AR-NEWS Digest 615

Topics covered in this issue include:

  1) Re: Israeli dies of rabies, 3rd in 1997
     by erez ganor 
  2) [HK] Four more victims hit by bird flu
     by David J Knowles 
  3) [UK] Hen Heaven
     by David J Knowles 
  4) [UK] Cans of beef given to poor 
     by David J Knowles 
  5) [UK] Stable destroyed in wind storm
     by David J Knowles 
  6) (US) Pfiesteria can affect memory, tests show
     by allen schubert 
  7) BP Bow Hunt/ calls needed
     by liberation2@juno.com
  8) Hog Farm's Deadline Extended
     by Snugglezzz 
  9) EU/ U.S. Trapping Agreement Update
     by CFOXAPI 
 10) WILD ANIMALS OF KENTUCKY NEED YOUR HELP!
     by CFOXAPI 
 11) Cat scratch fevers plays role in AIDS
     by Liz Grayson 
 12) Don't forget-eat your tofu!
     by Liz Grayson 
 13) Sacraments and Sacrifice
     by Liz Grayson 
 14) (US) Fish Farm Planned in Boston Harbor
     by allen schubert 
Date: Fri, 26 Dec 1997 08:32:06 +0200
From: erez ganor 
To: vrc@tiac.net, "ar-news@envirolink.org" 
Subject: Re: Israeli dies of rabies, 3rd in 1997
Message-ID: <34A34F66.C0D90AFC@netvision.net.il>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

The Israeli Animal rights groups start protesting after the Municipal
vet of  Haddera City was found ( and Documented by the media) killing
dog in the most brutal Way:
the hind legs were tied to a tree, a heavy  stick on the dog's back and
neck to restrain him to the ground, while the intra-cardiac injection of
salt solution was administered.
Later it was found that The Municipal vet of hedderra was not the only
municipal vet who was doing that ( in order to save money... and not
using Pental ( Sodium Pento-barbitol).
as a result to that exposure the municipal vet assn. with the support of
Prof. Shimshoni - head of Vet services, declared that they will stop
dealing with Rabies control. so they became the primer cause for the
eruption of Rabies.

Erez.
Vegetarian Resource Center wrote:

> JERUSALEM, Dec 16 (Reuters) - An Israeli man died of rabies on Tuesday
> in the
> third incident of the virus this year, a hospital spokeswoman said.
>
> She said the 58-year-old man from northern Israel contracted the virus
> after
> being scratched by a stray animal.
>
> ``For 30 years we never had a single case of rabies in Israel,'' Dr
> Isaac
> Klinger, deputy director of veterinary services in the Agriculture
> Ministry,
> said on Monday.
>
> He said two other Israelis have died of rabies this year.
>
> Klinger said pressure by animal rights groups had made doctors
> reluctant to
> kill stray animals.
>
> ``After animal rights groups started protesting, doctors became afraid
> to do
> their work and the number of strays drastically increased,'' Klinger
> said.
> ^REUTERS@
>
> 03:11 12-17-97
>
> ©1997   Maynard S Clark    Vegetarian Resource Center
> info@vegetarian.org



Date: Fri, 26 Dec 1997 00:20:16
From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [HK] Four more victims hit by bird flu
Message-ID: <3.0.3.16.19971226002016.4e37de5c@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
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>From The Electronic Telegraph - Friday, December 26th, 1997

Four more victims hit by bird flu

FOUR more suspected cases of "bird flu" were identified in Hong Kong
yesterday, bringing to 19 the number of people known or believed to have
contracted the potentially fatal disease.

Parents with children suffering from cold and flu symptoms queued outside
government clinics.

Graham Hutchings, Hong Kong 

© Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997. 

Date: Fri, 26 Dec 1997 00:37:32
From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [UK] Hen Heaven
Message-ID: <3.0.3.16.19971226003732.0ba72870@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Source: CTV National News 

Wendy Turvey has her hands full this Holiday Season looking after her
turkeys. But these birds won't be going to slaughter and ending up on
someone's dinner plate.

