Continued from page 5Pfiesteria? 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] .
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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