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Barriers taken off reef sanctuaries
Volume 34/Number 2/February 1997 spokesman they are two to three magnitudes more toxic to aquatic organisms. Theproblems of pollution of waterways by dips has been present for many years. The dips are often poured into soakaways, holes in the ground, and this has implications for surface and groundwater pollution. In spite of a call from the National Rivers Authority (NRA) in 1994 to the Ministry of Agriculture in the UK for a ban on soakaways this was rejected and they are still in use. SEPA are reporting an increasing number of incidents of sheep dip pollution which, according to one Scottish source, is thought to have increased ten-fold in the last year. Concern is rising over the number of incidents although it is considered difficult to prove in some cases which type of dips were responsible. The E N D S report sites six recent incidents of actual or suspected pyrethroid pollution. One example sites an incident in a Scottish river where 25 km suffered massive losses of invertebrates due to cypermethrin in the watercourse. A second involves 30 km of a Cumbrian river where stoneflies, mayflies and freshwater shrimps were almost eliminated. A SEPA spokesman stated that the extent of the damage suggested a pyrethroid pollution incident. PHILIPPA AMBROSE
German Scare on Scottish Salmon A salmon scare reported in the German newspaper Die Zeit is being hotly denied by the Scottish salmon farmers. According to the newspaper, Scottish salmon farmers are alleged to be selling fish contaminated with a neurotoxin called Invermectin. This is a toxic chemical which can be used to remove sea lice from the gills of salmon. Considerable controversy had existed around the use of this chemical in the early 1990s when it was under consideration. In spite of trials the chemical is not licensed or approved for use in aquaculture anywhere in the world except for a few instances where its use has been allowed since April 1st 1996 in a specified cases in Scotland (see Mar. Pollut. Bull. 32, 694). Of the 340 fish farms in Scotland only 4 are allowed to use it and these have been carefully monitored by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency and have met certain criteria. The German newspaper article alleged that as the medicine is widely used on farm animals the Scottish farmers were overcoming the problems of access to Invermectin by keeping a few sheep on their farm and then using the chemical on their salmon. The Scottish fish farmers are hotly denying this allegation and are threatening to take legal action against the paper. They also state that the chemical is widely used throughout Europe, including Germany. They are sure that there is no problem of contamination of Scottish fish as the
industry maintains the highest standards. The outcome of this incident is awaited.
Efforts to Save Wild Atlantic Salmon Stocks Irish wild salmon stocks are to be given considerably improved protection following a report from the Salmon Management Task Force published in midSeptember. Ireland is one of the last strongholds of the wild Atlantic Salmon and a new approach to their management through conservation and improvement of stock in seas, estuaries, rivers and lakes is being proposed. The Task Force was set up by the Minister of State for the Marine, Eamon Gilmore, in 1995. The recommendations of the report include the creation of a National Salmon Management Commission directly answerable to the minister and independent of all other agencies whose role will be to monitor the strategic implementation of the new regulations. They in their turn will create local Salmon Catchment Committees who will keep the pulse in the regions. Drift netting is to be curbed and a Total Allowable Catch and Quota System is to be introduced. There will be a carcass tagging programme to assist the ban which will be made on the sale of all rod caught salmon. It is hoped through his action to fairly rebalance the salmon catch between different sectors.
Barriers Taken off Reef Sanctuaries The Australian Parliament has passed legislation that will enable fishing to take place in sanctuary areas on the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (GBRMP) as part of a five year management research programme. However, some environmentalists say that such experiments are inappropriate for this internationally important marine protected area. The programme involves opening eight so called 'green' reef areas to commercial fishing in order to study the decline of the stocks, whilst an equivalent number of 'blue' areas which were formally fished will be closed in order to study their recovery. The programme scientists argue that such research is essential for the future management of fisheries in the GBRMP as it will provide data on the dynamics of fish stock recovery and decline, enabling sustainable catch levels and optimum closed-open area rotation periods to be assessed. The GBRMP Authority are supporting the programme as they maintain that they must provide for sustainable multiple-use rather than presiding over a 'no-take' sanctuary, and that this includes allowing scientific 71
Marine Pollution Bulletin research, especially where this will contribute valuable information on the management of commercial fishing. However, environmentalists who unsuccessfully campaigned to block the legislation in conjunction with the Democrats argue that the GBRMP Authority has seriously underestimated the strength of public concerns about the opening of 'pristine' sanctuary areas to commercial fishing. They point out that the programme amounts to the deliberate and calculated decimation of protected species in order to see how long it takes them to recover. There is also considerable potential for damage to the ecology of the reefs, though the monitoring of this is presumably an integral part of the programme. There are growing fears about over-fishing in the GBRMP in order to supply markets such as that for the lucrative trade in live reef fish for the restaurants of Hong Kong. Environmentalists argue that the opening of sanctuaries will add to this pressure, whilst the GBRMPA argue that such experiments are vital in order to calculate sustainable levels of exploitation and thus avoid over-fishing. Others argue that experiments which will only benefit those who wish to exploit the reefs are unethical in a marine protected area that is regarded as an international flagship for marine conservation.
