Continued from page 4Aquaculture 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] .
| Top | Back | Next |
 NetPets® Main Page |  The Fish Center |