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Summary for May 5 - May 9, 2008:

Monday, May 5, 2008 

Canadians see disaster in upcoming fishing seasons

It will still be another few weeks before the North (B.C.) Coast Integrated Fishery Management Plan is finalized, but already there's a great deal of concern that it could be a devastating season for all sectors.

Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Nathan Cullen said that he has grave concerns about how the season may play out in his constituency and throughout the waters of British Columbia.

 "As we get closer to the fishing season, every signal we're getting from DFO is for an absolutely devastating fishing season," said Cullen.

"Unless their early estimates prove wrong, there could be potentially complete closures on the South Coast and Fraser River fishery. They'll be trying to push more commercial boats our way, putting more pressure on our stocks. I think we're in for a real battle this summer, and I wish it weren't so.

"It's going to be tense on the water, and we'll see what kind of decisions we get from DFO and from the users."

Local United Fishermen and Allied Worker's Union representative Joy Thorkelson said early suggestions say pink salmon returns could be low-to-moderate, and it may be a very poor year for sockeye on the Nass and Skeena Rivers.

"DFO's prediction is poor, but they have poor predictions," said Thorkelson. "In nobody's wildest dreams do we expect a large pink run. Because the prediction is so low on sockeye, and that's really the money fish, fishermen are of course extremely disturbed at the low expectations.

"However, fishermen are always hopeful, and fish are unpredictable."

Thorkelson explained the reason for low expectations this year was due to ocean survival conditions, and that it has nothing to do with overfishing on the part of fishermen. The four-year-old fish that make up roughly 50 per cent of the run are expected to return to the Skeena in "decent" numbers, but the returning five-year-olds will be basically non-existent due to an unknown factor out in the ocean.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada declined to speculate on what this year's fishery may look like, but insisted that consultations are ongoing and the information will be public knowledge shortly.

"It is dependent on the stock returns, and for example the Integrated Fishery Management Plan for the north coast is essentially an 80-page document that sets out the excruciating details of how that gets decided in season," said Susan Farlinger, Pacific regional director with DFO.

"That [document] will be out this week for consultation and all the fishing advisory groups have been involved, sport, commercial and First Nations, in terms of developing the plan to date and they will be involved in finalizing the plan as well."

Many meetings among stakeholders will be taking place over the next few weeks to hammer out the best plan, and it's speculated that the Skeena River Independent Science Review Panel's upcoming report and recommendations will play a significant role in local decisions. – Prince Rupert Daily News

Protected sea lions found shot dead on Columbia River

PORTLAND -- The deaths of six sea lions are under investigation after the bodies of the federally protected animals were found in open traps on the Columbia River and appeared to have been shot.

The carcasses of four California sea lions and two Steller sea lions were found Sunday about noon.

The discovery came one day after three elephant seals were found shot to death at a breeding ground in central California.

All three species are federally protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act. But Steller sea lions are also protected under the Endangered Species Act, authorities said.

Oregon and Washington state are trapping some California sea lions to keep them from eating salmon at Bonneville Dam, just east of Portland.

Seven of the California sea lions were trapped starting April 24 after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals approved their capture. One died during a medical inspection before transfer to a Sea World park.

The two states have been granted federal authorization to capture or kill up to 85 sea lions a year for five years at the base of the dam, where they feed on endangered salmon headed upriver to spawn.

Fishermen and American Indian tribes have pushed to protect the salmon and remove the sea lions, by lethal force if necessary, forcing a delicate balancing act by the federal government.

The Humane Society of the United States has gone to court to challenge the authorization, with another hearing set for May 8. Until a judge rules, no animals may be killed. – Daily Astorian

Troller disaster: All set but the politics

COOS BAY — It’s all over but the politics.

No, not elections — though that may play a part — but rather funding for the West Coast salmon disaster that was officially declared a failure last week.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez made the announcement that the closure of sport and commercial Chinook fishing off the coasts of Oregon and California and the reduced seasons in Washington do qualify as a fishery failure under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and a disaster under the Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act.

An authorization of that sort means it’s easier for lawmakers to appropriate funds that could be routed to West Coast businesses and fishermen affected by the closure. It also means fishermen are out of work for a year at least, thanks to low fall Chinook returns to West Coast rivers.

But while fishermen are trying other fisheries — hagfish or octopus, anyone? — to stay afloat, political leaders, state agency folks and federal regulators are working behind the scenes to find a way to keep salmon-depended businesses from sinking altogether.

