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April 2009--Newsletter Fish Bits

To view a PDF version of Fish Bits, please click here.

       CDOW News: Matt Nicholl, Chief of Hatcheries, has been on the job since October of 2008. He fills the position left vacant after Rich Kolecki retired. Matt began his career with DOW as a temporary in 1983; he spent over 20 years in the Hatchery Section most recently as Hatchery Manager at Roaring Judy Hatchery, and prior to that as Hatchery Manager at Pitkin. He has B.A. from Western State College and an M.A. from Liberty University. He is married to Cassy, has 4 children ranging from 12-21 years of age; enjoys volunteering at his church along with hiking, biking, fishing and hunting.

 CDOW News: Jeff Lee, who has spent the last 8 years as manager of the Wray Hatchery, is now the Hatchery Operation Program Manager at the Denver office.

 Gov. Ritter has named two new wildlife commissioners: Kenneth M. “Mark” Smith of Center is manager of Bosselman’s Meadow Ranch. He has decades of agriculture, land-management and wildlife experience. In 2008, he was nominated by Field & Stream magazine as a “Hero of Conservation.” He currently serves on the Division of Wildlife Habitat Partnership Program State Council, Ducks Unlimited and the state Sportsman Advisory Group. John W. Singletary of Pueblo is a real-estate broker, farmer and rancher. He is chairman of the Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District and serves on the Pueblo County Planning and Zoning Committee. He previously served on the Wildlife commission in 1998-99 and previously was appointed to the State Parks and Recreation Board.  These appointments are for four years, expiring March 1, 2013, and require Senate confirmation. (From: March 3, 2009 press release, Office of Governor.)

 Aquatic Nuisance Species: The State of Colorado Aquatic Nuisance Species (ANS) Regulations were approved by the Parks Board on Friday, February 20, 2009. New regulations for boat inspections and decontamination will go into effect April 1, 2009. Written in collaboration with the Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW), water providers, local, state and federal agencies and the boating community, the regulations create standards for boat inspections and, if ANS are discovered on a vessel, mandatory decontamination procedures. Regulations can be downloaded from http://dnr.state.co.us/newsapp/press.asp?pressid=5857. (From: DNR press release Feb 23, 2009)

 Risk Analysis for Non-Native Species in Aquaculture, Publication 4303, Southern Regional Aquaculture Center (SRAC) http://srac.tamu.edu/fulllist.cfm. Valuable reading for all fish farmers.

 Nebraska is worried about Colorado Boaters: Larvae of quagga mussel have been discovered in Julesburg Reservoir in the South Platte River drainage, less than 50 miles from Lake McConaughy. Darrol Eichner, fisheries management supervisor for Lake McConaughy and southwest Nebraska said “Julesburg Reservoir is too close for comfort to Nebraska waters.” (From: Protect Your Waters, 3-4-2009 http://www.protectyourwaters.net/ )

 Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) went into effect for all foods covered by the act (beef, lamb, pork, fish, perishable agricultural commodities, and peanuts) on March 16, 2009. COOL for fish and shellfish became effective in 2005. The recently enacted Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 (2008 Farm Bill) expands the list of covered commodities to include chicken, goat meat, ginseng, pecans and macadamia nuts. More information can be found on the Ag Marketing website - http://www.ams.usda.gov/

 Aquaculture Drug Updates: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Aquatic Animal Drug Approval Partnership (AADAP), began in December 2008, to publish a news release series called the “Aquaculture Drug Update.” All Updates will be archived in perpetuity within a series of AADAP WebPages at http://www.fws.gov/fisheries/aadap/aquaculture_drug_update.htm. In addition to updates, the website provides information on approved drugs, low regulatory priority drugs, INAD drugs, GRAS drugs and more as well as links to the current newsletter. For more information please contact Tom Bell (phone: 406-994-9911 or email: thomas_a_bell@fws.gov).

 New Colorado State University Weather Watch: The Colorado Climate Center at Colorado State University tracks current weather conditions and historic climate variations affecting agriculture in Colorado. Colorado Climate Center tracks county precipitation patterns, temperature patterns, and detailed agricultural weather data in Colorado. Official weather stations are far apart. You can help monitor Colorado’s climate by measuring the rain and snow from your home, business, farm or ranch. To become a volunteer, visit www.cocorahs.org and click on Join CoCoRaHS. (From: February 4, 2009, Inside Ag Newsletter)

 Colorado Agriculture and Rural Leadership Program: The Colorado Agriculture and Rural Leadership (CARL) program develops and enhances the leadership capabilities men and women committed to the future of Colorado’s agriculture and rural communities. CARL is a hands-on, interactive program dedicated to producing graduates with the vision and commitment to lead change and ensure the sustainability of Colorado’s agricultural economies and rural communities. Applications for the next class, Class IV, are now underway.  For more information, visit http://www.agsci.colostate.edu/carl/carl.html.

