The following weekly news summary was compiled by the Congressional Research Service from a variety of information sources. New info and changes since 10/09/98 are bracketed {...} New info and changes since 10/15/98 double bracketed {{...}}
Cleve Steward Sustainable Fisheries Foundation Tel. 425-670-3584
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{Canadian Salmon License Buyback.
On Oct. 14, 1998, Canadian Fisheries Minister David Anderson announced a new program to buyback Pacific salmon commercial fishing licenses, to begin immediately. This voluntary salmon license retirement program will solicit selling bids from interested fishermen to be reviewed by an independent advisory committee. Although the total amount to be spent on buybacks was not released, an initial round of license buybacks is likely to be followed by at least one and possibly two more buybacks.} [Canadian Press]
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On Oct. 8-10, 1998, the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce is scheduled to hold a Leadership Conference in Vancouver, BC, on the topic "Saving Salmon in an Urban Setting -- The Science and Politics of Preserving the Puget Sound Chinook." {{On Oct. 15, 1998, Portland State University sponsored a Columbia River Conference, where numerous speakers discussed evolving salmon restoration regimes for the Columbia River system.}} [Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce press release, Assoc Press, Dow Jones News]
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On Oct. 8, 1998, the Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Drinking Water, Fisheries, and Wildlife is scheduled to hold an oversight hearing on scientific and engineering issues relating to Columbia/Snake River system salmon recovery. [personal communication]
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On Oct. 6, 1998, NMFS announced (63 Federal Register 53635) that a July 8, 1998 petition to delist all west coast salmon from the endangered species list presented no substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that delisting was warranted. [Fed. Register]
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On Oct. 5, 1998, the King County Council voted to appropriate $4.2 million to begin restoration and preservation of salmon habitat, including acquisition of land, riverbank planting, and replacing culverts that block salmon passage. The County has identified $250 million in watershed projects to be completed during the next 20 years. [Assoc Press]
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In early October 1998, the Board of the AK Science and Technology Foundation awarded a $0.5 million grant to TBRS Technology for further refinements on a machine created to remove all bones from salmon and for development of a marketing plan. [Assoc Press]
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On Oct. 3, 1998, NMFS scientists reported at a international conference in Anchorage, AK, that contaminants, especially longer-lived polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, from lingering oil after the Exxon Valdez spill at concentrations as low as one part per billion will continue to stunt pink salmon growth and cause other chronic problems for generations. Exxon scientists disputed these findings. [Reuters]
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On Sept. 30, 1998, four scientists, chosen to objectively review the Corps of Engineers Plan for Analyzing and Testing Hypothesis (PATH) panel findings, released a 32-page report concluding that breaching the four lower Snake River dams is key to saving spring chinook salmon.
Their report concludes that allowing the lower Snake River to flow unimpeded would result in a 79% chance of restoring chinook populations within 48 years as opposed to a 40% chance if current river conditions continued. [Assoc Press]
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On Sept. 29, 1998, the Peckford public inquiry issued its findings, concluding that BC fishermen and businesses were badly hurt by Canadian federal salmon regulations during the 1998 season, that the Pacific salmon industry needs emergency assistance comparable to that provided Atlantic maritime fishermen for dealing with the cod stock collapse, and that all stakeholders formalize a process to develop a management plan for the 1999 sockeye salmon fishery. In early October 1998, BC Hydro announced that it would spend C$7 million to enhance salmon habitat, including a C$5 million contribution to Fisheries Renewal BC, a government corporation promoting jobs in the fishing industry and recovery of fish habitat from logging damage. The remaining $2 million will be spent on BC Hydro salmon enhancement projects, including fish screens and salmon spawning channels. [Assoc Press, Canadian Press] Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New On Sept. 28, 1998, a report for the David Suzuki Foundation (Vancouver, BC) was released, concluding that the existing Pacific Salmon Treaty should be discarded, and a new comprehensive agreement negotiated to emphasize the use of selective fishing techniques necessary to protect stocks of Pacific salmon threatened with extinction. [Reuters, Assoc Press] Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New In late September 1998, Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala announced that $10 million in emergency funds had been approved to provide heating oil for villages hurt by the salmon disaster. On Sept. 30, 1998, the Assoc Press reported that House and Senate conferees on the FY1999 Dept. of Agriculture appropriations bill had agreed to a $50 million in assistance package for western AK -- $18 million in disaster assistance, $15 million in economic development projects, $7 million for salmon fishery research, and $10 million in small business loans and funding to improve the competitiveness of AK fishermen. [NOAA press release, Reuters, Assoc Press] Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New On Sept. 25, 1998, the WA Governor's Salmon Recovery Office, released a working draft salmon recovery plan "Extinction is Not an Option," calling for a statewide carrot-and-stick approach to protecting and restoring salmon habitat. This strategy would rely on vigorous enforcement of existing environmental law as well as use of tax and other financial incentives to encourage landowners to voluntarily protect and restore habitat. An updated draft is to be prepared by December 1998, and be used as a basis for action in the 1999 WA Legislature. The final document is scheduled for completion in summer 1999. [Assoc Press] Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New On Sept. 24, 1998, the House and Senate conference committee on FY1999 energy and water appropriations was reported to have agreed to provide $60 million for FY1999 Corps of Engineers fish recovery programs on the Columbia and Snake Rivers. In FY1998, about $95 million was appropriated. [Assoc Press] Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New {AK Subsistence Fishing. On Oct. 13, 1998, Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt and Sen. Ted Stevens announced another postponement of federal assumption of subsistence fishery management in AK, from Dec. 1, 1998, to Sept. 30, 1999, is being included in the omnibus appropriations legislation under consideration by Congress. This postponement would give the AK Legislature more opportunity to address concerns that a state constitutional amendment align state policy with federal law requiring a subsistence priority for rural residents.