Turvey has rescued several turkeys from their usual holiday fate, and now
they enjoy the freedom of Turvey's Hen Heaven sanctuary.

Hen Heaven originally stared as a rescue shelter for freed battery hens,
who now enjoy the freedom to peck in the soil, dust bathe, and run around
freely in the sanctuary grounds.

Turvey says she then began rescuing turkeys as well, and they now number
well into double-digits.

She says that the cost of feed has almost doubled since the arrival of the
turkeys, but that she recoups some of the costs by selling the eggs layed
by the hens.

Locals told the CTV reporter that they didn't mind paying a higher price
for the eggs, as they knew the hens were humanely treated. One woman said
her husband swore the eggs tasted better than any others he had eaten.

One local resident said some people believed Turvey was a bit mad, but, in
fact, she was doing a great job and deserved some help.

Turvey says she hopes to have an adoption scheme in place soon, where
people could "adopt" a hen or turkey, but the bird would not leave the
sanctuary.



Date: Fri, 26 Dec 1997 01:01:57
From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [UK] Cans of beef given to poor 
Message-ID: <3.0.3.16.19971226010157.0ba7c420@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
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[I originally posted this on December 24th, but it bounced back because the
headed contained the word "free". David]

>From The Electronic Telegraph - Wednesday, December 24th, 1997

Free cans of beef for the poor 
By David Brown, Agriculture Editor 

MORE than 10 million cans of stewed steak will be given away by the
Government in the New Year in a £20.3 million EU scheme to reduce Britain's
beef mountain. 

The beef, which was withdrawn from sale and frozen after Europe's global
export ban hit the market last year, will be distributed to the homeless
and other low-income people in need. The Ministry of Agriculture said
yesterday that all of the beef comes from animals under 30 months of age.

A total of 8,000 tons of the beef has been allocated for the give-away
which is expected to start at the end of next month. It will be processed
in1lb cans with recipients rationed to eight cans. A double allocation will
be given to organisations that provide meals. 

The Government is seeking applications from local authorities, hostels for
the homeless and charities dealing with the homeless, people living on
income support, family credit, jobseekers allowance or disability working
allowance.

Canning has been selected as the most practical and hygienic way of
distributing the beef through a range of voluntary organisations which may
not have cold-stores and refrigerators. Jeff Rooker, Food Safety Minister,
said: "This is a practical way to use the extra beef and I encourage
non-profit-making organisations to make it available to those in need. The
beef is of high quality and of the same standard as the beef in shops."

The mountain has risen to 96,000 tons since the beef crisis began in March
last year. The Intervention Board for Agricultural Produce, the Government
agency administering the give-away, said the cans would contain prime beef
from animals processed under the Government's strict controls to protect
consumers from BSE. 

© Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997. 

Date: Fri, 26 Dec 1997 01:16:03
From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [UK] Stable destroyed in wind storm
Message-ID: <3.0.3.16.19971226011603.08b779ca@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

According to the Electronic Telegraph (December 26th), winds hitting parts
of the UK early Christmas Day, blew down a stable in Scarborough, North
Yorkshire.

All the horses inside are believed to have been rescued. 

There are no details on any injuries.

David



Date: Fri, 26 Dec 1997 08:03:57 -0500
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) Pfiesteria can affect memory, tests show
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19971226080355.007137c4@pop3.clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

environment/human health/factory farming
from USA Today http://www.usatoday.com
-----------------------------------------------------------
Pfiesteria can affect memory, tests show

Researchers have confirmed that pfiesteria, a toxic one-celled marine
creature, can cause memory loss in animals. Pfiesteria outbreaks killed
thousands of fish earlier this year - millions over several outbreaks - and
frightened consumers and fishers on the East Coast. Researchers at North
Carolina State University say tests show that it could affect memory in
rats. Scientists say there is no evidence that pfiesteria can make seafood
harmful to people or animals.
Date: Fri, 26 Dec 1997 09:06:16 -0500
From: liberation2@juno.com
To: ar-wire@waste.org, ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: BP Bow Hunt/ calls needed
Message-ID: <19971226.090622.3710.2.liberation2@juno.com>

