[Fishlink] ~~>SUBLEGALS 02May03<~~
bit-bucket@straylight.primelogic.com
bit-bucket@straylight.primelogic.com
Thu, 8 May 2003 15:41:25 EDT
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~~>SUBLEGALS 02May03<~~
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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. 18 2 MAY 2003
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"About all that enables European bureaucrats, activists and
agribusinesses to achieve a rough consensus on GM organisms is the
threat of a common enemy: the United States."....John Feffer
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IN THIS ISSUE.......
Supermarket Chains Begin Posting Warning Labels About
Dyes in Farmed Salmon. 7:18/01
WTO Coming to Sacramento For Closed Door Pre-Cancun
Summit and EXPO. 7:18/03
Court Rules Against State of Maine, Salmon Farmers
in Attempt to De-List Atlantic Salmon. 7:18/06
Canada Orders Total Closure of Historic Codfish Fishery. 7:18/08.
Aerial Pesticide Spraying in Alaska Jeopardizes Chance
for Wild Salmon Organic Certification. 7:18/11
AND MORE.......
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7:18/01. UNDER THREAT OF LITIGATION, MAJOR
SUPERMARKET CHAINS BEGIN COMPLYING WITH LAW
REQUIRING LABELING OF DYED FARMED SALMON: Albertsons,
Kroger, and Safeway, three of the U.S.' largest grocery chains, have all
begun to label farmed salmon sold in their stores as artificially colored.
On 23 April, the Seattle law firm of Smith & Lowney filed class action
lawsuits against the trio of supermarket operators for not informing the
public that the dyes, astaxanthin and canthaxanthin, had been added to
farmed salmon sold in the stores' fish counters (see Sublegals: 7:17:11).
The dyes, which give the normally gray-colored flesh of farmed fish
their pink-red coloring (depending on the amount of colorant used), have
been linked to retina damage (see Sublegals: 7:05/06). Albertson's had
laminated signs with the warnings, as prescribed pursuant to the U.S.
Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act, on fresh (unpackaged) fish counters in their
markets by April 26th. Packaged farmed salmon must have the colorant
warning on its label. Some of the stores not named in the suit, such as
Whole Foods, have also begun labeling their farmed salmon; Whole
Foods carries both wild and farmed fish. Other upper end market chains,
such as Mollie Stone's in the San Francisco Bay Area, have simply
dropped farmed salmon in favor of the wild fish now that California and
Oregon seasons are both open.
Federal law requires the labeling of fish that have been dyed, but the
law has never been enforced until recently when the Oregon Department
of Agriculture began requiring adherence to it (see Sublegals, 7:16/06).
It took the threat of a civil suit to force compliance in other states. The
lawsuit itself is not expected to go to court until sometime in 2004. Paul
Kampmeier, a lawyer with Smith & Lowney, commended the stores'
decision to start labeling, but vowed the lawsuit will continue. "There
are still thousands of people out there who were harmed," said Lowney.
For more information go to:
http://www.msnbc.com/local/pisea/120008.asp?0cb=-1117378, for
further details also see the law firm's website on this case at:
http://www.smithandlowney.com/salmon.
7:18/02. SENATOR MURKOWSKI URGES RENEGOTIATION
OF TARIFFS ON CHILEAN FARMED SALMON IMPORTS: In an 11
April letter sent to U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Zoellick,
U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) said that the reduction of tariffs
on salmon imported from Chile could disproportionately harm her state
and its working fishermen. The proposed tariff reduction is part of a
larger U.S. - Chile Free Trade Agreement now under review by the U.S.
Senate (see Sublegals, 4:17/03). In its current form the agreement calls
for a reduction of tariffs on canned salmon (in oil) and smoked salmon
from 6 and 3 percent, respectively, to zero.
Senator Murkowski cited several reasons for her concern, including
Chile's reluctance to support the recent military action in Iraq. Foremost
among her justifications for renegotiation, however, is that while in 2001
Alaska exported goods worth a total of $25,000 to Chile, imports of
Chilean salmon to the U.S. were valued at $390,000,000 (US). "Add to
this equation the reality that many Alaskan fishermen do not qualify for
trade adjustment assistance because their job descriptions do not meet
Department of Labor requirements and the frustration of Alaska's
fishermen is certainly understandable," wrote Murkowski. The Senator
went on to offer her help in developing an acceptable solution before the
final Agreement is submitted to Congress. Earlier this year, the U.S.
International Trade Commission sent out a request to the fishing industry
for information on the impacts of trade policies on the domestic fisheries
(see Sublegals, 7:10/05; 7:09/07); the details of the Chilean agreement,
however, were not known at that time. For more information, go to:
http://murkowski.senate.gov/Press%20Releases/4-24-2.html
A week after the letter was sent to the USTR regarding the Chilean
trade agreement, the Senator's father, Alaska Governor Frank
Murkowski, pledged $50 million in assistance for his state's salmon
fishery which has been battered by cheap Chilean farm salmon imports.
In most nations, including the U.S. and Chile in particular, farmed
salmon operators (mainly four large multi-national corporations) have
been allowed to externalize their costs, thereby receiving indirect
subsidies and allowing them to produce fish much cheaper than wild
salmon harvesters. For more, see the 21 April Environmental New
Service report at: http://ens-news.com/ens/apr2003/2003-04-21-04.asp.
7:18/03. WTO COMING TO SACRAMENTO: While U.S. and
Canadian west coast fishermen are feeling the brunt of globalization and
the production of farmed salmon, California's capitol, Sacramento, is set
to be an important destination on the World Trade Organization's (WTO)
pre-Cancun itinerary. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA),
USAID, and the U.S. State Department are hosting a summit prior to the
September meeting of the full WTO in Cancun, Mexico. Invited to this
pre-Cancun summit are the ministers of trade, agriculture, and
environment from 180 nations. Since both aquaculture and fisheries are
often lumped under agriculture, as a form of food production, it is
anticipated that fish will also be on the table. The summit is scheduled
for 23-25 June in downtown Sacramento. An "Expo On Agricultural
Science & Technology" will run concurrently to showcase transnational
agribusiness and biotechnology corporations and promote an
industrialized agricultural model. Agriculture is the most contentious
issue inside the WTO. Neither the meeting nor the Expo are open to the
general public. "This is not a public event," say EXPO organizers.
Fishing groups are being invited to join a broad coalition of family farm,
conservation, consumer, labor and social justice organizations
organizing a response to the behind-closed-doors summit and EXPO.
For more information, go to: www.biodev.org/sacramento.
