Fish News February 15, 2000

A Coho

The following weekly news summary was compiled by the Congressional Research Service from a variety of information sources. New info and changes since 2/4/2000 are bracketed {...} New info and changes since 2/10/2000 are double-bracketed {{...}}

Cleve Steward

Sustainable Fisheries Foundation

Tel. 425-670-3584

SALMON ALONG THE PACIFIC COAST
FRESHWATER FISHERIES

SALMON ALONG THE PACIFIC COAST

{Klamath Fishery.

On Feb. 23-25, 2000 (Brookings, OR) and Mar. 5, 2000 (Sacramento, CA), the Klamath Fishery Management Council will meet to develop recommendations for salmon harvest management for year 2000.

Recommendations will be forwarded to the Pacific Fishery Management Council.} [U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service press release]

Salmon Media Briefing.

On Feb. 16, 2000, the National Sea Grant College Program is hosting a 2-hour special media briefing on "Public Choices, Science, and Salmon: Scientific Efforts to Aid Salmon in the Pacific Northwest" at the National Press Club, Washington, DC. [National Sea Grant College Program]

{Elwha River Dams.

On Feb. 11, 2000, Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt and WA's Congressional delegation are scheduled to meet at Glines Canyon Dam to commemorate a final consensus settlement agreement to purchase and remove the 3 Elwha River dams.} [Dept. of the Interior press release]

{{WA Salmon Management.

On Feb. 9, 2000, Seattle Mayor Paul Schell and King County Executive Ron Sims debated conflicting views on how to manage water supply demands and meet competing requirements to protect ESA-listed Chinook salmon.}} [Seattle Post-Intelligencer]

{FY2001 Salmon Budget Request.

On Feb. 7, 2000, the Administration's FY2001 Federal Budget proposal was released, requesting $1.4 billion to continue the Lands Legacy Initiative that would include $100 million for a Pacific Northwest Salmon Fund.} {{In addition, NMFS requested $60 million for implementing the Pacific Salmon Treaty, with $20 million each for the 2 Restoration and Enhancement Funds and $20 million to complete a WA Vessel License Buyback Program and mitigate AK for lost fishing opportunities.

Also, the budget requests $31 million to start removal of 2 dams on WA's Elwha River.}} [White House press release, Assoc Press, NOAA FY2001 budget request]

{Bristol Bay Salmon Lawsuit.

On Feb. 4, 2000, final judgments were signed by AK Superior Court Judge Peter Michalski and filed, acknowledging an agreement by 2 Japanese salmon importers and their subsidiaries to pay a total of $1 million to settle price-fixing claims by more than 5,000 commercial fishermen. A total of about $11 million in settlements has been paid by 16 groups of defendants so far in this 1995 class action suit, while 10 groups of defendants have not settled.

On Feb. 24, 2000, AK fishermen plan to file an appeal of the Superior Court decision with the AK Supreme Court.} [Anchorage Daily News]

{Northern CA Steelhead.

On Feb. 4, 2000, NMFS proposed listing northern CA steelhead trout as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, claiming that CA state efforts were insufficient to protect these fish.} [San Francisco Chronicle]

Salmon Management Options. From Feb. 3 through Mar. 8, 2000, a total of 13 public hearings are scheduled by Bonneville Power Administration and 8 other federal agencies across OR, WA, ID, MT, and AK on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Draft Lower Snake River Juvenile Salmon Migration Feasibility Report/Environmental Impact Statement and the Federal Caucus Conservation of Columbia Basin Fish "All-H Paper" http://www.bpa.gov/Power/PL/FederalCaucus/fcspl.shtml ] presenting options for altering harvest, hatcheries, habitat, and hydroelectric dams. {{The initial hearing on Feb. 3, 2000, in Portland, OR, was attended by at least 1,000 people.}} [Assoc. Press]

{ESA Failure.

On Feb. 3, 2000, a coalition of conservation, fishing, and religious organizations released "Broken Promises of Recovery: The Clinton Administration's 10-Prong Attack on Endangered Species. This report discusses how the Clinton Administration has allegedly undermined the Endangered Species Act (ESA) http://www.americanlands.org/forestweb/esa_imp2.htm ] and failed to protect Pacific salmon and other species.} [American Lands press release]

Framework Alternatives.

