NOAAlNMFS Developments

NMFS OutstandingPublications Cited

Winners of the National Marine Fish­eries Service's Outstanding PublicationsAward for papers published in theMarine Fisheries Review (vol. 46) andthe Fishery Bulletin (vol. 82 and 83)have been announced by NMFS Pub­lications Advisory Committee Chair­man Ben Drucker, along with specialrecognition of a nine-paper section inthe Marine Fisheries Review entitled"The Status of Endangered Whales."

"Groundfish Fisheries and Researchin the Vicinity of Seamounts in theNorth Pacific Ocean" by R. N. Uchidaand D. T. Tagami of the NMFS South­west Fisheries Center's Honolulu Lab­oratory was selected by the AwardsCommittee as the best paper in theMarine Fisheries Review, 46(2):1-17.Selected as the best papers in the Fish­ery Bulletin for volumes 82 and 83,respectively, were: "Morphology, Sys­tematics, and Biology of the SpanishMackerels (Scomberomorus, Scombri­dae)" by Bruce B. Collette and 1. L.Russo, 82(4):545-692; and "Using Ob­jective Criteria and Multiple RegressionModels for Age Determination ofFishes" by George W. Boehlert, 83(2):103-117. Collette is with the NMFS Na­tional Systematics Laboratory in Wash­ington, D.c., and Boehlert is with theNMFS Southwest Fisheries Center'sHonolulu Laboratory.

In all, six papers were nominatedfrom volume 82 of the Fishery Bulletin,seven papers from volume 83, and sixpapers were nominated from volume 46of the Marine Fisheries Review, alongwith the nine whale papers.

Earning special recognition from theAwards Committee was a collection ofnine papers in the Marine FisheriesReview, 46(4):1-64, entitled "The Statusof Endangered Whales" which was pre­pared by scientists with the NationalMarine Mammal Laboratory at theNorthwest and Alaska Fisheries Center,Seattle, Wash. Papers in that collection,which were edited by Jeffrey M. Brei-

48(4), 1986

wick and Howard W. Braham, included:"The Status of Endangered Whales: AnOverview," by Howard W. Braham;"The Gray Whale, Eschrichtius robus­tus," by Dale W. Rice, Allen A. Wol­man, and Howard W. Braham; "TheBlue Whale, Balaenoptera musculus,"by Sally A. Mizroch, Dale W. Rice, andJeffrey M. Breiwick; "The Fin Whale,Balaenoptera physalus," by Mizroch,Rice, and Breiwick; "The Sei Whale,Balaenoptera borealis," also by Miz­roch, Rice, and Breiwick; "The Hump­back Whale, Megaptera novaeangliae,"by 1. A. Johnson and Allen A. Wolman;"The Right Whale, Balaena glacialis,"by Braham and Rice; "The BowheadWhale, Balaena mysticetus" by Bra­ham; and "The Sperm Whale, Physe­ter macrocephalus," by Merrill E.Gosho, Rice, and Breiwick.

The five other papers nominated involume 82 of the Fishery Bulletin were:"Spring and Summer Prey of Califor­nia Sea Lions, Zalophus califomicus, atSan Miguel Island, California" by G. A.Antonelis, C. H. Fiscus, and R. L.DeLong, 48(1):67-76; "Age, Growth,and Mortality of Gray Triggerfish,Balistes capricus, From the Northeast­ern Gulf of Mexico" by A. G. Johnsonand C. H. Salomon, 82(3):485-492;"Calibration of Dental Layers in SevenCaptive Hawaiian Spinner Dolphins,Stenella longirostris, Based on Tetra­cycline Labeling" by A. C. Myrick, Jr.,E. W. Shallenberger, 1. Kang, and D. B.MacKay, 82(1):207-225; "Documenta­tion of Annual Growth Lines in OceanQuahogs, Arctica islandica Linne" by1. W. Ropes, D. S. Jones, S. A. Muraw­ski, F. M. Serchuk, and A. Jearld, Jr.,82(1):1-19; and "Selection of VegetatedHabitat by Brown Shrimp, Penaeusaztecus, in a Galveston Bay Salt Marsh"by R. 1. Zimmerman, T. 1. Minello, andG. Zamora, Jr., 82(2):325-336.

