[Fishlink] ~~>SUBLEGALS 4Apr03<~~
bit-bucket@straylight.primelogic.com
bit-bucket@straylight.primelogic.com
Sun, 6 Apr 2003 22:26:40 EDT
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~~>SUBLEGALS 4Apr03<~~
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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. 07, NO. 14 4 APRIL 2003
##########################################################
"You know the world is going crazy when the best rapper is a white guy,
the best golfer is a black guy, the Swiss hold the America's Cup, France
is accusing the U.S. of arrogance, and Germany doesn't want to go to
war."......................Anonymous
##########################################################
IN THIS ISSUE.......
US Senate Bill Would Open Up Federal Lands For Oil
Drilling. 7:14/01
Dhaliwal Announces Plans To Drop Oil Drilling Moratorium
Off BC Coast. 7:14/03
Federal Water Managers Seek Trinity Flows To Head
Off Another Klamath Fish Kill. 7:14/05
California Doctors Urge Mercury Labels. 7:14/08
30th Annual Fishermen's Festival This Weekend. 7:14/11
AND MORE......
##########################################################
7:14/01. US SENATE BILL WOULD OPEN UP FEDERAL LANDS
AGAIN FOR OIL DRILLING - INCLUDING OUTER
CONTINENTAL SHELF: On the heels of news on 31 March that the
Administration of U.S. President George W. Bush would not appeal a
lower court ruling upholding a ban on oil drilling offshore California
(see 7:14/02 below), comes word the U.S. Senate Energy & Natural
Resources Committee is planning to approve legislation to allow drilling
on federal lands. The Senate Energy Bill, set for committee "mark-up"
on 7 April, contains language threatening the Congressional moratorium
on oil drilling offshore California, Oregon, Washington, Bristol Bay,
southwest Florida and New England (Georges Bank). Under the guise of
identifying what the bill calls "impediments" to petroleum development
on federal lands, the measure would permit the use of seismic survey
operations and "any available technology" to explore for offshore oil and
gas on all portions of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). Such
exploration activities, including actual offshore drilling, would open to
the oil industry pristine coastal waters and critical fishing grounds
preserved by an annual Congressional drilling ban for over 22 years.
Since 1991, these waters have also been protected by an Executive Order
put in place by former Presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton.
Language in the proposed Senate Energy Bill contradicts the White
House-requested renewal of the drilling moratorium contained in the
President's current proposed budget in order to enable continued
protection of sensitive areas of the OCS during the next fiscal year. The
Senate Energy bill language specifically targets "moratoria, lease terms
and conditions, operational stipulations, approval delays by the federal
government and coastal states, and local zoning restrictions for onshore
processing facilities and pipeline landings." The Senate bill, as written,
would also interfere with the rights of coastal states and local
governments to have a voice in offshore drilling and related onshore
industrial develop-ment, as guaranteed by the Coastal Zone Management
Act (CZMA) and other statutes. In addition to opening virtually all of
the U.S. west coast to exploratory offshore drilling, the bill would
arbitrarily grant unilateral authority to the Secretary of Interior for
permitting offshore wind energy, wave energy, Liquefied Natural Gas
(LNG) terminals, and any installation that supports exploration,
development, production, transportation or storage of oil, natural gas,
other minerals, or other energy sources, such as seafloor methane
hydrates. The bill would further authorize the Secretary of Interior to
suspend royalties for deep water production off of Alaska to encourage
oil development in some of the most productive fishing grounds in the
U.S.
Moreover, the Senate Energy Bill, as now written, provides
substantial incentives to state and local governments in Alaska and the
Lower-48 states to accept new offshore oil activities. In addition, this
legislation would enable the expenditure of offshore drilling revenues on
onshore industrial infrastructure projects likely to further damage
sensitive coastal areas. West coast Senators on the Energy & Natural
Resources Committee include Ron Wyden (D-OR), Gordon Smith
(R-OR) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA). The proposed Senate Energy Bill
comes just weeks after Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) succeeded in
passing an amendment to the federal budget, by a 52 to 48 vote, to stop a
back door attempt to allow drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge (see Sublegals, 7:12/01). For more information, contact Richard
Charter at e-mail: waterway@monitor.net.
7:14/02. BUSH ADMINISTRATION WILL NOT APPEAL NINTH
CIRCUIT DECISION UPHOLDING CALIFORNIA RIGHT TO HALT
DEVELOPMENT OF OIL LEASES IN FEDERAL OCS: On Monday,
31 March, the Associated Press reported the Administration of President
George W. Bush would not appeal a U.S. Ninth Circuit decision to the
Supreme Court. The Ninth Circuit ruling, announced 2 December 2002,
upheld the right of the State of California to review and disapprove
federal offshore oil and gas leases not "consistent" with California laws
to protect its coast and environment (see Sublegals, 6:23/01; 6:03/01;
5:07/01; 5:02/01). At issue were 36 undeveloped leases in the Santa
Barbara Channel. The Administration had until 1 April to make a
decision on whether to appeal the lower court decision. "The
Administration supports the moratorium on new leasing off the
California shore and respects the wishes of the people of California,"
Interior Secretary Gail Norton said in a statement reported by AP. For
more:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030331/ap_on_
go_ca_st_pe/offshore_drilling_2.