7:18/04. TRUE CONFESSIONS OF A SCOTTISH OFFICIAL ON
HIS NAIVIETTE IN PROMOTING SALMON FARMS: "I once naively
believed that farmed salmon would help save wild fish by providing
food for the table at lower cost. In fact, poorly managed farms have done
enormous damage by allowing escapes, nearly 400,000 last year alone,
which result in interbreeding and catastrophic damage to the gene pool,"
wrote Michael Forsyth, Secretary of State for Scotland 1995-1997, in a
recent edition of Scotland on Sunday
(http://www.scotlandonsunday.com), reprinted on the Salmon Farm
Monitor website. "A leaping salmon is one of nature's grandest sights,
and the king of fish is a potent symbol of everything we value in
Scotland's natural heritage" said Forsyth. "Yet this wonderful and
mysterious creature is in mortal peril. A recent World Wildlife Fund
survey found that the Atlantic salmon had all but disappeared in
Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium, the Czech Republic
and Slovakia and was on the brink of extinction in Estonia, Portugal,
Poland, the United States and parts of Canada. Almost 90% of the
world's wild salmon population is now found in only four countries:
Iceland, Norway, Ireland and, of course, Scotland, where, according to
the WWF the species is endangered in 37% of our rivers.
"Once the wild native population of a river is lost it is probably gone
forever. Our west coast rivers have seen the salmon and sea trout
populations collapse and there is no doubt that fish farming has been a
major contributor. Siting of cages at the mouths of river has meant that
young smolts setting off to feeding grounds at sea are ruthlessly attacked
by sea lice from the farmed fish," Forsyth continued.
"The lice cluster around the young salmon or sea trout. One piece of
Norwegian research found that more than three-quarters of the smolts
leaving a river were killed by sea lice from fish farms," reported the
former Secretary, saying "the picture is indeed bleak if ministers are not
prepared to lead and turn warm words into action. 'Lost at Sea' may very
well prove to be the Atlantic salmon's epitaph." For more, go to:
http://www.salmonfarmmonitor.org/guest.shtml.
7:18/05. FJORD QUARENTEED DUE TO OUTBREAK OF
INFECTIOUS SALMON ANAEMIA: The longest fjord in Norway's
Faeroe Islands is quarantined currently due to an outbreak of highly
Infectious Salmon Anaemia (ISA) from a nearby salmon farm. The farm
belongs to a company called Alistothin a Bakka. ISA was discovered in
one of their seven salmon pens. The pens contain 100,000 fish. All will
have to be slaughtered to prevent this highly infectious disease from
spreading to other farms and vulnerable wild stock. Over the last year
several farms on the islands have reported outbreaks of the disease.
There have also been widespread outbreaks of ISA in salmon farms in
Maine and Canada (see Sublegals, 5:12/13; 5:02/10; 4:10/03; 3:17/06).
For more see: http://www.FIS.com (13 March).
7:18/06. MAINE ATLANTIC SALMON ENDANGERED SPECIES
LISTING UPHELD: Aquaculturists and the State of Maine lost a court
case with the federal government over the listing of Atlantic Salmon as
endangered in eight Maine rivers (see Sublegals, 5:02/09; 2:21/04;
2:20/05; 2:19/11; 1:19/03). On 24 April, U.S. District Court Judge Gene
Carter ruled the U.S. federal government did not act in an arbitrary
manner when it designated salmon in eight Maine rivers as distinct
populations. That designation allowed the government to list the fish as
endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). Former
Governor Angus King led the charge against the listing when it was first
proposed in the mid 1990's and at his direction the state filed suit against
the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the National Marine
Fisheries Service (NMFS) in December 2000. The State argued that
since Atlantic salmon have been stocked in Maine rivers over the last
century, they can't be genetically unique and thereby worthy of
protection.
The suit was joined by salmon aquaculturists, who feared that new
environmental restrictions would be placed on them, and by blueberry
growers, who feared they wouldn't be able to irrigate with river water
anymore. Judge Carter ruled that the federal government had provided
enough data to support the listing and that, "The court is not in a position
to make policy judgments based on conflicting or uncertain scientific or
technical data." The plaintiffs haven't decided on whether or not to
appeal yet. Maine's new governor, John Baldacci, has not made a stand
one way or the other on this issue. For more, see the Bangor Daily News
at: http://www.bangornews.com/editorialnews/article.cfm?ID=399492,
or the Portland Press-Herald at:
http://www.pressherald.com/news/state/030425endanger.shtml.
7:18/07. CANADA ANNOUNCES NEW ENDANGERED
SPECIES: Announced on 2 May, the Committee on the Status of
Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) has met and designated
new species to be protected, including some fish stocks. Added to the
Endangered list were two species of Atlantic Cod, and sockeye salmon
from Cultus Lake and Sakinaw Lake. The Committee assessed 40
species during its five-day meeting. Twenty-four species were assessed
for the first time, and 19 of them were added to the COSEWIC list of
"Species at Risk." For more information, go to:
http://ens-news.com/ens/may2003/2003-05-02-03.asp, or
http://www.cosewic.gc.ca/eng/sct7/sct7_3_e.cfm.
7:18/08. COD FISHING BANNED IN EASTERN CANADA: It's a
sad day in Canada as the end of an era that initiated the exploration and
settlement of North America has very unfortunately and with much
finality come to an end. On 24 April, Canada banned commercial and
recreational cod fishing off the Gulf of St. Lawrence and in the Atlantic
Ocean northeast of Newfoundland and Labrador in order to protect the
depressed populations of this species. The government order prohibits
all cod fishing except for a tiny catch for scientific research. The ban is
the final nail in the coffin of the once thriving and lucrative eastern
Canada cod fishing industry, from which many Canadians used to make
a very decent living fishing. The closure was announced by federal
Fisheries Minister Robert Thibault in St. John's, Newfoundland, a
province once known as the "codfish capital of the world."
The closure announcement follows on a wild cod kill in early April in
a 25 square kilometer area of Trinity Bay, Newfoundland. There
thousands of tons of the fish died from an unknown cause. "Each year,
small numbers of cod surface due to 'super chilling', an atmospheric
affect that draws cod to a body of water that's too cold for them to
survive, and they eventually freeze to death. Provincial authorities are
unsure what caused this latest tragedy," reported the Canadian
Broadcasting Company (CBC). While Canadian Department of
Fisheries & Oceans (DFO) officials are attributing this cod die-off to the
"super chill," others attribute it to an anoxic (drop in oxygen levels in the
ocean waters) event. Whatever the cause of the April kill or the
long-term decline of cod stocks, research showed that the number of
spawning codfish remains in sharp decline even after more than a decade
of dramatically reduced harvests, and that Canada had to concentrate on
conserving whatever stock is left.