Congressional delegations from all three West Coast states are working hard to get a disaster relief bill attached to a current supplemental Iraq war bill, but it will be a challenge.

The exact amount of the funding is in limbo. National Marine Fisheries Service officials estimate a $60 million direct impact; the governors of all three states figured a $290-million effect based on direct impacts and  multipliers that would account for money on which related businesses depend.

“The federal government has almost entirely closed the salmon season, now Congress must provide financial assistance to our fishermen,” Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., said in a press release Friday. “I will not allow our fishing communities to perish, the way the salmon have.”

The Bush administration has objected to anything being added to the war bill, but it also is an attractive bill for lawmakers just for that reason. Bush wants it passed. Lawmakers want to add items to it for projects in their home states, in part because it shows constituents they are working for their states.

And there’s little more important than that during an election year.

Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., promised salmon funding would get through, one way or another. It was the Oregon and California congressional delegations that pushed the limits on getting $60 million in disaster relief to commercial fishermen in 2007, after the Klamath River disaster.

“Obviously, the six senators from the states are of one mind on this,” Smith said, noting that they also have support from their colleagues in the House.

Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Patty Murray, D-Wash., both are on the Senate Appropriations Committee — a key committee to getting the war bill passed through the Senate.

Smith said he also has an ace in the hole.

“We’re senior senators now,” Smith said. “We’ll make sure we get this heard by the full senate.”

 Fishermen already are calling the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission with questions about upcoming disaster aid.

The commission was the agency responsible for distributing the $60 million of disaster funds to the fishing industry in Oregon and California. It may be the same vehicle for distribution this time.

“I’m not sure if we’ll be involved,” said Randy Fisher, the commission’s executive director, noting that it’s up to Congress to first appropriate the money.

The template for distribution already is in place. Oregon fishermen received their checks before those in California — primarily due to technical difficulties in tracking California catch records and databases — but still, it was in a timely manner, Fisher said.

The disaster relief included enough to cover administrative costs.

“That was what was important,” Fisher added, “that we get it out to the coastal communities.”

Trollers remember, too, the extra effort state and federal officials put in to make the distribution equitable. A review board still is going through some cases and fishermen are getting anxious for funding help.

“Oh yeah, oh yeah,” Fisher said with a chuckle. “They’re wondering when it’s going to happen.”

As in 2006, both state and federal fishery managers are worried about spillover into other fisheries. If commercial trollers can’t catch Chinook, many will look to hook other species to pay the bills.

Two of the obvious ones are Dungeness crab and tuna. May trollers already fish for crab during the winter, but this year has been less than stellar compared to recent high-yield years.

“It’s been slow. Lots of empty pots,” said Winchester Bay fisherman Alvin Gorgita.

Albacore tuna always is an option, but only if the migrating fish come in close to shore. Larger boats can venture hundreds of miles offshore to the main tuna grounds — if rising fuel prices don’t make the trips cost-prohibitive — but smaller vessels must be able make day trips out and back. And sometimes the albacore don’t show up in sufficient numbers to make fishing worthwhile.

The other option is developmental fisheries. The state manages species for which there is no highly developed or highly organized fishery. Little-known species or species that require very different fishing techniques may provide marketing opportunities for fishermen willing to take a chance.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife just notified the industry that all of the hagfish (slime eel) permits are taken and there is a waiting list.

“We’ve received steady interest in hagfish permits,” ODFW Biologist Keith Matteson said in a press release. “The waiting list will be developed according to the date and time of the postmark on the application.”

He couldn’t say for sure why there was an increased interest, but noted that the salmon season closure and poor crabbing season likely played a part.

Matteson said there also are anchovy, octopus, box crab, coonstripe shrimp and scarlet, king and tanner crab developmental fisheries permits still available.

 While fishermen wait for disaster funding, it’s the consumer who will see a difference at the local seafood counter.

Wild Chinook will be at a premium.

In April, shortly after the Pacific Fishery Management Council announced it was recommending a complete Chinook closure in California and most of Oregon, customers rushed to seafood markets to buy king salmon while there was still some.

Consumers undoubtedly will feel a pinch, said Cary Hofmann at Wild Salmon Seafood Market at Fishermen’s Terminal in Seattle .

Wild kings at less than $20 a pound at Wild Salmon Seafood was a bargain in a world where the price is expected to rise to $40 a pound or more.

