From: Kate Wing <[log in to unmask]>
Hay Creek Fish Kill. On July 31, 1997, anglers reported dozens of
dead brown trout and white suckers in Hay Creek, a tributary of the
Mississippi River near Red Wing, MN. Upon investigation, state
managers determined that {an estimated 7,800 brown trout were}
killed along a 2-mile stretch of the intensively managed and
restored stream. Cause of the fish kill is unknown, but a chemical
spill is suspected. [Assoc Press]
Sacramento Delta Striped Bass. On July 29, 1997, the CA Dept. of
Fish and Game reported that this year's abundance index of young
striped bass in the Sacramento Delta and Suisun Bay was the lowest
recorded since the index was first calculated in 1959. [Assoc
Press]
Edwards Dam Removal. On July 28, 1997, the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission released a final environmental impact
statement, recommending complete removal of Edwards Dam on the
Kennebec River, ME. This is the first time that FERC has
recommended removal of an operating dam. Edwards Manufacturing Co.
and the City of Augusta, ME, sought a 40-year operating license from
FERC for the dam. Installation of a fish passage system at the dam
would be 1.7 times more expensive than retiring and removing the
dam. [American Rivers press release, Assoc Press]
Fish Advisory Data. On July 23, 1997, the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency released its 1996 summary of state-issued fish
consumption advisories, reporting that official advisories increased
26% over 1995, due largely to better monitoring and reporting.
Advisories were in effect for about 5% of the nation's total river
miles and 15% of the nation's total lake area. Five contaminants --
mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls, chlordane, dioxins, and DDT --
were responsible for almost 95% of the 1996 fish consumption
advisories. [EPA press release]
Bull Trout. On July 22, 1997, EPA officials approved modifications
of ID's water quality guidelines, including maximum water
temperature, aimed at protecting spawning and rearing habitat for
bull trout. [Assoc Press, Washington Water Power press release]
Marine Mammals
{Greenpeace Challenges ARCO Drilling. In mid-August 1997,
Greenpeace asked the U.S. District Court to prevent Atlantic
Richfield Co. (ARCO) from setting up a new drill site at its
Warthog prospect in the Beaufort Sea off Alaska, claiming the
activity would disturb polar bears, seals, and whales. On Aug. 21,
1997, U.S. District Court Judge Paul Friedman ruled that ARCO did
not need to have a marine mammal permit issued before setting up its
new drill site since ARCO was assuming the risk of penalty if marine
mammals were actually disturbed. ARCO applied for a marine mammal
permit in May 1997, but NMFS has not yet issued the permit.}
[Reuters]
{Harbor Porpoise Take Reduction Plan. On Aug. 15, 1997, NMFS
announced that it was seeking comment on a proposed comprehensive
take reduction plan to reduce harbor porpoise serious injury and
mortality by the New England sink gillnet fishery. The proposed
plan is estimated to reduce mortality and serious injury by 80%.
Comments are to be received through Oct. 14, 1997.} [NOAA press
release]
{Illegal Whalemeat? On Aug. 9, 1997, officials of the
International Fund for Animal Welfare reported that a spring 1997
study by researchers from Auckland Univ, New Zealand, of whalemeat
on sale in Japan used DNA analysis to identify meat from humpback,
finback, and orca whales on the market. Killing of humpback and
finback whales currently is not permitted by the International
Whaling Commission, however Japanese officials suggest that meat
from these species probably came from frozen inventories of
whalemeat taken before the IWC's moratorium on commercial whaling
went into effect.} [Dow Jones News, Assoc Press]
Porpoise Entanglement. In the Aug. 7, 1997 issue of Nature, U.S.
scientists reported the successful results of 1994 tests of acoustic
alarms on sink gillnets in the Gulf of Maine. While 2 porpoises
became entangled in nets fitted with alarms, 25 porpoises were
caught in nets carrying similar but silent devices. Cod and pollock
catch was unaffected by the alarms, but herring appeared to avoid
nets with the alarms. [Reuters]
Norwegian Whaling. On July 25, 1997, Norway's whaling season
concluded with Norwegian whalers in 31 vessels reported to have
taken 503 whales of their 580-whale quota. This harvest is
estimated to have produced 730 tons of meat valued at about $2.9
million. [Assoc Press, Reuters]
Tuna-Dolphin Legislation. On July 25, 1997, the Senate vitiated a
call for a cloture vote on S. 39, and announced a compromise
agreement providing for lifting of import sanctions on tuna, and
modification of the dolphin-safe labeling if studies of dolphin
health and biology, to be completed by March 1999, cannot prove that
long-term harm is being done to dolphins by surrounding them with
tuna seines. On July 30, 1997, the U.S. Senate voted 99-0 to pass
S. 39, incorporating compromise amendments to the International
Dolphin Conservation Program. This measure would end import
sanctions on non-dolphin-safe tuna, and could allow tuna caught in
purse seines where no dolphins are killed or seriously injured to be
labeled "dolphin-safe" if research cannot prove by March 1999 that
dolphins suffer long-term adverse effects from being chased, herded,
and surrounded by purse seines. On July 31, 1997, the U.S. House
unanimously agreed to accept the Senate amended S. 39, and this
measure was sent to the President. [Reuters, Congr. Record, Assoc
Press, Dow Jones News, Center for Marine Conservation press release,
Defenders of Wildlife press release]
Manatees. On July 22, 1997, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)
officials announced increased patrolling of Brevard Co., FL's
manatee protection zone. Along with the FL Marine Patrol, the FWS
will enforce boating and recreation regulations, since
watercraft-related injuries (many of which were reported in Brevard
Co.) have contributed to 27 of FL's more than 110 manatee deaths so
far in 1997. On July 23, 1997, Univ. of Miami scientists reported
that a papillomavirus had been identified for the first time in two
FL manatees from different locations; this virus can cause benign
skin tumors. [Assoc Press, Reuters]
{Sea Otter Contaminants. An article by Univ. of CA Santa Cruz
scientists in the July 1997 issue of the Marine Pollution Bulletin
was reported to note that sea otters from Adak in Alaska's remote
Aleutian Islands were discovered to have higher levels of
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in their livers than did sea otters
taken from the coast of California. PCB contamination may have
arisen from leakage at former military sites. Additional research
was scheduled to test halibut and Pacific cod.} [Assoc Press]
....
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