This drastic turn of events is in stark contrast to the events of the
last
millennium, when the Vikings followed the bountiful cod all the way to
North America, as did Basque fishermen long before Columbus sailed
west. In 1487 John Cabot reportedly said that the waters off
Newfoundland were so thick with cod that you could scoop them up
with a basket. The cod fishing industry was at one point worth billions of
dollars to Atlantic Canada, but by the early 1990's the commercial cod
fishery collapsed and in 1992 a moratorium was issued, sending 40,000
fishermen out of work. Since then, Newfoundland had been the last
holdout of the fishery, supporting the last 900 licensed cod fishermen. A
mass exodus from the cold shores of the village fishing ports that had
managed to survive is predicted. ''The government complains that it
wasn't an 'easy' decision,'' said Earle McCurdy, head of Newfoundland's
Fish, Food & Allied Workers Union, which represents many fisheries
workers. ''I'll tell you what's not easy -- having to board up your house at
age 50, having everything you own reduced to nothing, and having to
walk away and leave it all behind as your community is reduced to
ruins.''
Canada pledged to invest $44 million (Canadian) over the next two
years to provide assistance to individuals and communities affected by
the closure. But critics have warned that it won't be enough money,
underlining the fact that the 1992 moratorium cost $4 billion in aid
programs. Fisheries scientists estimate it will be decades before northern
cod stocks will recover enough to allow commercial harvests, if ever.
The collapse of the cod stocks represents one of the greatest
environmental disasters of the 20th century, and there is still no
agreement among ichthyologists, government fishery researchers, and
fishermen themselves as to the causes for the decline. For more, see the
25 April Boston Globe article at:
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/115/nation/
Canada_declares_an_end_to_cod_fishing+.shtml, or go to:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030424/bs_nm
/food_canada_cod_dc_. For more on the April cod kill, go to:
http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2003/04/06/cod030406. Also see an analysis
of the kill at: http://www.fisherycrisis.com/DFO/frozencod.htm.
7:18/09. IT'S NOT ALL BAD NEWS - CALIFORNIA SALMON
SEASON OFF TO GOOD START, BOR REVISITING TRINITY
RIVER FLOWS: California's commercial salmon season opened 1 May
with decent catches from Monterey to Mendocino (see Sublegals,
7:17/01). Although the season has only begun, the grade of fish is in the
12-14 pound range, large for this early in the season and indicating good
forage conditions. Prices have ranged from $1.85 for large kings to
$1.25 for the smaller chinooks. The Seafood Producers Cooperative is
marketing the California troll kings under a "California Gold" label and
they are expected to take on markets for Cooper River salmon head-on
when that season opens 14 May.
What the river conditions will be when this year's spawners return in
late summer and early fall is still unknown, although the late rains and
snow in the mountains should help matters. The U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation (BOR) has announced a change in the flow schedule for the
Trinity River and is not expected to increase releases to 2,500
cubic-feet-per-second (cfs) into this Klamath River tributary now until 8
May (see Sublegals, 7:17/14). While the Trinity basin is technically in a
"wet" year, U.S. District Court Judge Oliver Wanger, at the behest of
Westlands Water District, has declared it a "dry" year for releases from
Trinity reservoir into the river (see Sublegals, 6:24/01). There may be
additional flow increases (up to 50,000 acre-feet more water at BOR
discretion) in late summer if conditions warrant, to protect against
another fish kill in the lower Klamath.
"For the past 40 years, Westlands has been taking up to 90 percent of
the Trinity River, decimating that river's salmon run, destroying the
10,000-year-old salmon-based culture of the Yurok and Hupa Indians,
damaging the recreation-based economy of Trinity County and
devastating a trout and steelhead fishery prized by the 6,000 members of
California Trout, Inc. The residents of Trinity County are 'good and
honorable' people, too," wrote Brett Matzke, an east side San Joaquin
Valley citrus grower and California Trout Director, in a 1 May Fresno
Bee op-ed. "In 1984 Congress passed Trinity River restoration
legislation mandating restoration of fish and wildlife population levels to
those that existed immediately preceding construction of the Trinity
Division in 1963. One measure of the destruction created by water
diversions is that fish populations in the Trinity River Basin declined by
more than 90 pecent by the early 1990s.............. Former Interior
Secretary Bruce Babbitt signed a Record of Decision on December 19,
2000, increasing Trinity River flows, following 18 years of studies.
However, Westlands cynically sued to halt that restoration, claiming,
among other things, that the Record of Decision should be set aside
because of California's energy crisis. For the record, restoration of the
Trinity River would reduce California's electrical power supply by
four-tenths of 1 percent. Westlands directors would have a hard time
selling their 'hard but noble lives' theory to the Native Americans and
other residents of the Trinity River watershed whose natural heritage has
funded all that Westlands wealth. To them, Westlands cotton has meant
only ruination." To see the Matzke op-ed, e-mail a request to:
bwl3@attbi.com.
7:18/10. WORKSHOP SCHEDULED FOR KRIS
GARCIA/GUALALA PROJECTS: The Institute for Fisheries Resources
(IFR) will be holding a public workshop at the Gualala Arts Center in
Gualala, California on 7 June to present results of the KRIS Garcia and
KRIS Gualala watershed resource information systems (see Sublegals,
7:13/05). The Saturday workshop begins at 1000 HRS with
presentations by IFR KRIS staff on various types of data considered,
methods of analysis and how the contents can be used. In the afternoon,
attendees will get a chance to interact with staff in group discussions.
Several computers will be available for demonstration and interested
parties can get "hands on" with IFR KRIS staff assistance. For
information, call (707) 822-9428; also see: www.krisweb.com.
7:18/11. WILL HARD-FOUGHT OPPORTUNITY FOR ORGANIC
LABELING OF WILD SALMON BE LOST BECAUSE OF
WATERSHED PESTICIDE SPRAYING?: Alaska salmon fishermen
have been in the lead in attempting to make wild salmon and other
wild-caught fish eligible for organic labeling under U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) regulations (see Sublegals, 1:15/08). At the behest
of Alaska's two U.S. Senators, Ted Stevens and Lisa Murkowski,
language to allow wild fish to be eligible for labeling as organic, much
the same as crops and livestock are eligible, was included in this year's
Wartime Supplemental Appropriations Bill (see Sublegals, 7:16/05;
7:15/03).