******
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 26, 1997


Bethel Park Teen Refuses Food
To Protest Dangerous Deer Bow
Hunt, Concern About Public Safety

     BETHEL PARK, PA =96 A Bethel Park teen has pledged not to eat for
the next=
 16
days =96 beginning Friday =96 to protest a deer bow hunt, which she
charges=
 not
only causes great harm to the animals, but is a public safety threat.

     Kim Chicchi, 19, begins a hunger strike Friday =96 the first day
of hunt =
=96
that will last through Jan. 15 to show her opposition to the deer hunt in
the Bethel Park section of South Park. It is the third bow hunt in Bethel
Park since October, when Chicchi also went on a brief strike.

     "I will not eat until the hunt is stopped," said Chicchi, who
will consume
only water on the hunger strike, whose health could be seriously
endangered,
say supporters..

     In a letter to the Bethel Park Council, Chicchi said that bow
hunting was a
"brutal sport" in which the wounding rate is a very high 50 percent.
During
a previous hunt, Chicchi said a deer was found in "South Park with an
arrow
in his eyes. (He) wandered off into a pond and drowned."

     She also said the hunt is extremely dangerous to humans because
hunters are
permitted to hunt in people's back yards, and the specific hunt area is
being kept a secret, even to residents because of "fears" of protests by
animal rights activists.

     A national "phone blockade" -- involving phone calls to the local
Municipal
Council and Mayor from animal protections activists across the U.S. -- is
also being co-ordinated to protest the hunt.

-30-
Contact phone: Kim 412/831-1141

NOTE: The hunt takes place on Guttman property on Baptist Rd, the upper
portion of Simon's Park on Clifton Rd, and Allegheny County's South Park)
=09

************************************************
This is a listing of the BP Coucnil members and other people who are 'kep
players' in this masacre.  PLEASE call them often!!!!!!  Don't forget
that if you use 1-800-collect & get an answering machine that you can
leave up to a 5 minute message on their machine.  SO THERE ARE NO
EXCUSES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  CALL/ WRITE/ FAX & then  CALL/ WRITE/ FAX
again & again & again!!!  These deer do NOT deserve what is happening to
them...

PLEASE ACT UP & FIGHT BACK FOR THEM, THEY DESERVE NO
LESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-Kim

*****************************
Those marked qith a * will change in January, so if you can only
call/write a few of the council members it would be better to contact the
other members. 

All phone #'s have an area code of 412.  All addresses end in  Bethel
Park, PA 15102

Municipal council:

Timothy J. Moury(president)
108 Heather Dr.
833-4615

*George K. Beck(vice president)
3327 Forest Rd.
833-5992

John A. Pape
5415 California Ave.
835-3087

*Charles G. Koch
6078 Great Dane Dr.
833-5786(home)
429-2204(business)

Judith A. Lorigan
7090 Dumbarton Place
835-5064(home)
833-2800(business)

Donald L. Harrison
4673 Prescot Dr.
833-0449

Mark J. O'Brien
1134 Mcknight Dr.
831-0774

Philip B. Ehrman
3100 Eastview Rd.
831-1868home)
225-3355(business)
225-4058(fax)

Susan J. Hughes
1160 Tidewood Dr.
833-4989

Mayor:
*Alan F. Hoffman
1190 Grouse Run Rd.
833-4109(home)
833-6850(business)
833-3938(fax)

Municipal Building:
831-6800

Whitetail Management Assosciates("conservation" group who is in charge of
recruiting/training hunters for the BP hunts):
P.O. Box 58031
Pittsburgh, PA 15209