Hofmann said he’s been seeing an increase in the “buy it now” mentality. “It’s been incredible,” he says, placing fish on ice for display. “People really like wild fish.”

Most seafood buyers say they will seek Chinook from Alaska, but demand for wild fish will be keen. The other option, one that local seafood outlets shun, is farmed fish.

Trollers have worried about farmed salmon taking over the market slot where wild kings have reigned. In 2006, customers remained loyal for the most part. This year, though, may be different. The uncertainty of a season in 2009 also may create more of an opening for farmed fish, selling for much less than wild fish, just to get in the door.

“You’re still going to have Alaskan fish,” Hallmark Fisheries Production Manager Scott Adams said from Charleston, but in 2010, Hallmark’s supply chain may dry up.

“By then, our customers may be hooked up with those guys from Alaska,” he said. – Coos Bay World

Tuesday, May 6, 2008 

Canadians see disaster in upcoming fishing seasons

It will still be another few weeks before the North (B.C.) Coast Integrated Fishery Management Plan is finalized, but already there's a great deal of concern that it could be a devastating season for all sectors.

Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Nathan Cullen said that he has grave concerns about how the season may play out in his constituency and throughout the waters of British Columbia.

 "As we get closer to the fishing season, every signal we're getting from DFO is for an absolutely devastating fishing season," said Cullen.

"Unless their early estimates prove wrong, there could be potentially complete closures on the South Coast and Fraser River fishery. They'll be trying to push more commercial boats our way, putting more pressure on our stocks. I think we're in for a real battle this summer, and I wish it weren't so.

"It's going to be tense on the water, and we'll see what kind of decisions we get from DFO and from the users."

Local United Fishermen and Allied Worker's Union representative Joy Thorkelson said early suggestions say pink salmon returns could be low-to-moderate, and it may be a very poor year for sockeye on the Nass and Skeena Rivers.

"DFO's prediction is poor, but they have poor predictions," said Thorkelson. "In nobody's wildest dreams do we expect a large pink run. Because the prediction is so low on sockeye, and that's really the money fish, fishermen are of course extremely disturbed at the low expectations.

"However, fishermen are always hopeful, and fish are unpredictable."

Thorkelson explained the reason for low expectations this year was due to ocean survival conditions, and that it has nothing to do with overfishing on the part of fishermen. The four-year-old fish that make up roughly 50 per cent of the run are expected to return to the Skeena in "decent" numbers, but the returning five-year-olds will be basically non-existent due to an unknown factor out in the ocean.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada declined to speculate on what this year's fishery may look like, but insisted that consultations are ongoing and the information will be public knowledge shortly.

"It is dependent on the stock returns, and for example the Integrated Fishery Management Plan for the north coast is essentially an 80-page document that sets out the excruciating details of how that gets decided in season," said Susan Farlinger, Pacific regional director with DFO.

"That [document] will be out this week for consultation and all the fishing advisory groups have been involved, sport, commercial and First Nations, in terms of developing the plan to date and they will be involved in finalizing the plan as well."

Many meetings among stakeholders will be taking place over the next few weeks to hammer out the best plan, and it's speculated that the Skeena River Independent Science Review Panel's upcoming report and recommendations will play a significant role in local decisions. – Prince Rupert Daily News

Protected sea lions found shot dead on Columbia River

PORTLAND -- The deaths of six sea lions are under investigation after the bodies of the federally protected animals were found in open traps on the Columbia River and appeared to have been shot.

The carcasses of four California sea lions and two Steller sea lions were found Sunday about noon.

The discovery came one day after three elephant seals were found shot to death at a breeding ground in central California.

All three species are federally protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act. But Steller sea lions are also protected under the Endangered Species Act, authorities said.

Oregon and Washington state are trapping some California sea lions to keep them from eating salmon at Bonneville Dam, just east of Portland.

Seven of the California sea lions were trapped starting April 24 after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals approved their capture. One died during a medical inspection before transfer to a Sea World park.

The two states have been granted federal authorization to capture or kill up to 85 sea lions a year for five years at the base of the dam, where they feed on endangered salmon headed upriver to spawn.

Fishermen and American Indian tribes have pushed to protect the salmon and remove the sea lions, by lethal force if necessary, forcing a delicate balancing act by the federal government.