But now that they're eligible, there is a question whether Alaska's
wild salmon will be able to qualify for organic certification (i.e., free of
pesticides and other chemicals). Recently, Alaska's Department of
Environmental Conservation (DEC) published proposed regulations,
with no public hearings whatsoever, that will allow aerial spraying of
pesticides as a forestry management tool. So while Alaska is starting a
million dollar campaign to inform consumers of the health benefits of
eating wild salmon, and while their fishermen finally have statutory
approval for organic certification, the state is about to spray pesticides on
thousands of acres of state and private lands. Research has proven that
once unleashed, these chemicals drift and percolate hundreds of feet
from the targeted sites, invading lakes and streams and contaminating
everything they contact.
"Aerial application of pesticides is rare in Alaska," reported Paula
Dobbin in an Anchorage Daily News article. "They've been sprayed in
Mat-Su to control potato blight. And Port Graham Corp., a Native
village firm, unsuccessfully attempted aerial spraying at Windy Bay in
1992 to stimulate tree growth in a clear-cut. The spraying stopped after
strong winds blew up, increasingly the likelihood of drift. The recent
controversy arose after a Southeast Native corporation, Klukwan Inc.,
applied for a state permit to aerial spray pesticides on its clear-cuts on
Long Island, near Hydaburg in southern Southeast." If the aerial
spraying goes ahead over some of the state's salmon producing
watersheds, don't look for an Alaska organic wild salmon label anytime
soon. For the 25 April, Anchorage Daily News article on the
controversy, go to:
http://www.adn.com/front/story/3010534p-3034496c.html. For a copy of
the proposed DEC aerial pesticide regulations, go to:
http://www.state.ak.us/dec/dec_cal.htm.
7:18/12. GRAYS HARBOR AND WILLAPA BAY OYSTER
GROWERS TO QUIT PESTICIDE USE: Grays Harbor and Willapa
Bay, Washington oyster growers have agreed to phase-out the use of the
pesticide carbaryl under the terms of an agreement, reached with
conservation groups and non-carbaryl using oyster growers, announced
28 April (see Sublegals, 6:14/06; 6:04/06; 6:03/07; 5:16/13). Under the
terms of the agreement, carbaryl use for killing burrowing shrimp in
oyster culture will end by 31 December 2012. The agreement settles a
disputed water quality permit, which was under appeal by the
Washington Toxics Coalition and the Ad Hoc Coalition for Willapa Bay.
The groups have agreed to withdraw their appeal of the National
Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit issued to the
Willapa Bay/Grays Harbor Oyster Growers Association allowing
carbaryl applications through 2005. As part of the agreement, the groups
have pledged to work together to develop alternatives that will preserve
the environment as well as the oyster industry. Other provisions of the
agreement include a reduction by growers of carbaryl use this year by 10
percent, followed by a 20 percent reduction in 2004 and a 30 percent
reduction in 2005, and expenditure of an additional $10,000 annually by
the growers over the next three years on alternative shrimp controls or
culture systems over and above research requirements prescribed by the
permit. For more information, contact Larry Warnberg, Nahcotta Oyster
Farm at: warnberg@pacifier.com
Paying Attention? On 24 April the Government of Canada announced
the closure of its historic cod fishery. What reason was given?
A) The anti-freeze carbaryl, used to treat cod suffering "superchill," has
been found to reduce the number of hourly erections among adolescent
men taking cod liver oil.
B) All of the cod fishing quotas in Canada have been purchased by the
Norwegian-owned Stolt Sea Farm, Inc., which plans to convert
Newfoundland and the Maritimes to cod farming.
C) The reduced demand for codfish as a result of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America edict removing lutefisk from the menu of
its Christmas dinners.
D) Research shows that the number of spawning codfish remains in
sharp decline even after more than a decade of dramatically reduced
harvests.
E-Mail your answer to "Editor" at: sublegals@ifrfish.org. One winner is
drawn each week from a list of those submitting the correct answer.
And the Winner is.........STEVEN NOVOTNY, who correctly
answered last week's question of "Why was the court hearing in PCFFA,
et al. v. NMFS, et al. on Klamath flows put over from 29 April to 20
May? with "C) U.S. District Judge Saundra Brown Armstrong didn't
give a reason." He receives an "Order of the Fringehead" certificate and
a handsome gray shirt with the cuddly Sarcastic Fringehead Sublegals
logo.
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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A WEEKLY QUOTA OF FISHERY SHORTS CAUGHT=
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"About all that enables European bureaucrats, activists and<BR>
agribusinesses to achieve a rough consensus on GM organisms is the<BR>
threat of a common enemy: the United States."....John Feffer<BR>
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IN THIS ISSUE.......<BR>
<BR>
Supermarket Chains Begin Posting Warning Labels About <BR>
Dyes in Farmed Salmon. 7:18/01<BR>
<BR>
WTO Coming to Sacramento For Closed Door Pre-Cancun <BR>
Summit and EXPO. 7:18/03<BR>
<BR>
Court Rules Against State of Maine, Salmon Farmers <BR>
in Attempt to De-List Atlantic Salmon. 7:18/06<BR>
<BR>
Canada Orders Total Closure of Historic Codfish Fishery. 7:18/08. <BR>
<BR>
Aerial Pesticide Spraying in Alaska Jeopardizes Chance <BR>
for Wild Salmon Organic Certification. 7:18/11<BR>
<BR>
AND MORE.......<BR>
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<BR>
7:18/01. UNDER THREAT OF LITIGATION, MAJOR<BR>
SUPERMARKET CHAINS BEGIN COMPLYING WITH LAW<BR>
REQUIRING LABELING OF DYED FARMED SALMON: Albertsons,<BR>
Kroger, and Safeway, three of the U.S.' largest grocery chains, have all<BR>
begun to label farmed salmon sold in their stores as artificially colored.<B=
R>
On 23 April, the Seattle law firm of Smith & Lowney filed class action<B=
R>
lawsuits against the trio of supermarket operators for not informing the<BR>
public that the dyes, astaxanthin and canthaxanthin, had been added to<BR>
farmed salmon sold in the stores' fish counters (see Sublegals: 7:17:11).<BR=
>
The dyes, which give the normally gray-colored flesh of farmed fish<BR>
their pink-red coloring (depending on the amount of colorant used), have<BR>
been linked to retina damage (see Sublegals: 7:05/06). Albertson's had=
<BR>