Sgt. Rogan(he was given the responsibility of finding a sollution to the
problem of the so-called over population of the deer in Bethel Park. 
Obviously, and unfortunately, he decided on the bow hunt.  He can be
reached via the municipal building(412-831-6800)


Date: Fri, 26 Dec 1997 11:39:12 EST
From: Snugglezzz 
To: ar-news@Envirolink.org
Subject: Hog Farm's Deadline Extended
Message-ID: <75d4d9cc.34a3ddb2@aol.com>
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit

Oklahoma City, OK,USA: A hog farm where state inspectors found dead and
decomposing hogs spilling from open containers received an eight-day reprieve
Tuesday to decide whether to pay part of a proposed $157,500. fine.

Seaboard Farms, Inc., the Oklahoma Panhandle's largest hog farm, had been
given until Tuesday afternoon to decide whether to pay $105,000. of the
proposed penalty or request an administrative hearing.

Agriculture officials have said if Seaboard makes partial payment, the balance
of the fine - the largest ever proposed by the Agriculture Department - will
be deferred if the company meets state agriculture guidelines.

The penalty was proposed Monday following an informal hearing between
Agriculture Department and Seaboard officials. Under the proposed fine,
Seaboard must pay $5,000. for each of 28 major violations and $2,500. for
seven lesser violations.

The allegations stem from inspection of 44 Seaboard sites during a two-day
period last month by the department's director of water quality, Dan Parrish.
Parrish said he found alleged violations at 35 of the Seaboard sites.

"All of it is carcass disposal on a timely manner," said Parrish. "We have
concerns about some health and environmental problems." 

A report prepared by Parrish indicates he saw decomposing hogs spilling out of
containers or lying on the ground at some Seaboard sites. Agriculture
Department rules require the containers to have lids.

Bloated carcasses were found around barns, and a big container was "full of
skeleton and bones stuck to (the) bottom," according to his report. Another
inspection found a carcass "totally decomposed with only skin, hair,and bones
left." 

-- Sherrill
Date: Fri, 26 Dec 1997 14:42:46 EST
From: CFOXAPI 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Cc: OnlineAPI@aol.com
Subject: EU/ U.S. Trapping Agreement Update
Message-ID: 
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit

A number of people have contacted me to obtain an update on the EU leghold
trap fur import ban situation.  For a brief update on this issue and
information about federal and state legislation that would ban or restrict
trapping, please visit the Animal Protection Institute's web site at
www.api4animals.org 

When you're in the web site, go to:
Issues & Advocacy Campaigns/ go to:
Wildlife & Public Lands/ go to:
Support for the European Union Fur Import Ban

Camilla Fox
Animal Protection Institute
Date: Fri, 26 Dec 1997 14:42:53 EST
From: CFOXAPI 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Cc: OnlineAPI@aol.com
Subject: WILD ANIMALS OF KENTUCKY NEED YOUR HELP!
Message-ID: 
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
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Posted by:
Animal Protection Institute
P.O. Box 22505
Sacramento, CA  95822
Phone (916) 731-5521
Fax (916) 731-4467
Email= onlineapi@aol.com
Web= www.api4animals.org
                       
                          ****ANIMAL PROTECTION INSTITUTE****

                 WILD ANIMALS OF KENTUCKY NEED YOUR HELP!

The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR) is proposing
new regulations for Nuisance Wildlife Control Operators in Kentucky that will
perpetuate the inhumane treatment of wild animals deemed as "pests." We need
your help to convince the KDFWR to cancel these proposed regulations and
instead adopt new regulations that include guidelines for humane treatment of
wildlife.

What's Wrong with the Proposed Regulations:

*The proposed regulations do not include any method of ensuring that wildlife
removed from residential areas, farming facilities, and commercial properties
will be treated humanely. 

*The proposed regulations actually allow Nuisance Wildlife Control Operators
to sell captured animals directly to hunters to be gunned down or maimed by
their hunting hounds. 

*The proposed regulations do not include any requirement for property owners
to be informed that wildlife removed from their homes may be killed, most
likely by inhumane methods such as drowning or injection of acetone. 

