[Fishlink] ~~>SUBLEGALS 08Aug03<~~
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~~>SUBLEGALS 08Aug03<~~
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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. 08, NO. 06 8 AUGUST 2003
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"In the end, our society will be defined not only by what we create but
by what we refuse to destroy."........John Sawhill
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IN THIS ISSUE.......
White House Political Interference On Klamath Prompts Calls
For Investigation. 8:06/01.
Backroom Water Deal Sends More California Water South. 8:06/02.
Saltonstall-Kennedy Fisheries Grant Proposals Due 29 August. 8:06/06.
Maine Salmon Farms Lose Appeal, Must Comply With Clean
Water Act. 8:06/07.
IIFET Conference On Economics & Sustainable Fisheries Set
For Japan In 2004. 8:06/12.
AND MORE......
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8:06/01. WHITE HOUSE POLITICAL INTERFERENCE ON
KLAMATH PROMPTS CALLS FOR INVESTIGATION: The 30 July
Wall Street Journal revelations of White House official Karl Rove's
backroom efforts to force federal wildlife agencies to ignore science and
drought in order to make full water deliveries to Klamath Irrigation
Project contractors to help the reelection campaign of U.S. Senator
Gordon Smith (R-OR) has brought on calls for an investigation of the
activities of the senior Presidential advisor (see Sublegals, 8:05/06;
7:13/01). U.S. Representative Mike Thompson (D-CA), whose north
coast district was hit hardest by the massive 2002 Klamath fish kill that
resulted from the diversion of Klamath River flows to the Basin's
growers, has called for a Department of Interior Inspector General
investigation of Karl Rove's activities to ascertain if ethics laws were
broken. U.S. Senator John Kerry (D-MA) has made a similar request.
Kerry is the ranking minority member on the Senate Commerce, Science
& Transportation Committee that has jurisdiction over fishery issues.
Following on the Congressional calls for an investigation, on 6
August a coalition of fishing, conservation and government watchdog
groups, including PCFFA and IFR, filed a request under the Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA) and other public disclosure statutes for a copy
of Rove's presentation made to federal fish and wildlife managers in
January 2002 where he advised them to make sure their agency
decisions (on the Klamath and on many other controversial issues)
supported increased Republican voter polling numbers. "The Bush
Administration needs to understand that federal agencies like the Interior
Department are not a division of the Republican National Committee
and at their disposal to give out political favors," said Senator Kerry.
For more information, see the Associated Press article by Pete Yost in
the 6 August San Francisco Chronicle at:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2003/08/0
6/national1836EDT0730.DTL. Also see the 8 August Oregonian
editorial, "Karl Rove at the Headgates," on the Internet at:
http://www.oregonlive.com/editorials/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/editoria
l/1060343941147620.xml.
8:06/02. BACKROOM DEAL TO SEND MORE DELTA WATER
SOUTH: This past week, details of a plan by California state and federal
water managers to send more water from the Sacramento Valley south
from the Delta to San Joaquin Valley growers and urban users in
Southern California were revealed in a series of meetings in Sacramento.
The so-called "Napa Proposition" is the result of four days of
closed-door meetings between the California Department of Water
Resources (DWR), the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) and the
state's major water contractors. The "goal" of the proposition is to
increase the operating efficiencies of the State Water Project (SWP) and
Central Valley Project (CVP).
The water managers claim the Napa Proposition (named for the city
where the deal was struck) will result in more water for the state's cities
and farmers with no significant impact to the state's fisheries and
ecosystems. This would, they claim, be done by using the infrastructure
of each of the projects (i.e., SWP and CVP) to better meet supply
obligations. The concern from fishing groups, however, who were not
party to the negotiations, is that it will result in a net loss of flows to
San
Francisco Bay, the west coast's major estuary, damaging fish resources
(e.g., herring, oysters, crabs) that rely on that water body and
undercutting the state and federal salmon doubling plans. The Bay is the
gateway between the Pacific and Sierra streams for the west coast's
major run of fall chinook salmon.
Across the state concerns were heightened as the details of the
"Proposition" came to light. It turns out that not only were major
conservation and fishery stakeholders deliberately left out of the
meetings, but many smaller water agencies like the Contra Costa Water
District were left uninvited as well. "This is a throwback to the dark
days of backroom deals made between government agencies and water
users," said PCFFA's Zeke Grader. "These are the hidden business
practices we expect from Dick Cheney and Ken Lay, not the open
collaborations CALFED was built on."
What is clear from the "Proposition" is that the state plans to supply
water to federal wildlife refuges, which would enable the federal
government to provide an additional 100,000 acre-feet of water to the
farmers of the Westlands Irrigation District. In turn, some requirements
for Sacramento River Delta water quality would shift from the state to
the federal government just in time for the state to increase its Delta
pumping capacity as part of the South Delta Improvement Program (see
Sublegals, 6:21/07). For now, the ball seems to be in the court of
fisheries agencies like the California Department of Fish and Game and
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, whose representatives are meeting
with DWR and BOR staff to press the need for fisheries protections. For
more information, see the 7 August Contra Costa Times article at:
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/cctimes/content_syndication/local_news/6
478006.htm or the 8 August Sacramento Bee at:
http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/environment/story/7183910p-8130
837c.html.
8:06/03. SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA WATER WOES CONTINUE -
NO DEAL ON COLORADO RIVER: As if the looming recall election
wasn't enough to worry about, California Governor Gray Davis must
now rewrite the state's 15-year plan for reducing its water usage from
the Colorado River (see Sublegals, 6:26/01). The Quantification
Settlement Agreement (QSA), which was due by 31 December 2002, is
now over five years in the making with no end in sight. This week water
managers from six Colorado River Basin states sent a letter to Gov.
Davis regarding the current QSA draft, claiming that it would allow for
"endless litigation" which would delay the intended reduction of
diversions, and rely on uncertain sources of funding for certain parts of
the agreement.
A particular sore spot in funding negotiations has been the restoration
of the Salton Sea, which representatives from the Davis Administration
recently suggested should be paid for by the agricultural water agencies
as user fees rather than through funds from public bonds. Assistant
Secretary of the Interior Bennett Raley has said the Interior Department
will not approve a QSA without approval from the six other states in the
basin. Fishery advocates and conservationists fear that southern
California water users will begin looking to the state's northern rivers to
satisfy their unresolved needs (see Sublegals, 8:06/02; 7:02/04; 6:26/01;
6:17/14). For more on the QSA see the Associated Press article in the 6
August Las Vegas Sun at:
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/news/2003/aug/06/0806101
23.html.
