES 
     AND THE PACIFIC COAST FEDERATION OF FISHERMEN'S
                                        ASSOCIATIONS

  VOL. 06, NO. 14                                              4 OCTOBER 2002
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"There are those who, for one reason or another - usually for short term
profit - do not care to approach the truth too closely.  For them,
complexity is a godsend. Like a squid escaping its pursuers in a cloud 
of ink, they use complexity to obscure their movements, to hide the
significance of what they are doing."..........David Ehrenfeld
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IN THIS ISSUE.......

Rotting Klamath Salmon Dumped at Interior's Doorstep, 
Agency Denying Responsibility for Kill. 6:14/01  

Drag Boats Threaten Restoration of Sacramento River Salmon. 6:14/03

New Scientific Studies Document Farmed Salmon Have 
10 Times PCB Level of Wild Fish. 6:14/04

Lawsuit Filed to Stop Pesticide Spraying on Oyster Beds in 
Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor.  6:14/06

Gray Davis Signs Three Bills Important to California 
Fishermen. 6:14/10

AND MORE......
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     6:14/01. REP. MIKE THOMPSON DUMPS ROTTING KLAMATH
FISH AT NORTON'S DOORSTEP; INTERIOR - STILL IN DENIAL-
GETS TASTE OF FISH IT KILLED:  On Wednesday, 2 October, U.S.
Representative Mike Thompson (D-CA) dumped 500 pounds of rotting
Klamath River salmon on the DC doorstep of U.S. Interior Secretary
Gail Norton.  It has been Norton's department -- specifically her U.S.
Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) -- which failed to provide adequate water
to the Klamath for fish survival, and that has been responsible for the
massive kill of returning spawning chinook and threatened coho salmon
to the river (see Sublegals, 6:13/01; 6:12/07). An estimated 450,000
pounds of rotting carcasses of unspawned salmon are now lining the
banks of the lower Klamath and its tributaries for dozens of miles. 
Thompson's Northern California coastal Congressional district has
suffered an estimated loss of 4,000 salmon-dependent jobs and $80
million/year already as a result of past declines of commercially
important Klamath River salmon runs; his district will suffer even more
job losses in the future when the progeny of the fish killed by Norton's
actions would have ordinarily been available for harvest but will not be.
Thompson's delivery of the dead Klamath fish to Interior's Washington
headquarters was a graphic display to protest Interior water policies in
the Klamath favoring upriver irrigators over the lower Basin's economy,
including its commercial, sport and tribal fisheries.  

     "People used to brag that there were enough fish in the Klamath
River that you could walk on their backs.  Never in my wildest
imagination did I ever think one day that the backs we would be walking
on would be that of dead salmon.  That is what is happening today, and
is a result of poor policy by the Department of Interior," said Thompson.
"This kill-off is unprecedented.  We are only 5 months into the
Department of Interior's new ten-year water plan for the Klamath River,
and biologists have documented over 12,500 dead salmon in the lower
Klamath River.  This is the worst fish kill in the Western United States
in recent memory. It is estimated that over 30,000 fish are dead
upstream and thousands more will die within the next three months."  

     The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) reports that the fish
kill alone may represent 30 percent of the entire salmon population in
the Klamath River.  That number could go up if more fish die when
flows are cut again and/or there is low survival of eggs from salmon that
do spawn. 

     "The Department of Interior has contributed to this lower basin
drought by releasing less water. The flows released in the lower
Klamath River today are less than they were during the worst drought
recorded in the basin, and the irrigators are getting full deliveries of
water in this dry year.  They sacrificed the Yurok and Hoopa Tribes
subsistence, the lower Klamath Basin sport and commercial fishery, and
the northern California communities that rely on a healthy fishery for
the sake of the upper basin interests," continued Thompson. "Each dead
salmon potentially represents hundreds of returning juvenile fish, and
this fish kill will have enormous effects on our Northern California
communities for years to come. This is not only an environmental
disaster, but also an economic catastrophe.  These dead fish represent
hundreds of jobs, millions of dollars and priceless resources that are
being destroyed due to the Administration's shortsighted policies,
despite early warnings by tribal and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
biologists."  
  
