pf home
Summary for October 29 - November 2, 2007:

Monday, October 29. 2007

To the Editor: Knife in Our Back

KODIAK, Alaska - According to the Kodiak Mirror on Oct. 1, the Kodiak Island Borough Assembly voted to support the inclusion of crewmen’s rights into North Pacific Fishery Management Council’s motion to overhaul Bering Sea crab rationalization.

 Apparently the dog ate the newspaper that day at the home of Duncan Fields. Fields had dropped an off-the-record comment last summer to the effect that he’d support crewmen’s rights, probably to keep the crewmen off his back so he could slip the knife into us without interference.

 It was a setup from the start. I remember when Duncan was being considered for the position he now holds, I mentioned that it was a bad idea to put a man in that seat who was so deeply invested in setting up community development quotas. It’s obvious that the plan all along has been to cut the fishermen off at the knees and cover the crime with a small consolation prize on the processor quota side.

 At the December NPFMC meeting, Duncan will get a chance to do the right thing by his community and it seems to me that it would be a good career move for him. The motion can be reopened and the crew inserted. Otherwise it’s doubtful we can look for any favorable treatment from the NPFMC for years to come, if ever. – John Finley writing to the Kodiak Daily Mirror

Kodiak Part of Fisheries Documentary

KODIAK, Alaska – A British film crew with Fulcrum TV traveled to Kodiak and other parts of Alaska in August to film aspects of the fishing industry that demonstrate sustainable practices.

 The movie will be called “The End of the Line,” based on a book of the same name by Charles Clover. It will highlight well-managed fisheries, such as those in Alaska. It will also document not-so-well managed fisheries.

 “The documentary has an enforcement angle to it,” said Ken Hansen, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration assistant special agent in charge.

 “It looks at failures around the world of fishing and regulatory programs and over-fishing in general and the demise of the ocean,” Hansen said. “The (crew) have gone to a couple of countries. The United States, New Zealand and Iceland are the three where they are chronicling successes.”

 The film crew initially visited the East Coast and asked where to find fishing successes in the states. They were told to go to Alaska.

 “It is a feather in Alaska/Kodiak’s cap as far as recognizing the whole process of fish management from the council perspective, industry, government and enforcement,” Hansen said. “That’s what they wanted to see. That’s what we hoped we showed them.”

 A small committee of industry representatives including Alaska Draggers Association director Al Burch, Alaska Groundfish Data Bank director Julie Bonney, Kodiak Chamber of Commerce economic development coordinator Trevor Brown and Hansen aided the film crew’s stay in Kodiak. Fishermen representing other gear types were involved.

 “We took them to lunch and gave them the information they were looking for. They were here to film the Alaska fisheries because of our sustainable designation,” Brown said.

 The film crew focused on quota fisheries, particularly halibut landings. They also looked at other longline and non-trawl fisheries.

 Hansen said he believes — despite disagreements on some of the fine points — industry, community and government are working together and are able to sit down and make effort toward the common goal of keeping our fisheries vibrant.

 “I’m very comfortable that we conveyed that approach and sense,” he said. “There is much more collaboration here than in many other areas in the world.”

 The film crew interviewed Hansen and some of his staff at length and spoke with local fishermen.

 They filmed a vessel boarding, a law enforcement tool NOAA uses to check if there is a mandatory permit holder onboard. NOAA agents also check amounts of fish onboard and whether there are species of fish that aren’t supposed to be retained.

 Although the landing was choreographed, it was an actual halibut off-load with a skipper who knew he and his boat and crew were being filmed.

 Hansen said he hopes the movie will lead to continued support of regulatory and management programs in Alaska.

 “We’re held up as an example of it working,” he said.

 The crew flew with the Coast Guard to film scenery in and around Kodiak ports.

 Alaska is unique because of its huge area relative to other countries where fisheries enforcement is simpler, Hansen said.