8:06/04 BATTLE CREEK RESTORATION AT CROSSROADS:
Progress continues on California's increasingly controversial Battle
Creek Salmon & Steelhead Restoration Project (see Sublegals, 5:25/13;
2:17/07; 1:18/07; 1:03/07). This is a project aimed at removing
antiquated hydroelectric dams on this tributary of the Sacramento River
just below Shasta Dam, and providing for fish passage on the structures
that would remain. It also envisions changes in operations at the federal
Coleman National Fish Hatchery, operated to mitigate the impacts of
Shasta Dam, also on Battle Creek. Opening up Battle Creek would
provide a "home stream" for the endangered Sacramento winter-run
chinook.
It was the opening up of Battle Creek and the recovery of the
Endangered Species Act (ESA) listed winter-run, as well as spring-run
chinook, in the upper Sacramento River that PCFFA's Habitat Director,
and former President Nat Bingham was working on at the time of his
death in 1998. What culminated from Bingham's efforts, with help from
California Fish & Game's Harry Rechtenwald, the Central Valley
Project Water Users Jason Peltier, IFR Associate Bill Kier, the
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and the Battle Creek
Conservancy was a deal for CALFED to pay Pacific Gas & Electric
(PG&E) for the removal of these century-old hydro dams and retrofit
those that were left for environmental compliance with an upcoming
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) relicensing.
PCFFA has remained active pushing the project as a member of the
Battle Creek Working Group, composed of agencies and stakeholders.
Now, after more than five years of meetings and study, the U.S. Bureau
of Reclamation (BOR) has published a draft Environmental Impact
Report/Environmental Impact Statement for the project. Comments will
be accepted through 9 September. Construction is scheduled to begin
after the agency selects a preferred alternative from the draft EIR/EIS.
According to the current schedule, the first contracts would be awarded
in February 2004. Work is expected to continue through 2006.
Even at this stage, though, the project's future is uncertain. PCFFA,
along with eleven other fisheries and conservation groups, have sent a
letter to the agencies involved urging a thorough re-evaluation of the
project based on recommendations made previously by the Battle Creek
Working Group. The letter contends that proposed budget increases of
135 percent in public funds from CALFED make no sense given the
government's current economic problems. Also, rising costs prior to
construction indicate that the agency-proposed reengineering
alternatives will not provide long-term restoration benefits. Tim
Ramirez, Assistant Secretary for the California Department of Water
Resources, is said to be reviewing the letter. No official response to the
request for re-evaluation has been received.
The CALFED Ecosystem Restoration Program (ERP) originally
budgeted $28 million for the project based on a 1999 proposal drafted
jointly by government agencies and PG&E, which operates several
hydroelectric facilities in the watershed. In the past four years the
proposed budget has grown 135 percent to $65 million, prompting
CALFED to begin a review of the project's fit within the larger context
of Central Valley restoration efforts given the California's current
financial problems.
PCFFA and other stakeholders have reiterated their support for Battle
Creek restoration but have called on the ERP to make fiscally and
biologically responsible decisions about the future of the project. In
particular they believe that the agencies involved may not have given
adequate consideration to the option of fully decommissioning the
hydroelectric facilities in the watershed. Analysis done on behalf of the
Battle Creek Working Group affirms that this option would cost the state
less money and provide better long-term restoration results. For more
on the Battle Creek Salmon & Steelhead Restoration Project, go to
BOR's website at
http://www.usbr.gov/mp/regional/battlecreek/index.html. Copies of the
EIR/EIS can be requested by contacting Carl Werder of the Bureau of
Reclamation at (916) 978-5521.
8:06/05. OTHER WATERSHED NEWS - CALIFORNIA'S ALBION
AND GUALALA RIVERS GET WILD & SCENIC PROTECTION;
FISH KILL ON BUTTE CREEK: On 24 July, California Governor Gray
Davis signed AB 1168 to provide Wild & Scenic River status to the
Gualala and Albion rivers on California's north coast. Both of these
rivers have remnant coho and steelhead trout populations. The two
watersheds had been threatened by a proposal to "bag" their water in
giant condom-shaped bags to tow by tug to Southern California for sale
to thirsty water districts (see Sublegals, 6:24/08; 6:19/08; 6:15/05;
6:14/10). Wild & Scenic designation should provide the rivers
protection from any future water grabs.
To the east, in the Sierras above the Sacramento Valley, there have
again been fish kills of Endangered Species Act (ESA) listed spring-run
chinook salmon in Butte Creek. Temperature in a section of the creek
most affected by diversion of water by Pacific Gas & Electric has
resulted in the death of thousands of spring-run, according to Alan
Harthorn, Director of Friends of Butte Creek. In a 5 August letter to the
Federal Energy & Regulatory Commission (FERC), Hathorn wrote "we
are experiencing a disastrous fish kill on Butte Creek as a result of high
water temperature, low oxygen, and the resulting bacterial infections."
"Over two hundred carcasses of some of the largest fish that returned
this year (probably four year old fish) have been officially counted by
the California Department of Fish & Game," Hathorn continued. "The
recovery rate of countable carcasses is likely no better than 50 percent.
Many more have died over the past weekend, have been disintegrating
from predation and warm temperatures, and probably will not be around
for the next carcass count. The carcasses typically last no more than
five days in the summer. Once again, the majority of the listed species
salmon are holding above the Centerville Powerhouse in the low flow
section. Most of the mortality is also, very understandably, in this
section. Fish are currently swimming in all directions, upstream,
downstream, and into every side channel and riffle looking for cooler
water. Their stress level is high. Many more will certainly die. No
actions have been initiated to mitigate this loss of listed salmon which
have been put at risk by the operation of the DeSabla-Centerville
project, FERC #803. No incidental take permit, as required by the
Endangered Species Act, has been issued that we are aware of at this
time." For more information, go to: http://www.buttecreek.org; there is
also a petition to protect the fish at:
http://www.petitionsite.org/takeaction/187032253.