The Humane Society of the United States has gone to court to challenge the authorization, with another hearing set for May 8. Until a judge rules, no animals may be killed. – Daily Astorian

Troller disaster: All set but the politics

COOS BAY — It’s all over but the politics.

No, not elections — though that may play a part — but rather funding for the West Coast salmon disaster that was officially declared a failure last week.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez made the announcement that the closure of sport and commercial Chinook fishing off the coasts of Oregon and California and the reduced seasons in Washington do qualify as a fishery failure under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and a disaster under the Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act.

An authorization of that sort means it’s easier for lawmakers to appropriate funds that could be routed to West Coast businesses and fishermen affected by the closure. It also means fishermen are out of work for a year at least, thanks to low fall Chinook returns to West Coast rivers.

But while fishermen are trying other fisheries — hagfish or octopus, anyone? — to stay afloat, political leaders, state agency folks and federal regulators are working behind the scenes to find a way to keep salmon-depended businesses from sinking altogether.

Congressional delegations from all three West Coast states are working hard to get a disaster relief bill attached to a current supplemental Iraq war bill, but it will be a challenge.

The exact amount of the funding is in limbo. National Marine Fisheries Service officials estimate a $60 million direct impact; the governors of all three states figured a $290-million effect based on direct impacts and  multipliers that would account for money on which related businesses depend.

“The federal government has almost entirely closed the salmon season, now Congress must provide financial assistance to our fishermen,” Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., said in a press release Friday. “I will not allow our fishing communities to perish, the way the salmon have.”

The Bush administration has objected to anything being added to the war bill, but it also is an attractive bill for lawmakers just for that reason. Bush wants it passed. Lawmakers want to add items to it for projects in their home states, in part because it shows constituents they are working for their states.

And there’s little more important than that during an election year.

Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., promised salmon funding would get through, one way or another. It was the Oregon and California congressional delegations that pushed the limits on getting $60 million in disaster relief to commercial fishermen in 2007, after the Klamath River disaster.

“Obviously, the six senators from the states are of one mind on this,” Smith said, noting that they also have support from their colleagues in the House.

Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Patty Murray, D-Wash., both are on the Senate Appropriations Committee — a key committee to getting the war bill passed through the Senate.

Smith said he also has an ace in the hole.

“We’re senior senators now,” Smith said. “We’ll make sure we get this heard by the full senate.”

 Fishermen already are calling the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission with questions about upcoming disaster aid.

The commission was the agency responsible for distributing the $60 million of disaster funds to the fishing industry in Oregon and California. It may be the same vehicle for distribution this time.

“I’m not sure if we’ll be involved,” said Randy Fisher, the commission’s executive director, noting that it’s up to Congress to first appropriate the money.

The template for distribution already is in place. Oregon fishermen received their checks before those in California — primarily due to technical difficulties in tracking California catch records and databases — but still, it was in a timely manner, Fisher said.

The disaster relief included enough to cover administrative costs.

“That was what was important,” Fisher added, “that we get it out to the coastal communities.”

Trollers remember, too, the extra effort state and federal officials put in to make the distribution equitable. A review board still is going through some cases and fishermen are getting anxious for funding help.

“Oh yeah, oh yeah,” Fisher said with a chuckle. “They’re wondering when it’s going to happen.”

As in 2006, both state and federal fishery managers are worried about spillover into other fisheries. If commercial trollers can’t catch Chinook, many will look to hook other species to pay the bills.

Two of the obvious ones are Dungeness crab and tuna. May trollers already fish for crab during the winter, but this year has been less than stellar compared to recent high-yield years.

“It’s been slow. Lots of empty pots,” said Winchester Bay fisherman Alvin Gorgita.

Albacore tuna always is an option, but only if the migrating fish come in close to shore. Larger boats can venture hundreds of miles offshore to the main tuna grounds — if rising fuel prices don’t make the trips cost-prohibitive — but smaller vessels must be able make day trips out and back. And sometimes the albacore don’t show up in sufficient numbers to make fishing worthwhile.

The other option is developmental fisheries. The state manages species for which there is no highly developed or highly organized fishery. Little-known species or species that require very different fishing techniques may provide marketing opportunities for fishermen willing to take a chance.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife just notified the industry that all of the hagfish (slime eel) permits are taken and there is a waiting list.

“We’ve received steady interest in hagfish permits,” ODFW Biologist Keith Matteson said in a press release. “The waiting list will be developed according to the date and time of the postmark on the application.”