 “We’re blessed with a huge expanse of productive waters, so we have other tools such as VMS (vessel monitoring system) to help enforce and manage fisheries,” he said.

 Producers hope the movie, due out in early 2008, will be as influential as, “An Inconvenient Truth,” Hansen said.  – Kodiak Daily Mirror

Fishermen Urge Cooperation in Dam Talks

EUREKA, Calif. - Local fishermen, scientists and agency representatives bent the ears of top-level state resource officials Thursday, urging more cooperation on a variety of issues from the Klamath River to ocean fisheries.

 The Ocean Protection Council met at the Wharfinger Building, following a Wednesday tour of the lower Klamath and a salmon barbecue put on by the Yurok Tribe.

 California Department of Fish and Game senior advisor Greg Hurner told the council that a group of tribes, fishermen, agencies and other stakeholders hopes to wrap up settlement talks surrounding four dams on the Klamath by year's end. A settlement, if it's successful, would form agreements on water supplies for farms, flows and water quality for salmon, and water for Upper Klamath Lake and wildlife refuges in the upper watershed as well, Hurner said.

 The talks are confidential, giving the groups room to express concerns and work out sensitive issues, he said.

 ”It's to share ideas without repercussions,” Hurner said. “It's allowed people to get out of their comfort zone.

 The talks began as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission began considering dam owner Pacificorp's request to relicense the dams for another 30 to 50 years.

 State resources secretary and council chairman Mike Chrisman began the meeting by saying that the effort to establish “marine protected areas” along the 1,100-mile coast has been “historic.”

 But two commercial fishermen urged the council to slow down and determine what effects the reserves are having before setting restrictions along the North Coast. Faced with significant reductions in quotas for fish like ling cod and other rockfish through other regulations, Crescent City fisherman Kenyon Hensel said he worried about the ramifications of marine protected areas here.

 ”We're concerned that it could be the end of our livelihoods,” Hensel said.

 The state is currently working on protected areas -- zones with varying restrictions on different uses -- along the north central coast out to 3 miles. It's unknown whether it will shift its attention to the North Coast next, or move to another region to the south.

 Trinidad commercial fisherman Mike Zamboni said that overfishing is a thing of the past, and that the economic reverberations of further restrictions would be severe.

 ”The state waters should be protected for fishermen,” he said, “not from fishermen.”

 David Hull with the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District spent some time briefing the council on the attributes of the bay, orienting them on its importance for fish, wildlife and commerce on the West Coast. Researchers from the California Sea Grant talked about their efforts and offered their assistance.

 Humboldt State University President Rollin Richmond also offered up the university's resources to the council.  – Eureka Times-Standard

Atlantic Farmed Salmon Confirmed in B.C. Waters

VICTORIA, British Columbia – It has been confirmed that shortly after a net breach at a salmon farm in Clayoquot Sound last month a small number of Atlantic salmon were found in nearby rivers.

 Stream survey crews reported finding five specimens of the same fish farmed by Mainstream Canada in the Bedwell and Ursus Rivers following the Sept. 4 accident at the company's nearby Saranac Island farm site.

 The crew made a report to the Fisheries and Oceans Canada database, said acting director for aquaculture Andrew Thomson. He confirmed four fish were found in the Bedwell River and one in the Ursus River.

 If the fish are deemed to be "catachable," often the aquaculture company will go in and remove them from the rivers, said Thomson.

 Without catching and testing the fish they can't be directly tied to Mainstream's Saranac Island site, but Thomson said finding Atlantic salmon at all has become uncommon.

 Mainstream managing director Fernando Villaroel said he only had reports of two or three fish. "We have no information about Atlantic salmon being found in some rivers in the area in big numbers, apart from two or three that were found near to the site when the incident was reported," he said.

 Villaroel said one Atlantic salmon was found by company surveyors 1.5 kilometers from the mouth of the Bedwell River, and one "about 2 kilometers from the confluence of the Ursus."