PETER JONES
Great Lakes Fish Believed Extinct A whitefish species, the deepwater shortnose cisco (Coregonus reighardi) is now presumed to be extinct according to the National Biological Service's Great Lakes Science Centre. It was the only spring spawning whitefish to be found in the area and it used to be widespread throughout Lakes Michigan and Ontario. This is considered to be particularly significant as it was known to exist only in the Great Lakes and is found nowhere else in the world. It was last seen in Lake Huron in 1985 but there have been no sitings since then. It was one of a group of similar appearing fish which were marketed by commercial fishing as chub. Their main difficulties, however, began in the mid-1900s when two introduced species, the alefish and the sea lamprey, arrived in the area. They expanded their ranges very fast and are believed to be responsible for the extinction of two of the six deepwater cisco species. Even the range of the remaining species is being sorely curtailed.
PCB Contaminated Sediment to be Removed from US River High levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are to be removed from sediment in the Housatonic River 72
headwaters in Massachusetts. The manufacturer responsible, General Electric Corporation (GEC), has been told to remove the highly contaminated sediment after their proposal to cap and cover the area with a 40 cm geotextile mat was rejected by State and Federal regulators. The contamination is believed to have come from a tank of PCB-tainted chemicals which ruptured in the 1960s. The PCBs are very hydrophobic and they tend to bind closely to the sediment. As the sediment moves it carries the PCBs with it and it is believed that the contamination has spread right down to the Long Island Sound. The action against the company was taken when the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection responded to the very high levels of contamination in a 150 m stretch of the river. Levels ranging from 54 000 ppm to 104 000 ppm were discovered compared to other PCB-tainted sites with levels of between 1 and 10 ppm. It is estimated that about 3000 t of the PCB contaminated sediment will be removed to a level of 20 100 cm and the work will start as soon as appropriate weather permits next spring at a cost of around $1 million. The PCBs were used as cooling agents in transformers which GEC manufactured until the chemicals were banned in the 1970s. This is the first time that such a removal has been initiated and it is thought to be a milestone in the cleaning of the Housatonic River.
US EPA Changes Sediment Criteria Philosophy In 1993 the US EPA proposed national sediment criteria (SQC) for five chemicals: dieldrin; endrin; acenaphthene; fluoranthene; and phenanthrene. The EPA had been expected to finalize their criteria for the above five chemicals and propose criteria for additional individual chemicals, following the chemical-by-chemical approach used to establish water quality criteria (WQC). They are presently working on proposed SQC for individual metals. However, in late November 1996, the decision was made to change the EPA approach and focus on criteria for chemical mixtures in sediments, beginnifig with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). This means that the existing proposed SQC for three individual PAHs will be scrapped, leaving the EPA with proposed SQC for only two chemicals, dieldrin and endrin. SQC for mixtures will, as for individual chemicals, be based on Equilibrium Partitoning (EqP), but combined with a model developed by EPA scientists for summing PAH in sediments, which assumes additivity. Because SQCs will have profound effects on activities such as discharge permits and ocean dredging, the EPA is currently developing a 'how to' manual for their use. However, there is considerable controversy regarding usage of
German Scare on Scottish Salmon A salmon scare reported in the German newspaper Die Zeit is being hotly denied by the Scottish salmon farmers. According to the newspaper, Scottish salmon farmers are alleged to be selling fish contaminated with a neurotoxin called Invermectin. This is a toxic chemical which can be used to remove sea lice from the gills of salmon. Considerable controversy had existed around the use of this chemical in the early 1990s when it was under consideration. In spite of trials the chemical is not licensed or approved for use in aquaculture anywhere in the world except for a few instances where its use has been allowed since April 1st 1996 in a specified cases in Scotland (see Mar. Pollut. Bull. 32, 694). Of the 340 fish farms in Scotland only 4 are allowed to use it and these have been carefully monitored by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency and have met certain criteria. The German newspaper article alleged that as the medicine is widely used on farm animals the Scottish farmers were overcoming the problems of access to Invermectin by keeping a few sheep on their farm and then using the chemical on their salmon. The Scottish fish farmers are hotly denying this allegation and are threatening to take legal action against the paper. They also state that the chemical is widely used throughout Europe, including Germany. They are sure that there is no problem of contamination of Scottish fish as the
industry maintains the highest standards. The outcome of this incident is awaited.
Efforts to Save Wild Atlantic Salmon Stocks Irish wild salmon stocks are to be given considerably improved protection following a report from the Salmon Management Task Force published in midSeptember. Ireland is one of the last strongholds of the wild Atlantic Salmon and a new approach to their management through conservation and improvement of stock in seas, estuaries, rivers and lakes is being proposed. The Task Force was set up by the Minister of State for the Marine, Eamon Gilmore, in 1995. The recommendations of the report include the creation of a National Salmon Management Commission directly answerable to the minister and independent of all other agencies whose role will be to monitor the strategic implementation of the new regulations. They in their turn will create local Salmon Catchment Committees who will keep the pulse in the regions. Drift netting is to be curbed and a Total Allowable Catch and Quota System is to be introduced. There will be a carcass tagging programme to assist the ban which will be made on the sale of all rod caught salmon. It is hoped through his action to fairly rebalance the salmon catch between different sectors.