} [Assoc Press] Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New In early October 1998, a fisheries task force recommended that the MT Dept. of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks (FWP) manage Canyon Ferry Lake to support both trout and unauthorized walleye. Currently FWP manages Canyon Ferry Lake for trout, considering walleye an illegally introduced species. [Assoc Press] Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New In early October 1998, National Park Service biologists reported that they had removed more than 7,000 nonindigenous lake trout from Yellowstone Lake thus far in 1998 -- more than triple the combined take in the previous 3 years. [Assoc Press] Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New In late September 1998, WY Game and Fish Dept. officials announced that whirling disease, a parasitic infection affecting freshwater fish including cutthroat and rainbow trout, had been confirmed in the Green River drainage for the first time. [Assoc Press] Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New In late September 1998, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released figures indicating the number of fishing licenses sold nationally declined from 29.9 million in 1996 to 29.3 million in 1997. However, the expenditures for these licenses and permits rose from $447 million in 1996 to $498.4 million in 1997. [U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service press release] Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New Makah Whaling. On Sept. 21, 1998, U.S. District Judge Franklin Burgess (Tacoma, WA) dismissed the lawsuit and ruled that the Makah gray whale hunt could proceed. The lawsuit by Australian, British, and American animal rights groups, coastal tourboat operators, kayakers, and U.S. Rep. Jack Metcalf had challenged how federal agencies handled efforts to resume Makah whaling. On Sept. 29, 1998, Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Canadian Dept. of Fisheries and Oceans personnel met in Port Angeles, WA, with officials from U.S. agencies to discuss details relating to impending Makah whaling. In early October 1998, the Progressive Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) filed a federal lawsuit challenging U.S. Coast Guard regulations requiring all vessels to stay at least 500 yards from the Makah whaling canoe and requested a restraining order to halt whaling until the matter is resolved. [Assoc Press, personal communication] Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New APEC Oceans Conference. On Oct. 12-16, 1998, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperative (APEC) was scheduled to convene an Oceans Conference in Honolulu, HI, {{with the objective of coordinating a regional response to the threat posed by overfishing. Specific issues to be discussed include banning cyanide fishing and compiling a comprehensive international inventory of fishing vessels.}} [personal communication, Reuters] Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New On Oct. 14, 1998, a coalition of U.S. environmental groups issued statements of concern and evaluations of how several regional fishery management councils had missed the Oct. 11, 1998 deadline to revise fishery management plans to address overfishing, bycatch minimization, and fish habitat protection as well as prepare rebuilding plans for overfished species as directed by the 1996 amendments to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.} [Center for Marine Conservation press release] Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New On Oct. 10, 1998, Worldwatch Institute released a new 286-page report "Life Out of Bounds: Bioinvasions in a Borderless World" discussing how the spread of invasive species, stimulated by global trade, is threatening biological diversity.} [personal communication] Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New On Oct. 9, 1998, the WA Dept. of Health and WA Dept. of Fish and Wildlife jointly announced postponement of a proposed Oct. 5 opening of razor clam season due to record-high levels of toxic domoic acid in these shellfish. Domoic acid levels of 287 parts per million (ppm) were measured at Kalaloch in Jefferson County, compared to the domoic acid action level of 15 ppm.} [WA Dept. of Fish and Wildlife press release] Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New In early October 1998, tuna canneries in Ilwaco, WA, Los Angeles, CA, and San Diego, CA, began purchasing albacore tuna from west coast fishermen who have been holding thousands of tons of tuna for months seeking a market. A cannery in Newport, OR, is anticipated soon to also begin purchasing tuna. Price reportedly may be as low as $900 per ton, after foreign fishermen were paid as much as $1,960 per ton earlier this year. [Assoc Press] Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New On Oct. 1, 1998, The Ocean Fund (Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.) announced the award of $537,000 in grants to 10 organizations working to protect the marine environment. Projects include research on endangered fish and sea turtle populations, protection of coral reefs, and various education projects, including teacher training in marine science. [Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd press release] Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New On Sept. 30-Oct. 3, 1998, the University of Alaska Sea Grant Program sponsored a major international symposium in Anchorage focusing on "Ecosystem Considerations in Fisheries Management," including ways to advance fishery management beyond single-species models now widely used. [AK Sea Grant Program press release]
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BC Salmon Management.
Pacific Salmon Treaty.
AK Salmon Disaster.
WA Salmon Management.
Corps of Engineers FY1999 Salmon Funding.
Freshwater Fisheries
Canyon Ferry Walleye and Trout.
Lake Trout in Yellowstone Lake.
Whirling Disease.
Licensed Anglers Decline.
Marine Mammals
Marine Fisheries
{Fishery Management Plan Revisions.
{Worldwatch Invasive Species Report.
{Domoic Acid and WA Razor Clams.
Tuna Glut.
Ocean Fund Grant Awards.
Ecosystem Considerations in Fishery Management.
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