 The accident occurred when a shackle on the net of a harvesting boat ripped the containment net structure at one of ten pens at the Saranac Island site in the early morning hours of Sept. 4.

 Mainstream workers only learned of the breach when they saw fish swimming around in the outer predator net at 7 a.m. that morning. Haughton estimated there were roughly 20,000 Atlantic salmon in the 30-by-30 meter pen. So far, only 18,000 of those have been accounted for.

 Maryjka Mychajlowycz with the Friends of Clayoquot Sound said she has heard reports of five more Atlantic salmon being found near the Ahousaht reserve, but overall, she said it's fortunate the escape numbers appear to be low.

 "We're relieved to see that so far, indeed, not very many have escaped," she said. "But [this incident] points again to the inherent and unacceptable risks involved [in fish farming]. Nets are by definition susceptible to tearing. In this case they got lucky, but they have not always been." - Times Colonist, Canada 

Governor Invites 14 to Discuss Marine Reserves

COOS BAY, Ore. - It’s settled.

The final list of individuals invited to attend a meeting on marine reserves and wave energy has been more than two weeks in the making.

Many of the invitees have been involved in the ocean issues discussions already and will attend the conference with Gov. Ted Kulongoski on Nov. 1.

The event, announced recently by Sen. Joanne Verger, D-Coos Bay, will be held with just the governor and those invited at the table, the governor’s interim communications director Patty Wentz said Wednesday. Staff will be seated around the room, but it will be just the governor and members of the fishing industry talking, she said.

Wentz said the list of 14 invitees was put together with input from members of the Coastal Caucus and include people from all areas of the coast. Critics of the governor’s plan for marine reserves and the movement forward with wave energy also are on the list, she said.

The 14 people invited to Salem are:

Scott McMullen, Astoria, chairman of the Ocean Policy Advisory Council;

Frank Warrens, Portland, chairman of the OPAC Marine Reserves Working Group;

Blair Minor, a commercial trawl fisherman from Astoria;

Steve Fick, a seafood processor from Astoria;

Bruce Buckmaster, Astoria, with Salmon For All;

Linda Buell, a charter boat fisherman from Garibaldi;

Al Pazar, Newport, chairman of the Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission;

Jeff Feldner, Newport, a commercial crabber and salmon troller and Oregon State University Sea Grant Extension Agent;

Jeff Reeves, Charleston, a commercial crabber and tuna and salmon troller;

Paul Merz, Charleston, a commercial salmon fisherman;

Scott Adams, production manager at Hallmark Fisheries in Charleston;

Paul Heikkila, Coquille, a commercial salmon troller and retired extension agent;

Leesa Cobb, Port Orford, representing commercial fishermen; and

Brad Pettinger, Brookings, administrator of the Oregon Trawl Commission.

Though the list is final, what may not be settled is any agreement on marine reserves and wave energy.

A few of the attendees have been outspoken about both issues at OPAC meetings held in recent months.

Verger said at a packed Aug. 22 OPAC meeting in Charleston that Coastal Caucus constituents have made it clear they’re unhappy with the marine reserves process and that OPAC and the governor’s office must work to gain back the trust of the public.

Fishermen have been more than critical about the threat of out-of-state companies filing with the federal government to place energy-generating structures — buoys or hard structures — in the ocean in prime habitat for Dungeness crab. Negotiations are continuing and recently, crabbers who fish near the Umpqua River worked with Ocean Power Technologies to at least look at placing the company’s wave energy buoys further out in the ocean.

However, marine reserves — areas in the ocean set aside with no activity such as commercial or recreational fishing — have been more controversial. Kulongoski has pushed, through OPAC, a fast-tracked plan for establishing marine reserves in Oregon’s territorial sea by the middle or end of 2009.

Several ports have come out against the idea. The Oregon Coastal Zone Management Association, representing several coastal municipalities, ports and districts, also weighed in on the issue when it met Oct. 12 in Reedsport.