laminated signs with the warnings, as prescribed pursuant to the U.S.<BR>
Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act, on fresh (unpackaged) fish counters in their<=
BR>
markets by April 26th. Packaged farmed salmon must have the colorant<BR>
warning on its label. Some of the stores not named in the suit, such as<BR>
Whole Foods, have also begun labeling their farmed salmon; Whole<BR>
Foods carries both wild and farmed fish. Other upper end market chains=
,<BR>
such as Mollie Stone's in the San Francisco Bay Area, have simply<BR>
dropped farmed salmon in favor of the wild fish now that California and<BR>
Oregon seasons are both open. <BR>
<BR>
Federal law requires the labeling of fish that have=
been dyed, but the<BR>
law has never been enforced until recently when the Oregon Department<BR>
of Agriculture began requiring adherence to it (see Sublegals, 7:16/06).<BR>
It took the threat of a civil suit to force compliance in other states. The<=
BR>
lawsuit itself is not expected to go to court until sometime in 2004. Paul<B=
R>
Kampmeier, a lawyer with Smith & Lowney, commended the stores'<BR>
decision to start labeling, but vowed the lawsuit will continue. "There<BR>
are still thousands of people out there who were harmed," said Lowney. <BR>
For more information go to:<BR>
http://www.msnbc.com/local/pisea/120008.asp?0cb=3D-1117378, for<BR>
further details also see the law firm's website on this case at:<BR>
http://www.smithandlowney.com/salmon. <BR>
<BR>
7:18/02. SENATOR MURKOWSKI URGES RENEGOTIATION<BR>
OF TARIFFS ON CHILEAN FARMED SALMON IMPORTS: In an 11<BR>
April letter sent to U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Zoellick,<BR>
U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) said that the reduction of tariffs<BR>
on salmon imported from Chile could disproportionately harm her state<BR>
and its working fishermen. The proposed tariff reduction is part of a<=
BR>
larger U.S. - Chile Free Trade Agreement now under review by the U.S.<BR>
Senate (see Sublegals, 4:17/03). In its current form the agreement cal=
ls<BR>
for a reduction of tariffs on canned salmon (in oil) and smoked salmon<BR>
from 6 and 3 percent, respectively, to zero. <BR>
<BR>
Senator Murkowski cited several reasons for her con=
cern, including<BR>
Chile's reluctance to support the recent military action in Iraq. Fore=
most<BR>
among her justifications for renegotiation, however, is that while in 2001<B=
R>
Alaska exported goods worth a total of $25,000 to Chile, imports of<BR>
Chilean salmon to the U.S. were valued at $390,000,000 (US). "Add to<B=
R>
this equation the reality that many Alaskan fishermen do not qualify for<BR>
trade adjustment assistance because their job descriptions do not meet<BR>
Department of Labor requirements and the frustration of Alaska's<BR>
fishermen is certainly understandable," wrote Murkowski. The Senator<B=
R>
went on to offer her help in developing an acceptable solution before the<BR=
>
final Agreement is submitted to Congress. Earlier this year, the U.S.<=
BR>
International Trade Commission sent out a request to the fishing industry<BR=
>
for information on the impacts of trade policies on the domestic fisheries<B=
R>
(see Sublegals, 7:10/05; 7:09/07); the details of the Chilean agreement,<BR>
however, were not known at that time. For more information, go to:<BR>
http://murkowski.senate.gov/Press%20Releases/4-24-2.html <BR>
<BR>
A week after the letter was sent to the USTR regard=
ing the Chilean<BR>
trade agreement, the Senator's father, Alaska Governor Frank<BR>
Murkowski, pledged $50 million in assistance for his state's salmon<BR>
fishery which has been battered by cheap Chilean farm salmon imports.<BR>
In most nations, including the U.S. and Chile in particular, farmed<BR>
salmon operators (mainly four large multi-national corporations) have<BR>
been allowed to externalize their costs, thereby receiving indirect<BR>
subsidies and allowing them to produce fish much cheaper than wild<BR>
salmon harvesters. For more, see the 21 April Environmental New<BR>
Service report at: http://ens-news.com/ens/apr2003/2003-04-21-04.asp.<BR>
<BR>
7:18/03. WTO COMING TO SACRAMENTO: While U.S. and<B=
R>
Canadian west coast fishermen are feeling the brunt of globalization and<BR>
the production of farmed salmon, California's capitol, Sacramento, is set<BR=
>
to be an important destination on the World Trade Organization's (WTO)<BR>
pre-Cancun itinerary. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA),<BR>
USAID, and the U.S. State Department are hosting a summit prior to the<BR>
September meeting of the full WTO in Cancun, Mexico. Invited to this<BR>
pre-Cancun summit are the ministers of trade, agriculture, and<BR>
environment from 180 nations. Since both aquaculture and fisheries are<BR>
often lumped under agriculture, as a form of food production, it is<BR>
anticipated that fish will also be on the table. The summit is scheduled<BR>
for 23-25 June in downtown Sacramento. An "Expo On Agricultural<BR>
Science & Technology" will run concurrently to showcase transnational<BR=
>
agribusiness and biotechnology corporations and promote an<BR>
industrialized agricultural model. Agriculture is the most contentious<BR>
issue inside the WTO. Neither the meeting nor the Expo are open to the<BR>
general public. "This is not a public event," say EXPO organizers.<BR>
Fishing groups are being invited to join a broad coalition of family farm,<B=
R>
conservation, consumer, labor and social justice organizations<BR>
organizing a response to the behind-closed-doors summit and EXPO. <BR>
For more information, go to: www.biodev.org/sacramento.<BR>
<BR>
7:18/04. TRUE CONFESSIONS OF A SCOTTISH OFFICIAL ON=
<BR>
HIS NAIVIETTE IN PROMOTING SALMON FARMS: "I once naively<BR>
believed that farmed salmon would help save wild fish by providing<BR>
food for the table at lower cost. In fact, poorly managed farms have done<BR=
>
enormous damage by allowing escapes, nearly 400,000 last year alone,<BR>
which result in interbreeding and catastrophic damage to the gene pool,"<BR>
wrote Michael Forsyth, Secretary of State for Scotland 1995-1997, in a<BR>
recent edition of Scotland on Sunday<BR>
(http://www.scotlandonsunday.com), reprinted on the Salmon Farm<BR>
Monitor website. "A leaping salmon is one of nature's grandest sights,<BR>
and the king of fish is a potent symbol of everything we value in<BR>
Scotland's natural heritage" said Forsyth. "Yet this wonderful and<BR>
mysterious creature is in mortal peril. A recent World Wildlife Fund<BR>
survey found that the Atlantic salmon had all but disappeared in<BR>
Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium, the Czech Republic<BR>
and Slovakia and was on the brink of extinction in Estonia, Portugal,<BR>
Poland, the United States and parts of Canada. Almost 90% of the<BR>
world's wild salmon population is now found in only four countries:<BR>
Iceland, Norway, Ireland and, of course, Scotland, where, according to<BR>
the WWF the species is endangered in 37% of our rivers.<BR>
<BR>
"Once the wild native population of a river is lost=
it is probably gone<BR>
forever. Our west coast rivers have seen the salmon and sea trout<BR>
populations collapse and there is no doubt that fish farming has been a<BR>
major contributor. Siting of cages at the mouths of river has meant that<BR>
young smolts setting off to feeding grounds at sea are ruthlessly attacked<B=
R>
by sea lice from the farmed fish," Forsyth continued. <BR>
<BR>
"The lice cluster around the young salmon or sea tr=
out. One piece of<BR>
Norwegian research found that more than three-quarters of the smolts<BR>
leaving a river were killed by sea lice from fish farms," reported the<BR>
former Secretary, saying "the picture is indeed bleak if ministers are not<B=
R>
prepared to lead and turn warm words into action. 'Lost at Sea' may very<BR>
well prove to be the Atlantic salmon's epitaph." For more, go to:<BR>
http://www.salmonfarmmonitor.org/guest.shtml.<BR>
<BR>
7:18/05. FJORD QUARENTEED DUE TO OUTBREAK OF<=
BR>
INFECTIOUS SALMON ANAEMIA: The longest fjord in Norway's<BR>
Faeroe Islands is quarantined currently due to an outbreak of highly<BR>
Infectious Salmon Anaemia (ISA) from a nearby salmon farm. The farm<BR>
belongs to a company called Alistothin a Bakka. ISA was discovered in<BR>
one of their seven salmon pens. The pens contain 100,000 fish. All will<BR>
have to be slaughtered to prevent this highly infectious disease from<BR>
spreading to other farms and vulnerable wild stock. Over the last year<BR>
several farms on the islands have reported outbreaks of the disease.<BR>
There have also been widespread outbreaks of ISA in salmon farms in<BR>
Maine and Canada (see Sublegals, 5:12/13; 5:02/10; 4:10/03; 3:17/06).<BR>
For more see: http://www.FIS.com (13 March). <BR>
<BR>
7:18/06. MAINE ATLANTIC SALMON ENDANGERED SPECIES<B=
R>
LISTING UPHELD: Aquaculturists and the State of Maine lost a court<BR>
case with the federal government over the listing of Atlantic Salmon as<BR>
endangered in eight Maine rivers (see Sublegals, 5:02/09; 2:21/04;<BR>
2:20/05; 2:19/11; 1:19/03). On 24 April, U.S. District Court Judge Gene<BR>
Carter ruled the U.S. federal government did not act in an arbitrary<BR>
manner when it designated salmon in eight Maine rivers as distinct<BR>
populations. That designation allowed the government to list the fish as<BR>
endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). Former<BR>
Governor Angus King led the charge against the listing when it was first<BR>
proposed in the mid 1990's and at his direction the state filed suit against=
<BR>
the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the National Marine<BR>
Fisheries Service (NMFS) in December 2000. The State argued that<BR>
since Atlantic salmon have been stocked in Maine rivers over the last<BR>
century, they can't be genetically unique and thereby worthy of<BR>
protection. <BR>
<BR>
The suit was joined by salmon aquaculturists, who f=
eared that new<BR>
environmental restrictions would be placed on them, and by blueberry<BR>
growers, who feared they wouldn't be able to irrigate with river water<BR>
anymore. Judge Carter ruled that the federal government had provided<BR>
enough data to support the listing and that, "The court is not in a position=
<BR>
to make policy judgments based on conflicting or uncertain scientific or<BR>
technical data." The plaintiffs haven't decided on whether or not to<B=
R>
appeal yet. Maine's new governor, John Baldacci, has not made a stand<BR>
one way or the other on this issue. For more, see the Bangor Daily News<BR>
at: http://www.bangornews.com/editorialnews/article.cfm?ID=3D399492,<BR>
or the Portland Press-Herald at:<BR>
http://www.pressherald.com/news/state/030425endanger.shtml.<BR>
<BR>
7:18/07. CANADA ANNOUNCES NEW ENDANGERED<BR>
SPECIES: Announced on 2 May, the Committee on the Status of<BR>
Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) has met and designated<BR>
new species to be protected, including some fish stocks. Added to the<BR>
Endangered list were two species of Atlantic Cod, and sockeye salmon<BR>
from Cultus Lake and Sakinaw Lake. The Committee assessed 40<BR>
species during its five-day meeting. Twenty-four species were assessed<BR>
for the first time, and 19 of them were added to the COSEWIC list of<BR>
"Species at Risk." For more information, go to:<BR>
http://ens-news.com/ens/may2003/2003-05-02-03.asp, or<BR>
http://www.cosewic.gc.ca/eng/sct7/sct7_3_e.cfm. <BR>
<BR>
7:18/08. COD FISHING BANNED IN EASTERN CANADA: It's=
a<BR>
sad day in Canada as the end of an era that initiated the exploration and<BR=
>
settlement of North America has very unfortunately and with much<BR>
finality come to an end. On 24 April, Canada banned commercial and<BR>
recreational cod fishing off the Gulf of St. Lawrence and in the Atlantic<BR=
>
Ocean northeast of Newfoundland and Labrador in order to protect the<BR>
depressed populations of this species. The government order prohibits<=
BR>
all cod fishing except for a tiny catch for scientific research. The ban is<=
BR>
the final nail in the coffin of the once thriving and lucrative eastern<BR>
Canada cod fishing industry, from which many Canadians used to make<BR>
a very decent living fishing. The closure was announced by federal<BR>
Fisheries Minister Robert Thibault in St. John's, Newfoundland, a<BR>
province once known as the "codfish capital of the world."<BR>
<BR>
The closure announcement follows on a wild cod kill=
in early April in<BR>
a 25 square kilometer area of Trinity Bay, Newfoundland. There<BR>
thousands of tons of the fish died from an unknown cause. "Each year,<BR>
small numbers of cod surface due to 'super chilling', an atmospheric<BR>
affect that draws cod to a body of water that's too cold for them to<BR>
survive, and they eventually freeze to death. Provincial authorities are<BR>
unsure what caused this latest tragedy," reported the Canadian<BR>
Broadcasting Company (CBC). While Canadian Department of<BR>
Fisheries & Oceans (DFO) officials are attributing this cod die-off to t=
he<BR>
"super chill," others attribute it to an anoxic (drop in oxygen levels in th=
e<BR>
ocean waters) event. Whatever the cause of the April kill or the<BR>