7:14/03. DHALIWAL ANNOUNCES PLANS FOR ENDING OIL
DRILLING MORATORIUM OFF BC COAST: On 28 March, in
Vancouver, B.C., Canadian Natural Resources Minister Herb Dhaliwal
announced plans by the federal government that could end the
moratorium on oil drilling offshore British Columbia's Queen Charlotte
Islands. The Vancouver Sun reported Dhaliwal, at a Vancouver Board of
Trade luncheon, saying that Ottawa was naming "an independent
three-member panel" to "stage public hearings and make final
recommendation on whether or not to allow oil companies to explore
and develop the West Coast seabed" (see Sublegals, 7:12/01) with a final
decision expected in early 2004. Dhaliwal, along with B.C. Premier
Gordon Campbell, favors offshore oil drilling. The Natural Resources
Minister is also a major proponent of Canada's aquaculture industry,
whose salmon farms are devastating the nation's native salmon
populations. The drilling plans reportedly are opposed by Dhaliwal's
fellow B.C. member of the Canadian Parliament, Environment Minister
David Anderson.
David Hocking of Canada's David Suzuki Foundation said
"Dhaliwal's announcement raises 'false expectations' for coastal
communities which have been hurt by declines in both the commercial
fishing and forestry industries," reported the Sun article of 29 March.
"He added that it could also prove very costly to taxpayers and said
government should consider investing in more sustainable industries.....
'This is an industry that takes decades to develop, and traditionally the
offshore industry takes a lot of money in government subsidies.'" For
more information, see the Sun article by Scott Simpson and Peter O'Neil
at:
http://www.canada.com/search/story.aspx?id=0fc1f473-2d60-4f9d-b2d3-
abaabbd05ead.
7:14/04. PFMC GROUNDFISH EIS COMMITTEE MEETING: The
Pacific Fishery Management Council's (PFMC) Ad Hoc Groundfish
Environmental Impact Statement Oversight Committee ("EIS Oversight
Committee") will meet 22-23 April at the Council's offices in Portland,
Oregon. The purpose of the EIS Oversight Committee meeting is to
review the status of the Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement
(PEIS), which will analyze five comprehensive alternatives to its current
groundfish management program (FMP). The committee meeting
follows a scoping session the PFMC will hold on the groundfish EIS on
6 April in Vancouver, Washington (see Sublegals, 7:13/07). For more
information on the meeting, go to:
http://www.pcouncil.org/events/2003/eiso0403.html.
7:14/05. FEDERAL WATER MANAGERS SEEK TRINITY
FLOWS TO HEAD OFF ANOTHER KLAMATH FISH KILL:
Although they aren't acknowledging it publicly, the U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation (BOR) is well aware that the window of opportunity for
preventing another massive fish kill on the Klamath River is closing fast.
With spring diversions to Klamath Project irrigators having begun on 1
April, snowpack in the basin has just reached 60 percent of its average
annual accumulation. All indications suggest that sometime next week
BOR will choose to officially classify this as a "dry" water year when its
annual operations plan for the Klamath Reclamation Project is released,
meaning the balance of water in the basin will be shifted towards
agricultural users under the current management plan. True to form,
however, officials remain confident that "everything will work out."
"There should be sufficient water for everybody" said an optimistic Jeff
McCracken, BOR spokesman, in an article by Michael Milstein of the
Oregonian.
McCracken and others at BOR are quick to point out when
questioned that the Federal government has at least two backup
measures to rely on to help assure a more stable water supply for the
Klamath Project. First among them is Upper Klamath Lake, which is
holding more water at this time than at the same time last year even
though summer inflows are projected at only 56 percent of normal due to
poor snowpack. Their other backup measure is a "water bank" (also
known as "paper water") created this year to allow willing irrigators in
the basin to sell their share of Klamath water back to the government for
other uses (see Sublegals, 7:13/02) at a price of $187.50/acre. But last
week U.S. Fish & Wildlife (USFWS) officials made their own move to
secure water for salmon by requesting permission to increase flows from
the Trinity River, the major Klamath tributary, if necessary to prevent
another lower river fish kill. In a seven-page report to U.S. District
Court Judge Oliver Wanger, the USFWS offered a suite of
recommendations for flow schedules that could ease the likelihood of
another late summer fish kill. Wanger, who is trying a case brought by
Central Valley interests to block a permanent return of higher flows to
the Trinity (see Sublegals, 6:24/01; 2:20/02; 2:18/09), made a request of
USFWS officials on 5 March for ways that he might be able help avoid
another disaster while the case is pending. Though this news seems to
offer some hope for the thousands of salmon on their way back to the
Klamath River, BOR has been careful to keep its distance from any
inferences that higher flows could help the Klamath's salmon.
In a 30 March article by Dylan Darling of the Klamath Falls Herald
and News Jeff McCracken stated succinctly that, "The record of
decision, had it been implemented, would have increased flows down the
Trinity." However, flows during September 2002 were, in fact, at record
of decision maximums. For more on the USFWS recommendations, see
the Herald and News article at:
http://www.heraldandnews.com/articles/2003/03/31/news/top_stories/xs
almon.txt. For more on what the BOR is currently doing in the Klamath
see the Oregonian article at:
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/10492
883373410.xml or another Klamath Falls Herald and News article at:
http://www.heraldandnews.com/articles/2003/03/31/news/top_stories/w
bureau.txt.
