FOSTER CITY, Calif. – Federal fishery regulators voted Wednesday to impose a permanent ban on trawl fishing in nearly 300,000 square miles of Pacific waters off the West Coast, a move hailed by environmentalists as a landmark in marine conservation.
The Pacific Fishery Management Council, which regulates West Coast fishing, chose a plan that will ban bottom trawling in depths beyond 700 fathoms (about 4,200 feet), as well as dozens of shallower areas believed to be critical habitat for groundfish such as rockfish, ling cod and Dover sole.
The fishery management plan is aimed at protecting coral beds, kelp forests, rocky reefs and other sensitive fish habitat from trawling – a practice that involves dragging weighted nets on the ocean floor to scoop up bottom-dwelling species.
The new regulations apply in federal waters that extend from three miles to 200 miles off the coasts of California, Oregon and Washington. California and Washington have banned trawling in state waters that extend three miles from the shore. Other types of fishing are allowed in the no-trawl zones.
Associated Press
Sammamish: Trap with doughnuts snares bear
A trap baited with Krispy Kreme doughnuts snared its intended prey Wednesday, a black bear that was seen last week near Cascade Ridge Elementary School, putting an end to a neighborhood concern.
Bear sightings are up dramatically this year in King County, and state Department of Fish and Wildlife officials are not sure why.
King County Journal
Olympia: Suspected car thief forgets his wallet
Police are searching for a 23-year-old man who they believe stole two new cars from an Olympia dealer, crashed them in separate hit-and-run accidents and fled, both times leaving behind his identification.
In the latest incident, the man was driving a stolen 2005 Subaru WRX on Monday when it and a 1985 Honda Civic collided as he tried to make a U-turn, said Johnny Alexander of the Washington State Patrol.
The man ran but left behind a wallet, including credit cards and a driver’s license listing an Olympia address.
Tacoma police said the man, who is wanted on an unrelated charge of first-degree firearm theft, was thought to be involved in a similar hit-and-run accident over Memorial Day weekend.
In that accident, the man was driving a 2005 Subaru Impreza, and he again left behind documents that revealed his identity, Alexander said.
The News Tribune
Oregon: BPA manager facing fraud charges
PORTLAND – A Bonneville Power Administration manager used her position to get her husband a job with one of the federal power agency’s contractors, according to a federal indictment.
The indictment also alleges that Tigard resident Jane Selby, 48, retaliated against employees who complained about her husband’s hiring by trying to get them fired.
Selby was indicted on multiple fraud-related charges for her work with a now-defunct contractor, Knowmadic, which sold software and related services to the BPA between October 2001 and December 2003.
Associated Press
Alaska: Probe looks into tanker problems
A federal grand jury in Alaska has launched an investigation into problems aboard ConocoPhillips oil tankers.
The grand jury is looking into the apparent cover-up of an oil spill in the Pacific Ocean. It has subpoenaed the testimony and records of an engine room officer, James Legg, who said he witnessed the spill and cover-up on the Polar Discovery, a ConocoPhillips tanker, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
Failure to report an oil spill to the Coast Guard immediately is a federal crime.
ConocoPhillips tankers routinely visit Washington waters.
Associated Press
Judge orders a plan to save right whales
An Anchorage judge has ordered a federal agency to come up with a proposal for providing critical habitat protection for North Pacific right whales, considered the world’s most endangered whales.
The decision was issued late Tuesday by U.S. District Judge William Alsup in San Francisco. It orders the National Marine Fisheries Service to come up with a critical habitat proposal for the whales in four months, or explain why not.
Most of the U.S. population of North Pacific right whales summer in one area of Alaska’s Bering Sea. There are believed to be fewer than 100 whales.
The judge also said the agency can’t call for more study of the issue, but “must use the facts currently available” to come up with its critical habitat proposal.
Associated Press
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