     Yielding to intense political pressure by Upper Klamath Basin
federally-subsidized irrigators, U.S. Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR) as
well as U.S. Representatives Greg Walden (R-OR) and Wally Herger
(R-CA), and by the federal Administration itself, Interior decided to
curtail fall water levels this year in the lower river below Iron Gate Dam
down to only 75 percent of levels deemed the "minimum to prevent
extinction" of coho salmon during last year's record drought.  BOR's
water plan and NMFS Biological Opinion (BiOp) (which allows this
year's water plan) have been challenged in Federal Court by Thompson,
PCFFA and other salmon conservation organizations (see Sublegals
6:13/01; 6:13/02; and 6:13/03).  The California Department of Fish &
Game, the four Klamath Basin Indian Tribes and many independent
fisheries biologists warned BOR that further reductions in in-river water
flows below Iron Gate Dam from last year's minimum levels would
result in a die-offs, but their advice was ignored by the Administration
and the Bureau, which chose instead to selectively interpret the
available scientific data in favor of full water deliveries to its federally
subsidized growers.

     Joining Thompson at the fish dump and press conference in front of
the Interior Department were PCFFA Northwest Regional Director Glen
Spain and Yurok Tribal Chair Sue Masten, along with representatives
from other fishing and conservation organizations. Thompson called on
Norton "for her permanent commitment to include lower basin concerns
in their policy decisions" and do the following:
 
(1) permanently increase the flows out of the upper basin, to the levels
the California Department of Fish and Game is calling for, and to
immediately implement the record of decision along the Trinity River;

(2) overhaul an antiquated irrigation delivery system in the upper basin
to one that is more accountable and efficient; 

(3) create a landowner buy-back program for willing sellers and merge
the upper basin and lower basin federal advisory working groups into
one entity. 
 
      Following the fish dump, the Department of Interior hastily
convened its own press briefing.  It again denied there was sufficient
evidence of any connection between this year's massive lower river fish
die-off (the worst ever recorded in the Klamath) and extremely low
water flows mandated in the lower river by the 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 about one-third of the total
volume of the river at the estuary, according to the NMFS 2002-2012
Biological Opinion (BiOp).  BOR officials in the Upper Klamath Basin
who manage the Klamath Irrigation Project also attempted to blame
reduced flows in the Trinity River, the Klamath River's main tributary. 
However, the BOR not only controls flows from Iron Gate Dam on the
Klamath mainstem, but also flows from the Trinity River, most of which
has been diverted to feed the voracious water appetites of the Central
Valley Project (CVP) and Westlands Water District, one of the most
inefficient and heavily subsidized water projects in the western U.S.  For
the federal agency response see the 3 October issues of the following
newspapers:

     The New York Times   article is at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/03/national/03KLAM.html?ex=10346
80188&ei=1&en=6e2aca032a6cf0fc the Oregonian article is at:
http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/oregonian/index.ssf?/xml/story.
ssf/html_standard.xsl?/base/news/103364614883281.xml, the San
Francisco Chronicle article is at:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/1
0/03/MN222569.DTL, and the Humboldt Times- Standard at:
http://www.times-standard.com/Stories/0,1413,127%257E2896%257E9
00431,00.html.
 
     6:14/02. PFMC SALMON TEAM MEETING ON METHODOLOGY
CHANGES:  As the number of salmon killed in the Klamath River
continues to mount due to low water conditions, the Pacific Fishery
Management Council's (PFMC) Salmon Technical Team (STT) and
Scientific & Statistical Committee (SSC) will hold a joint session open
to the public to review proposed salmon methodology changes. The
session was scheduled Tuesday, 15 October, at the Embassy Suites
Hotel, 7900 NE 82nd Avenue in Portland, Oregon. For more information
on these and similar upcoming meetings, contact: Chuck Tracy, PFMC
Salmon Management, Staff Officer at (503) 820-2280.

     6:14/03. DRAG BOATS THREATEN SACRAMENTO RIVER
SALMON RESTORATION; COMMENTS SOUGHT ON RAISING
GATES AT RED BLUFF: No, this is not about any incidental take of
salmon in trawl nets, nor about anyone trolling San Francisco's Castro
District.  It's about business interests in the town of Red Bluff trying to
maintain an artificial lake behind the Red Bluff Diversion Dam for the
purpose of holding powerboat ("drag boat") races on an impounded
Sacramento River in the summer time.  Federal fish and water agencies,
farmers and fishermen, along with conservation groups are all pushing
to raise the gates of the fish killing dam year around to allow safe fish
passage. 