“Be it resolved, that the (OCZMA) urges Governor Kulongoski to cancel or postpone the proposed public nomination process for marine reserves, scheduled for early 2008, to allow time to engage in a genuine dialogue with the impacted parties and local governments on the Oregon Coast about alternatives that incorporate local government and resident concerns and expertise, as required under ORS 196.420(6) and other established state ocean management policies,” the resolution said.

The resolution was unanimously approved.

Kulongoski forged ahead with his plans for protecting Oregon’s ocean in British Columbia on Tuesday.

Kulongoski and  British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell signed a memorandum of understanding in which the two governments agreed to “sharing a common ocean and a strong common vision for protecting the resource and the environment of Pacific Coastal jurisdictions,” and “sharing a common vision of Pacific Coast jurisdictions as the world leader in sustainable technologies and sustainable living.” – Coos Bay World

 <<<•>>>

Tuesday, October 30. 2007

Exxon Case Drags On

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court agreed Monday to decide whether Exxon Mobil Corp. should pay $2.5 billion in punitive damages to victims of the huge Exxon Valdez oil spill that fouled more than 1,200 miles of Alaska coastline in 1989.

 The high court stepped into the long-running battle over the damages that Exxon Mobil owes from the supertanker accident in Prince William Sound that was the worst oil spill in U.S. history. The Exxon Valdez ran aground on a reef, cracking its hull and spilling 11 million gallons of oil.  Hundreds of thousands of seabirds and marine animals died as a result.

 It is a case filled with superlatives. The award, even after it was cut in half by a federal appeals court in December, would be the largest punitive damages judgment ever. A jury in Alaska awarded $5 billion in damages in 1994, and the company has been appealing the verdict ever since.

Irving, Texas-based Exxon Mobil is the world's largest publicly traded oil company and last year posted the largest annual profit by a U.S. company - $39.5 billion. That result topped the previous record, also by Exxon Mobil, of $36.13 billion set in 2005.

 Arguing against Supreme Court review, lawyers for the plaintiffs, some of whom are deceased, said the damages award is "barely more than three weeks of Exxon's net profits."

 The plaintiffs still living include about 33,000 commercial fishermen, cannery workers, landowners, Native Alaskans, local governments and businesses. They urged the court to turn down the company's appeal, saying, "After more than 18 years, it is time for this protracted litigation to end."

 But the justices said they would consider whether the company should have to pay damages at all under the Clean Water Act and centuries-old laws governing shipping. The court has frequently sided with business interests in punitive damages and other cases of corporate liability.

 Exxon said that even if the court finds some money is due, it should rule that the $2.5 billion award violates the Constitution because it is too large. The justices said they would not consider that argument when they hear the case early next year.

 Exxon said it already has paid $3.4 billion in cleanup costs and other penalties resulting from the oil spill.

 The company marshaled more than a dozen organizations, ranging from groups of shippers to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, to support its bid for Supreme Court review.

 The company argued it should not be held responsible for the mistakes of the ship's captain, Joseph Hazelwood, who violated clear company rules when the Exxon Valdez ran aground with 53 million gallons of crude oil in its hold on March 23, 1989. The plaintiffs said Exxon knew Hazelwood had sought treatment for drinking but had begun drinking again.

 The disaster prompted Congress in 1990 to pass a law banning single-hulled tankers like the Valdez from domestic waters by 2015.  – Associated Press

No Chinook for Anglers

GRANTS PASS, Ore. -  It's been a dull fall for anglers on the Rogue River. Spawning beds that are normally full of splashing Chinook salmon in October look sparse. And anglers in drift boats aren't hooking the traditional numbers.

 "We definitely have a poor run of fall Chinook," said Tom Satterthwaite, biologist for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife in Grants Pass.