8:06/06. SALTONSTALL-KENNEDY FISHERIES GRANT
PROPOSALS DUE 29 AUGUST: The Saltonstall-Kennedy (S-K) grants
program provides money for fisheries research and development
projects, funded out of surcharges on the sale of imported fish products
in the U.S. S-K Program grants are once again available, with
applications due soon. The omnibus solicitation notice, "Availability of
Grant Funds for FY 2004," which covers the S-K Program and other
National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) competitive
grant programs, was published in the Federal Register on 30 June (68
Fed. Reg., pp. 38678-38690). Applications to the S-K Grants Program
are due 29 August. The S-K Program is described in the notice under
"National Marine Fisheries Service," Item 3., on p. 38681. For a
complete S-K application package go to:
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/ocs/toc.htm.
8:06/07. FEDERAL APPEALS COURT UPHOLDS RULING
THAT MAINE SALMON FARMS MUST COMPLY WITH CLEAN
WATER ACT: On 6 August, the First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
held that U.S. District Judge Gene Carter acted within his authority
when he ruled that Maine fish farmers were in violation of the Clean
Water Act in their operations. Atlantic Salmon of Maine, LLC and Stolt
Sea Farm had appealed the 28 May ruling on the basis that less severe
state standards, and not the federal Clean Water Act, should apply to
their farming operations.
This past July, the companies received Maine state pollution
discharge permits, which they argued covered the same ground as
Carter's order, and therefore superseded it. The Appeals Court noted that
the state requirements were generally less "demanding" than Carter's,
including a very gradual phase-out of non-native salmon. The appeals
court ruled that only if Carter had weakened environmental standards
would his ruling be invalid. In the May ruling, Carter ordered that the
companies fallow their net pens for two years to allow the ocean floor to
recover, to apply for Clean Water Act discharge requirements, and to
use only Atlantic salmon native to North America to prevent non-natives
from escaping and colonizing native habitat (see Sublegals, 7:24/14,
7:22/01, 7:20/04, 7:09/09, 5:08/09, 5:02/10, 4:14/04, 1:19/03). The suit
was brought on by U.S. Public Interest Research Group. To see the 8
August Portland Press Herald article, go to:
http://www.pressherald.com/news/state/030808salmon.shtml.
8:06/08. BC FISHERMEN AND RESIDENTS BATTLE TO STOP
BLACKCOD AQUACULTURE: Residents and fishermen of a pristine
Salt Spring Island in British Columbia may have lost their battle to keep
a sablefish (blackcod) aquaculture operation from moving in. Dr. Gidon
Minkoff, the scientist behind Sablefin Hatcheries Ltd., claims the
aquaculture venture will adhere to environmental guidelines, although
the very nature of ocean net pen negates that assurance.
B.C. residents and fishermen are all too familiar with the dangers of
ocean net pen aquaculture (see Sublegals, 7:24/12-13; 7:17/12) and for
the past six months have lobbied against the proposal. Commercial
blackcod fishermen are concerned that the farm would put them out of
business in a fishery valued at thirty million dollars (Canadian) a year.
Fishing representatives met with provincial officials in May to seek a
moratorium on sablefish aquaculture until environmental and economic
impact assessments are carried out. Prices have already dropped this
year to $14.50 a kilogram from $15.40. Local eel grass beds and
Dungeness crab nurseries will also be placed in jeopardy when the
sablefish farm starts operating.
Sablefin Hatcheries Ltd. won subdivision approval from B.C.'s
Agricultural Land Commission, which has approval authority for
property in the agricultural land reserve. Saltspring Island's Local Trust
Committee voted 26 July to tell the Agricultural Land Commission that
it does not support the subdivision. Now, the committee hopes to meet
with Minkoff to try to develop a plan to reduce any environmental
impacts. So far, $1.4 million of the $2.5 million needed has been raised
for the hatchery that will turn out two million young farmed sablefish
annually in five years. A Ministry of Water, Land & Air Protection
official said summer's end is the earliest Minkoff can expect a B.C.
waste-discharge permit, required to run the hatchery.
B.C.'s proposed Bill 48, dubbed the "the right to fish farm" bill, would
erode communities local control in these matters and prevent
communities from using zoning bylaws to prevent fish farms from going
up in their community. The bill would include fish farmers in the Right
to Farm Act, and this would let the province overrule local governments
(see Sublegals, 7:20/03). To see the 3 August Times Colonist article on
the subject, go to: http://www.canada.com/victoria/timescolonist/
story.asp?id=37C75860-8FE5-4323-BAFE-6EDB660196D3.
8:06/09. WITH A FIRST NAME OF NATHANIEL AND A LAST
NAME OF GRADER, WOULD YOU EXPECT ANYTHING LESS?:
The following is a recent dispatch from Copenhagen: "I've been here
now for a little more than a week. I've been having a great time. The
Danish language is pretty tricky, but I am getting the hang of it. Also,
you guys would be proud of me, I have been telling my class mates and
friends not to eat the Norwegian farm raised salmon."
8:06/10. DANISH FISHERMAN HEADS UP NINE-NATION
GROUP TO SAVE BALTIC SEA FISHERY: On 26 July, the New
York Times carried a feature article on former commercial fisherman
Karl Christensen, who now heads the Danish Society for a Living Sea, a
Baltic-wide network of fishermen who are speaking out, "frustrated by
the region's dwindling fish stocks, the continuing pollution, and worst of
all, the near collapse of cod, an ancient staple." According to the article
by Marlise Simons, the fishing group "wants the European Union to
rethink its fisheries policies. Subsidies worth billions of dollars a year
have worsened depletion by building an oversize fishing fleet, they
argue. Most immediately, the group wants a ban on all 'brutal fishing
methods,' specifically, widespread bottom trawling that, like
strip-mining, rips up the life-giving textures of the sea floor."
Christensen and his group draw a distinction between the fishing
industry and fishermen, reported the Times. "'And who is talking or
listening to real fishermen?' he asked. 'Government experts?
Parliaments? The seafood industry? No.' Around the Baltic, shared by
nine nations, ordinary fishermen barely have a voice, he said, while the
seafood industry can afford aggressive lobbies. 'Fishermen talk a lot
among themselves, they get very angry. Their problem is, once they are
on land, they are easily intimidated.'" Christensen went on to say that
politicians "are often under the influence of the commercial fishing
industry and have yet to understand the advantages of a sustainable
fishing policy. Instead, he says, they are mostly interested in haggling
over fishing quotas, a system designed not to protect fish but to parcel
out the catch among neighbors, increasingly with disastrous
consequences."
The article went on to say, "Christensen's group is appealing to
consumers and has created a 'gentle fishery' label, used at fish shops and
markets. Some 30 vessels have joined the label so far. The group also
advocates 'more passive, less brutal' gear like traps, hooks and nets that
operate at middle depths, arguing that this gear causes less damage and
less waste of creatures that are thrown back, often lifeless." To see the
complete article, go to:
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/26/international/europe/26FPRO.html.