The six other papers nominated fromvolume 83 were: "Dolphin Habitats inthe Eastern Tropical Pacific" by D. W.

K. Au and W. L. Perryman, 83(4):623­643; "Confidence Limits for PopulationProjections When Vital Rates Vary Ran­domly" by T. Gerrodette, D. Goodman,and 1. Barlow, 83(3):207-217; "Egg Pro­duction of the Central Stock of North­ern Anchovy, Engraulis mordax, 1951­82" by N. C. H. Lo, 83(2):137-150;"Long-term Responses of the Demer­sal Fish Assemblages of Georges Bank"by W. 1. Overholtz and A. V. Tyler,83(4):507-520; "The Rock ShrimpGenus Sicyonia (Crustacea: Decapoda:Penaeoidea) in the Eastern Pacific" by1. Perez Farfante, 83(1):1-79; and "Age,Growth, and Distribution of LarvalSpot, Leiostomus xanthurus, off NorthCarolina" by S. M. Warlen and A. 1.Chester, 83(4):587-599.

The five other MFR papers nomi­nated from volume 46 were: "UsingCharterboat Catch Records for FisheriesManagement" by H. A. Brusher, M. L.Williams, L. Trent, and B. 1. Palko,46(3):48-55; "Dungeness Crab LegLoss in the Columbia River Estuary"by 1. T. Durkin, K. D. Buchanan, andT. H. Blahm, 46(1):22-24; "U.S. TunaTrade Summary, 1983" by S. F. Her­rick, Jr., and S. Koplin, 46(4):65-72;"Assessing the Accuracy of a Method toDetermine the Amount of Minced Fishin Mixed Mince-Fillet Fish Blocks" by1. P. Lane, 1. 1. Ryan, and R. 1. Lear­son, 46(3):76-79; and "Fish or Fish Oilin the Diet and Heart Attacks" by M.E. Stansby, 46(2):60-63.

Developed in 1975, the annual out­standing publication awards programrecognizes NMFS employees who havemade exceptional contributions to theknowledge and understanding of theresources, processes, and organismsstudied as a part of the NMFS mission.Authors must have been employed bythe NMFS at the time the paper waspublished. Marine Fisheries Reviewpapers must be effective and interpre­tative contributions to the understand­ing and knowledge of NMFS mission­related studies, while Fishery Bulletinpapers must document outstandingscientific work.

At the close of each volume, nomina­tions are solicited from the NMFSCenter, Regional, and Office Directorsfor the the awards by the Awards Com-

71

Data Resources of the NODe

mittee Chairman-the editor of the Fish­ery Bulletin, currently Andrew Dizon atthe NMFS Southwest Fisheries Center.

The National Oceanographic DataCenter (NDC) , which this year cele­brated its 25th anniversary, is the U.S.national repository and disseminationfacility for global oceanographic data.Established in 1961 as an interagencyfacility uner the management of theNaval Hydrographic (now Oceanogra­phic) Office, the NODC has been partof NOAA since NOAA was created in1970. Today the NODC operates withinthe NOAA National EnvironmentalSatellite, Data, and Information Service(NESDIS). The environmental data fIlesof the NODC and its sister centers (theNational Geophysical Data Center(NGDC), Boulder, Colo., and the Na­tional Climatic Data Center (NCDC),Asheville, N.e.) are installed on a cen­tral NESDIS computer facility locatedat the NCDC in Asheville.

Through the NODC, researchers haveaccess to data from government agen­cies, universities and research institu­tions, industry, and foreign agencies andorganizations. Foreign data are acquiredthrough bilateral and multilateral ex­changes. Since 1962 the U.S. NODChas operated World Data Center A forOceanography, one of the U.S. compo­nents of a global network that facilitatesinternational data exchange. The NODCreceives data from dozens of other coun­tries including the U.S.S.R. and other

Other Committee members include theeditor of the Marine Fisheries Review,W. L. Hobart, and former Fishery Bul-

eastern-bloc nations and the People'sRepublic of China.