On Feb. 1, 2000, the Northwest Power Planning Council (NPPC) received the preliminary results the Multi-Species Framework Project, a complex and controversial computer analysis (Ecosystem Diagnosis and Treatment) of 7 fish recovery alternatives, concluding that all 7 alternatives would produce more fish than exist under current conditions.

{{Generally alternatives with the highest economic and social risks were determined to have the lowest biological risks, and vice versa.}} [NW Fishletter #96, NPPC Congressional Update]

Matilija Dam.

On Jan. 26, 2000, the CA Coastal Conservancy approved a $200,000 grant to Ventura County to begin removing the top of Matilija Dam on the Ventura River in October 2000, benefitting steelhead trout. This 190- foot dam would be the largest U.S. dam on which removal efforts have begun.

The U.S. Geological Survey and Bureau of Reclamation have been studying how best to remove this dam. [Los Angeles Times]

Fraser River Fishery.

In late January 2000, Canadian Dept. of Fisheries and Oceans enforcement officers began delivering court summonses to 148 non- Native commercial fishermen who participated in an August 1998 protest fishery on the Fraser River, related to anger over Aboriginal Fisheries Strategy pilot fisheries. [Canadian Press]

John Day Dam.

In late January 2000, the Army Corps of Engineers reported the completion of a $2.5 million, 2-year study of John Day Dam, concluding that removing or drawing down this dam on the Columbia River would be too costly and provide only marginal benefits to salmon and steelhead trout. [Assoc Press]

BC Salmon Management.

In late January 2000, Canada's Climate Change Secretariat released a report, indicating that the Fraser River sockeye salmon fishery could collapse within a few decades because of global warming. [Canadian Press, Assoc Press]

Tribal Concerns.

On Jan. 25, 2000, tribal leaders from the Columbia River Intertribal Fish Commission met for 2 hours with federal agency officials at the White House to discuss salmon recovery problems. Additional consultations are anticipated, with the potential for court action by tribes. [Assoc Press, Portland Oregonian]

Savage Rapids Dam.

On Jan. 18, 2000, ballots from Grants Pass Irrigation District patrons will be counted to determine whether patrons will approve conditions set by the District's Board for meeting demands by the OR Water Resources Council and NMFS to remove Savage Rapids Dam. [Portland Oregonian, Assoc Press]

Salmon 4(d) Rule.

A total of 22 public hearings on NMFS proposed regulations for protecting 14 populations of threatened steelhead trout and salmon under Section 4(d) of the Endangered Species Act were scheduled between Jan. 10, 2000 and Feb. 3, 2000.

On Jan. 26, 2000, the WA Farm Bureau had scheduled a protest rally prior to the public hearing in Yakima, WA, fearing increased government control of water and confiscation of private property. {{On Feb.

7, 2000, NMFS announced that 3 additional hearings would be scheduled on the proposed rules, but declined to extend the public comment period.}} [Fed. Register, Assoc Press]

{Pacific Salmon Treaty.

On Jan. 13, 2000, Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Lloyd Axworthy and Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Herb Dhaliwal issued a joint statement expressing pleasure in the implementation of the June 1999 Pacific salmon agreement. They were pleased at U.S. appropriation of $20 million total for the two Restoration and Enhancement Funds and NMFS certification that the terms of the agreement meet the requirements of the U.S. Endangered Species Act.} [Environment & Energy

Newsline]

AQUACULTURE AND AQUARIA

Aquaria 21 Dealings.

In late January 2000, the New Zealand press reported that Aquaria 21 is negotiating to sell its Shanghai aquarium and has reached agreement on selling its interest in South Korean aquariums. These assets as well as the aquarium assets of Oceanis Australia are reportedly all going to become part of Bliss Corp. Aquaria 21 shareholders are scheduled to vote on the deal in late February or early March 2000. [Southland Times]

Farmed Salmon.

A draft report prepared by Dept. of Fisheries and Oceans biologists for a Jan. 24-25, 2000 meeting in Montreal of Canada's advisory committee on Atlantic salmon was reported in mid-January 2000 to have concluded that escaped fish from salmon farms have damaged wild salmon by interbreeding with them. Offspring of escaped salmon were reported to be less likely to survive than wild salmon but, since offspring of escaped salmon grow faster, the have a competitive advantage over wild fish. [Assoc Press]

GM Fish.