8:06/11. MARINE RESERVES LECTURE, PFMC MARINE
RESERVES SUBCOMMITTE MEETING: The Farallones Marine
Sanctuary Association (FMSA) will present, as part of its summer/fall
lecture series, Dr. Stephen Palumbi on "Marine Reserves as Tools for
Sustaining Marine Ecosystems." The Stanford professor who wrote the
Pew Ocean Commission paper on marine protected areas will speak 13
August at the Pacifica Library in Pacifica, California beginning at 1900
HRS. For more information, go to: www.farallones.org.
The following week, 18-20 August, the Pacific Fishery Management
Council's "Marine Reserves Subcommittee" will meet at the PFMC
offices in Portland, Oregon. The purpose of the meeting is to "evaluate
the implications of marine reserves for fishery management, taking into
consideration (i) reserve objectives and (ii) uncertainties associated with
both reserves and traditional fishery management. Initial descriptions of
SSC [Scientific & Statistical Committee] expectations of marine reserve
proposals submitted to the Council in terms of 'real world'
considerations.....will be discussed. The preliminary recommendations
of the Subcommittee will be reviewed by the SSC at the September 2003
Council meeting. For more information, contact Kerry Aden at:
kerry.aden@noaa.gov.
8:06/12. INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ECONOMICS
OF SUSTAINABLE FISHERIES SET FOR JAPAN 2004: The
International Institute of Fisheries Economics & Trade (IIFET) has
issued its first call for abstracts for its next biennial conference, "IIFET
Japan 2004: What are Responsible Fisheries?" Visit:
http://oregonstate.edu/Dept/IIFET/Japan/Japancall.html, or contact
iifet@oregonstate.edu with your mailing address for a printed copy of
the call for abstracts. Conference topics are expected to cover a wide
variety of fishery management, seafood markets and aquaculture-related
issues, including capacity reduction, fishery management by
cooperatives, ecosystems approaches to management, bio-economic
models, seafood processing, marketing, and consumption. The
conference will be held at the Tokyo University of Fisheries, 26-29 July
2004.
**********
Paying Attention? Sablefish, not salmon, farming was in the news this
past week. What is happening?
A) Aqua-Bounty has developed a genetically-engineered sablefish that
comes in many designer colors so that the fish will no longer be simply
referred to as blackcod.
B) Gubernatorial Recall candidate Arnold Scharzenegger has proposed
introducing sablefish aquaculture into California to "pump up" the state's
fishing industry.
C) British Columbia fishermen have asked the government to place a
moratorium on a sablefish farm until environmental and economic
assessments can be carried out.
D) White House advisor Karl Rove has told the National Marine
Fisheries Service and the EPA to grant "speedy approval" of a permit for
a sablefish farm near Manchester, Washington sought by a major
campaign contributor bankrolling a challenger to U.S. Senator Maria
Cantwell in 2004.
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............OFF's JERRY SANSOM, who correctly
answered last issue's question regarding White House Advisor Karl
Rove's involvement with the Klamath River as "A) Advised the Interior
Department to ignore ESA concerns for fish survival and provide full
flows to Basin irrigators to help reelect U.S. Senator Gordon Smith."
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=
AND<BR>
LANDED BY THE INSTITUTE FOR FISHERIES RESOURCES <BR=
>
AND THE PACIFIC COAST FEDERATION OF FISHERMEN'S<BR>
&nbs=
p; &n=
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ASSOCIATIONS<BR>
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VOL. 08, NO. 06 =
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bsp; 8 AUGUST 2003<BR>
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"In the end, our society will be defined not only by what we create but<BR>
by what we refuse to destroy."........John Sawhill<BR>
##########################################################<BR>
IN THIS ISSUE.......<BR>
<BR>
White House Political Interference On Klamath Prompts Calls <BR>
For Investigation. 8:06/01.<BR>
<BR>
Backroom Water Deal Sends More California Water South. 8:06/02.<BR>
<BR>
Saltonstall-Kennedy Fisheries Grant Proposals Due 29 August. 8:06/06.<=
BR>
<BR>
Maine Salmon Farms Lose Appeal, Must Comply With Clean <BR>
Water Act. 8:06/07. <BR>
<BR>
IIFET Conference On Economics & Sustainable Fisheries Set <BR>
For Japan In 2004. 8:06/12.<BR>
<BR>
AND MORE......<BR>
##########################################################<BR>
8:06/01. WHITE HOUSE POLITICAL INTERFERENCE O=
N<BR>
KLAMATH PROMPTS CALLS FOR INVESTIGATION: The 30 July<BR>
Wall Street Journal revelations of White House official Karl Rove's<BR>
backroom efforts to force federal wildlife agencies to ignore science and<BR=
>
drought in order to make full water deliveries to Klamath Irrigation<BR>
Project contractors to help the reelection campaign of U.S. Senator<BR>
Gordon Smith (R-OR) has brought on calls for an investigation of the<BR>
activities of the senior Presidential advisor (see Sublegals, 8:05/06;<BR>
7:13/01). U.S. Representative Mike Thompson (D-CA), whose north<BR>
coast district was hit hardest by the massive 2002 Klamath fish kill that<BR=
>
resulted from the diversion of Klamath River flows to the Basin's<BR>
growers, has called for a Department of Interior Inspector General<BR>
investigation of Karl Rove's activities to ascertain if ethics laws were<BR>
broken. U.S. Senator John Kerry (D-MA) has made a similar request.<BR>
Kerry is the ranking minority member on the Senate Commerce, Science<BR>
& Transportation Committee that has jurisdiction over fishery issues.<BR=
>
<BR>
Following on the Congressional calls for an investi=
gation, on 6<BR>
August a coalition of fishing, conservation and government watchdog<BR>
groups, including PCFFA and IFR, filed a request under the Freedom of<BR>
Information Act (FOIA) and other public disclosure statutes for a copy<BR>
of Rove's presentation made to federal fish and wildlife managers in<BR>
January 2002 where he advised them to make sure their agency<BR>
decisions (on the Klamath and on many other controversial issues)<BR>
supported increased Republican voter polling numbers. "The Bush<BR>
Administration needs to understand that federal agencies like the Interior<B=
R>
Department are not a division of the Republican National Committee<BR>