long-term decline of cod stocks, research showed that the number of<BR>
spawning codfish remains in sharp decline even after more than a decade<BR>
of dramatically reduced harvests, and that Canada had to concentrate on<BR>
conserving whatever stock is left. <BR>
<BR>
This drastic turn of events is in stark contrast to=
the events of the last<BR>
millennium, when the Vikings followed the bountiful cod all the way to<BR>
North America, as did Basque fishermen long before Columbus sailed<BR>
west. In 1487 John Cabot reportedly said that the waters off<BR>
Newfoundland were so thick with cod that you could scoop them up<BR>
with a basket. The cod fishing industry was at one point worth billions of<B=
R>
dollars to Atlantic Canada, but by the early 1990's the commercial cod<BR>
fishery collapsed and in 1992 a moratorium was issued, sending 40,000<BR>
fishermen out of work. Since then, Newfoundland had been the last<BR>
holdout of the fishery, supporting the last 900 licensed cod fishermen. A<BR=
>
mass exodus from the cold shores of the village fishing ports that had<BR>
managed to survive is predicted. ''The government complains that it<BR=
>
wasn't an 'easy' decision,'' said Earle McCurdy, head of Newfoundland's<BR>
Fish, Food & Allied Workers Union, which represents many fisheries<BR>
workers. ''I'll tell you what's not easy -- having to board up your house at=
<BR>
age 50, having everything you own reduced to nothing, and having to<BR>
walk away and leave it all behind as your community is reduced to<BR>
ruins.'' <BR>
<BR>
Canada pledged to invest $44 million (Canadia=
n) over the next two<BR>
years to provide assistance to individuals and communities affected by<BR>
the closure. But critics have warned that it won't be enough money,<BR>
underlining the fact that the 1992 moratorium cost $4 billion in aid<BR>
programs. Fisheries scientists estimate it will be decades before northern<B=
R>
cod stocks will recover enough to allow commercial harvests, if ever. <BR>
The collapse of the cod stocks represents one of the greatest<BR>
environmental disasters of the 20th century, and there is still no<BR>
agreement among ichthyologists, government fishery researchers, and<BR>
fishermen themselves as to the causes for the decline. For more, see the<BR>
25 April Boston Globe article at:<BR>
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/115/nation/<BR>
Canada_declares_an_end_to_cod_fishing+.shtml, or go to:<BR>
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=3Dstory&u=3D/nm/20030424/bs_nm<BR>
/food_canada_cod_dc_. For more on the April cod kill, go to:<BR>
http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2003/04/06/cod030406. Also see an analysis<B=
R>
of the kill at: http://www.fisherycrisis.com/DFO/frozencod.htm.<BR>
<BR>
7:18/09. IT'S NOT ALL BAD NEWS - CALIFORNIA SALMON<BR>
SEASON OFF TO GOOD START, BOR REVISITING TRINITY<BR>
RIVER FLOWS: California's commercial salmon season opened 1 May<BR>
with decent catches from Monterey to Mendocino (see Sublegals,<BR>
7:17/01). Although the season has only begun, the grade of fish is in the<BR=
>
12-14 pound range, large for this early in the season and indicating good<BR=
>
forage conditions. Prices have ranged from $1.85 for large kings to<BR=
>
$1.25 for the smaller chinooks. The Seafood Producers Cooperative is<B=
R>
marketing the California troll kings under a "California Gold" label and<BR>
they are expected to take on markets for Cooper River salmon head-on<BR>
when that season opens 14 May.<BR>
<BR>
What the river conditions will be when this year's=20=
spawners return in<BR>
late summer and early fall is still unknown, although the late rains and<BR>
snow in the mountains should help matters. The U.S. Bureau of<BR>
Reclamation (BOR) has announced a change in the flow schedule for the<BR>
Trinity River and is not expected to increase releases to 2,500<BR>
cubic-feet-per-second (cfs) into this Klamath River tributary now until 8<BR=
>
May (see Sublegals, 7:17/14). While the Trinity basin is technically in a<BR=
>
"wet" year, U.S. District Court Judge Oliver Wanger, at the behest of<BR>
Westlands Water District, has declared it a "dry" year for releases from<BR>
Trinity reservoir into the river (see Sublegals, 6:24/01). There may be<BR>
additional flow increases (up to 50,000 acre-feet more water at BOR<BR>
discretion) in late summer if conditions warrant, to protect against<BR>
another fish kill in the lower Klamath. <BR>
<BR>
"For the past 40 years, Westlands has been taking u=
p to 90 percent of<BR>
the Trinity River, decimating that river's salmon run, destroying the<BR>
10,000-year-old salmon-based culture of the Yurok and Hupa Indians,<BR>
damaging the recreation-based economy of Trinity County and<BR>
devastating a trout and steelhead fishery prized by the 6,000 members of<BR>
California Trout, Inc. The residents of Trinity County are 'good and<BR>
honorable' people, too," wrote Brett Matzke, an east side San Joaquin<BR>
Valley citrus grower and California Trout Director, in a 1 May Fresno<BR>
Bee op-ed. "In 1984 Congress passed Trinity River restoration<BR>
legislation mandating restoration of fish and wildlife population levels to<=
BR>
those that existed immediately preceding construction of the Trinity<BR>
Division in 1963. One measure of the destruction created by water<BR>
diversions is that fish populations in the Trinity River Basin declined by<B=
R>
more than 90 pecent by the early 1990s.............. Former Interior<BR>
Secretary Bruce Babbitt signed a Record of Decision on December 19,<BR>
2000, increasing Trinity River flows, following 18 years of studies.<BR>
However, Westlands cynically sued to halt that restoration, claiming,<BR>
among other things, that the Record of Decision should be set aside<BR>
because of California's energy crisis. For the record, restoration of the<BR=
>
Trinity River would reduce California's electrical power supply by<BR>
four-tenths of 1 percent. Westlands directors would have a hard time<BR>
selling their 'hard but noble lives' theory to the Native Americans and<BR>
other residents of the Trinity River watershed whose natural heritage has<BR=
>
funded all that Westlands wealth. To them, Westlands cotton has meant<BR>
only ruination." To see the Matzke op-ed, e-mail a request to:<BR>
bwl3@attbi.com. <BR>
<BR>
7:18/10. WORKSHOP SCHEDULED FOR KRIS<BR>
GARCIA/GUALALA PROJECTS: The Institute for Fisheries Resources<BR>
(IFR) will be holding a public workshop at the Gualala Arts Center in<BR>
Gualala, California on 7 June to present results of the KRIS Garcia and<BR>
