From: Kate Wing <[log in to unmask]>
Pacific Salmon Treaty. On July 18, 1997, U.S. officials admitted
that southeast AK fishermen had incidently caught a substantial
number of sockeye salmon when fishing for pink salmon, despite a
limit of 120,000 sockeye, but stated that they believe the United
States is not in violation of the Treaty. Canadian officials are
concerned with the possibility that southeast AK fishermen could
catch as many as 1 million sockeye caught by Aug. 1. On July 18,
1997, Canadian Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy sent a diplomatic
letter to the United States, demanding that AK fishermen immediately
stop intercepting Canadian sockeye salmon. On July 18, 1997, after
dozens of BC fishing boats blocked the AK fish tender Polar Lady
carrying 100 tons of salmon to a fish processing plant in Prince
Rupert, BC, the tender returned to U.S. waters. On July 19, 1997,
several hundred Canadian fishing boats surrounded the AK ferry
Malaspina in Prince Rupert, BC, blocking its departure for
Ketchikan, AK. The blockade continued through July 21, despite a
July 20 court order from a Montreal judge that the fishing boats
move and allow the ferry to depart; about 300 ferry passengers were
stranded. U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright sent a
diplomatic letter to Canada, protesting the ferry blockade; the
Canadian fishermen demand that Canadian Fisheries Minister David
Anderson intercede and resume Treaty negotiations. On July 20,
1997, a second ferry bound for Prince Rupert was diverted to
Bellingham, WA. On July 20, 1997, four U.S. fishermen aboard two
salmon gillnetters, the Lynde E and the Wanda Mae, were arrested and
their boats and catch seized for allegedly fishing inside Canadian
waters in the Juan de Fuca Strait near the mouth of the Jordan River
off the southern tip of Vancouver Island; in addition, their
gillnets reportedly were of a type that was illegal in Canada. On
July 21, 1997, the captains of the two U.S. fishing vessels
arrested were fined $4,000 each, with charges against their two
deckhands stayed. Late on July 21, 1997 and after Canadian
Fisheries Minister David Anderson assured fishermen that he would
make a renewed effort to resolve the dispute, Canadian protesters
allowed the AK ferry Malaspina to continue its journey north from
Prince Rupert, BC. AK has suspended ferry service to Prince Rupert
indefinitely, and AK's Attorney General is reported to have said
that AK intends to sue BC fishermen and the Canadian government in
Vancouver,BC, Federal Court for damages. On July 22, 1997, Prince
Rupert's mayor sent a letter of apology to AK Governor Tony Knowles,
including assurances that efforts are being made to compensate AK
for losses. On July 23, 1997, Canadian and U.S. officials agreed
to appoint special envoys to renew Pacific salmon negotiations;
these envoys will maintain daily contact and report directly to
Prime Minister Jean Chretien and President Bill Clinton. On July
23, 1997, U.S. and Canadian officials were reported to have held an
hour-long meeting characterized as a "good discussion." On July 23,
1997, the U.S. Senate voted 81-19 to pass S.Res. 109, expressing
the sense of Congress with respect to the AK ferry blockade in
Prince Rupert, BC, and urging President Clinton to impose economic
sanctions if other ferries are blocked. On July 23, 1997, WA
officials announced that they were reopening the fishery for early
Stuart sockeye for one day on July 24, after the Pacific Salmon
Commission increased its estimate of the run size from 1.4 million
fish to 1.8 million fish. Thus far the U.S. has harvested 121,000
fish while Canadians have harvested 322,000; U.S. managers agreed
to Canada's revised request that 687,000 fish (rather than the
earlier 500,000 fish) be allowed to escape for spawning. On July
24, 1997, AK managers did not reopen the southeast AK purse seine
salmon fishery in Management District 4 to allow sockeye salmon
bound for Canada's Nass River to pass. On July 25, 1997, White
House announced that former EPA Administrator William Ruckelshaus
had been appointed by President Clinton to serve as the U.S.
special envoy. The Canadian government appointed Dr. David W.
Strangway, President and Vice Chancellor of the Univ. of BC, as
their special envoy. On July 28, 1997, AK Attorney General Bruce
Botelho was tentatively scheduled to personally file AK's {$2.8
million} lawsuit against the Canadian government and BC fishermen
for AK ferry blockade costs in Vancouver, BC, Federal Court. AK is
seeking $2 million in damages. BC Premier Glen Clark assured BC
fishermen that the Province will pay their legal expenses. On July
28, 1997, the Vancouver, BC, Federal Court Justice Barbara Reed
granted AK a permanent injunction against further blockades of AK
state ferries and approved the transport of AK commercial salmon
through BC waters. On July 28, 1997, the U.S. House approved
H.Con.Res. 124 by voice vote, condemning the blockade of the AK
ferry by BC fishermen and calling on the Administration to protect
U.S. interests. In late July 1997, the Union of National Defense
Employees asked the BC Supreme Court for an injunction to block the
closure of the Nanoose testing range, as threatened by BC Premier
Glen Clark, claiming BC has no authority to cancel a federal lease.