7:14/06. OREGON ASKS JUDGE TO RECOGNIZE STATE'S
WATER RIGHTS JURISDICTION: The State of Oregon has asked U.S.
District Court Judge Saundra Armstrong of California to keep in mind
that state's jurisdiction over water rights as she considers a lawsuit
seeking to allocate more water for fish in the Lower Klamath River. The
lawsuit, filed by the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's
Associations, along with the Hupa and Yurok Tribes and several
environmental organizations, asks the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to
release more water into the Klamath River to protect threatened coho
salmon. Oregon has filed a friend-of-the-court brief, but according to the
spokesman for the Oregon Attorney General's Office, Kevin Neely, the
state took no position on the merits of the case. The brief was filed
purely to remind the court of the State's right to adjudicate its water
rights. Oregon has been working on this process for the last 25 years and
in that time has invested between 10 and 15 million dollars in the
process. The lawyer for the plaintiffs, Kristin Boyles of Earthjustice,
says she is glad that Oregon is taking an interest in the case, but points
out that the case is about protection of a threatened species under the
ESA, and not about water rights per se. The suit is scheduled to be heard
at the U.S. District Court in Oakland on April 29 (see Sublegals,
7:13/02). For more information on Oregon's position see:
http://www.heraldandnews.com/articles/2003/04/02/news/top_stories/a
muscle.txt.
7:14/07. CALIFORNIA DOCTORS URGE MERCURY
LABELS FOR SEAFOOD: On 2 April the San Francisco Chronicle
reported that the California Medical Association (CMA) passed a
resolution recommending fresh and canned fish carry labels informing
consumers about the health effects of excessive amounts of mercury.
This resolution encourages physicians to educate their patients,
especially pregnant women. CMA had invited San Francisco physician
Dr. Jane Hightower to write the resolution. In November 2002,
Hightower published a study showing a correlation between eating
certain large species of fish and the presence of significant levels of
mercury. The state group intends to refer the resolution to the American
Medical Association's (AMA) annual meeting in June. Mercury labeling
is one critical step in labeling seafood so that consumers have a better
understanding of what they are eating. Information on origin, species,
method of capture and farmed versus wild is also critical in allowing
consumers to make informed decisions based on health and
environmental concerns.
To address these issues, San Francisco's City Supervisor Gerardo
Sandoval has introduced a resolution supporting this type of labeling. On
1 April, scientists in the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention
(CDC) published a paper on mercury in fish in the Journal of the
American Medical Association, based on a CDC study released in
February on human exposure to environmental chemicals (see Sublegals,
7:06/07). In examining the U.S. data, they found that mercury levels
among women who ate three or more servings of fish in the prior 30
days were almost four times higher than among women who ate no fish.
Levels were almost twice as high in children who ate fish compared to
children who didn't eat fish, the study found. In February, California's
Attorney General Bill Lockyer sued grocery stores, charging that their
failure to label certain types of fish for mercury is a violation under the
state's anti-toxins law, Proposition 65 (see Sublegals, 7:06/06). Safeway,
Whole Foods, Trader Joe's and Albertson's have agreed to post warnings
at the fish counter, but the suit has not yet been settled. For the SF
Chronicle article go to:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/0
4/02/MN280057.DTL and for more information visit:
www.epa.gov/mercury/fish.htm and also: www.cfsan.fda.gov/.
7:14/08. US SENATE MEASURE WOULD WEAKEN
REGULATION OF TRANSGENIC FOODS: A bill has been introduced
in the U.S. Senate (S. 741), the "Minor Use and Minor Species Animal
Health Act (MUMS)" by U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Alabama). That
bill would provide transgenic animals, including transgenic salmon, with
streamlined, abbreviated review procedures before marketing. This
legislation, as currently written, would have the inadvertent effect of
compromising and weakening current regulation of transgenic animals.
Many universities and companies are applying sophisticated molecular
techniques to genetically engineer a wide range of "transgenic" animals
for diverse purposes. The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA)
intends to regulate transgenic animals under the Food Drug and
Cosmetic Act's animal drug provisions (Section 512). The Agency is
already entertaining at least one application under these laws for a
transgenic Atlantic salmon.
S. 741 would provide an alternative to the Section 512 approval
process for two categories of animals drugs: those that are intended for
minor uses in major species (cattle, horses, swine, chickens, turkeys,
dogs, and cats) or those intended for any uses in minor species (animals
other than "major species" as defined in the bill), which includes the
transgenic Atlantic salmon. This bill would allow applications, such as
the current one for the first transgenic salmon, to be eligible for weak,
streamlined FDA approval procedures. For more information about the
bill contact Dr. Rebecca Goldburg at:
bgoldburg@environmentaldefense.org. To contact your senator about
this issue please go to: http://www.senate.gov and also check the Senate
Health Committee website.