 That would be an understatement to Bob Rafalovich, the former owner of Rogue Wilderness in Merlin who still guides on the lower Rogue. He said it's been the worst fall fishing in his more than 30 years on the river.

 It's probably cyclical. A huge upswing occurred in the late 1980s, including an all-time high of 89,000-plus spring Chinook in 1986. That was followed by a downturn in the early 1990s, then a rebound between 1995 and 2000.

 In 2002 and 2003, fish counts over Gold Ray Dam on the Rogue River included record-breaking numbers for two runs of steelhead and two runs of salmon.

 Rafalovich, who started his career as a fisheries biologist, believes warm water off the Oregon coast since July is contributing to the poor returns.

 Eric Schindler, ODFW marine biologist in Newport, said ocean conditions do play an important role in returning adult salmon and steelhead numbers. He said sport catches of salmon off the coast during summer were poor, and that warm water came in closer to shore than normal.

 "With the warm water we had off the Oregon coast, combined with (nutrient rich waters) off of California, the fish simply may have not left California," Schindler said. "What we saw in the ocean this year was probably related to a lowered abundance of Chinook."

 ODFW also tracks fish numbers by netting fish at Huntley Park on the lower Rogue. Through mid-October, Huntley Park counts showed the half-pounder count was just 22 percent of the 10-year average. Half-pounders are steelhead that spend only a few months in the ocean, instead of more than a year, and come up the Rogue usually as 12- to 18-inches long.

 Numbers for fall Chinook (53.4 percent), Coho (65.4) and adult summer steelhead (61.8) were not as bad compared to the 10-year average. – Seattle Times

Steelhead Recovery Plan Outlined

VENTURA, Calif. - Ten years after the steelhead trout was placed on the endagered species list, an outline has been released on how to recover the species.

Scientists hope the outline will not only lead to increased steelhead populations, but also create watersheds in which a menagerie of species will thrive in healthier ecosystems.

 "Even though we couch the recovery in terms of a single species, when we are protecting water quality or riparian habitats, we are providing protection for dozens, if not hundreds of species," said Mark Capelli, area recovery coordinator with the National Marine Fisheries Service, which drew up the plan. An outline for recovery is mandated after a species is placed on the endangered species list.

 Parts of the plan detailing changes that need to happen are almost guaranteed to be controversial in the often contentious world of water use in Southern California.

 "We have to take care of the fish, you can't just ignore that," said Dana Wisehart, general manager of the United Water Conservation District. "But we have to find a way to balance it fairly so it doesn't destroy our agriculture and our industry here."

 The changes the plan highlights in Ventura County include:

- Tearing down the Matilija Dam on the Ventura River.

- Finishing components of a fish passage around the Robles Diversion on the Ventura River.

- Approving fish passage around the Freeman Diversion on the Santa Clara River.

- Evaluating and creating fish passage around the Santa Felicia and Pyramid dams on Piru Creek.

 The outline does not have regulatory teeth and can not force any agency to make the changes it proposes. However, other parts of the endangered species act do have the power to issue fines or prison time for killing an endangered species.

 More specific details about what needs to happen and what number of steelhead makes a viable population are expected sometime next year.

 The outline is designed to paint a broad-brush picture of the recovery, Capelli said. It doesn't go into great detail of what needs to happen on every watershed. Instead, it discusses the larger requirements of unobstructed waterways, clean water and plenty of habitat. But it is the first official document that looks at the long road to recovery, which is likely to take decades. It is science-based and does not take social or political issues into consideration.

 "There is no more equivocations about how do to it," said Russ Baggerly, chairman of the Casitas Municipal Water District board, who has been an outspoken advocate for the steelhead. "We have a document that gives us this really clear road map of how to bring back the fish."

