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New info and changes since 9/19/97 are bracketed {...}.
New info and changes since 9/25/97 are double bracketed {{...}}Marine Fisheries .
{Mexican Maritime Boundary Hearing. On Sept. 25, 1997, the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations held a hearing on the Maritime Boundary Treaty with Mexico.} [personal communication] .
{AK CDQ Recommendations. In late September 1997, the State of Alaska announced recommendations to the U.S. Dept. of Commerce on revising the Community Development Quota (CDQ) program for Bering Sea villages. The Governor's Office announced recommendations to expand the program to include CDQs for Pacific cod, Atka mackerel, yellowfin sole, king crab, and other species. Communities would receive 7.5% of the total allocation of flatfish species. For crab, the CDQ allocation would begin at 3.5% of the total harvest in 1998, rising to 7.5% within two years.} [Assoc Press] .
{WTO Shrimp Dispute. On Sept. 24, 1997, the World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute panel on U.S. shrimp import sanctions announced that it would not issue its ruling until late March 1998 (rather than October 1997) to allow additional time to seek scientific guidance and information needed to decide the case.} [Dow Jones News] .
Petroleum Exploration and Corals. On Sept. 23-24, 1997, Greenpeace argued at a British High Court hearing that the potential damage to rare cold water coral (Lophelia pertusa) communities west of the Shetland Islands and in the Rockall Trough is sufficient to suspend oil exploration licenses for these areas and is contrary to the European Habitats Directive. If successful in this hearing, a full judicial review of the case will convene in November 1997. [Reuters] .
{Summer Flounder Lawsuit. On Sept. 22, 1997, Federal Judge Robert Doumar held a 4-hour hearing and declined to rule, without a trial, on a complaint by NC commercial fishermen that NMFS's summer flounder quotas are unfair and did not account for the economic impact on fishing communities; Judge Doumar scheduled a trial to begin on Sept. 29, 1997.} [Assoc Press] .
{Coral Reefs and Carbon Dioxide. On Sept. 22, 1997, Japan's New Energy and Industrial Development Organization released the results of a 7-year study of coral reefs, concluding that, contrary to conventional wisdom, coral reefs release more carbon dioxide than they absorb.} [Dow Jones News] .
Bering Sea Pollock Allocation. On Sept. 22, 1997, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council was scheduled to meet in Seattle, WA, to consider whether to discuss possible changes in the allocation sharing of Bering Sea pollock between onshore (35%) and offshore (65%) processors. [Assoc Press] .
{Federal Weakfish Regulations. On Sept. 19, 1997, NMFS announced the publication of regulations to limit the commercial harvest of weakfish in federal offshore waters from Maine to Florida. These regulations complement existing regulations in state waters developed under the leadership of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. Regulations impose a minimum size limit, net mesh and other gear restrictions, and special closed areas, and restrict commercial landings to only certain states from MA through NC.} [NMFS press release] .
Fisheries Trade Conference. On Sept. 17-19, delegates from 60 nations met at Toja, Spain, for a ministerial conference on promoting seafood trade through homogenous regulation. [Agence Europe via Reuters] .
{{NAFO Meeting. In mid-September 1997, the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) met in St. Johns, Newfoundland, deciding by consensus that the moratoria on harvesting main fish stocks would be continued, that the pilot program for observers and satellite tracking of vessels would be continued for another year, and that it would adopt a scheme to address the problem of infringement on NAFO fish stocks by non-contracting party vessels.}} [Agence Europe via Reuters] .
North Pacific Fishery Observers Unionized. In mid-September 1997, final ballots were tallied by the National Labor Relations Board from 5 companies providing observers aboard commercial groundfish vessels in the North Pacific. The majority (196 to 26) voted for unionization, and observers will be represented by the Alaska Fishermen's Union, if the balloting is not contested. [Assoc Press] .
Scalloper Seized. On Sept. 13, 1997, officers of the US. Coast Guard cutter Adak allegedly sighted a New Bedford, MA, scalloper fishing in a closed area 53 miles southeast of Nantucket. The vessel was towed to New Bedford, where its catch of scallops and monkfish was seized by NMFS and sold, with the proceeds held in escrow until the case is decided. [Assoc Press] .
Passamaquoddy Trial. On Sept. 12, 1997, trial began for 9 Passamaquoddy who face charges for fishing in coastal waters without ME state licenses. The Passamaquoddy believe they retain ancestral rights to fish coastal waters without state licenses while the state claims the Tribe relinquished its saltwater fishing rights in a 1980 land claims settlement. [Assoc Press] .
Shellfish Warnings. On Sept. 12, 1997, British Columbia officials lifted their ban on the sale of raw or undercooked oysters, clams and mussels, which had been in effect since July 31. A total of 113 cases of illness were reported during July and August. On Sept. 15, 1997, WA Dept. of Health reopened selected oyster beds for recreational and commercial harvest; these beds had been closed since Aug. 28, due to the high incidence of human illness from Vibrio parahaemolyticus. [Assoc Press, WA Dept. of Health press release] .
Illegal Mexican Longlining. On Sept. 11, 1997, the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Key Biscayne sighted 2 Mexican vessels with longline gear more than a mile inside the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), 30 miles offshore of Texas. The Coast Guard entered the Mexican EEZ in hot pursuit, but broke off when the vessels entered Mexican territorial waters. Later, a third Mexican vessel was encountered trying to retrieve longline gear inside the U.S. EEZ, but fled to the Mexican EEZ. [personal communication] .