and at their disposal to give out political favors," said Senator Kerry. <BR=
>
For more information, see the Associated Press article by Pete Yost in<BR>
the 6 August San Francisco Chronicle at:<BR>
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/news/archive/2003/08/0<BR>
6/national1836EDT0730.DTL. Also see the 8 August Oregonian<BR>
editorial, "Karl Rove at the Headgates," on the Internet at: <BR>
http://www.oregonlive.com/editorials/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/editoria<BR>
l/1060343941147620.xml.<BR>
<BR>
8:06/02. BACKROOM DEAL TO SEND MORE DELTA WATER<BR>
SOUTH: This past week, details of a plan by California state and federal<BR>
water managers to send more water from the Sacramento Valley south<BR>
from the Delta to San Joaquin Valley growers and urban users in<BR>
Southern California were revealed in a series of meetings in Sacramento. <BR=
>
The so-called "Napa Proposition" is the result of four days of<BR>
closed-door meetings between the California Department of Water<BR>
Resources (DWR), the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) and the<BR>
state's major water contractors. The "goal" of the proposition is to<B=
R>
increase the operating efficiencies of the State Water Project (SWP) and<BR>
Central Valley Project (CVP).<BR>
<BR>
The water managers claim the Napa Proposition (name=
d for the city<BR>
where the deal was struck) will result in more water for the state's cities<=
BR>
and farmers with no significant impact to the state's fisheries and<BR>
ecosystems. This would, they claim, be done by using the infrastructur=
e<BR>
of each of the projects (i.e., SWP and CVP) to better meet supply<BR>
obligations. The concern from fishing groups, however, who were not<BR>
party to the negotiations, is that it will result in a net loss of flows to=20=
San<BR>
Francisco Bay, the west coast's major estuary, damaging fish resources<BR>
(e.g., herring, oysters, crabs) that rely on that water body and<BR>
undercutting the state and federal salmon doubling plans. The Bay is the<BR>
gateway between the Pacific and Sierra streams for the west coast's<BR>
major run of fall chinook salmon. <BR>
<BR>
Across the state concerns were heightened as the de=
tails of the<BR>
"Proposition" came to light. It turns out that not only were major<BR>
conservation and fishery stakeholders deliberately left out of the<BR>
meetings, but many smaller water agencies like the Contra Costa Water<BR>
District were left uninvited as well. "This is a throwback to the dark=
<BR>
days of backroom deals made between government agencies and water<BR>
users," said PCFFA's Zeke Grader. "These are the hidden business<BR>
practices we expect from Dick Cheney and Ken Lay, not the open<BR>
collaborations CALFED was built on." <BR>
<BR>
What is clear from the "Proposition" is that the st=
ate plans to supply<BR>
water to federal wildlife refuges, which would enable the federal<BR>
government to provide an additional 100,000 acre-feet of water to the<BR>
farmers of the Westlands Irrigation District. In turn, some requiremen=
ts<BR>
for Sacramento River Delta water quality would shift from the state to<BR>
the federal government just in time for the state to increase its Delta<BR>
pumping capacity as part of the South Delta Improvement Program (see<BR>
Sublegals, 6:21/07). For now, the ball seems to be in the court of<BR>
fisheries agencies like the California Department of Fish and Game and<BR>
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, whose representatives are meeting<BR>
with DWR and BOR staff to press the need for fisheries protections. Fo=
r<BR>
more information, see the 7 August Contra Costa Times article at:<BR>
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/cctimes/content_syndication/local_news/6<BR>
478006.htm or the 8 August Sacramento Bee at:<BR>
http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/environment/story/7183910p-8130<BR>
837c.html.<BR>
<BR>
8:06/03. SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA WATER WOES CONTINUE -<=
BR>
NO DEAL ON COLORADO RIVER: As if the looming recall election<BR>
wasn't enough to worry about, California Governor Gray Davis must<BR>
now rewrite the state's 15-year plan for reducing its water usage from<BR>
the Colorado River (see Sublegals, 6:26/01). The Quantification<BR>
Settlement Agreement (QSA), which was due by 31 December 2002, is<BR>
now over five years in the making with no end in sight. This week wate=
r<BR>
managers from six Colorado River Basin states sent a letter to Gov.<BR>
Davis regarding the current QSA draft, claiming that it would allow for<BR>
"endless litigation" which would delay the intended reduction of<BR>
diversions, and rely on uncertain sources of funding for certain parts of<BR=
>
the agreement. <BR>
<BR>
A particular sore spot in funding negotiations has=20=
been the restoration<BR>
of the Salton Sea, which representatives from the Davis Administration<BR>
recently suggested should be paid for by the agricultural water agencies<BR>
as user fees rather than through funds from public bonds. Assistant<BR=
>
Secretary of the Interior Bennett Raley has said the Interior Department<BR>
will not approve a QSA without approval from the six other states in the<BR>
basin. Fishery advocates and conservationists fear that southern<BR>
California water users will begin looking to the state's northern rivers to<=
BR>
satisfy their unresolved needs (see Sublegals, 8:06/02; 7:02/04; 6:26/01;<BR=
>
6:17/14). For more on the QSA see the Associated Press article in the=20=
6<BR>
August Las Vegas Sun at:<BR>
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/news/2003/aug/06/0806101<BR>
23.html. <BR>
<BR>
8:06/04 BATTLE CREEK RESTORATION AT CROSSROADS: <BR=
>
Progress continues on California's increasingly controversial Battle<BR>
Creek Salmon & Steelhead Restoration Project (see Sublegals, 5:25/13;<BR=
>
2:17/07; 1:18/07; 1:03/07). This is a project aimed at removing<BR>
antiquated hydroelectric dams on this tributary of the Sacramento River<BR>
just below Shasta Dam, and providing for fish passage on the structures<BR>
that would remain. It also envisions changes in operations at the fede=
ral<BR>
Coleman National Fish Hatchery, operated to mitigate the impacts of<BR>
Shasta Dam, also on Battle Creek. Opening up Battle Creek would<BR>
provide a "home stream" for the endangered Sacramento winter-run<BR>
chinook.<BR>
<BR>
It was the opening up of Battle Creek and the recov=
ery of the<BR>