He couldn’t say for sure why there was an increased interest, but noted that the salmon season closure and poor crabbing season likely played a part.

Matteson said there also are anchovy, octopus, box crab, coonstripe shrimp and scarlet, king and tanner crab developmental fisheries permits still available.

 While fishermen wait for disaster funding, it’s the consumer who will see a difference at the local seafood counter.

Wild Chinook will be at a premium.

In April, shortly after the Pacific Fishery Management Council announced it was recommending a complete Chinook closure in California and most of Oregon, customers rushed to seafood markets to buy king salmon while there was still some.

Consumers undoubtedly will feel a pinch, said Cary Hofmann at Wild Salmon Seafood Market at Fishermen’s Terminal in Seattle .

Wild kings at less than $20 a pound at Wild Salmon Seafood was a bargain in a world where the price is expected to rise to $40 a pound or more.

Hofmann said he’s been seeing an increase in the “buy it now” mentality. “It’s been incredible,” he says, placing fish on ice for display. “People really like wild fish.”

Most seafood buyers say they will seek Chinook from Alaska, but demand for wild fish will be keen. The other option, one that local seafood outlets shun, is farmed fish.

Trollers have worried about farmed salmon taking over the market slot where wild kings have reigned. In 2006, customers remained loyal for the most part. This year, though, may be different. The uncertainty of a season in 2009 also may create more of an opening for farmed fish, selling for much less than wild fish, just to get in the door.

“You’re still going to have Alaskan fish,” Hallmark Fisheries Production Manager Scott Adams said from Charleston, but in 2010, Hallmark’s supply chain may dry up.

“By then, our customers may be hooked up with those guys from Alaska,” he said. – Coos Bay World

Wednesday, May 7, 2008 

Opinion: Fish swim in water, not promises

The Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations (PCFFA) praised the U.S. Secretary of Commerce for issuing a fishery disaster declaration on May 1, but said that the emergency relief is only the first of many steps needed to avoid the total destruction of the West Coast salmon fishery.

 The fishery disaster was caused by collapse of Central Valley Chinook salmon populations, the result of massive water exports, declining water quality and abysmal state and federal fishery management practices.

“This will buy the fleet a little valuable time, but the federal and state agencies must take advantage of that time to address the real problems in the California Bay Delta that are killing the fish – massive overdraft of water, unregulated agricultural pollution problems and poor hatchery management practices – that have been the final burden on a naturally variable ocean system," said Zeke Grader, PCFFA executive director.

The National Marine Fisheries Service has repeatedly cited "poor ocean conditions" as a major factor in these declines. While ocean conditions clearly played a role, others, however, including PCFFA, have pointed to record and near-record water diversions from the ecologically fragile Central Valley San Francisco Bay Delta in recent years as adding additional and unnecessary stress on young salmon as they migrate out to the ocean.

“Way too many of these fish died long before they ever got to the ocean,” noted Zeke Grader. “Way too much water is now being taken out of the river, and we are just not getting enough actual water back in the system for salmon to survive -- we only get promises of water. But fish swim in water, not promises.”  -- Press release

Administration lays out its Columbia plans

The Bush administration has issued its final court-ordered plans for making Columbia Basin hydroelectric dams and irrigation projects safe for endangered salmon.

The proposed changes in operations would cost hundreds of millions of dollars but no dam removals.

 Once an expected challenge is filed, it will be up to U.S. District Judge James Redden to decide whether the plans — known as biological opinions — meet the demands of the Endangered Species Act to put salmon on the road to recovery.

 Last year he warned the original proposal was seriously flawed, and that he would turn the job over to an independent panel of experts if the government fails again. Federal officials said the effort was their most robust and comprehensive yet.

 Salmon advocates blasted them as a step backward. They say the plans depend too much on restoring habitat in tributaries to boost fish numbers and not enough on reducing the high numbers of young salmon killed by 14 federal hydroelectric dams on the Columbia and Snake Rivers on their way to the sea.

 The plans do not include removing four dams on the lower Snake River in Eastern Washington, which is favored by salmon advocates.

 "This plan shows it is time for Congress and the next administration to restore the balance in this river, assure the law and science are followed, and protect the thousands of family wage jobs," said Todd True, lead attorney for salmon advocates.

 Each of the dams kills only a small percentage of the millions of young salmon headed downstream during their spring and summer migrations to the ocean, but that adds up to a major death toll.