7:14/09. NOAA ANNOUNCES "NEW CORPORATE
STRUCTURE TO SERVE AMERICA BETTER": While it may not be
immediately obvious why the U.S. Department of Commerce's National
Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) would want to
associate itself with a tainted corporate culture, such was the perplexing
suggestion embedded in its new Strategic Plan released 1 April. The
final draft of the Plan comes after an intensive three-month period of
stakeholder meetings held throughout the country followed by one
month of public comment. The resulting document is intended to enable
NOAA "to be more effective and responsive to our Nation's economic,
environmental and public safety needs now and into the future,"
according to retired Navy Vice Admiral Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Ph.D.,
Undersecretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA
Administrator. In twenty three pages the Plan covers NOAA's
organizational commitment to better understanding and management of
coastal and ocean ecosystems, climate change, weather and water
information and improved compatibility of commerce and
transportation. Beyond outlining major goals and actions, the newly
released Strategic Plan calls for a "new corporate structure" designed to
reflect a greater focus on collaborations and public accountability. Or as
explained in the Strategic Plan, "Though innovative thought and
constructive criticism will be promoted, the Agency's planning goal will
be a true consensus reflecting the uniting of diverse elements committed
to a common cause." To review the new NOAA Strategic Plan, go to:
http://www.osp.noaa.gov/docs/NOAA_Final_Strategic_Plan_March31st.
pdf.
7:14/10. NMFS EMBARKS ON STUDY OF ROCKFISH
RESTORATION TECHNIQUES: In keeping with National Oceanic &
Atmospheric Administration's preference for collaborations, the National
Marine Fisheries Services (NMFS) has begun a six-month feasibility
study to investigate strategies for speeding the recovery of west coast
rockfish species such as boacaccio, yelloweye and cowcod. Through a
partnership with the Hubbs-Sea World Research Institute in San Diego,
NMFS will be evaluating the possibility of stocking "overfished"
rockfish populations with fish propagated at a hatchery-style facility.
NMFS managers hope that by augmenting the natural populations they
can speed up the species' recovery, which is otherwise forecasted to take
nearly a century. Those forecasts, however, are based upon the agencies
incomplete population estimates, which made no assessment of stocks
south of Point Conception (see Sublegals, 6:20/14). For more on the
rockfish repopulation feasibility study, see
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/InNews/rockfish2003.html or
http://quickstart.clari.net/qs_se/webnews/wed/bd/Bca-hswri.REVo_DM
4.html.
7:14/11. REMINDER - FISHERMEN'S FESTIVAL SET FOR
WEEKEND: The 30th Annual Fishermen's Festival will be held this
weekend, 5-6 April, in Bodega Bay, along California's Sonoma Coast
(see Sublegals, 7:13/08). The festival falls on the 40th anniversary of
Alfred Hitchcock's filming of "The Birds" in Bodega; more importantly,
it falls around the 40th anniversary of the battle to stop a nuclear power
plant that was planned for that community by Pacific Gas & Electric
(PG&E). Led by a feisty waitress from The Tides restaurant, Hazel
Mitchell, Bodega's commercial fishermen and the Sierra Club rallied
together to halt construction of the facility that was to be built at Bodega
Head on top of the San Andreas fault. The only sign now of that
proposed power plant is a large hole filled with water; in subsequent
years the University of California constructed its Bodega Marine
Laboratory near the site where the nuclear facility was to be located. The
boat parade and blessing of the fleet will be held Sunday morning, the
6th. For more information:
www.bodegabayhomes.com/fishfest2003.htm.
NEWS, COMMENTS, CORRECTIONS: Submit your news items,
comments or any corrections to Sara Randall, editor at:
sublegals@ifrfish.org, 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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##########################################################
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&nbs=
p; &n=
bsp; ~~>SUBLEGALS 4Apr03<~~<BR>
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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>
&nbs=
p; &n=
bsp; ASSOC=
IATIONS<BR>
<BR>
VOL. 07, NO. 14 =
&nbs=
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4 APRIL 2003<BR>
##########################################################<BR>
"You know the world is going crazy when the best rapper is a white guy,<BR>
the best golfer is a black guy, the Swiss hold the America's Cup, France<BR>
is accusing the U.S. of arrogance, and Germany doesn't want to go to<BR>
war."......................Anonymous<BR>
##########################################################<BR>
IN THIS ISSUE.......<BR>
<BR>
US Senate Bill Would Open Up Federal Lands For Oil <BR>
Drilling. 7:14/01<BR>
<BR>
Dhaliwal Announces Plans To Drop Oil Drilling Moratorium <BR>
Off BC Coast. 7:14/03<BR>
<BR>
Federal Water Managers Seek Trinity Flows To Head <BR>
Off Another Klamath Fish Kill. 7:14/05 <BR>
<BR>
California Doctors Urge Mercury Labels. 7:14/08<BR>
<BR>
30th Annual Fishermen's Festival This Weekend. 7:14/11<BR>
<BR>
AND MORE...... <BR>
##########################################################<BR>
7:14/01. US SENATE BILL WOULD OPEN UP FEDERAL LANDS=
<BR>
AGAIN FOR OIL DRILLING - INCLUDING OUTER<BR>