On July 29, 1997, Canadian Fisheries Minister David Anderson met in
Washington, DC, with Pacific Northwest Senators and Commerce
Secretary William Daley. On July 29, 1997, WA announced a 3-day
fishery for early sockeye salmon bound for the Fraser River after
the Pacific Salmon Commission increased the estimated run size from
351,000 fish to 500,000 fish. On July 29, 1997, the AK ferry
Aurora, escorted by U.S. Coast Guard and Royal Canadian Mounted
Police vessels, made an uneventful trip to Hyder/Stewart, BC. On
July 30, 1997, WA Gov. Gary Locke announced that former WA wildlife
chief Curt Smitch was being appointed as Gov. Locke's chief advisor
on salmon and natural resource issues. In addition, Smitch was
reported likely to be nominated to represent WA and OR on the
Pacific Salmon Commission, replacing Bob Turner. On July 30, 1997,
Canadian Fisheries Minister David Anderson met in Seattle with the
governors of WA and AK. In a joint announcement on July 30, 1997,
the governors of AK and WA and Canadian Fisheries Minister David
Anderson announced that an expanded "Salmon Summit" would be
convened in fall 1997, and that stakeholder discussions may resume
in early fall 1997. Fisheries Minister Anderson also announced that
Canada would schedule no directed fishery for coho salmon off
Vancouver Island, reducing the harvest to 20% of the run, rather
than the 60% harvested in 1996. On July 30, 1997, BC Premier Glen
Clark urged Fisheries Minister David Anderson to adopt a "Canada
First" plan developed by a joint federal-provincial working group,
whereby Canadian fishermen would be encouraged to intercept Pacific
salmon headed for U.S. waters. On Aug. 1, 1997, the AK Marine
Highway System announced its revised August schedule, with
additional sailings to and from Bellingham, WA, and deletion of
ferry stops at Prince Rupert, BC. On Aug. 4, 1997, BC fishermen
held a 6-hour protest gillnet fishery in defiance of Canadian Dept.
of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) regulations for DFO's hesitance in
scheduling an opportunity for BC gillnet fishermen to catch sockeye
salmon migrating to the Skeena River. DFO is concerned that gillnet
fishermen cannot be selective enough to protect intermingled and
less abundant coho salmon and steelhead trout. On Aug. 4, 1997,
U.S. Commerce Secretary William Daley delivered a speech to the
Montreal Board of Trade, commenting that the AK ferry blockade may
have changed attitudes sufficiently to cause progress in achieving a
negotiated agreement. On Aug. 5, 1997, Canada's Defense Minister
Art Eggleton announced that the Canadian federal government will not
allow BC Premier Glen Clark to cancel a U.S. Navy lease for marine
weapons testing at Nanoose Bay, BC. On Aug. 5, 1997, in Ottawa,
U.S. Commerce Secretary William Daley said that his Aug. 4 remarks
in Montreal had been "somewhat misinterpreted" and that the AK ferry
blockade was an illegal act that did nothing to help resolve the
salmon conflict. {In early August 1997, catch statistics for Fraser
River sockeye salmon indicated that Canadian fishermen had taken 86%
of the harvest compared to 14% for U.S. fishermen. On Aug. 11,
1997, Canada opened its "Canada First" fishery for Fraser River
sockeye, seeking to harvest these fish to reduce their numbers
before they migrate so as to become available to WA state fishermen.
The Canada First fishery will continue through Aug. 13. On Aug.
11, about 300 seiners, 400 gillnetters, and 300 trollers harvested
about C$8 million worth of salmon. On Aug. 13, 1997, the Canadian
Auto Workers (CAW) union scheduled a protest march to the U.S.
Consulate in Vancouver, BC, to demonstrate support for maintaining
Canada's salmon and the jobs of CAW members in the fishery. {{On
Aug. 22,}} 1997, AK lawyers sent letters to 70 companies that own
fishing vessels involved in the AK ferry blockade, advising them
that they would be subject to arrest and their vessels seized unless
they posted a security deposit (bond) by Sept. 15, 1997. Another
20 vessel owners were to be served in person. On Sept. 18, 1997,
the House Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation,
Wildlife, and Oceans has tentatively scheduled an oversight hearing
on U.S.-Canada Pacific Salmon Treaty negotiations.} [personal
Bristol Bay Salmon Fishery. On July 18, 1997, AK governor Tony
Knowles declared the Bristol Bay area an economic disaster due to
the poor salmon harvest, providing for state aid. As of July 18,
slightly less than 12 million sockeye salmon had been harvested.