Endangered Species Act (ESA) listed winter-run, as well as spring-run<BR>
chinook, in the upper Sacramento River that PCFFA's Habitat Director,<BR>
and former President Nat Bingham was working on at the time of his<BR>
death in 1998. What culminated from Bingham's efforts, with help from<BR>
California Fish & Game's Harry Rechtenwald, the Central Valley<BR>
Project Water Users Jason Peltier, IFR Associate Bill Kier, the<BR>
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and the Battle Creek<BR>
Conservancy was a deal for CALFED to pay Pacific Gas & Electric<BR>
(PG&E) for the removal of these century-old hydro dams and retrofit<BR>
those that were left for environmental compliance with an upcoming<BR>
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) relicensing. <BR>
<BR>
PCFFA has remained active pushing the project as a=20=
member of the<BR>
Battle Creek Working Group, composed of agencies and stakeholders.<BR>
Now, after more than five years of meetings and study, the U.S. Bureau<BR>
of Reclamation (BOR) has published a draft Environmental Impact<BR>
Report/Environmental Impact Statement for the project. Comments will<B=
R>
be accepted through 9 September. Construction is scheduled to begin<BR=
>
after the agency selects a preferred alternative from the draft EIR/EIS. <BR=
>
According to the current schedule, the first contracts would be awarded<BR>
in February 2004. Work is expected to continue through 2006.&nbs=
p; <BR>
<BR>
Even at this stage, though, the project's future is=
uncertain. PCFFA,<BR>
along with eleven other fisheries and conservation groups, have sent a<BR>
letter to the agencies involved urging a thorough re-evaluation of the<BR>
project based on recommendations made previously by the Battle Creek<BR>
Working Group. The letter contends that proposed budget increases of<B=
R>
135 percent in public funds from CALFED make no sense given the<BR>
government's current economic problems. Also, rising costs prior to<BR=
>
construction indicate that the agency-proposed reengineering<BR>
alternatives will not provide long-term restoration benefits. Tim<BR>
Ramirez, Assistant Secretary for the California Department of Water<BR>
Resources, is said to be reviewing the letter. No official response to=
the<BR>
request for re-evaluation has been received. <BR>
<BR>
The CALFED Ecosystem Restoration Program (ERP) orig=
inally<BR>
budgeted $28 million for the project based on a 1999 proposal drafted<BR>
jointly by government agencies and PG&E, which operates several<BR>
hydroelectric facilities in the watershed. In the past four years the<=
BR>
proposed budget has grown 135 percent to $65 million, prompting<BR>
CALFED to begin a review of the project's fit within the larger context<BR>
of Central Valley restoration efforts given the California's current<BR>
financial problems. <BR>
<BR>
PCFFA and other stakeholders have reiterated their=20=
support for Battle<BR>
Creek restoration but have called on the ERP to make fiscally and<BR>
biologically responsible decisions about the future of the project. In=
<BR>
particular they believe that the agencies involved may not have given<BR>
adequate consideration to the option of fully decommissioning the<BR>
hydroelectric facilities in the watershed. Analysis done on behalf of=20=
the<BR>
Battle Creek Working Group affirms that this option would cost the state<BR>
less money and provide better long-term restoration results. For more<=
BR>
on the Battle Creek Salmon & Steelhead Restoration Project, go to<BR>
BOR's website at<BR>
http://www.usbr.gov/mp/regional/battlecreek/index.html. Copies of the<=
BR>
EIR/EIS can be requested by contacting Carl Werder of the Bureau of<BR>
Reclamation at (916) 978-5521.<BR>
<BR>
8:06/05. OTHER WATERSHED NEWS - CALIFORNIA'S ALBION=
<BR>
AND GUALALA RIVERS GET WILD & SCENIC PROTECTION;<BR>
FISH KILL ON BUTTE CREEK: On 24 July, California Governor Gray<BR>
Davis signed AB 1168 to provide Wild & Scenic River status to the<BR>
Gualala and Albion rivers on California's north coast. Both of these<BR>
rivers have remnant coho and steelhead trout populations. The two<BR>
watersheds had been threatened by a proposal to "bag" their water in<BR>
giant condom-shaped bags to tow by tug to Southern California for sale<BR>
to thirsty water districts (see Sublegals, 6:24/08; 6:19/08; 6:15/05;<BR>
6:14/10). Wild & Scenic designation should provide the rivers<BR>
protection from any future water grabs.<BR>
<BR>
To the east, in the Sierras above the Sacramento Va=
lley, there have<BR>
again been fish kills of Endangered Species Act (ESA) listed spring-run<BR>
chinook salmon in Butte Creek. Temperature in a section of the creek<BR>
most affected by diversion of water by Pacific Gas & Electric has<BR>
resulted in the death of thousands of spring-run, according to Alan<BR>
Harthorn, Director of Friends of Butte Creek. In a 5 August letter to the<BR=
>
Federal Energy & Regulatory Commission (FERC), Hathorn wrote "we<B=
R>
are experiencing a disastrous fish kill on Butte Creek as a result of high<B=
R>
water temperature, low oxygen, and the resulting bacterial infections." <BR>
<BR>
"Over two hundred carcasses of some of the largest=20=
fish that returned<BR>
this year (probably four year old fish) have been officially counted by<BR>
the California Department of Fish & Game," Hathorn continued. "The=
<BR>
recovery rate of countable carcasses is likely no better than 50 percent. <B=
R>
Many more have died over the past weekend, have been disintegrating<BR>
from predation and warm temperatures, and probably will not be around<BR>
for the next carcass count. The carcasses typically last no more than<=
BR>
five days in the summer. Once again, the majority of the listed specie=
s<BR>
salmon are holding above the Centerville Powerhouse in the low flow<BR>
section. Most of the mortality is also, very understandably, in this<B=
R>
section. Fish are currently swimming in all directions, upstream,<BR>
downstream, and into every side channel and riffle looking for cooler<BR>
water. Their stress level is high. Many more will certainly die.=
No<BR>
actions have been initiated to mitigate this loss of listed salmon which<BR>
have been put at risk by the operation of the DeSabla-Centerville<BR>
project, FERC #803. No incidental take permit, as required by the<BR>
Endangered Species Act, has been issued that we are aware of at this<BR>
time." For more information, go to: http://www.buttecreek.org; t=
here is<BR>
also a petition to protect the fish at:<BR>