 Wisehart believes the guidelines on the number of steelhead expected to one day live in the Santa Clara River will be higher than what were historically there. She doesn't want undue restraints put on her agency if the goal is to restore more fish than are needed. - Ventura County Star

Editorial: Communities Depend on Mining Jobs

JUNEAU, Alaska - I have watched with great interest Coeur Alaska's efforts to reopen the Kensington Mine. I have been a commercial fisherman for 38 years, lifetime member of United Fishermen of Alaska, former director of several fishing organizations, a Native leader, and the Alaska House representative for District 5. It has been an honor to be involved in these capacities.

 The opening of the Kensington mine has been a controversial issue in my district for sometime. Now, after Coeur has invested more than $200 million, the mine is ready to begin operations. However, the date that those operations will begin is uncertain due to current litigation.

 The Kensington Mine will be a mine. Environmental groups know, and openly admit, this. They say they are not against the mine, but every time I pick up the paper, I see yet another blockade that has been thrown into the path of the opening of the mine.

 As a commercial fisherman, I understand the environmental concerns that arise from opening a mine in Berners Bay. Fishing is my livelihood. It is who I am. I would never want any other commercial activity to jeopardize this. However, the information that has been presented to not only myself, but other local fisherman, has led me to believe that using Lower Slate Lake for a tailings facility is the best option, with the least potential impact on the local fishing community.

 Southeast Alaska is suffering economically. Based on the annual Juneau Economic Overview prepared by the Juneau Economic Development Council, these are the hard facts:

 There has been no growth in the Southeast Alaska population since 2000. From 2000 to 2006, 1,600 people left our capital. Since 1995, Juneau's per capita income has grown 16 percent below the statewide level. Compared to 1999, today there are 452 fewer grade school students and 156 fewer middle school students in Juneau.

 Coeur has been honorable in training and placing Alaska Native shareholders and Southeast Alaskans at the Kensington site. They came to town boasting a local hire and contracting policy and kept their word. A number of my constituents now enjoy year-round high-paying jobs. It is crucial that we keep these jobs.

 The mine needs to be allowed to proceed and to continue to offer jobs in Southeast Alaska. It needs to operate at the highest environmental standards, subject to sophisticated monitoring requirements. This is what we all want, and we want it to happen now - not three years from tomorrow. Our schools and communities depend on these jobs. -- Rep. Bill Thomas, R-Haines, writing in the Juneau Empire

Death Linked to Abalone Poaching

SANTA ROSA, Calif. - The California Department of Fish and Game is investigating a report that a group of Bay Area abalone divers may have been poaching when they were overcome by rough water and large swells off the Mendocino County coast last week.

 Two men who managed to climb to relative safety on a rocky outcropping were rescued from the wild surf between Fort Bragg and Westport, but a third man, an Oakland resident, drowned in the Oct. 17 incident, authorities said.

Rescue authorities, including a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter crew who nearly overtaxed their aircraft to make the nighttime rescue in rain and gusting winds, were stunned by the divers' decision to venture out in conditions that were perilous and included 18-foot swells, officials said.

Fish and Game Lt. Dennis McKiver, an abalone enthusiast himself, said he and another warden had driven by the cove earlier in the day and thought that conditions were too difficult for diving.

McKiver now wonders if the divers weren't out in such weather knowing wardens would be unlikely to expect them.

"No sane person going out on a legal abalone dive would have been out there at that time of the evening in that kind of weather," he said.

As many as eight people were involved in the incident, though it remained unclear how many had been suited up for diving versus watching from the bluff, he said.

Some of them apparently had been employed by Yong Lu, 46, of Oakland, who perished in the waves, McKiver said. His body was recovered the next day.

Fish and Game personnel were dispatched after they were alerted by the Coast Guard that a person at the scene had spotted members of the dive party standing on the cliff and emptying containers of abalone into the water while law enforcement was en route, McKiver said.

Officials investigating the incident were not able to determine how many abalone were dumped and whether it was more than the diving party was authorized to have, McKiver said.

He noted that no abalone were left when Fish and Game personnel arrived.