 Oberon FMR (fish meal replacement), is a young company headquartered in Idaho Springs, CO, that has been researching and developing the production of single cell protein (SCP) from un-utilized food processing by-product streams, such as brewery waste, into protein with an amino acid profile that is similar to fish meal protein. Oberon FMR intends to produce a variety of sustainable protein-based products for the aquafeeds industry. Products should be commercially available to feed manufacturers beginning late 2009. (www.oberonfmr.com/)

 Aquaculture job listing & posting site: The publishers of Hatchery International and Northern Aquaculture magazines, now provide job board listing service at www.aquaculturejobs.com/

 The USDA Economic Research Service has released its latest data on domestically grown catfish and trout and other aquaculture products. http://www.ers.usda.gov/Data/Aquaculture/ (Also see page 9.)

 Two thousand Rio Grande cutthroat trout were released into the Rio Grande River in northern New Mexico in the Wild Rivers Recreation Area, managed by U.S. Bureau of Land Management. This is part of a long-range plan to restore the fish to many parts of its historic range. (From: www.protectyourwaters.net/ March 5, 2009)

 National Institute for Food and Agriculture to replace the current USDA-CSREES at the Department of Agriculture (USDA). The establishment of the Institute is mandated in section 251(f) of the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6971(f)). All programs and authorities currently delegated to CSREES will transfer to the Institute no later than October 1, 2009. www.csrees.usda.gov/newsroom/news/news.html. The comment period ended February 6, 2009.

 A Follow-up on California’s Proposition 2: Coalitions of animal rights activist groups have established an “Operation Prop 2 Follow-Through Campaign” to promote a vegan diet in California. The coalition, led by the Farm Animal Rights Movement (FARM), intends the campaign to encourage providing animals complete protection by urging Californians to become vegans. Vegans do not consume any food or beverages produced from animals and don’t wear anything produced from animals, such as leather or wool. In addition to FARM, the coalition members include In Defense of Animals, the Animal Protection & Rescue League, Mercy for Animals and Vegan Outreach. (From: CFB enews, March 14, 2009)

 COSTCO Animal Rights Poll: COSTCO has placed a poll on its Web site asking if animals should have the same rights as people. The March 19 poll stands at 93.2 percent of 24,973 respondents voting “no” and 6.8 percent voting “yes.” To view the survey visit www.costcoconnection.com/ and click on this month’s debate.

 Extremist Attacks on Global Food Chain Increased 42% in 2008: Attacks on the global food chain from animal rights and environmental extremists jumped 42% - from 155 in 2007 to 220 in 2008 - according to Arlington, Virginia-based Animal Agriculture Alliance. Claimed attacks on food retailers in the USA from groups like the Animal Liberation Front exploded 377%. The overall level of animal rights extremist attacks in the USA on businesses that use animals - including medical research, consumer product safety, pets, circuses, rodeos, fur shops, hunting stores, farmers, ranchers, food retailers - surged nearly 40% (From: CFB enews March 6, 2009)

  HR 669: On January 26th, Representative Madeleine Bordallo (D-Guam) introduced the Nonnative Wildlife Invasion Prevention Act (H.R. 669), a bill designed to better control the introduction and establishment of nonnative animal species in the United States. The bill, using the precautionary principle approach, will totally revamp how nonnative species are regulated under the Lacey Act. Currently, the Fish and Wildlife Service is required to demonstrate that a species is injurious to health and welfare of humans, the interests of agriculture, horticulture or forestry, and the welfare and survival of U.S. wildlife resources before it can be listed. H.R. 669 would essentially ban all species that do not appear on an Approved List. A hearing will be held on April 23rd by the House Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife. Learn more about effects of H.R. 669 on aquaculture and contact committee members from Colorado, Dianna DeGette (D-CO) 303/844-4988 and Douglas L. Lamborn (R-CO) 719-520-0055, with your concerns. [View bill at: thomas.loc.gov/] (Excerpted in part from NAA Alert, April 2, 2009)

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