NMFS Oversight Hearings. The House Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife, and Oceans held an oversight hearing to review NMFS management of the nation's fisheries on Sept. 11, 1997. [Congr. Record] .
ICCAT Advisory Committee Regional Public Meetings. Between Sept. 10 and Oct. 3, 1997, the Advisory Committee to the U.S. Section to the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) will hold a series of 6 regional public meetings along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts to discuss relevant international and domestic issues and receive public comment. [Federal Register] .
Japanese Vessel Pursuit. On Sept. 9, 1997, the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Storis began pursuit of a Japanese fishing vessel, Yoshimaru No. 038, reported to have been observed fishing about one-half mile inside the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone, about 340 miles northwest of St. Paul Island in the Bering Sea. Upon approach, the Japanese vessel ceased fishing and began moving westward. This was the 15th reported incursion into U.S. waters this year, compared to only one in 1996. On Sept. 10, 1997, the Storis lost contact with and ceased pursuit of the Yoshimaru No. 038. The U.S. Dept. of State will discuss this incident with the Japanese government. [Assoc Press] .
Undersize Swordfish. On Sept. 9, 1997, NMFS published an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking, requesting comments on options to prohibit the sale of undersize Atlantic swordfish. This action would implement an International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) recommendation. [Fed. Register] .
Cyanide Fishing Report Briefing. On Sept. 9, 1997, the World Resources Institute held a briefing in Washington, DC, on its new report Sullied Seas: Strategies for Combating Cyanide Fishing in Southeast Asia and Beyond, documenting efforts to launch a Cyanide Fishing Reform Program by the Philippines government. [WRI announcement] .
Redfish Case. In early September 1997, a federal jury began deliberations in a case against a Jackson, MS, seafood company wherein nearly 70,000 pounds of redfish were alleged to have been illegally sold in MS and LA between 1988 and 1993. The defendant faces a maximum of 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each count of a 15-count felony indictment under the Lacey Act. On Sept. 12, 1997, a mistrial was declared. [Assoc Press] .
American Seafoods Opens Anchorage Office. In early September 1997, Norwegian-owned American Seafoods opened an office in Anchorage, AK, announcing that it is seeking to increase Alaskan employment on its Bering Sea factory trawler fleet of 16 vessels to at least 500 individuals or one-third of its workforce. [Assoc Press] .
IFQ Meetings. The National Research Council's Committee to Review Individual Fishing Quotas held public meetings in Anchorage, AK, to take public comment on its review of IFQs on Sept. 4-5, 1997. A similar meeting is planned for Seattle, WA, in mid-November 1997. [personal communication, Assoc Press] .
Mexican Oil Pollution Lawsuit. On Sept. 4, 1997, officials of the Mexican Center for Environmental Law, Blue Tide, and Greenpeace of Mexico held a news conference to announce that they had filed a lawsuit against the government oil monopoly, Petroleos Mexicanos, for pollution damages to a mangrove swamp and estuary at Laguna del Pom, off Campeche Sound, arising from petroleum exploration and development. The groups also seek to halt construction of a nitrogen compressing plant in Cuidad del Carmen that would inject gas underground to increase petroleum production. [Assoc Press, Dow Jones News] .
NJ Horseshoe Crab Case. On Sept. 4, 1997, the NJ Supreme Court announced that it would accept the case alleging that Governor Christie Whitman exceeded her authority by extending an emergency order limiting horseshoe crab harvesting in Delaware Bay. In the process, the emergency order limiting crabbing was retained, but no date has yet been set for the Court hearing on the case. {{On Sept. 25, 1997, the NJ Marine Fisheries Council voted 5-3 against the NJ Dept. of Environmental Protection's proposal to prohibit trawlers from fishing for horseshoe crab and to limit hand harvesting. A compromise plan that would have only have banned trawling and dredging but not limited hand harvesting was also rejected. Trawlers will be able to resume fishing on Sept. 28, 1997, after the temporary harvest ban expires.}} [Assoc Press] .
Mercury in King Mackerel. On Sept. 4, 1997, LA state health dept. officials renewed a warning to limit consumption of large king mackerel caught in the Gulf of Mexico due to elevated mercury levels. [Assoc Press] .
Queen Conch Trial. On Sept. 2, 1997, five Hialeah, FL, individuals were sentenced to 3 years probation and ordered to perform 100 hours of community service for the May 1997 slaughter of 458 queen conchs, destroying one of only three breeding aggregations in Biscayne National Park, FL. [Assoc Press]
Russian Fisheries Enforcement. On Aug. 29, 1997, Russian Federation President Boris Yeltsin signed the edict "On Measures to Ensure Protection of Maritime Biological Resources and State Controls in This Sphere." This edict addresses poaching and seeks to modify and improve fisheries enforcement. For example, while Russian export figures show only about 7,000 metric tons of crabs were exported to Japan, Japanese import figures indicate more than 62,000 tons of crab were imported from Russia. Under the edict, the Federal Border Service was ordered to form a Sea Guard by reorganizing the border guard naval forces to resemble the U.S. Coast Guard. [Moscow Krasnaya Zvezda and Moscow Nezavisimaya Gazeta via Foreign Broadcast Information Service] .
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