New regulations intended to help authorities track abalone and monitor their collection more closely go before the Fish and Game Commission on Nov. 2, with adoption expected Dec. 7, authorities said.

The regulations include tags to be issued with abalone report cards requiring that divers and shore pickers affix their allotted tags immediately to their catch. – The Press Democrat, Santa Rosa, Calif.

 <<<•>>>

Wednesday, October 31, 2007 

Exxon Betting on 1814 Case

On Nov. 4, 1814, the Haitian schooner Amiable Nancy, bound for Antigua with a cargo of corn, was boarded by sailors from the American privateer Scourge and plundered of its papers, money, apparel and poultry.

 The American ship was working for its country, attacking British ships during the War of 1812, but in this case its crew went too far. For their attack on "unoffending neutrals," the ship's crew and owners were sued in federal court and ordered to pay not only for the loss of goods but "vindictive damages."

 Four years later, in a decision that became a monument in federal maritime law, the Amiable Nancy decision was reversed by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that the owners of the Scourge couldn't be held liable for the error of its captain.

 On Monday, the Amiable Nancy sailed again through the Supreme Court, this time with the supertanker Exxon Valdez in its wake.

 The Supreme Court agreed Monday to hear an appeal of the Exxon Valdez punitive damages decision, based on Exxon Mobil Corp.'s invocation of maritime law, a vast and watery common-law domain that surrounds the federal statutes governing oil spills and civil damages.

 Drawing on the Amiable Nancy precedent, Exxon's lawyers argued that maritime law has a long tradition of limiting the liability of ship owners from the reckless mistakes of their captains.

 The Supreme Court singled out the maritime law arguments for consideration in the coming year. Four justices must agree, by secret vote, to hear a case on appeal.

 For fishermen who have been waiting since 1994 for their class-action lawsuit against Exxon to reach a conclusion, one development seemed to play in their favor. Justice Samuel Alito sat out the vote, presumably because he owns Exxon stock.  That eliminates one of the stronger pro-business justices on the conservative Roberts court. Five of the remaining eight justices will have to agree with Exxon to overturn the current punitive damages figure -- $2.5 billion plus interest.

 Three points of law
The court declined to hear the part of Exxon's appeal based on the much-hashed-over question of constitutional limits to punitive damages. It also declined to hear the appeal of the fishermen, who hoped to see the original $5 billion in damages restored.

 Monday's decision came as a disappointment to the fishermen's attorneys, who said the maritime arguments have been only on the fringe of the legal discussion before now.

 Backed by friend-of-the-court briefs from shipping and business interests, Exxon argued three points related to maritime law:

• A ship owner should not be liable "vicariously" for the reckless behavior of a captain, under the Amiable Nancy precedent.
• Exxon paid hefty fines under the Clean Water Act, which the company argues does not provide for additional punitive damages under maritime law.

• Maritime law has a long tradition of limiting punitive damages out of concern of bankrupting shippers because of mistakes made by distant captains.

 Surprise turn in the case
The admiralty issues in the Exxon case were first brought into focus last May, in a minority opinion by Judge Alex Kozinski with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Kozinski discussed the dangers of shipping and quoted the Amiable Nancy decision, which found the owners of the Scourge "innocent of the demerit of this transaction, having neither directed it, nor countenanced it, nor participated in it in the slightest degree."

 The precedent absolving shipowners dates back to a time when captains set to sea for years at a time, forsaking all contact with their homeport, said the fisherman's lead attorney, David Oesting of Anchorage. It's time that such laws were retired, he said, arguing that Exxon should be held liable for "putting a drunk skipper on the bridge knowingly."

 "That's ludicrous these days," he said. "That's an anachronistic view of life or the law. These ships are monitored by satellite." – Anchorage Daily News

Australia Pledges Fuel Relief for Fishing Industry

The Federal Coalition is promising fuel tax relief for the fishing industry if it is re-elected.