http://www.petitionsite.org/takeaction/187032253. <BR>
<BR>
8:06/06. SALTONSTALL-KENNEDY FISHERIES GRANT<BR>
PROPOSALS DUE 29 AUGUST: The Saltonstall-Kennedy (S-K) grants<BR>
program provides money for fisheries research and development<BR>
projects, funded out of surcharges on the sale of imported fish products<BR>
in the U.S. S-K Program grants are once again available, with<BR>
applications due soon. The omnibus solicitation notice, "Availability=20=
of<BR>
Grant Funds for FY 2004," which covers the S-K Program and other<BR>
National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) competitive<BR>
grant programs, was published in the Federal Register on 30 June (68<BR>
Fed. Reg., pp. 38678-38690). Applications to the S-K Grants Program<BR>
are due 29 August. The S-K Program is described in the notice under<BR>
"National Marine Fisheries Service," Item 3., on p. 38681. For a<BR>
complete S-K application package go to:<BR>
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/ocs/toc.htm.<BR>
<BR>
8:06/07. FEDERAL APPEALS COURT UPHOLDS RULING=
<BR>
THAT MAINE SALMON FARMS MUST COMPLY WITH CLEAN<BR>
WATER ACT: On 6 August, the First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals<BR>
held that U.S. District Judge Gene Carter acted within his authority<BR>
when he ruled that Maine fish farmers were in violation of the Clean<BR>
Water Act in their operations. Atlantic Salmon of Maine, LLC and Stolt<BR>
Sea Farm had appealed the 28 May ruling on the basis that less severe<BR>
state standards, and not the federal Clean Water Act, should apply to<BR>
their farming operations. <BR>
<BR>
This past July, the companies received Maine state=20=
pollution<BR>
discharge permits, which they argued covered the same ground as<BR>
Carter's order, and therefore superseded it. The Appeals Court noted that<BR=
>
the state requirements were generally less "demanding" than Carter's,<BR>
including a very gradual phase-out of non-native salmon. The appeals<BR>
court ruled that only if Carter had weakened environmental standards<BR>
would his ruling be invalid. In the May ruling, Carter ordered that the<BR>
companies fallow their net pens for two years to allow the ocean floor to<BR=
>
recover, to apply for Clean Water Act discharge requirements, and to<BR>
use only Atlantic salmon native to North America to prevent non-natives<BR>
from escaping and colonizing native habitat (see Sublegals, 7:24/14,<BR>
7:22/01, 7:20/04, 7:09/09, 5:08/09, 5:02/10, 4:14/04, 1:19/03). The su=
it<BR>
was brought on by U.S. Public Interest Research Group. To see the 8<BR>
August Portland Press Herald article, go to:<BR>
http://www.pressherald.com/news/state/030808salmon.shtml.<BR>
<BR>
8:06/08. BC FISHERMEN AND RESIDENTS BATTLE TO STOP<=
BR>
BLACKCOD AQUACULTURE: Residents and fishermen of a pristine<BR>
Salt Spring Island in British Columbia may have lost their battle to keep<BR=
>
a sablefish (blackcod) aquaculture operation from moving in. Dr. Gidon<BR>
Minkoff, the scientist behind Sablefin Hatcheries Ltd., claims the<BR>
aquaculture venture will adhere to environmental guidelines, although<BR>
the very nature of ocean net pen negates that assurance. <BR>
<BR>
B.C. residents and fishermen are all too familiar w=
ith the dangers of<BR>
ocean net pen aquaculture (see Sublegals, 7:24/12-13; 7:17/12) and for<BR>
the past six months have lobbied against the proposal. Commercial<BR>
blackcod fishermen are concerned that the farm would put them out of<BR>
business in a fishery valued at thirty million dollars (Canadian) a year.<BR=
>
Fishing representatives met with provincial officials in May to seek a<BR>
moratorium on sablefish aquaculture until environmental and economic<BR>
impact assessments are carried out. Prices have already dropped this<BR>
year to $14.50 a kilogram from $15.40. Local eel grass beds and<BR>
Dungeness crab nurseries will also be placed in jeopardy when the<BR>
sablefish farm starts operating.<BR>
<BR>
Sablefin Hatcheries Ltd. won subdivision approval f=
rom B.C.'s<BR>
Agricultural Land Commission, which has approval authority for<BR>
property in the agricultural land reserve. Saltspring Island's Local Trust<B=
R>
Committee voted 26 July to tell the Agricultural Land Commission that<BR>
it does not support the subdivision. Now, the committee hopes to meet<BR>
with Minkoff to try to develop a plan to reduce any environmental<BR>
impacts. So far, $1.4 million of the $2.5 million needed has been rais=
ed<BR>
for the hatchery that will turn out two million young farmed sablefish<BR>
annually in five years. A Ministry of Water, Land & Air Protection<BR>
official said summer's end is the earliest Minkoff can expect a B.C.<BR>
waste-discharge permit, required to run the hatchery.<BR>
<BR>
B.C.'s proposed Bill 48, dubbed the "the right to fish fa=
rm" bill, would<BR>
erode communities local control in these matters and prevent<BR>
communities from using zoning bylaws to prevent fish farms from going<BR>
up in their community. The bill would include fish farmers in the Right<BR>
to Farm Act, and this would let the province overrule local governments<BR>
(see Sublegals, 7:20/03). To see the 3 August Times Colonist article on<BR>
the subject, go to: http://www.canada.com/victoria/timescolonist/<BR>
story.asp?id=3D37C75860-8FE5-4323-BAFE-6EDB660196D3.<BR>
<BR>
8:06/09. WITH A FIRST NAME OF NATHANIEL AND A LAST<=
BR>
NAME OF GRADER, WOULD YOU EXPECT ANYTHING LESS?:<BR>
The following is a recent dispatch from Copenhagen: "I've been here<BR>
now for a little more than a week. I've been having a great time. The<BR>
Danish language is pretty tricky, but I am getting the hang of it. Als=
o,<BR>
you guys would be proud of me, I have been telling my class mates and<BR>
friends not to eat the Norwegian farm raised salmon."<BR>
<BR>
8:06/10. DANISH FISHERMAN HEADS UP NINE-NATION<BR>
GROUP TO SAVE BALTIC SEA FISHERY: On 26 July, the New<BR>
York Times carried a feature article on former commercial fisherman<BR>
Karl Christensen, who now heads the Danish Society for a Living Sea, a<BR>
Baltic-wide network of fishermen who are speaking out, "frustrated by<BR>
the region's dwindling fish stocks, the continuing pollution, and worst of<B=
R>
all, the near collapse of cod, an ancient staple." According to the ar=
ticle<BR>
by Marlise Simons, the fishing group "wants the European Union to<BR>
rethink its fisheries policies. Subsidies worth billions of dollars a year<B=
R>
have worsened depletion by building an oversize fishing fleet, they<BR>