CONTINENTAL SHELF: On the heels of news on 31 March that the<BR>
Administration of U.S. President George W. Bush would not appeal a<BR>
lower court ruling upholding a ban on oil drilling offshore California<BR>
(see 7:14/02 below), comes word the U.S. Senate Energy & Natural<BR>
Resources Committee is planning to approve legislation to allow drilling<BR>
on federal lands. The Senate Energy Bill, set for committee "mark-up"<BR>
on 7 April, contains language threatening the Congressional moratorium<BR>
on oil drilling offshore California, Oregon, Washington, Bristol Bay,<BR>
southwest Florida and New England (Georges Bank). Under the guise of<B=
R>
identifying what the bill calls "impediments" to petroleum development<BR>
on federal lands, the measure would permit the use of seismic survey<BR>
operations and "any available technology" to explore for offshore oil and<BR=
>
gas on all portions of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). Such<BR>
exploration activities, including actual offshore drilling, would open to<BR=
>
the oil industry pristine coastal waters and critical fishing grounds<BR>
preserved by an annual Congressional drilling ban for over 22 years. <BR>
Since 1991, these waters have also been protected by an Executive Order<BR>
put in place by former Presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton. =20=
<BR>
<BR>
Language in the proposed Senate Energy Bill contrad=
icts the White<BR>
House-requested renewal of the drilling moratorium contained in the<BR>
President's current proposed budget in order to enable continued<BR>
protection of sensitive areas of the OCS during the next fiscal year. =20=
The<BR>
Senate Energy bill language specifically targets "moratoria, lease terms<BR>
and conditions, operational stipulations, approval delays by the federal<BR>
government and coastal states, and local zoning restrictions for onshore<BR>
processing facilities and pipeline landings." The Senate bill, as writ=
ten,<BR>
would also interfere with the rights of coastal states and local<BR>
governments to have a voice in offshore drilling and related onshore<BR>
industrial develop-ment, as guaranteed by the Coastal Zone Management<BR>
Act (CZMA) and other statutes. In addition to opening virtually all of=
<BR>
the U.S. west coast to exploratory offshore drilling, the bill would<BR>
arbitrarily grant unilateral authority to the Secretary of Interior for<BR>
permitting offshore wind energy, wave energy, Liquefied Natural Gas<BR>
(LNG) terminals, and any installation that supports exploration,<BR>
development, production, transportation or storage of oil, natural gas,<BR>
other minerals, or other energy sources, such as seafloor methane<BR>
hydrates. The bill would further authorize the Secretary of Interior to<BR>
suspend royalties for deep water production off of Alaska to encourage<BR>
oil development in some of the most productive fishing grounds in the<BR>
U.S. <BR>
<BR>
Moreover, the Senate Energy Bill, as now written, p=
rovides<BR>
substantial incentives to state and local governments in Alaska and the<BR>
Lower-48 states to accept new offshore oil activities. In addition, th=
is<BR>
legislation would enable the expenditure of offshore drilling revenues on<BR=
>
onshore industrial infrastructure projects likely to further damage<BR>
sensitive coastal areas. West coast Senators on the Energy & Natural<BR>
Resources Committee include Ron Wyden (D-OR), Gordon Smith<BR>
(R-OR) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA). The proposed Senate Energy Bill<BR>
comes just weeks after Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) succeeded in<BR>
passing an amendment to the federal budget, by a 52 to 48 vote, to stop a<BR=
>
back door attempt to allow drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife<BR>
Refuge (see Sublegals, 7:12/01). For more information, contact Richard<BR>
Charter at e-mail: waterway@monitor.net.<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
7:14/02. BUSH ADMINISTRATION WILL NOT APPEAL NINTH<=
BR>
CIRCUIT DECISION UPHOLDING CALIFORNIA RIGHT TO HALT<BR>
DEVELOPMENT OF OIL LEASES IN FEDERAL OCS: On Monday,<BR>
31 March, the Associated Press reported the Administration of President<BR>
George W. Bush would not appeal a U.S. Ninth Circuit decision to the<BR>
Supreme Court. The Ninth Circuit ruling, announced 2 December 2002,<BR=
>
upheld the right of the State of California to review and disapprove<BR>
federal offshore oil and gas leases not "consistent" with California laws<BR=
>
to protect its coast and environment (see Sublegals, 6:23/01; 6:03/01;<BR>
5:07/01; 5:02/01). At issue were 36 undeveloped leases in the Santa<BR>
Barbara Channel. The Administration had until 1 April to make a<BR>
decision on whether to appeal the lower court decision. "The<BR>
Administration supports the moratorium on new leasing off the<BR>
California shore and respects the wishes of the people of California,"<BR>
Interior Secretary Gail Norton said in a statement reported by AP. For<BR>
more:<BR>
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=3Dstory&u=3D/ap/20030331/ap_on_<BR=
>
go_ca_st_pe/offshore_drilling_2.<BR>
<BR>
7:14/03. DHALIWAL ANNOUNCES PLANS FOR ENDING OIL<BR=
>
DRILLING MORATORIUM OFF BC COAST: On 28 March, in<BR>
Vancouver, B.C., Canadian Natural Resources Minister Herb Dhaliwal<BR>
announced plans by the federal government that could end the<BR>
moratorium on oil drilling offshore British Columbia's Queen Charlotte<BR>
Islands. The Vancouver Sun reported Dhaliwal, at a Vancouver Board of<BR>
