Continued from page 1Bluefin Tuna Fines. On Aug. 20, 1997, NMFS announced that 6 individuals had been assessed $380,000 in fines and had their permits suspended for violations of Atlantic bluefin tuna harvesting and marketing regulations in the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. [NOAA press release] .
Toothfish Poaching. On Aug. 20, 1997, South African cabinet ministers approved measures to increase joint navy and air force enforcement efforts against Patagonian toothfish poaching within South Africa's economic zone around the Prince Edward Islands near Antarctica. [Reuters] .
{Gulf Dead Zone Study. In mid-August 1997, a task force appointed by the White House Office of Science and Technology met to plan an 18-month study of the causes and effects of the Gulf of Mexico's dead zone. The dead zone is an area of oxygen-depleted water west of the mouth of the Mississippi River.} [Assoc Press] .
Russian-Icelandic Fishery Agreement. In mid-August 1997, a framework agreement was concluded in Moscow between Russia and Iceland on fisheries cooperation. The agreement provides a framework for negotiating reciprocal fishing rights in each others' waters as well as purchase or lease of Russian Barents Sea fishing quotas by Icelandic fishermen. The agreement encourages cooperation and establishment of international companies and projects. [personal communication] .
Russian Trawler Detention. On Aug. 15, 1997, the Russian trawler Chernyayevo was detained by the U.S. Coast Guard in the northern Bering Sea after allegedly being observed fishing within the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone. The Coast Guard has towed the trawler to Kodiak, AK, and is investigating the incident. Russia has requested that the vessel be released. [Interfax, Dow Jones News, Assoc Press, Reuters, ITAR-TASS via Foreign Broadcast Information Service] .
Salmon Along the Pacific Coast .
{USDA Salmon Purchases. On Sept. 5, 1997, USDA officials announced that, due to lower AK salmon harvests, they were reducing purchases of pink and chum salmon for the national school lunch program to $7 million, down from the $12 million announced in June 1997. As much as $2 million of the purchase would be spent on processed salmon in pouches and in nugget form, with the remainder used to purchase canned pink salmon. In addition, USDA will purchase 220,000 pounds of canned pink salmon for shipment to the Ukraine, where proceeds from the sale of this product will fund humanitarian work.} [Assoc Press, Reuters] .
Umpqua Cutthroat Trout. On Sept. 3, 1997, the Douglas County (OR) Board of Commissioners voted to sue the federal government for alleged failure to use the best scientific information available in its listing of Umpqua River searun cutthroat trout as endangered. The Commissioners believe the Umpqua fish are a viable population and seek to have them removed from the List of Endangered and Threatened Species. [Assoc Press] .
Tribal Sale of Steelhead. On Aug. 27, 1997, a federal judge approved an agreement between the Oregon Fish Commission and 4 Indian tribes, overturning a 21-year OR state regulation prohibiting non-Indians from buying steelhead trout from tribal fishermen. [Assoc Press] .
NPPC Meetings. On Aug. 26, 1997, the NPPC met in Spokane, WA, to receive and consider cost estimates for removal of the four lower Snake River dams or John Dan Dam on the Columbia River. Estimates prepared by NPPC staff indicated that Bonneville Power Administration would lose generating capacity and revenue but could survive. [Assoc Press] .
Salmon River Rafting Restrictions. In late August 1997, the U.S. Forest Service closed a portion of the Salmon River to public float trips until further notice after determining that travel restrictions through sensitive salmon spawning areas were being ignored. Commercial float operations have been abiding by regulations and will be allowed continued use of the River. In early September 1997, the U.S. Forest Service closed an additional 6-mile stretch of the upper main Salmon River in the vicinity of Stanley, ID, to public and commercial use after spawning salmon were discovered using this area. [Assoc Press] .
Pacific Salmon Treaty. 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 Aug. 28, 1997, more than 70 Canadian salmon trollers from the west coast of Vancouver Island left their fishing area to fish without hooks illegally in Johnstone Strait to protest their lack of access to sockeye salmon that are migrating through the Inside Passage this year to avoid warmer ocean waters. Although the Canadian Dept. of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) issued citations to protesters, fishermen were later instructed to tear up their tickets as a conciliatory gesture from the DFO. In early September 1997, Canadian officials indicated the "Canada First" fishing strategy had been successful so far, with Canadian commercial fishing harvesting more than 7 million Fraser River sockeye salmon while U.S. commercial fishermen caught less than 1 million. Rather than the 21% of the Fraser River sockeye desired by the United States, U.S. fishermen have taken about 13%. {In early September 1997, the BC government release a legal opinion, commissioned by the province, that concluded the United States was violating international law with respect to salmon management. In early September 1997, the deadline for posting security bond by BC fishing vessel owners named in Alaska's lawsuit was extended from Sept. 15 to Sept. 30. On Sept. 8, 1997, the BC government, various Canadian worker unions, and BC individuals representing various aspects of the province's fishing industry filed suit in U.S. District Court against the United States and the States of WA and AK, attempting to force the United States to resume negotiations by seeking about $234 million in damages from the alleged illegal management of and overfishing by U.S. fisheries. Canada claims the disproportionate U.S. salmon harvest violates the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and U.S. legislation implementing the Pacific Salmon Treaty. On Sept. 10, 1997, the deadline for posting C$10,000 security bonds by BC fishing vessel owners named in Alaska's lawsuit was extended for a second time from Sept. 30 to mid-October 1997. On Sept. 10, 1997, the BC government filed court papers accusing the Canadian federal government of trespassing on provincial territory at the Nanoose Bay weapons testing range since the federal lease for the facility has expired.} {{On Sept. 11, 1997, the AK Marine Highway System announced its fall and winter schedule, with no ferry stops scheduled for Prince Rupert, BC. The summer 1998 schedule is due at the printers on Oct. 7, 1997.}} {The House International Relations Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere has tentatively scheduled a hearing to include Pacific Salmon Treaty issues for Sept. 17, 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 for Sept. 18, 1997. [Assoc Press, Reuters, Dow Jones News, Wall Street Journal, United Press International] .
Aquaculture and Aquaria .
{NPS Pharmaceuticals and AquaBio Agreement. On Sept. 10, 1997, NPS Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Salt Lake City, UT) and AquaBio Products Sciences LLC (Bar Harbor, ME) announced an agreement to cross-license their technologies. AquaBio will use NPS drug technology to improve aquaculture products while NPS will use AquaBio compounds that may have human therapeutic value.} [Dow Jones News, Assoc Press] .
{{Norwegian Salmon. On Sept. 9, 1997, the European Commission announced plans to propose that the European Council establish a "residual" anti-dumping duty of 0.32 ECU per kilogram on farmed Norwegian salmon to protect the EU farmed salmon industry from risk that any Norwegian exporters do not observe a May 1997 agreement on salmon exports. This residual duty would not be applied unless Norwegian exporters violated the May 1997 agreement.}} [Agence Europe via Reuters] .
{Salmon Loss to Algal Blooms. In early September 1997, International Aqua Foods Ltd. announced that it had lost some of its salmon inventory at 4 Vancouver Island, BC, salmon farm sites near Tofino and Coal Harbor due to severe algal blooms. Six additional BC farm sites were unaffected.} [Dow Jones News, International Aqua Foods press release] .
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] .
Thai Shrimp Devastation. On Aug. 22, 1997, heavy tropical storms began drenching 10 southern provinces of Thailand causing extensive flooding, and wiping out thousands of shrimp ponds. [Reuters] .
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