<<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>>><< ~~>FISHLINK SUBLEGALS 8/25/00<~~ <<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>>><< A WEEKLY QUOTA OF FISHERY SHORTS CAUGHT AND LANDED BY THE INSTITUTE FOR FISHERIES RESOURCES AND THE PACIFIC COAST FEDERATION OF FISHERMEN'S ASSOCIATIONS VOL 2, NO. 8 25 AUGUST 2000 <<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>>><< 2:08/06. HERBICIDE SPILL POISONS OREGON RIVER: On 23 August, in one of the worst pesticide accidents in recent years, a transport truck containing 20,000 pounds of the powerful herbicide oxyfluofen, which is highly toxic to fish, crashed and spilled its load into Fifteenmile Creek east of The Dalles, which feeds into the Columbia River. The spill left a huge aquatic 'dead zone' of at least 400 yards, killing everything in its path. Crews are still struggling to keep the worst of the herbicide out of the mainstem Columbia River and clean up what can be cleaned up to prevent it spreading further. For more information see: http://www.oregonlive.com/ printer2.ssf?/news/oregonian/00/08/nw_51spill24.frame. The same day, Oregon's Department of Agriculture formally banned the use of 10 pesticides whose manufacture and distribution is already prohibited by the federal government, for the first time using the authority of Oregon Governor Kitzhaber's Executive Order No EO-99-13. In 1999, the Governor ordered a crackdown on 'PBTs' (persistent bioaccumulative toxins) throughout the state, including those just banned, eventually phasing them out entirely, because they persist for years in the environment, accumulate in the human food chain and are a serious cancer and public health risk. Even though these 10 pesticides have been federally banned for sale, until Wednesday it was still legal to use existing stockpiles in Oregon and large quantities still exist in storage barns. Under the ban, any use is now punishable by a $1,000 fine for the first offense, and $2,000 for subsequent offenses. Executive Order EO-99-13 is available at: http://www.governor.state.or.us/governor/legal/execords/eo99-13.pdf For more information on the Oregon Dept. of Agriculture's ban see: http://www.oda.state.or.us/Information/news/PBT.html. 2:08/13. US FDA APPROVES PINK COLOR ADDITIVE FOR FARMED SALMONIDS: The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has just approved the use of Cyanotech's "NatuRose(R)" color additive, made from natural astaxanthin as a color additive in the feed of farmed salmon and trout. NatuRose(R) natural astaxanthin is an extract from Haematococcus algae. Because of non-natural rearing conditions and artificial feeding, farmed salmon flesh bears little resemblance to that of wild fish and must be artificially colored to resemble it sufficiently so consumers cannot distinguish the two. Approval of this coloring agent allows salmon farmers in the US and other countries to offer American consumers so-called "All Natural" farm-raised salmon, claims Cyanotech Corporation in a press release. The company estimates the world market for astaxanthin to currently exceed $150 million per year. For the Cyanotech press release, see: http://www.cyanotech.com/news/00/08-22-00.html . 2:08/20. SALMON SENSE OF SMELL DISRUPTED BY PESTICIDES: New research from scientists at the National Marine Fisheries Service indicates suggests that even very low levels of pesticides (well below current allowable exposure levels) can disrupt the ability of salmon to smell, potentially diminishing their survival and homing instincts. This and many other recent studies underscore what many experts are beginning to believe that pesticides can be inherently disruptive to salmon survival in and of themselves, completely aside for other, more well known, impacts such as dams and high water temperatures. For news accounts see: http://seattlep-i.nwsource.com/local/salm013.shtml. Agricultural chemicals and pesticides have long been identified as factors that can contribute to salmon declines, even at sub-lethal levels, by affecting development, reproduction and survival behavior (see Diminishing Returns: Salmon Decline and Pesticides, at: http://www.pond.net/~fish1ifr/salpest.htm). PCFFA and IFR recently joined the Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides (NCAP) and the Washington Toxics Coalition in their "60-Day Notice to Sue" to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for failure to consult with NMFS on the impacts of pesticides on ESA-listed salmon. EPA must register and approve all uses of pesticides, but does not specifically take into account the impacts of these chemicals on ESA-listed salmonids. A copy of the original 60-Day Notice can be obtained from Earthjustice Legal Defense at: http://www.earthjustice.org/news/pr072699_60day.htm. (See Sublegals 2:04/08). GOT NEWS?: Submit news items to Natasha Benjamin, Editor at: ifrfish@aol.com or call the IFR office with the news and a source at either: (415) 561-FISH (Southwest Office) or (541) 689-2000 (Northwest Office). ########################################################## Sublegals are a weekly fisheries news bulletin service of Fishlink. For a free subscription to Fishlink, contact with the words "subscribe fishlink" in the body of the text (the request is not case sensitive). You will be subscribed as soon as the request can be approved. To remove your name from our list, follow the same instructions with the command "unsubscribe fishlink." If you have any problems, you can contact us directly at: . ########################################################## "Fishlink" is a registered trademark of the Institute for Fisheries Resources. All rights to the use of this trademark are reserved to IFR. 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