 Fish get lost and become easy prey for birds and bigger fish in the slow waters of reservoirs behind the dams. Fish going through turbines and spillways can be killed by turbulence or abrupt pressure changes. Adult fish returning to spawn become easy prey for sea lions that congregate around fish ladders. – Associated Press

Trying to keep pen salmon in the pen

A SUPER-STRONG material used in bullet-proof armor is the latest weapon brought in to try to stop salmon escaping from fish farms in Scotland.

Two trials will test the new material against the weather and predators such as seals, which can damage conventional cages.

The industry has spent millions of pounds trying to prevent escapes, and wild fish bodies have raised concerns that farmed salmon can carry disease and affect the genes of wild species if they reproduce.

The new tests involve Dyneema, a high-strength, lightweight polyethylene fibre already used in ropes, cables and nets in the fishing, shipping and offshore industries, as well as in bullet- resistant armour and clothing for police and the military.

It offers twice the strength of standard aquaculture nets, which are mainly made from nylon. It is also double the price, with mesh on a single fish farm cage, 15 metres deep and 90 metres in circumference, costing £6,000 to £8,000.

The first tests are being carried out by Loch Duart Ltd at Badcall Bay in Scourie, Sutherland, as part of a research and development project co-ordinated and part-funded by the Scottish Salmon Producers' Organisation (SSPO). Marine Harvest Scotland will start a second trial shortly on Harris. – The Scotsman, UK

Another look at B.C. salmon pens

A new comprehensive study has been released by the BC Pacific Salmon Foundation that claims to expose environmental conditions and other events in the Broughton Archipelago from the past almost-60 years.

 The 600-page study, entitled Broughton Archipelago: A State of Knowledge, contains extensive data on salmon escapements, commercial salmon harvests, farmed salmon production, sea lice counts on wild and farmed salmon, climate and rainfall, river discharges, ocean currents, waste management and marine escapes, forest harvesting and watershed assessments.

 The author of the study, Dr. Isobel A. Pearsall, pulled all of the data from a wide variety of government sources as well as from non-profit organizations, forest companies, fish farming companies and private individuals, going as far back as 1952.

 As one of the most complex ecosystems in the province, the Broughton is a turbulent region of fjords, passages and mountains swept by winds, tides and currents, fed by numerous rivers and streams, said the report.

 The ecologically sensitive area is host to a majority of the province's salmon farms and has been the epicentre of a multi-year debate around the environmental impact of those salmon farms, particularly their impact on wild pink salmon stocks. – Press release

Thursday, May 8, 2008 

Turns out irate fishermen didn’t shoot Columbia sea lions

PORTLAND — The six sea lions found dead in traps near a Columbia River dam were apparently not shot to death after all, federal officials said Wednesday, leaving unanswered how the animals died or whether humans killed them.

 Federal fisheries spokesman Brian Gorman in Seattle said preliminary results of a necropsy found no evidence of recent gunshot wounds but found shallow puncture wounds in one of the protected animals consistent with sea lion bite marks.

 The fisheries department is still trying to determine how the animals died and how the doors to the traps in which they were found had been closed, he said.

 Fishermen and American Indian tribes have long complained that the animals gobble up salmon at the base of the Bonneville Dam. Trapped sea lions identified as troublemakers were in the process of being sent to aquariums such as Sea World when the carcasses of the six animals were found over the weekend.

 Before the necropsy, the media speculate commercial fishermen might have shot the sea lions after they were caught and caged.

 Because the first examination turned up no slugs, investigators had believed the animals were shot at close range with high-powered rifles, the bullets passing through the flesh.

X-rays on Tuesday found metal fragments in soft tissue near the neck of two animals, Gorman said. A metal slug was found in the blubber of one animal. But neither the fragments nor the slug appear to have caused fatal wounds and may have been from old injuries, he said. – Associated Press

 

Salmon farm foes go to BC court

VANCOUVER — Some of the most vociferous critics of fish farming on the West Coast filed a petition in court Tuesday, asking it to declare that the way fish farms are regulated in B.C. is contrary to the Constitution.

 Marine biologist Alexandra Morton said she and an association of gillnetters, the Vessels Owners Association and the Wilderness Tourism Association filed the petition in B.C. Supreme Court.

 But Agriculture Minister Pat Bell, the minister responsible for aquaculture, strongly suggested changes are in the works for an aquaculture industry that has been the focus of heated debate for more than two decades.