The estimated lost income totals more than $80 million, reflecting
the poor catch and low salmon prices. In late July, 1997, fishermen
were reported to have caught just 7.5% of the forecast harvest for
the third worst harvest of the century for this fishery. {In early
August 1997, AK governor Tony Knowles asked the U.S. Dept. of
State to investigate concerns that Russian interception of U.S.
salmon may be partially at fault for this year's low return of
Bristol Bay sockeye salmon.} [Assoc Press]
Aquaculture and Aquaria
{New Bedford Aquarium. On Aug. 26, 1997, MA acting Governor Paul
Cellucci and southern MA officials announced a plan to build a $97
million aquarium on the New Bedford waterfront.} [Assoc Press]
{BC Salmon Aquaculture Report. On Aug. 26, 1997, British
Columbia's Environmental Assessment Office released its 1,800-page
Salmon Aquaculture Review, concluding after 12 months' study that
salmon aquaculture presents a low overall risk to the environment
and could proceed with caution. The report also concluded that much
needs to be done before more salmon farms are permitted. A total of
49 report recommendations would streamline the regulatory
environment to make the BC industry more competitive in the world
market, and call for studies of how escaped netpen salmon interact
with wild salmon, how to control disease, and the effects of netpen
waste on water and the seafloor. The report also recommends more
stringent guidelines for culling seals that take salmon from
netpens.} [BC Salmon Farmers Assoc press release, Assoc Press]
{Panama Mouthbreeder Project. On Aug. 11, 1997, an official of
Taiwan's Council of Agriculture announced that Taiwan would invest
$17 million in raising mouthbreeders in Panama for export to the
U.S. market.} [Taiwan Central News via Foreign Broadcast
Information Service]
Salmon Pigment Lawsuit. In early August 1997, Igene Biotechnology
Inc. (Columbia, MD) filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court against
Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. (ADM, Decatur, IL), alleging that ADM
{never paid for collaborative work and} stole secrets, valued at
$100 million, about a unique Igene process for producing
astaxanthin, a natural pigment additive that gives farm-raised
salmon pinker flesh. An Igene employee was arrested on July 16,
1997, and charged with theft of trade secrets. In mid-July 1997,
ADM filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Igene over the same
technology. [Dow Jones News, Wall Street Journal, Reuters]
Fish as Pollutants. Beginning July 24, 1997, the WA state Pollution
Control Hearings Board has scheduled a 5-day hearing in Olympia, to
consider whether escaped salmon harm native fish and, if so, what
options might be considered. [Assoc Press]
Chilean Salmon Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Petitions. On
July 24, 1997, the U.S. International Trade Commission concluded
its preliminary investigation and voted 3-0 that there is sufficient
evidence to indicate injury to U.S. industry from alleged subsidies
and dumping of Chilean salmon on the U.S. market. The Chilean
government has indicated that it might file a petition with the
World Trade Organization if U.S. penalties are imposed. [Assoc.
of Chilean Salmon Farmers press release, Dow Jones News, Assoc
Press]
Shrimp Virus. On July 23, 1997, the SC Supreme Court unanimously
overturned a lower court decision, clearing the way for destruction
of 5 million Venezuelan blue shrimp imported by Edisto Seafarms and
testing positive for the taura syndrome virus. Destruction of the 5
million shrimp was completed in late July 1997. Between July 15 and
July 23, 1997, four public hearings were held on the NMFS/Joint
Subcommittee on Aquaculture report entitled "An Evaluation of Shrimp
Virus Impacts on Cultured Shrimp and on Wild Shrimp Populations in
the Gulf of Mexico and Southeastern U.S. Atlantic Coastal Waters,"
and public comment will be received to help in the development of
plans for an ecological risk assessment on shrimp viruses. [Assoc
Press, Federal Register]
Fish-Eating Birds. On July 22, 1997, the Senate Committee on
Appropriations reported H.R. 2107, FY1998 appropriations for the
Dept. of the Interior, containing language direction the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service to complete all action on a double-crested
cormorant depredation order by fall 1997, and to join USDA's Animal
and Plant Health Inspection Service in evaluating and implementing
population management strategies for fish-eating bird species.