    The Red Bluff Diversion Dam (RBDD) was constructed by the U.S.
Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) in 1964 to divert water from the
Sacramento River into the Tehama-Colusa and Corning canals.  The
dam and canals supply 325,000 acre-feet of irrigation water to more
than 150,000 acres of farm land in the Sacramento Valley. 
Unfortunately, this taxpayer-subsidized facility came at the expense of
the river's once teeming runs of salmon and steelhead.  As the salmon
and steelhead populations in the river declined from runs numbering in
the hundreds of thousands and to just a few hundred fish, it became
apparent that the dam has played a deleterious role in delaying or
preventing fish migration. The California Salmon & Steelhead Advisory
Committee found that the RBDD destroyed more than half of the
Sacramento River's chinook salmon spawning runs in its first 20 years of
operation.  Adult salmon and steelhead have difficulty finding the dam's
fish ladders as they migrate upstream to spawn.  Juvenile salmon
migrating down river run a gauntlet of predator fish that find the now
stilled waters behind the dam to be perfect habitat.  Although the fish
ladders have been improved and the dam gates are now raised eight
months of the year to facilitate passage of the endangered winter-run
chinook salmon, the facility continues to impede the migration of most
salmon and steelhead runs, as well as all green sturgeon and other fish
species, from mid-May to mid-September every year.  Raising the dam
gates 12 months a year would significantly improve fish passage,
ranging from 91 percent for adult spring chinook salmon, to 54 percent
for green sturgeon, to a 3 percent for juvenile fall run chinook.

     Government agencies and the Tehama-Colusa Canal Authority, with
support from fishing groups and conservation organizations such as
Friends of the River, are now proposing to raise the gates of the dam 12
months a year to provide for the free passage of fish.  They propose to
replace the dam's diversion function with fish friendly lift pumps and
fish screens.  The Tehama-Colusa Canal Authority is soliciting
comments on fish passage alternatives for RBDD.  Alternative 3 - The
"Gates Out" Alternative - would raise the gates of the dam 12 months a
year; it is the only alternative that provides 100 percent effective fish
passage for threatened and endangered salmon, steelhead, green
sturgeon, and other fish species.  Comments are due by 5 November.
They should be directed to: Art Bullock, Tehama-Colusa Canal
Authority, P.O. Box 1025, Willows, CA 95988, e-mail:
tcwaterman@aol.com. For more information, go to:
www.tcaafishpassage.org.  

     6:14/04. NEW SCIENTIFIC STUDIES DOCUMENT FARMED
SALMON WITH MORE THAN 10 TIMES THE LEVEL OF PCBS
AND HIGHER LEVELS OF PESTICIDES THAN WILD SALMON:
Cornell University's The Ribbon  (Vol.7, No. 3 - Early Fall 2002) reports
two new studies from Canada and Scotland showing that salmon raised
in fish farms have significantly higher levels of dioxins, chlorinated
pesticides, and PCBs (Polychlorinated biphenyls) than their
free-swimming counterparts. Both studies, conducted independently and
published in recent issues of the environmental science journal
Chemosphere, trace the source of the contamination back to commercial
salmon feed. The Canadian study, "Preliminary examination of
contaminant loading in farmed salmon, wild salmon and commercial
salmon feed" appeared in 46 Chemosphere (2002): 1053-107; the
Scottish study, "Investigation of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins,
dibenzo-p-furans and selected coplnar biphenyls in Scottish farmed
Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)" appeared in the 47 Chemosphere (2002):
183-191.  

      "Like the Canadian study," said the report in The Ribbon, "the
Scottish study compared contaminant loads in wild and farmed salmon
obtained from commercial fish markets.........Using methods of analysis
similar to those employed by the Canadian group, the researchers
obtained similar results. Farmed salmon had significantly higher levels
of dioxins, furans, and PCBs. As in the Canadian study, PCB levels were
roughly ten-fold higher in the farmed fish...........the authors deduce,
regular consumption of farmed salmon could lead to intakes above the
tolerable weekly intake for these chemicals, especially for PCBs and
especially for children under five... What makes the Scottish study
particularly interesting reading is its discussion of the fishmeal
manufacturing industry and the salmon aquaculture industry. Farmed
salmon are fed a diet far richer in fish oils than their wild cousins enjoy.
This lipid-rich diet allows them to grow more quickly and reach market
size sooner. The typical oil fed to salmon is herring oil, which can come
from many different parts of the world, depending on price and
availability.........whenever animals are raised for human consumption,
the economic incentive to speed growth by offering a high-fat,
high-energy diet means that they are vulnerable to contamination by
fat-soluble pollutants. At the same time, economic globalization means
that animal feeds can derive from ingredients gathered from all over the
world. Thus, a farmed salmon bought in a Canadian fish market may
well contain PCBs from herring caught in the Baltic Sea."  For more, go
to: http://www.cfe.cornell.edu/bcerf. 