Trade luncheon, saying that Ottawa was naming "an independent<BR>
three-member panel" to "stage public hearings and make final<BR>
recommendation on whether or not to allow oil companies to explore<BR>
and develop the West Coast seabed" (see Sublegals, 7:12/01) with a final<BR>
decision expected in early 2004. Dhaliwal, along with B.C. Premier<BR>
Gordon Campbell, favors offshore oil drilling. The Natural Resources<B=
R>
Minister is also a major proponent of Canada's aquaculture industry,<BR>
whose salmon farms are devastating the nation's native salmon<BR>
populations. The drilling plans reportedly are opposed by Dhaliwal's<BR>
fellow B.C. member of the Canadian Parliament, Environment Minister<BR>
David Anderson. <BR>
<BR>
David Hocking of Canada's David Suzuki Foundation s=
aid<BR>
"Dhaliwal's announcement raises 'false expectations' for coastal<BR>
communities which have been hurt by declines in both the commercial<BR>
fishing and forestry industries," reported the Sun article of 29 March.<BR>
"He added that it could also prove very costly to taxpayers and said<BR>
government should consider investing in more sustainable industries.....<BR>
'This is an industry that takes decades to develop, and traditionally the<BR=
>
offshore industry takes a lot of money in government subsidies.'" For<=
BR>
more information, see the Sun article by Scott Simpson and Peter O'Neil<BR>
at:<BR>
http://www.canada.com/search/story.aspx?id=3D0fc1f473-2d60-4f9d-b2d3-<BR>
abaabbd05ead. <BR>
<BR>
7:14/04. PFMC GROUNDFISH EIS COMMITTEE MEETING: The=
<BR>
Pacific Fishery Management Council's (PFMC) Ad Hoc Groundfish<BR>
Environmental Impact Statement Oversight Committee ("EIS Oversight<BR>
Committee") will meet 22-23 April at the Council's offices in Portland,<BR>
Oregon. The purpose of the EIS Oversight Committee meeting is to<BR>
review the status of the Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement<BR>
(PEIS), which will analyze five comprehensive alternatives to its current<BR=
>
groundfish management program (FMP). The committee meeting<BR>
follows a scoping session the PFMC will hold on the groundfish EIS on<BR>
6 April in Vancouver, Washington (see Sublegals, 7:13/07). For more<BR=
>
information on the meeting, go to:<BR>
http://www.pcouncil.org/events/2003/eiso0403.html. <BR>
<BR>
7:14/05. FEDERAL WATER MANAGERS SEEK TRINITY<BR>
FLOWS TO HEAD OFF ANOTHER KLAMATH FISH KILL: <BR>
Although they aren't acknowledging it publicly, the U.S. Bureau of<BR>
Reclamation (BOR) is well aware that the window of opportunity for<BR>
preventing another massive fish kill on the Klamath River is closing fast. <=
BR>
With spring diversions to Klamath Project irrigators having begun on 1<BR>
April, snowpack in the basin has just reached 60 percent of its average<BR>
annual accumulation. All indications suggest that sometime next week<BR>
BOR will choose to officially classify this as a "dry" water year when its<B=
R>
annual operations plan for the Klamath Reclamation Project is released,<BR>
meaning the balance of water in the basin will be shifted towards<BR>
agricultural users under the current management plan. True to form,<BR=
>
however, officials remain confident that "everything will work out." <BR>
"There should be sufficient water for everybody" said an optimistic Jeff<BR>
McCracken, BOR spokesman, in an article by Michael Milstein of the<BR>
Oregonian. <BR>
<BR>
McCracken and others at BOR are quick to point out=20=
when<BR>
questioned that the Federal government has at least two backup<BR>
measures to rely on to help assure a more stable water supply for the<BR>
Klamath Project. First among them is Upper Klamath Lake, which is<BR>
holding more water at this time than at the same time last year even<BR>
though summer inflows are projected at only 56 percent of normal due to<BR>
poor snowpack. Their other backup measure is a "water bank" (also<BR>
known as "paper water") created this year to allow willing irrigators in<BR>
the basin to sell their share of Klamath water back to the government for<BR=
>
other uses (see Sublegals, 7:13/02) at a price of $187.50/acre. But la=
st<BR>
week U.S. Fish & Wildlife (USFWS) officials made their own move to<BR>
secure water for salmon by requesting permission to increase flows from<BR>
the Trinity River, the major Klamath tributary, if necessary to prevent<BR>
another lower river fish kill. In a seven-page report to U.S. District=
<BR>
Court Judge Oliver Wanger, the USFWS offered a suite of<BR>
recommendations for flow schedules that could ease the likelihood of<BR>
another late summer fish kill. Wanger, who is trying a case brought by=
<BR>
Central Valley interests to block a permanent return of higher flows to<BR>
the Trinity (see Sublegals, 6:24/01; 2:20/02; 2:18/09), made a request of<BR=
>
USFWS officials on 5 March for ways that he might be able help avoid<BR>
another disaster while the case is pending. Though this news seems to<=
BR>
offer some hope for the thousands of salmon on their way back to the<BR>
Klamath River, BOR has been careful to keep its distance from any<BR>
inferences that higher flows could help the Klamath's salmon. <BR>
<BR>
In a 30 March article by Dylan Darling of the Klama=
th Falls Herald<BR>
and News Jeff McCracken stated succinctly that, "The record of<BR>
decision, had it been implemented, would have increased flows down the<BR>
Trinity." However, flows during September 2002 were, in fact, at recor=
d<BR>
of decision maximums. For more on the USFWS recommendations, see<BR>