KRIS Gualala watershed resource information systems (see Sublegals,<BR>
7:13/05). The Saturday workshop begins at 1000 HRS with<BR>
presentations by IFR KRIS staff on various types of data considered,<BR>
methods of analysis and how the contents can be used. In the afternoon,<BR>
attendees will get a chance to interact with staff in group discussions.<BR>
Several computers will be available for demonstration and interested<BR>
parties can get "hands on" with IFR KRIS staff assistance. For<BR>
information, call (707) 822-9428; also see: www.krisweb.com. <BR>
<BR>
7:18/11. WILL HARD-FOUGHT OPPORTUNITY FOR ORG=
ANIC<BR>
LABELING OF WILD SALMON BE LOST BECAUSE OF<BR>
WATERSHED PESTICIDE SPRAYING?: Alaska salmon fishermen<BR>
have been in the lead in attempting to make wild salmon and other<BR>
wild-caught fish eligible for organic labeling under U.S. Department of<BR>
Agriculture (USDA) regulations (see Sublegals, 1:15/08). At the behest=
<BR>
of Alaska's two U.S. Senators, Ted Stevens and Lisa Murkowski,<BR>
language to allow wild fish to be eligible for labeling as organic, much<BR>
the same as crops and livestock are eligible, was included in this year's<BR=
>
Wartime Supplemental Appropriations Bill (see Sublegals, 7:16/05;<BR>
7:15/03). <BR>
<BR>
But now that they're eligible, there is a question=20=
whether Alaska's<BR>
wild salmon will be able to qualify for organic certification (i.e., free of=
<BR>
pesticides and other chemicals). Recently, Alaska's Department of<BR>
Environmental Conservation (DEC) published proposed regulations,<BR>
with no public hearings whatsoever, that will allow aerial spraying of<BR>
pesticides as a forestry management tool. So while Alaska is starting a<BR>
million dollar campaign to inform consumers of the health benefits of<BR>
eating wild salmon, and while their fishermen finally have statutory<BR>
approval for organic certification, the state is about to spray pesticides o=
n<BR>
thousands of acres of state and private lands. Research has proven that<BR>
once unleashed, these chemicals drift and percolate hundreds of feet<BR>
from the targeted sites, invading lakes and streams and contaminating<BR>
everything they contact. <BR>
<BR>
"Aerial application of pesticides is rare in Alaska=
," reported Paula<BR>
Dobbin in an Anchorage Daily News article. "They've been sprayed in<BR>
Mat-Su to control potato blight. And Port Graham Corp., a Native<BR>
village firm, unsuccessfully attempted aerial spraying at Windy Bay in<BR>
1992 to stimulate tree growth in a clear-cut. The spraying stopped after<BR>
strong winds blew up, increasingly the likelihood of drift. The=20=
recent<BR>
controversy arose after a Southeast Native corporation, Klukwan Inc.,<BR>
applied for a state permit to aerial spray pesticides on its clear-cuts on<B=
R>
Long Island, near Hydaburg in southern Southeast." If the aerial=
<BR>
spraying goes ahead over some of the state's salmon producing<BR>
watersheds, don't look for an Alaska organic wild salmon label anytime<BR>
soon. For the 25 April, Anchorage Daily News article on the<BR>
controversy, go to:<BR>
http://www.adn.com/front/story/3010534p-3034496c.html. For a copy of<BR>
the proposed DEC aerial pesticide regulations, go to:<BR>
http://www.state.ak.us/dec/dec_cal.htm.<BR>
<BR>
7:18/12. GRAYS HARBOR AND WILLAPA BAY OYSTER<=
BR>
GROWERS TO QUIT PESTICIDE USE: Grays Harbor and Willapa<BR>
Bay, Washington oyster growers have agreed to phase-out the use of the<BR>
pesticide carbaryl under the terms of an agreement, reached with<BR>
conservation groups and non-carbaryl using oyster growers, announced<BR>
28 April (see Sublegals, 6:14/06; 6:04/06; 6:03/07; 5:16/13). Under the<BR>
terms of the agreement, carbaryl use for killing burrowing shrimp in<BR>
oyster culture will end by 31 December 2012. The agreement settles a<BR>
disputed water quality permit, which was under appeal by the<BR>
Washington Toxics Coalition and the Ad Hoc Coalition for Willapa Bay.<BR>
The groups have agreed to withdraw their appeal of the National<BR>
Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit issued to the<BR>
Willapa Bay/Grays Harbor Oyster Growers Association allowing<BR>
carbaryl applications through 2005. As part of the agreement, the groups<BR>
have pledged to work together to develop alternatives that will preserve<BR>
the environment as well as the oyster industry. Other provisions of the<BR>
agreement include a reduction by growers of carbaryl use this year by 10<BR>
percent, followed by a 20 percent reduction in 2004 and a 30 percent<BR>
reduction in 2005, and expenditure of an additional $10,000 annually by<BR>
the growers over the next three years on alternative shrimp controls or<BR>
culture systems over and above research requirements prescribed by the<BR>
permit. For more information, contact Larry Warnberg, Nahcotta Oyster<BR>
Farm at: warnberg@pacifier.com <BR>
<BR>
Paying Attention? On 24 April the Government of Canada announced<BR>
the closure of its historic cod fishery. What reason was given? <BR>
<BR>
A) The anti-freeze carbaryl, used to treat cod suffering "superchill," has<B=
R>
been found to reduce the number of hourly erections among adolescent<BR>
men taking cod liver oil.<BR>
B) All of the cod fishing quotas in Canada have been purchased by the<BR>
Norwegian-owned Stolt Sea Farm, Inc., which plans to convert<BR>
Newfoundland and the Maritimes to cod farming.<BR>
C) The reduced demand for codfish as a result of the Evangelical<BR>
Lutheran Church in America edict removing lutefisk from the menu of<BR>
its Christmas dinners. <BR>
D) Research shows that the number of spawning codfish remains in<BR>
sharp decline even after more than a decade of dramatically reduced<BR>
harvests.<BR>
<BR>
E-Mail your answer to "Editor" at: sublegals@ifrfish.org. One winner is<BR>
drawn each week from a list of those submitting the correct answer. <BR>
<BR>
And the Winner is.........STEVEN NOVOTNY, who corre=
ctly<BR>
answered last week's question of "Why was the court hearing in PCFFA,<BR>
et al. v. NMFS, et al. on Klamath flows put over from 29 April to 20<BR>
May? with "C) U.S. District Judge Saundra Brown Armstrong didn't<BR>
give a reason." He receives an "Order of the Fringehead" certificate and<BR>
a handsome gray shirt with the cuddly Sarcastic Fringehead Sublegals<BR>
logo.<BR>
<BR>
NEWS, COMMENTS, CORRECTIONS: Submit your news items,<BR>
comments or any corrections to Sara Randall, editor at:<BR>
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source at either: (415) 561-FISH (Southwest Office) or (541) 689-2000<BR>
(Northwest Office). <BR>
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