Barriers Taken off Reef Sanctuaries The Australian Parliament has passed legislation that will enable fishing to take place in sanctuary areas on the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (GBRMP) as part of a five year management research programme. However, some environmentalists say that such experiments are inappropriate for this internationally important marine protected area. The programme involves opening eight so called 'green' reef areas to commercial fishing in order to study the decline of the stocks, whilst an equivalent number of 'blue' areas which were formally fished will be closed in order to study their recovery. The programme scientists argue that such research is essential for the future management of fisheries in the GBRMP as it will provide data on the dynamics of fish stock recovery and decline, enabling sustainable catch levels and optimum closed-open area rotation periods to be assessed. The GBRMP Authority are supporting the programme as they maintain that they must provide for sustainable multiple-use rather than presiding over a 'no-take' sanctuary, and that this includes allowing scientific 71
Marine Pollution Bulletin research, especially where this will contribute valuable information on the management of commercial fishing. However, environmentalists who unsuccessfully campaigned to block the legislation in conjunction with the Democrats argue that the GBRMP Authority has seriously underestimated the strength of public concerns about the opening of 'pristine' sanctuary areas to commercial fishing. They point out that the programme amounts to the deliberate and calculated decimation of protected species in order to see how long it takes them to recover. There is also considerable potential for damage to the ecology of the reefs, though the monitoring of this is presumably an integral part of the programme. There are growing fears about over-fishing in the GBRMP in order to supply markets such as that for the lucrative trade in live reef fish for the restaurants of Hong Kong. Environmentalists argue that the opening of sanctuaries will add to this pressure, whilst the GBRMPA argue that such experiments are vital in order to calculate sustainable levels of exploitation and thus avoid over-fishing. Others argue that experiments which will only benefit those who wish to exploit the reefs are unethical in a marine protected area that is regarded as an international flagship for marine conservation.
PETER JONES
Great Lakes Fish Believed Extinct A whitefish species, the deepwater shortnose cisco (Coregonus reighardi) is now presumed to be extinct according to the National Biological Service's Great Lakes Science Centre. It was the only spring spawning whitefish to be found in the area and it used to be widespread throughout Lakes Michigan and Ontario. This is considered to be particularly significant as it was known to exist only in the Great Lakes and is found nowhere else in the world. It was last seen in Lake Huron in 1985 but there have been no sitings since then. It was one of a group of similar appearing fish which were marketed by commercial fishing as chub. Their main difficulties, however, began in the mid-1900s when two introduced species, the alefish and the sea lamprey, arrived in the area. They expanded their ranges very fast and are believed to be responsible for the extinction of two of the six deepwater cisco species. Even the range of the remaining species is being sorely curtailed.
PCB Contaminated Sediment to be Removed from US River High levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are to be removed from sediment in the Housatonic River 72
headwaters in Massachusetts. The manufacturer responsible, General Electric Corporation (GEC), has been told to remove the highly contaminated sediment after their proposal to cap and cover the area with a 40 cm geotextile mat was rejected by State and Federal regulators. The contamination is believed to have come from a tank of PCB-tainted chemicals which ruptured in the 1960s. The PCBs are very hydrophobic and they tend to bind closely to the sediment. As the sediment moves it carries the PCBs with it and it is believed that the contamination has spread right down to the Long Island Sound. The action against the company was taken when the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection responded to the very high levels of contamination in a 150 m stretch of the river. Levels ranging from 54 000 ppm to 104 000 ppm were discovered compared to other PCB-tainted sites with levels of between 1 and 10 ppm. It is estimated that about 3000 t of the PCB contaminated sediment will be removed to a level of 20 100 cm and the work will start as soon as appropriate weather permits next spring at a cost of around $1 million. The PCBs were used as cooling agents in transformers which GEC manufactured until the chemicals were banned in the 1970s. This is the first time that such a removal has been initiated and it is thought to be a milestone in the cleaning of the Housatonic River.
US EPA Changes Sediment Criteria Philosophy In 1993 the US EPA proposed national sediment criteria (SQC) for five chemicals: dieldrin; endrin; acenaphthene; fluoranthene; and phenanthrene. The EPA had been expected to finalize their criteria for the above five chemicals and propose criteria for additional individual chemicals, following the chemical-by-chemical approach used to establish water quality criteria (WQC). They are presently working on proposed SQC for individual metals. However, in late November 1996, the decision was made to change the EPA approach and focus on criteria for chemical mixtures in sediments, beginnifig with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). This means that the existing proposed SQC for three individual PAHs will be scrapped, leaving the EPA with proposed SQC for only two chemicals, dieldrin and endrin. SQC for mixtures will, as for individual chemicals, be based on Equilibrium Partitoning (EqP), but combined with a model developed by EPA scientists for summing PAH in sediments, which assumes additivity. Because SQCs will have profound effects on activities such as discharge permits and ocean dredging, the EPA is currently developing a 'how to' manual for their use. However, there is considerable controversy regarding usage of