 Fisheries Minister Eric Abetz says from July next year commercial fishermen and fish farmers will be able to claim credits for the 38 cents-a-liter excise on diesel and petrol.

 Senator Abetz says relief will be phazed in over four years for onshore fishing industries.

 "There will be a full rebate for the fishing sector, including catching fish, processing fish onboard, fish farming and operating a dedicated mother vessel," he said.

 "Then for the onshore, they will enjoy a full tax rebate as of 2012, getting the benefit of a full tax rebate as of July 1, 2008." – Australian Broadcasting Corp

California Trawler Tries New Techniques

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. - A year after The Nature Conservancy purchased Morro Bay’s entire trawl fishing fleet, the group is allowing a fisherman to use one of its permits to test new trawl gear designs that are less damaging to the ocean floor and catch less unwanted marine life.

 The group entered into a one-year conservation fishing agreement with veteran Morro Bay fisherman Ed Ewing. Ewing will use the trawl fishing boat South Bay.

 The agreement is part of ongoing efforts by commercial fishermen, Morro Bay and The Nature Conservancy to develop sustainable fisheries and preserve the county’s struggling fishing industry.

 “It’s sort of a brave new world,” said Michael Bell, a program director with The Nature Conservancy’s California marine program. “Hopefully, Morro Bay can create a sustainable fishery and fishing can continue to be a component of its economy.”

 The Central Coast’s commercial fishing industry is reeling under increasing regulations and restrictions intended to protect several fish species thought to be depleted. Developing low-impact trawl gear is a way to ensure that fishers will continue to have access to fish, Ewing said.

 “We are trying to get this business built back up with more fish coming across the counter with smaller, sustainable gear,” he said. “We have to have access to the resource before we can build up the market.”

 A grant from the state Coastal Conservancy is helping to pay for the trawl gear research. The city of Morro Bay is also chipping in to pay for fuel and other expenses, said Rick Algert, Morro Bay’s harbor director.

 Trawl fishing has been particularly hard-hit by restrictions and closures. Trawling involves dragging nets across the ocean floor. It is the main way halibut, sole, sanddabs and other flatfishes are caught.

 However, the nets can damage the ocean floor, particularly rocky areas. The nets also haul up and kill marine life not targeted by fishermen; this is known as bycatch.

 In order to minimize this damage, The Nature Conservancy in 2006 brokered a deal in which 6,000 square miles of ocean floor off the Central Coast was placed off limits to trawlers. The group also purchased the last seven federal trawl permits held by local fishermen, as well as four aging trawl vessels, including South Bay.

 Two trawlers continue to operate out of Port San Luis using state-issued permits. Along the Pacific Coast, about 160 federal trawl permits are still in use.

 The trawl gear Ewing is developing is smaller and lighter to minimize bycatch. It will only be used over areas with soft ocean bottom that have already been trawl fished, Bell said.

 The Nature Conservancy is negotiating with federal regulators to use its other trawl permits to experiment with more selective gear, such as hook-and- line and traps. However, many flatfishes have small mouths, and trawling may be the only viable way to catch them.

 Once reliable fisheries are established, the fish will be marketed as locally and sustainably caught and sold at higher prices. Demand for seafood is high, with Americans typically consuming 16.5 pounds of seafood per person per year. – San Luis Obispo Tribune

The Pribilof Island of St. Paul with Greenpeace

UNALASKA, Alaska - For centuries, the lives of the mostly Native residents of the Pribilof Islands in the Bering Sea have been shaped by outsiders. In the 19th Century, it was Russian fur traders and the American government. In the late 20th Century, it was animal rights activists who fought to end the seal harvest there. The most recent visitor is the international environmental organization Greenpeace, which is trying to rally support on the Pribilofs for sweeping conservation measures in the Bering Sea. But to do that, the group has to overcome its own complicated history on the islands. KIAL's Charles Homans recently visited the Pribilof Island of St. Paul with Greenpeace. To hear his report, click here.