On Jan. 20, 2000, Greenpeace International released a report Genetically Engineered Fish: Swimming Against the Tide of Reason on environmental concerns associated with genetically modified (GM) fish http://www.greenpeace.org/~geneng/reports/bio/bio016.htm ]. [personal communication]

Tuna Feedlot Approval.

On Jan. 20, 2000, South Australia's Development Assessment Commission approved plans for 42 new tuna feedlots to be constructed and operated in Louth Bay, near Port Lincoln, South Australia, under a 12-month license.

In response, the Conservation Council threatened to appeal this decision to the Supreme Court. [Australian Broadcasting Corp.]

FRESHWATER FISHERIES

{Bighorn River Tribal Water Rights.

On Feb. 17, 2000, water-rights negotiators for the Crow Tribe, and state of MT, and the federal government are scheduled to meet in Billings, MT, to discuss issues in developing a management plan that would maintain streamflows and protect trout waters below Yellowtail Dam on the Bighorn River.} [Billings Gazette]

{{MN Fishing Season Extension.

On Feb. 9 and 10, 2000, MN House and Senate Committees expedited legislation that would extend the MN winter sport fishing season from Feb. 20 to Feb. 29, to assist resorts and businesses suffering from a winter season delayed by unseasonable warm temperatures.}} [Minneapolis Star Tribune]

{Lake Davis Pike.

On Feb. 7, 2000, the Save Lake Davis Task Force and the CA Dept. of Fish and Game were scheduled to release a 49-page report http://www.dfg.ca.gov/northernpike/index.html ] outlining a $1 million program based on 13 recommendations for controlling, containing, and killing northern pike in Lake Davis. No fish-killing chemicals would be used.} [Sacramento Bee]

{Grass Carp.

After a contentious public hearing on Feb. 7, 2000, the Board of Commissioners of McLennan County, TX, voted to spend $10,000 to purchase 300 to 400 sterile, triploid grass carp to help control hydrilla plant growth on Tradinghouse Creek Reservoir.} [Waco Tribune Herald]

Destruction of Lahontan Cutthroat Trout.

On Feb. 3, 2000, biologists at the Lahontan National Fish Hatchery, NV, destroyed about 300,000 Lahontan cutthroat trout, infected with furunculosis, a bacterial disease. About 80,000 Lahontan cutthroat trout died of this disease at the hatchery prior to the current action, and the disease outbreak could not be controlled with medication. Lahontan cutthroat trout are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. [Assoc Press]

Whirling Disease.

On Jan. 27, 2000, NM Dept. of Fish and Game biologists met to develop strategies for combating whirling disease. Plans include retesting fish at 3 hatcheries where whirling disease has not yet been reported, testing of Rio Grande cutthroat waters, and a temporary policy against stocking fish exposed to the parasite. [Albuquerque Journal]

Atlantic Salmon.

On Jan. 24, 2000, ME's House (vote of 134-10) and Senate (unanimous vote) passed a joint resolution asking the federal government to reconsider plans to list Atlantic salmon in 8 ME rivers under the Endangered Species Act.

In addition, the Legislature passed a separate bill appropriating $810,600 for ME's Atlantic salmon conservation plan.

On Jan. 25, 2000, NMFS and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service extended the public comment period on the salmon listing proposal from Feb. 15, 2000 to Mar. 15, 2000. {On Feb. 3, 2000, a coalition of conservation, fishing, and religious organizations released "Broken Promises of Recovery: The Clinton Administration's 10-Prong Attack on Endangered Species. This report discusses how the Clinton Administration has allegedly undermined the Endangered Species Act (ESA) http://www.americanlands.org/forestweb/esa_imp2.htm ] and failed to protect Atlantic salmon and other species.} [American Lands press release, Assoc Press]

Brine Shrimp.

In mid-January 2000, the Greek Parliament reviewed the ethics of marketing imported brine shrimp as "sea monkeys" to children.

On Jan. 24, 2000, Greek officials announced that no import restrictions would be imposed on brine shrimp since these organisms had not been genetically manipulated. [Assoc Press]

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