     About the same time Cornell University was reporting on the
Canadian and Scottish studies, USA Today ran an article by Nick Jans
"Farmed salmon can't beat wild," stating a "recent feature in the Daily
Mail [UK] outlines a 'chemical cocktail' of substances found in trace
amounts in these fish, including canthaxanthin, a dietary additive that
gives farmed salmon its appealing color; various pesticides such as
cypermethrin, dichlorvos and azamethiphos, associated with cancer and
reproductive problems in humans; copper and zinc-based paints; and
malachite green, a fungicide. The latter was banned in June by the
Scottish government, and a European government-sanctioned science
commission has recently called for a two-thirds reduction in
canthaxanthin, which has long been banned by the European Union for
direct human consumption, due to its potential for vision damage.....The
contaminants' source is linked to the farming process. PCBs and other
toxins are concentrated in the oil-rich, pelletized fish meal, which
farmed salmon are fed. The fish are treated with pesticides to control
parasites, fed canthaxanthin and subjected to pen disinfectants.
Antibiotics are administered to treat disease in crowded pens. In
addition, there is mounting evidence farmed salmon contain fewer of the
beneficial omega-3 fatty acids for which wild salmon are so highly
touted.......A number of respected sources, including U.S. nutritionist
Andrew Weil and The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, state that
farmed salmon have two to three times fewer omega-3's than their wild
counterparts. Meanwhile, the fat content of farmed fish ranges between
11% and 20% vs. 7% for wild." 

     6:14/05. U.K. GROUP FORMED TO PROTEST FARMED
SALMON: The 4 October issue of Worldcatch's The Wave, reports that
a British group has formed to protest farmed salmon. The group will be
distributing posters outside supermarkets explaining to consumers why
they shouldn't eat farmed salmon. For more information, contact Bruce
Sandison at: burce@hysbackie.freeserve.co.uk. 

     6:14/06. PEER FILES LAWSUIT ON PESTICIDE SPRAYING ON
OYSTER BEDS IN WASHINGTON STATE: The Washington Public
Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) has filed a formal
complaint with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for
failing to oversee the Washington State Department of Agriculture's
"special local needs "  (SLN) registrations  -- specifically the permit that
allows the pesticide carbaryl to be sprayed on aquatic tidelands in
Washington State. The pesticide has been used to kill burrowing shrimp
in oyster beds in Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor (see Sublegals, 6:04/06;
6:03/07; 5:16/13). PEER is asking EPA to help audit the other 300+
special local need registrations issued by the Department. These
registrations essentially authorize a pesticide to be used in a
place/manner that is otherwise banned in the rest of the country. 

     According to the article in The Olympian reporting the PEER action,
Thurston County Superior Court Judge Paula Casey ruled in July that
the economic effects on the oyster industry outweighed the
environmental effects of the chemical. Her ruling overturned a stay on
the chemical use issued by the
Pollution Control Hearings Board. PEER contends that the issue is
grounded in the Agriculture Department's use of a loophole in federal
pesticide law. The law allows approval of 'special local needs' permits.
But that law requires the state to show that the chemical would have 'no
unreasonable adverse effects on the environment,' said Lea Mitchell,
Director of PEER's Washington field office. A public records search of
EPA files conducted earlier this year turned up no evidence that
Agriculture made such a determination, Mitchell said. Yet the
department has approved the use of carbaryl on state tidelands by
commercial oyster farms since 1976, she said. 

     The Olympian article went on to report, "eelgrass that once covered
the tidelands and discouraged the shrimp was removed when
commercial oyster operations replaced native oysters with Japanese
oysters... Natural shrimp predators, such as sturgeon, have decreased in
numbers in recent years.  Instead of supporting the use of chemicals, the
state should subsidize a transition to more natural 'integrated pest
management [IPM],' Mitchell said. 'The state should support
development of sustainable aquaculture.'"  For a copy of the PEER
complaint, go to: http://www.peer.org/press/277.html. To see The
Olympian article, go to: http://www.theolympian.com/home/
news/20021003/southsound/13132.shtml  