the Herald and News article at:<BR>
http://www.heraldandnews.com/articles/2003/03/31/news/top_stories/xs<BR>
almon.txt. For more on what the BOR is currently doing in the Klamath<=
BR>
see the Oregonian article at: <BR>
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/10492<BR>
883373410.xml or another Klamath Falls Herald and News article at:<BR>
http://www.heraldandnews.com/articles/2003/03/31/news/top_stories/w<BR>
bureau.txt.<BR>
<BR>
7:14/06. OREGON ASKS JUDGE TO RECOGNIZE STATE'S<BR>
WATER RIGHTS JURISDICTION: The State of Oregon has asked U.S.<BR>
District Court Judge Saundra Armstrong of California to keep in mind<BR>
that state's jurisdiction over water rights as she considers a lawsuit<BR>
seeking to allocate more water for fish in the Lower Klamath River. The<BR>
lawsuit, filed by the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's<BR>
Associations, along with the Hupa and Yurok Tribes and several<BR>
environmental organizations, asks the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to<BR>
release more water into the Klamath River to protect threatened coho<BR>
salmon. Oregon has filed a friend-of-the-court brief, but according to the<B=
R>
spokesman for the Oregon Attorney General's Office, Kevin Neely, the<BR>
state took no position on the merits of the case. The brief was filed<BR>
purely to remind the court of the State's right to adjudicate its water<BR>
rights. Oregon has been working on this process for the last 25 years and<BR=
>
in that time has invested between 10 and 15 million dollars in the<BR>
process. The lawyer for the plaintiffs, Kristin Boyles of Earthjustice,<BR>
says she is glad that Oregon is taking an interest in the case, but points<B=
R>
out that the case is about protection of a threatened species under the<BR>
ESA, and not about water rights per se. The suit is scheduled to be heard<BR=
>
at the U.S. District Court in Oakland on April 29 (see Sublegals,<BR>
7:13/02). For more information on Oregon's position see:<BR>
http://www.heraldandnews.com/articles/2003/04/02/news/top_stories/a<BR>
muscle.txt.<BR>
<BR>
7:14/07. CALIFORNIA DOCTORS URGE MERCURY<BR>
LABELS FOR SEAFOOD: On 2 April the San Francisco Chronicle<BR>
reported that the California Medical Association (CMA) passed a<BR>
resolution recommending fresh and canned fish carry labels informing<BR>
consumers about the health effects of excessive amounts of mercury.<BR>
This resolution encourages physicians to educate their patients,<BR>
especially pregnant women. CMA had invited San Francisco physician<BR>
Dr. Jane Hightower to write the resolution. In November 2002,<BR>
Hightower published a study showing a correlation between eating<BR>
certain large species of fish and the presence of significant levels of<BR>
mercury. The state group intends to refer the resolution to the American<BR>
Medical Association's (AMA) annual meeting in June. Mercury labeling<BR>
is one critical step in labeling seafood so that consumers have a better<BR>
understanding of what they are eating. Information on origin, species,<BR>
method of capture and farmed versus wild is also critical in allowing<BR>
consumers to make informed decisions based on health and<BR>
environmental concerns. <BR>
<BR>
To address these issues, San Francisco's City Super=
visor Gerardo<BR>
Sandoval has introduced a resolution supporting this type of labeling. On<BR=
>
1 April, scientists in the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention<BR>
(CDC) published a paper on mercury in fish in the Journal of the<BR>
American Medical Association, based on a CDC study released in<BR>
February on human exposure to environmental chemicals (see Sublegals,<BR>
7:06/07). In examining the U.S. data, they found that mercury levels<BR>
among women who ate three or more servings of fish in the prior 30<BR>
days were almost four times higher than among women who ate no fish.<BR>
Levels were almost twice as high in children who ate fish compared to<BR>
children who didn't eat fish, the study found. In February, California's<BR>
Attorney General Bill Lockyer sued grocery stores, charging that their<BR>
failure to label certain types of fish for mercury is a violation under the<=
BR>
state's anti-toxins law, Proposition 65 (see Sublegals, 7:06/06). Safeway,<B=
R>
Whole Foods, Trader Joe's and Albertson's have agreed to post warnings<BR>
at the fish counter, but the suit has not yet been settled. For the SF<BR>
Chronicle article go to:<BR>
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/chronicle/archive/2003/0<B=
R>
4/02/MN280057.DTL and for more information visit:<BR>
www.epa.gov/mercury/fish.htm and also: www.cfsan.fda.gov/.<BR>
<BR>
7:14/08. US SENATE MEASURE WOULD WEAKEN<BR>
REGULATION OF TRANSGENIC FOODS: A bill has been introduced<BR>
in the U.S. Senate (S. 741), the "Minor Use and Minor Species Animal<BR>
Health Act (MUMS)" by U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Alabama). That<BR>
bill would provide transgenic animals, including transgenic salmon, with<BR>
streamlined, abbreviated review procedures before marketing. This<BR>
legislation, as currently written, would have the inadvertent effect of<BR>
compromising and weakening current regulation of transgenic animals.<BR>
Many universities and companies are applying sophisticated molecular<BR>
techniques to genetically engineer a wide range of "transgenic" animals<BR>
for diverse purposes. The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA)<BR=
>
intends to regulate transgenic animals under the Food Drug and<BR>