*The proposed regulations contain no guidelines regarding humane euthanasia of
captured animals. Nuisance Wildlife Control Operators will be able to continue
using cruel devices such as snares, leghold traps, and body-crushing type
traps. 

Please write to the Governor of Kentucky and the Commissioner of KDFWR to urge
them to cancel these proposed regulations and adopt new regulations that
include guidelines for humane treatment and euthanasia of wildlife.

In addition to the points above, you might want to include these points in
your letter:

*The new regulations need to include euthanasia guidelines provided by the
American Veterinary Medical Association. 

*Animal welfare representatives should be included in the advisory committee
in formulating the new wildlife control regulations. 

*A large percentage of wildlife problems can be eliminated by basic public
information. This will save homeowners huge amounts of money and will prevent
problems from reoccurring. 

Please write to:
Governor Paul Patton
100 State Capitol
Frankfort, KY 406011
502-564-2611

Commissioner Tom Bennett
KDFWR
#1 Game Farm Road
Frankfort, KY 40601
502-564-3400

Your letters will make a tremendous difference in the treatment of wildlife in
Kentucky.

If you have any questions, please contact Camilla Fox at API at 916-731-5521
or email to CFOXAPI@aol.com. Or contact the Fund for Animals' Kentucky office
at 502-587-0508.
Date: Fri, 26 Dec 1997 11:23:04 -0500
From: Liz Grayson 
To: ar-news 
Subject: Cat scratch fevers plays role in AIDS
Message-ID: <34A409C8.27@earthlink.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

12:21 PM ET 12/24/97

Trench, cat scratch fevers play role in AIDS

         
           Release at 5 p.m. EST (2200 GMT)
           By Gene Emery
           BOSTON (Reuters) - The bacteria responsible for cat scratch
fever and for trench fever, which felled more than a million
soldiers during World War I, may be responsible for an often
overlooked illness among AIDS patients, according to a study in
Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.
            A team led by University of California San Francisco
researcher Dr. Jane E. Koehler studied 49 patients with a
recurrent infection known as bacillary angiomatosis-peliosis.
Most also suffered from AIDS.
            They found that in 53 percent of the cases the infection
came from the bacteria that causes cat scratch fever. In the
remaining 47 percent the trench fever bacteria was responsible.
            The findings demonstrated that microbes thought to be
responsible for one disease can produce a seemingly different
illness in people whose immune systems have been crippled, such
as people infected with the AIDS virus or who are receiving
chemotherapy.
            Cat scratch fever from bacteria on a cat's claws can cause a
fever, rash and headache, along with a swollen lymph node near
the site of a scratch. Fleas spread the disease from cat to cat
and 40 percent of the cats tested in one study carried that type
of bacteria.
            ``More than 40,000 cases of catch scratch disease are
reported each year, many more than for Lyme disease,'' noted Dr.
Lucy S. Tompkins of Stanford University Medical Center in an
editorial in the Journal. One in three U.S. households have a
cat.
            Trench fever, which afflicted more than a million troops in
World War I and killed many of them, causes headaches, muscle
pains and fever when bite wounds that have been contaminated by
the feces of infected lice are scratched.
            In those with a debilitated immune system, the bacteria can
produce weight loss, anemia, cardiovascular damage,
non-malignant growths throughout the body and death.
            AIDS patients can get the disease from their cats, said
Koehler, who advises people with AIDS to wash after exposure to
felines and do as much as they can to control fleas.
            Among homeless people, the greatest threat of bacillary
angiomatosis comes from exposure to lice, researchers said.
            Bacillary angiomatosis-peliosis can usually be cured by the
same antibiotics that are already routinely given to AIDS
patients to prevent another disease known as mycobacterium avian
complex.
            Although it is readily curable, the illness often goes
undiagnosed, Koehler said.
         ^REUTERS@
Date: Fri, 26 Dec 1997 11:27:12 -0500
From: Liz Grayson 
To: ar-news 
Subject: Don't forget-eat your tofu!
Message-ID: <34A40ABF.2D56@earthlink.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