     6:14/07.  CANADA'S DFO BUDGET CUTS LEAVE
DEPARTMENT DEMORALIZED AND INEFFECTIVE, SAYS
INTERNAL REPORT:  The Nanaimo, B.C. Daily News reported 19
August that an internal report of Canada's Department of Fisheries &
Oceans (DFO) concluded that the department can no longer effectively
manage that nation's ocean resources, citing the report as concluding
that "most of the department's traditional core programs are seriously
underfunded and understaffed and no longer have the capacity to deliver
their undiminished mandate," according to the article.  Recent large cuts
to Canada's federal civil service left DFO with 40 percent fewer
scientists, intense understaffing and nearly incapable of effectively
managing Canada's fisheries, according to the report.  Similar
disinvestment has also occurred in the United States as Congress
systematically under-funded federal fisheries management agencies
while giving them more tasks.  
 
     6:14/08.  U.K. FISHERMEN'S WEBSITE FOR PREVENTING
ACCIDENTS AT SEA:  Fishermen in the United Kingdom (UK) have
set up a website for information useful in preventing accidents and
fatalities at sea at: www.aqua2002.fsnet.co.uk. This site is designed also
to help candidates in the U.K. achieve a Certificate of Competency in
navigation and other nautical skills.  

     6:14/09. EPA DEVELOPING REPORT ASSESSING WASTE
DISCHARGES FROM CRUISE SHIPS: The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) is developing a cruise ship discharge
assessment report in response to a petition received in March 2002.  In
developing this report, EPA held public hearings in 2000 which resulted
in a survey to assess the waste (e.g., shipboard garbage) discharge
plumes from cruise ships operating off the Florida Coast, comparing the
results to the Alaska dispersion models. EPA conducted the plume
survey in August 2001.  The results of the survey are now available on
their website at: http://www.epa.gov/owow/oceans/cruise_ships/.              

     6:14/10. AFTER DISAPPOINTING LEGISLATIVE SESSION,
CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR SIGNS THREE BILLS OF IMPORTANCE
TO FISHERMEN: The California Legislature adjourned at the end of
August in a disappointing session for fishermen and those concerned
with fish resources.  The multi-billion dollar budget deficit meant there
were no funds for fish restoration programs.  In the Assembly "Business
Democrats" (they're called "Blue Dogs" in the Congress) killed
legislation aimed at establishing controls over transgenic fish in the
State and requiring their labeling in the marketplace (see Sublegals
6:10/01; 6:08/01, 6:06/01). Finally during 28-29 September, as the
deadline drew near for signing bills, Governor Gray Davis did approve
three measures that should help fishermen.

     The first, AB 2888 by Assemblymember Virginia Strom-Martin
(D-Duncan Mills) does four things (see Sublegals, 6:09/11).  One, it
removes the minimum landing requirement for fishermen to renew their
swordfish/thresher shark driftnet permit.  This permit was one of the last
in California still requiring minimum landings to maintain a limited
entry permit.  Minimum landing requirements have tended to force
fishermen to fish when stocks or prices are depressed.  Two, the bill
allows fishermen holding permits to sell directly to the public to also be
able to use Department of Fish & Game transportation tickets to truck
fish to wholesalers. Three, AB 2888, allows the Commercial Salmon
Stamp Committee to develop artwork around the salmon stamp for sale
to the public to augment the stamp fund used to support salmon
restoration projects. Finally, AB 2888, declares California's intent to
participate in a federal vessel/permit buyback program for the
groundfish fishery.  AB 2888 was sponsored by PCFFA.

     The second bill, SB 1540 by Senator Dede Alpert (D-San Diego),
allows members of the sea urchin fishery to hold a referendum for the
purpose of establishing a California Sea Urchin Commission, allowing
the industry to assess itself for the purpose of carrying out research,
market analysis and product promotion.  This would be similar to the
California Salmon Council and the former California Seafood Council
(put out of business last year by fish processors). SB 1540 was
sponsored by sea urchin divers and processors.

     The third bill, AB 858 by Assembymember Patricia Wiggins
(D-Santa Rosa), requires a University of California study on water
requirements of the Gualala and Albion Rivers in Northern California
(both are salmon-bearing streams) before the State Water Resources
Control Board can approve any "bagging" of those rivers' water (a giant
condom-shaped poly bag, called the "water weenie") for shipment to
Southern California.  This measure was supported by a number of
Northcoast, conservation and fishing groups, including PCFFA.  For
more information on this measure, go to: http://www.gualalariver.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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