[S.Rept. 105-56]
Catfish and Dioxin. On July 21, 1997, major catfish farms and
processing plants remained open, processing fish that have passed
FDA requirements, while they awaited the results of tests for dioxin
in additional catfish. On July 22, 1997, test results on hundreds
of catfish from more than 100 farms were reported to show that no
catfish tested exceeded 1 part per trillion in dioxin. [Assoc
Press, Reuters, Dow Jones News, The Catfish Institute press release]
Farmed Salmon Escape. On July 18, 1997, 5 or 6 Atlantic salmon net
pens became caught and tore open during a move to avoid a
Heterosigma algae bloom, releasing an estimated 300,000 Atlantic
salmon into Puget Sound, near Manchester, WA. [Assoc Press]
Freshwater Fisheries
{National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Hearing. On Sept. 25, 1997,
the House Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation,
Wildlife, and Oceans has tentatively scheduled a hearing on H.R.
2376, a bill to reauthorize and amend the National Fish and Wildlife
Foundation Establishment Act.} [personal communication]
{Chippewa Treaty Fishing Rights. On Aug. 26, 1997, the 8th U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court decision and ruled
that 8 Chippewa bands retain the right to hunt and fish without
state regulation in east-central Minnesota. {{MN Governor Arne
Carlson announced that the state of MN would appeal the ruling.
However, the Chippewa insist on fishing under the court decision
rather than waiting for decision on a likely appeal by the state.}}
[Assoc Press, Reuters]
{Nebraska State Fish. On Aug. 26, 1997, NE Governor Ben Nelson
announced that the channel catfish had been designated as the
official NE state fish.} [Assoc Press]
{Great Lakes Tribal Fishery. On Aug. 8, 1997, the Grand Traverse
Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians passed regulations allowing
90,000 pounds of salmon to be harvested from Grand Traverse Bay, MI.
However, MI state and sport fishing interests contend that this is
contrary to a 1985 court agreement as modified by a 1996 court
ruling. The state is reported to be preparing to ask the U.S.
District Court for an injunction to limit the fishery.} {{On Aug.
27, 1997, U.S. District Court Judge Richard Enslen ruled that the
state's request for a ruling would be combined with a December 1997
trial on another fishing issue.}} [Assoc Press]
Whirling Disease. MT's Fish, Wildlife, and Parks Commission
anticipated receiving a detailed report from their Whirling Disease
Task Force on Aug. 8, 1997, and was to consider Task Force
recommendations. [Assoc Press]
BASS Inc. Lawsuit. On Aug. 5, 1997, U.S. District Judge Ira
DeMent refused to dismiss a 1992 lawsuit, alleging that the Bass
Angler Sportsman Society Inc. and its founder illegally profited
from member payments after incorporating the entity in 1969. [Assoc
Press]
Pfiesteria? On Aug. 1-3, 1997, about 70 scientists and government
officials met at Salisbury State Univ., Salisbury, MD, to discuss
how the State of MD was addressing concerns about fish lesions and
possible human health implications from Pfiesteria toxins in the
Pocomoke River area. On Aug. 6, 1997, between 2,000 and 10,000
fish (menhaden, spot, croaker, and rockfish) and blue crabs were
observed to have been killed in the lower Pocomoke River, MD. In
response, MD Gov. Paris Glendening issued an advisory warning
individuals to avoid contact with water in a 3-mile stretch of the
River until Aug. 8, 1997. Somerset Co. health officials reported
that 10 people have reported health problems including lesions they
believe came from contact with Pocomoke River water. On Aug. 7,
1997, Somerset Co. officials expanded the closed area to a 5-mile
stretch of the lower River for an indefinite period, as the fish
kill continued. {On Aug. 8, 1997, researchers identified
Pfiesteria in about half the samples collected from the Pocomoke
River, MD. On Aug. 10, 1997, the fish kill on the lower Pocomoke
River, MD, ended after killing an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 fish.
On Aug. 10, 1997, both U.S. Senators from MD jointly asked the
Centers for Disease Control and the National Institutes of Health to
investigate whether the fish kill was related to illness experienced
by 8 Pocomoke fishermen. Runoff from chicken farms and other
development in the Pocomoke River basin is being investigated for
its potential in triggering the fish kill. On Aug. 13, 1997, the
closed stretch of the Pocomoke River was to be reopened to public
use. In mid-August 1997, VA watermen reported lesion-bearing fish
on the VA side of the Pocomoke estuary. On Aug. 26, 1997, the MD
House Committee on Environmental Matters was scheduled to hold a
hearing on problems on the lower Pocomoke River. On Aug. 26, 1997,
about 2,000 menhaden with lesions were found in VA waters of
Pocomoke Sound.} [Assoc Press]
....
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