argue. Most immediately, the group wants a ban on all 'brutal fishing<BR>
methods,' specifically, widespread bottom trawling that, like<BR>
strip-mining, rips up the life-giving textures of the sea floor."<BR>
<BR>
Christensen and his group draw a distinction betwee=
n the fishing<BR>
industry and fishermen, reported the Times. "'And who is talking or<BR>
listening to real fishermen?' he asked. 'Government experts?<BR>
Parliaments? The seafood industry? No.' Around the Baltic, shared by<BR>
nine nations, ordinary fishermen barely have a voice, he said, while the<BR>
seafood industry can afford aggressive lobbies. 'Fishermen talk a lot<BR>
among themselves, they get very angry. Their problem is, once they are<BR>
on land, they are easily intimidated.'" Christensen went on to say tha=
t<BR>
politicians "are often under the influence of the commercial fishing<BR>
industry and have yet to understand the advantages of a sustainable<BR>
fishing policy. Instead, he says, they are mostly interested in haggling<BR>
over fishing quotas, a system designed not to protect fish but to parcel<BR>
out the catch among neighbors, increasingly with disastrous<BR>
consequences." <BR>
<BR>
The article went on to say, "Christensen's group is=
appealing to<BR>
consumers and has created a 'gentle fishery' label, used at fish shops and<B=
R>
markets. Some 30 vessels have joined the label so far. The group also<BR>
advocates 'more passive, less brutal' gear like traps, hooks and nets that<B=
R>
operate at middle depths, arguing that this gear causes less damage and<BR>
less waste of creatures that are thrown back, often lifeless." To see the<BR=
>
complete article, go to:<BR>
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/26/international/europe/26FPRO.html.<BR>
<BR>
8:06/11. MARINE RESERVES LECTURE, PFMC MARINE=
<BR>
RESERVES SUBCOMMITTE MEETING: The Farallones Marine<BR>
Sanctuary Association (FMSA) will present, as part of its summer/fall<BR>
lecture series, Dr. Stephen Palumbi on "Marine Reserves as Tools for<BR>
Sustaining Marine Ecosystems." The Stanford professor who wrote the<BR>
Pew Ocean Commission paper on marine protected areas will speak 13<BR>
August at the Pacifica Library in Pacifica, California beginning at 1900<BR>
HRS. For more information, go to: www.farallones.org. <BR>
<BR>
The following week, 18-20 August, the Pacific Fishe=
ry Management<BR>
Council's "Marine Reserves Subcommittee" will meet at the PFMC<BR>
offices in Portland, Oregon. The purpose of the meeting is to "evaluate<BR>
the implications of marine reserves for fishery management, taking into<BR>
consideration (i) reserve objectives and (ii) uncertainties associated with<=
BR>
both reserves and traditional fishery management. Initial descriptions of<BR=
>
SSC [Scientific & Statistical Committee] expectations of marine reserve<=
BR>
proposals submitted to the Council in terms of 'real world'<BR>
considerations.....will be discussed. The preliminary recommendations<BR>
of the Subcommittee will be reviewed by the SSC at the September 2003<BR>
Council meeting. For more information, contact Kerry Aden at:<BR>
kerry.aden@noaa.gov. <BR>
<BR>
8:06/12. INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ECONOMIC=
S<BR>
OF SUSTAINABLE FISHERIES SET FOR JAPAN 2004: The<BR>
International Institute of Fisheries Economics & Trade (IIFET) has<BR>
issued its first call for abstracts for its next biennial conference, "IIFET=
<BR>
Japan 2004: What are Responsible Fisheries?" Visit:<BR>
http://oregonstate.edu/Dept/IIFET/Japan/Japancall.html, or contact<BR>
iifet@oregonstate.edu with your mailing address for a printed copy of<BR>
the call for abstracts. Conference topics are expected to cover a wide<BR>
variety of fishery management, seafood markets and aquaculture-related<BR>
issues, including capacity reduction, fishery management by<BR>
cooperatives, ecosystems approaches to management, bio-economic<BR>
models, seafood processing, marketing, and consumption. The<BR>
conference will be held at the Tokyo University of Fisheries, 26-29 July<BR>
2004. <BR>
&nbs=
p; &n=
bsp; =
**********<BR>
<BR>
Paying Attention? Sablefish, not salmon, farming was in the news this<=
BR>
past week. What is happening? <BR>
<BR>
A) Aqua-Bounty has developed a genetically-engineered sablefish that<BR>
comes in many designer colors so that the fish will no longer be simply<BR>
referred to as blackcod. <BR>
B) Gubernatorial Recall candidate Arnold Scharzenegger has proposed<BR>
introducing sablefish aquaculture into California to "pump up" the state's<B=
R>
fishing industry. <BR>
C) British Columbia fishermen have asked the government to place a<BR>
moratorium on a sablefish farm until environmental and economic<BR>
assessments can be carried out.<BR>
D) White House advisor Karl Rove has told the National Marine<BR>
Fisheries Service and the EPA to grant "speedy approval" of a permit for<BR>
a sablefish farm near Manchester, Washington sought by a major<BR>
campaign contributor bankrolling a challenger to U.S. Senator Maria<BR>
Cantwell in 2004. <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............OFF's JERRY SANSOM, who correctly<BR>
answered last issue's question regarding White House Advisor Karl<BR>
Rove's involvement with the Klamath River as "A) Advised the Interior<=
BR>
Department to ignore ESA concerns for fish survival and provide full<BR>
flows to Basin irrigators to help reelect U.S. Senator Gordon Smith." <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>
##########################################################<BR>
"Sublegals" are a weekly fisheries news bulletin service of Fishlink<BR>
news service. To find out more about Fishlink, list information can be<BR>
viewed and you can subscribe yourself automatically at: <BR>
<BR>
http://straylight.primelogic.com/mailman/listinfo/fishlink <BR>
<BR>
If you have any trouble subscribing or unsubscribing, contact<BR>
PCFFA/IFR directly at: <fish1ifr@aol.com>.<BR>
##########################################################<BR>
"Fishlink" and "Sublegals" are registered trademarks of the Institute for <B=
R>
Fisheries Resources. All rights to the use of these trademarks are <BR>
reserved to IFR. This publication, however, may be freely reproduced <BR>
and circulated without copyright restriction. If you are receiving thi=
s <BR>
as a subscriber, please feel free to pass this on to your colleagues. =20=
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