Cosmetic Act's animal drug provisions (Section 512). The Agency is<BR>
already entertaining at least one application under these laws for a<BR>
transgenic Atlantic salmon. <BR>
<BR>
S. 741 would provide an alternative to the Section=20=
512 approval<BR>
process for two categories of animals drugs: those that are intended for<BR>
minor uses in major species (cattle, horses, swine, chickens, turkeys,<BR>
dogs, and cats) or those intended for any uses in minor species (animals<BR>
other than "major species" as defined in the bill), which includes the<BR>
transgenic Atlantic salmon. This bill would allow applications, such as<BR>
the current one for the first transgenic salmon, to be eligible for weak,<BR=
>
streamlined FDA approval procedures. For more information about the<BR=
>
bill contact Dr. Rebecca Goldburg at:<BR>
bgoldburg@environmentaldefense.org. To contact your senator about<BR>
this issue please go to: http://www.senate.gov and also check the Senate<BR>
Health Committee website. &nb=
sp; <BR>
<BR>
7:14/09. NOAA ANNOUNCES "NEW CORPORATE<BR>
STRUCTURE TO SERVE AMERICA BETTER": While it may not be<BR>
immediately obvious why the U.S. Department of Commerce's National<BR>
Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) would want to<BR>
associate itself with a tainted corporate culture, such was the perplexing<B=
R>
suggestion embedded in its new Strategic Plan released 1 April. The<BR=
>
final draft of the Plan comes after an intensive three-month period of<BR>
stakeholder meetings held throughout the country followed by one<BR>
month of public comment. The resulting document is intended to enable<=
BR>
NOAA "to be more effective and responsive to our Nation's economic,<BR>
environmental and public safety needs now and into the future,"<BR>
according to retired Navy Vice Admiral Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Ph.D.,<=
BR>
Undersecretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA<BR>
Administrator. In twenty three pages the Plan covers NOAA's<BR>
organizational commitment to better understanding and management of<BR>
coastal and ocean ecosystems, climate change, weather and water<BR>
information and improved compatibility of commerce and<BR>
transportation. Beyond outlining major goals and actions, the newly<BR=
>
released Strategic Plan calls for a "new corporate structure" designed to<BR=
>
reflect a greater focus on collaborations and public accountability. O=
r as<BR>
explained in the Strategic Plan, "Though innovative thought and<BR>
constructive criticism will be promoted, the Agency's planning goal will<BR>
be a true consensus reflecting the uniting of diverse elements committed<BR>
to a common cause." To review the new NOAA Strategic Plan, go to:<BR>
http://www.osp.noaa.gov/docs/NOAA_Final_Strategic_Plan_March31st.<BR>
pdf. <BR>
<BR>
7:14/10. NMFS EMBARKS ON STUDY OF ROCKFISH<BR>
RESTORATION TECHNIQUES: In keeping with National Oceanic &<BR>
Atmospheric Administration's preference for collaborations, the National<BR>
Marine Fisheries Services (NMFS) has begun a six-month feasibility<BR>
study to investigate strategies for speeding the recovery of west coast<BR>
rockfish species such as boacaccio, yelloweye and cowcod. Through a<BR=
>
partnership with the Hubbs-Sea World Research Institute in San Diego,<BR>
NMFS will be evaluating the possibility of stocking "overfished"<BR>
rockfish populations with fish propagated at a hatchery-style facility. <BR>
NMFS managers hope that by augmenting the natural populations they<BR>
can speed up the species' recovery, which is otherwise forecasted to take<BR=
>
nearly a century. Those forecasts, however, are based upon the agencie=
s<BR>
incomplete population estimates, which made no assessment of stocks<BR>
south of Point Conception (see Sublegals, 6:20/14). For more on the<BR=
>
rockfish repopulation feasibility study, see<BR>
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/InNews/rockfish2003.html or<BR>
http://quickstart.clari.net/qs_se/webnews/wed/bd/Bca-hswri.REVo_DM<BR>
4.html. <BR>
<BR>
7:14/11. REMINDER - FISHERMEN'S FESTIVAL SET FOR<BR=
>
WEEKEND: The 30th Annual Fishermen's Festival will be held this<BR>
weekend, 5-6 April, in Bodega Bay, along California's Sonoma Coast<BR>
(see Sublegals, 7:13/08). The festival falls on the 40th anniversary of<BR>
Alfred Hitchcock's filming of "The Birds" in Bodega; more importantly,<BR>
it falls around the 40th anniversary of the battle to stop a nuclear power<B=
R>
plant that was planned for that community by Pacific Gas & Electric<BR>
(PG&E). Led by a feisty waitress from The Tides restaurant, Hazel<=
BR>
Mitchell, Bodega's commercial fishermen and the Sierra Club rallied<BR>
together to halt construction of the facility that was to be built at Bodega=
<BR>
Head on top of the San Andreas fault. The only sign now of that<BR>
proposed power plant is a large hole filled with water; in subsequent<BR>
years the University of California constructed its Bodega Marine<BR>
Laboratory near the site where the nuclear facility was to be located. The<B=
R>
boat parade and blessing of the fleet will be held Sunday morning, the<BR>
6th. For more information:<BR>
www.bodegabayhomes.com/fishfest2003.htm. =
<BR>
<BR>
NEWS, COMMENTS, CORRECTIONS: Submit your news items,<BR>
comments or any corrections to Sara Randall, editor at:<BR>
sublegals@ifrfish.org, or call the IFR/PCFFA office with the news and a<BR>
source at either: (415) 561-FISH (Southwest Office) or (541) 689-2000<BR>
(Northwest Office). <BR>
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