 At a news conference outside the courthouse where the petition was filed, Morton summed up the petition in a single sentence.

 "We think the oceans should be regulated by the federal government and not the provincial government."

 Her lawyer, Greg McDade, said Morton, the Pacific Coast Wild Salmon Society, the Southern Area (E) Gillnetters Association and the Fishing Vessel Owners' Association of Canada are going to court because "the federal power over oceans and fisheries goes right back to 1867 and the BNA Act."

 "We think there is a very strong chance of success in this (constitutional challenge) and we are turning to the courts because (federal Fisheries) has basically abdicated their responsibility over the fish."

 While Bell refused to elaborate on specific changes, he suggested an announcement was in the offing.

 "We have been working aggressively over the past year or so to develop a new regulatory regime," said Bell.

 "We plan to take forward some significant changes and we want public confidence."

He indicated he is "certainly prepared" to make the changes necessary to restore public confidence in fish farms.

 "We're looking at developing an aquaculture strategy that respects that and it's something I intend to implement as soon as I can."

 The petition comes about a month after the latest scientific report on sea lice off the B.C. coast found the infestation near Campbell River fish farms has spread beyond pink and chum salmon to juvenile sockeye and herring. – Canadian Press

 

Icebreaker taking breather in Dutch Harbor

UNALASKA – The Coast Guard icebreaker Healy was in Dutch Harbor after the second leg of its winter cruise in the Bering Sea.

Unlike other Coast Guard ships, the Healy mostly works as a research platform for scientists. This time around, the vessel hosted researchers working as part of two programs, the Bering Ecosystem Study and the Bering Sea Integrated Ecosystem Research Program, which are funded by the National Science Foundation and the North Pacific Research Board, respectively. The Healy spent 39 days traversing the Bering Sea south of St. Lawrence Island and north of the Pribilofs while researchers looked at how the climate change-driven retreat of sea ice could be affecting the greater Bering Sea ecosystem.

"This is especially important now, because sea ice around the Arctic has been declining--both in its extent and how long it's around," said Carin Ashjian, an associate scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the chief scientist on the trip. Ashjian said that while sea ice extended much further south this winter than in recent years, "We're starting to see signs that the ecosystem from the southern Bering Sea is moving into the northern parts."

Ashjian said the scientists spent a lot of time examining the algae that forms on the underside of the sea ice, work that yielded some interesting insights.

"We think now that ice algae does appear to be quite important to the animal life that lives in the ocean--that some of them may swim up to feed on the algae," she said. "This has been seen in Antarctica, and we believe it happens in the Arctic regions as well." – KIAL

Friday, May 9, 2008 

B.C. salmon farm debate now before the courts

Debate over the future of fish farming on British Columbia's coast moved from skirmishing in scientific journals to a full-blown court battle Tuesday.

 This time it's a challenge to the constitutional legality of the B.C. government regulating the same salmon farms whose rapid expansion it enthusiastically promoted.

 For some time controversy has fulminated over threats to wild salmon posed by the industry, particularly in the Broughton archipelago at the north end of Vancouver Island where research links sea lice infestations in domestic pens to declines in wild stocks that must migrate through adjacent, parasite-laden waters.

 Biologist Alexandra Morton, who first drew attention to the Broughton situation, the Wilderness Tourism Association, the Southern Gillnetters Association, the Fishing Vessel Owners' Association of B.C. and the Pacific Coast Wild Salmon Society are petitioning to have the province's right to regulate ruled constitutionally invalid.

 Morton says 22 farms operating in the Broughton are operating on leases that have expired or are about to expire and thus require renewal by the province. But the court petition argues that Canada's Constitution, which lays out the areas of federal and provincial sovereignty, prevents delegation of this regulatory authority to the province.

 Representing the petitioners is a highly skilled environmental lawyer. Gregory McDade, former head of the Sierra Legal Defence Fund, now works with Ratcliff and Co., a North Vancouver firm.

 But this isn't simply a legal skirmish over arcane technicalities, it's a signal that the conflict is both escalating and polarizing competing economic interests in a way that seems certain to draw into the fray other heavyweights affected by aquaculture, say first nations and sports angling lobbies.

 For example, government statistics indicate the salmon farming industry, largely owned by European multinational corporations that also operate in Scandinavia, the British Isles and South America, is a $370-million-a-year business in B.C. when production and processing are included.