03:10 PM ET 12/24/97

Estrogen helps memory as women age, study finds

         
            WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Hormone replacement therapy may do
more than protect aging women from bone loss -- it could also
slow memory loss, researchers said  Wednesday.
            The National Institute on Aging study found that women
taking estrogen to prevent symptoms of menopause did better on
memory tests than women of the same age who did not take
estrogen.
            Writing in the journal Neurology, they said their study was
the first to document the effect of estrogen on age-related
memory loss over a long period of time.
            The researchers, led by Susan Resnick, tested 288 women
taking part in a long-term aging study in Baltimore from 1978 to
1994.
            The women took regular memory tests known as Benton Visual
Retention tests. The 116 who took estrogen replacement therapy
made significantly fewer errors than women who never took
hormones.
            ``Animal studies show that estrogen can directly influence
structural characteristics of neurons in the brain, particularly
in regions that are important for new learning,'' Resnick said
in a statement.
            ``These regions are also most vulnerable to neuron loss in
Alzheimer's disease. Thus, lessening the effects of these
changes with ERT (estrogen replacement therapy) holds promise as
a drug intervention.''
            In June, scientists at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore
reported in Neurology that women who took the hormone had a 54
percent lower chance of developing Alzheimer's.
            Both teams of scientists stressed that more research was
needed to confirm the effects.
           
 ^REUTERS@
Date: Fri, 26 Dec 1997 11:42:05 -0500
From: Liz Grayson 
To: ar-news 
Subject: Sacraments and Sacrifice
Message-ID: <34A40E3B.69BC@earthlink.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

New United Arab Emirates law limits wedding costs

         
            ABU DHABI, Dec 25 (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates on
Thursday adopted a law banning unusually high wedding expenses
which officials have blamed for a large number of UAE men
marrying foreign women.
            The official news agency WAM said UAE President Sheikh Zaid
bin Sultan al-Nahayan issued a decree approving the law which
set a ceiling of 20,000 dirhams ($5,450) on mahr, the money paid
by a bridegroom to his future wife.
            The law also set a limit of 30,000 dirhams on compensation
paid by men to their former wives upon divorce and said wedding
celebrations should not be more than a day long during which not
more than NINE CAMELS could be SACRIFICED, WAM said.
            Fines of up to 500,000 dirhams are foreseen for those who
violate the law, which analysts say aims to encourage weddings
between UAE nationals by reducing wedding costs in the oil-rich
Gulf Arab state.
            In a region where men may have up to four wives at the same
time, high marriage costs are driving up to 40 percent of UAE
men to seek a foreign wife, a trend officials blame for rising
divorce rates and a growing number of UAE spinsters.
            Thirty-six in every 100 marriages in the UAE in recent years
ended in divorce, compared with 10 in every 100 in the 1980s,
according to a Labour and Social Affairs Ministry study last
year.
            Sheikh Zaid's decision finalised the adopton of the federal
law which was approved by the UAE cabinet in September.
            The UAE set up a state-sponsored Marriage Fund in 1992 to
encourage nationals to marry local women.
            According to Islam's teachings, Moslem men are allowed to
marry non-Moslem women, while Moslem women cannot marry
non-Moslem men. Islam does not set a rule on mahr, but it
requires moderation.
            ($1-3.67 dirhams)
 ^REUTERS@
Date: Fri, 26 Dec 1997 23:12:34 -0500
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) Fish Farm Planned in Boston Harbor
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19971226231227.00705cbc@pop3.clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from Associated Press http://wire.ap.org
----------------------------------
 12/26/1997 12:37 EST

 Fish Farm Planned in Boston Harbor

 By JON MARCUS
 Associated Press Writer

 BOSTON (AP) -- There was a time when all Boston Harbor seemed able to
 produce was stink and slime.

 Now they want to raise fish there.

 In the first such urban aquaculture project in the nation, Massachusetts
 Institute of Technology scientists are raising a tasty type of fish
 called red drum in a tiny trailer on an old Navy pier, using untreated
 harbor water -- so far, with no ill effects.

 ``We're really trying to explore what the worst situation is,'' said
 Cliff Goudey, director of MIT's Center for Fisheries Engineering and the
 captain of the cramped metal shipping container that has been converted
 into a harborside fish factory.

 The 120 fish, each about 10 inches long, seem right at home in their
 300-gallon tanks, where the water is warmed with simple home aquarium
 heaters and circulated through a homemade system of plastic pipes.

 They're happier, at least, than the codfish that were the first to be
 raised when the project began in 1996. They died within six months -- not
 because the water was polluted, but because it was too warm for the
 coldwater species.

 Warmer water red drum were next in the pool, since it's easier to heat
 the tanks than cool them. So far, they've doubled in size since August on
 their diet of catfish food released automatically by a machine six times
 a day.

 In fact, the muggy former shipping container, 20 feet long by 8 feet
 wide, needs little maintenance. Between 5 percent and 10 percent of the
 ocean water is replaced daily at high tide, and the only treatment comes
 before the excess is returned to Boston Harbor, when it passes through a
 filter system to remove ammonia excreted by the fish.

 Such strict environmental controls are required as part of the
 multibillion-dollar effort that helped clean the notoriously filthy
 harbor. Lobstermen are setting traps again, and harbor seals have
 returned.

 ``Those are pretty good monitors of the quality of the water,'' said
 Jerry Schubel, president of the New England Aquarium. ``Ten years ago it
 was one of the most polluted harbors in the United States, and now it's
 one of the cleanest.''

 Meanwhile, aquaculture has grown to a $30 billion industry worldwide,
 helping meet an international demand for seafood that is projected to
 rise by 19 million tons to 91 million tons within the next 15 years.

 ``What is different is that we're doing it here, that we're bold enough
 to try it in Boston Harbor,'' Goudey said, standing on his pier with the
 city skyline in the background.

 The MIT project and another planned by a chain of seafood restaurants in
 South Boston call for raising fish in harborside tanks with closed-loop
 recirculating water systems. Empty warehouses would provide the perfect
 sites, energy and food expenses would be minimal compared to growing fish
 outdoors, and the water could be treated and re-used.

 Work is well under way already on a large-scale space in an abandoned
 Navy building, where 40,000-gallon tanks 30 feet in diameter will be used
 to grow haddock. The building was made available by the National Park
 Service, and Goudey and some students have refurbished it.

 If that expansion is successful, Goudey said, he hopes it will persuade
 entrepreneurs to open profit-making fish factories on Boston Harbor
 within the next year.

 Haddock is a popular New England dish, and no less a culinary authority
 than chef Paul Prudhomme recommends red drum in his blackened redfish
 recipe.

 City officials hope to attract an aquaculture institute that could
 produce seafood for local restaurants, provide education and training and
 serve as a tourist attraction. Mayor Thomas Menino is eyeing an unused 50
 million-gallon 19th-century wastewater treatment tank on Moon Island in
 the harbor as a potential aquaculture site.

 There's another advantage to urban aquaculture, according to Goudey:
 Cities provide a huge, close-by market for fresh fish, with no need for
 expensive and time-consuming transportation. And the public's appetite is
 heightened, he said, after years of restrictions on commercial fishing
 grounds.

 ``It's an exceptional market in the value placed on fresh seafood,''
 Goudey said. ``What aquaculture can do is bring back the kind of
 freshness Boston used to enjoy.''

 The drawback? Fish farms could undercut the price paid to already
 struggling commercial fishermen.

 In the meantime, the red drum grow in their tank. They eventually will be
 tested for metals or other contaminants, but for now are small enough to
 be protected from the frying pan.

 ``It would take a lot of these fish to make a sandwich,'' Goudey said.



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