 The industry is able to mobilize sophisticated spin-doctoring to advance its case and to seek to neutralize the campaigns of opponents and critics, a strategy that brings to mind the so-called war in the woods that convulsed B.C. during the 1990s. Its supporters often portray salmon farms as essential both to the survival of wild salmon and coastal communities.

 Salmon farming is said to lessen pressure on wild stocks severely affected by federal and provincial mismanagement that resulted in overfishing, loss of genetic diversity and habitat destruction, all amplified by climate change. Fish farms and processing facilities are said to be crucial to the economies of coastal communities that once relied on commercial fishing and a forest industry that has shed jobs for decades.

 The provincial legislature's committee on sustainable aquaculture reported at end of 2007, however, that fish farming provided only about 1,500 full-time equivalent jobs, about the same number provided by commercial fishing. Sports angling for wild salmon provided 2,500 jobs.

 By comparison, the Wilderness Tourism Association testified to the committee that it generates about $900 million in direct revenue and about $2 billion in indirect revenue, and provides 21,000 full-time jobs; about half this revenue and the jobs it supports rely on wild fish.

 Vancouver Island and the central coast where most fish farms are concentrated generate about half the wilderness revenue in B.C. as tourists come to kayak, boat and view bears, eagles, orcas and other sea mammals sustained by wild salmon.

 Surveys indicate that about a million tourists a year participate in hiking and paddling at least once while on a trip in B.C. As a whole, B.C. tourism generates about $9.5 billion a year in revenues and the Council of Tourism Associations estimates it creates about 117,000 jobs, one in every eight in the province, with another 54,000 jobs to come by 2015.

 The Wilderness Tourism Association has for some time expressed "deep concern" that the impact of fish farms on its business activities "puts the future of this significant sector at risk."

 So the emergence of a coalition of tourism and traditional fishing interests, independent science and environmentalists in this court case marks a significant evolution in the conflict, one that raises thorny questions for politicians about how and why they set their economic priorities. – Vancouver Sun

B.C. salmon farms doing a great business

“Salmon Capital of the World” the signs around Campbell River proudly proclaim, meaning, of course, salmon sports fishing. But it’s also home to the Salmon Farmers Association, which represents a growing industry often disputing the seaways with sports fishermen, environmentalists and, occasionally, First Nations.

 While other industries shrink, including the commercial fishery, along with the sports fishery, the fish farmers cannot keep up with demand.

 “We are keeping up with market demand,” said Ian Roberts, Communications Manager for Marine Harvest, whose main products are Atlantic salmon, in addition to some Pacific salmon (whole salmon and filets). “And the demand is only getting stronger.”

 In 2006 they harvested for 33,860 tons of salmon, all of which is processed in Campbell River. In all this single company employs 525 people in BC. They project growing by two new sites per year.  –  Business Examiner Vancouver Island

Over-fishing? Try 20 years of tofu

Here is one reaction to the unprecedented ban on troll salmon fisheries off most of the West Coast. The note comes from someone named “veggiegrrrl,” who contributed to a blog in the San Francisco (where else?) Chronicle:

 fantastic news!!! every species that is hunted or fished for food needs time to regenerate it's populations. the entire ocean is over-fished. i say 20 years of tofu for everyone and then the oceans will be plentiful again. fyi- tofu + seaweed can be grilled to taste like fish. humans are soooooooo into immediate gratification. if we keep eating everything right now, there will be nothing left for our grandchildren.

Bottom trawlers under a microscope

MONTREAL — The Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization will assess the impact of bottom trawling on several fishing grounds outside Canada's 200-mile limit and close them if it finds the fishing method harms vulnerable sea life, the fisheries management group announced.

 Environmentalists at a NAFO meeting in Montreal praised the decision after years of arguing that bottom trawling or dragging destroys corals, sea mounts, sponges and other marine life and habitat.

 The fishing method involves dragging heavy nets with metal gates along the ocean floor. The nets scoop up everything in their path.

 "The decisions made this week mark a significant step forward in a global shift to more sustainable fishing practices," Susanna Fuller, spokeswoman for the Halifax-based Ecology Action Centre, said in a statement.

 NAFO, which manages commercial fishing outside Canada's 200-mile limit, has pledged to complete the mapping of the fishing grounds and evaluation of marine life by the end of this year.

 It will recommend that areas should be closed or fisheries restricted where damage to deep-sea species can't be prevented. – Canadian Press