NODe's primary resources are itsarchive data files. Data received byNODC that are processable into stan­dard formats enter its data processing/quality control system and are mergedinto the appropriate data files. Data inthese files can be selectively retrieved(either by cruise or by geographic areaand time period) and provided to cus­tomers in a variety of media and forms.Besides printouts and magnetic tapecopies of selected data, the NODC pro­vides a wide selection of customizeddata summaries, analyses, and graphicplots. All NODC data products are pro­vided at cost. Standard charges are im­posed for some relatively simple pro­ducts; cost estimates are provided formore complex jobs.

For certain standard types of oceandata such as hydrographic stations andbathythermograph temperature profiles,NODC data files have worldwide cover­age. NODC holds other types of physi­cal, chemical, and biological dataprimarily for U.S. offshore and outercontinental shelf areas. For example, theNODC receives and archives wind andwave data from automated buoys oper­ated by the NOAA National Data BuoyCenter. NODC's physical/chemical datafiles (Table 1) include ocean temperature

letin editors Bruce B. Collette, ReubenLasker, Jay Quast, William 1. Richards,and Carl Sindermann.

and circulation data that are finding in­creased application to climate studies.A computerized data inventory systemenables NODC personnel to respondquickly to customer inquiries about thequantity of available data meeting spe­cified selection criteria.

In addition to its archive files, NODCalso provides copies of special data setsheld in originator formats. For example,NODC holds data tapes prepared by S.Levitus, NOAA/GFDL, in conjunctionwith the "Climatological Atlas of theWorld Ocean." These tapes includeglobal objective analyses of major oceanparameters on a one-degree grid.

From the NOAA Ocean ProductsCenter (OPC) the NODC is receivingquality-controlled marine data products.Global Blended Sea Surface Tempera­ture analyses (which combine in situ andsatellite data prepared in support of theTropical Ocean Global Atmosphere(TOGA) program) are now available atNODe. The initial data were receivedin December 1985. NODC is also re­ceiving and archiving monthly IGOSSdata tapes. These data are received atNODC within several working daysafter the end of each month. Detailedinformation about NODe's data hold­ings, products, and services is providedin the NODC Users Guide, which is

Table 1.-Major NODe physical/chemical data liles.

NODC and WDC-A Offices Move

11ime series data are reported as observation-months, i.e.,measured parameters recorded lor 1 month.

The Washington, D.C., offices of theU.S. National Oceanographic DataCenter (NODC) and the World DataCenter A (WDC-A) for Oceanographyhave been moved. The new NODS/WDC-A address is: National Oceano­graphic Data Center, NOAA/NESDIS,1825 Connecticut Avenue, NW., Wash­ington, DC 20235.

The new telephone numbers, whichare both commercial and FTS, are asfollows: Gregory W. Withee, Director,202-673-5594; User Services Branch,202-673-5549; WDC-A, Oceanography,202-673-5571; Ocean Pollution Data andInformation Network (OPDIN), 202­673-5539; and the Data Acquisition andManagement Branch, 202-673-5643.

Data type

Oceanographic StationsMechanical BT dataExpendable BT dataCTD/STD data (high resolution)CTD/STD data (low resolution)Surface current (ship drift) dataCurrent meter dataLagrangian current measurmentsCoastal wave dataNDBC buoy dataPressure gauge dataWater physics and chemistryMarine toxic substances

and pollutants

Volume (as of 4/86

713,268 stations980,222 stations531 ,799 statons

38.176 stations36,368 stations

4,175.000 stations17,292obs.-mo.'

1,258 obs.-rno.'51 obs.-mo'

6.043 obs.-mo'4730bs.-mo.'

71,538 stations

11.159 stations

72 Marine Fisheries Review

available free. Customers orders and in­quiries should be directed to: NationalOceanographic Data Center, User Ser­vices Branch NOAA/NESDIS E/OC21,Washington, DC 20235; Telephone,202-634-7500 or FTS 634-7500;Telemail: Mailbox "NODCWDCA".(Source: Richard 1. Abram.)

Omega-3 Fatty Acids forCardiovascular Research

Since the 1950's, scientists have rec­ognized the unique properties of fishoils in preventing heart disease. Green­land Eskimos and Japanese fishermenare unusually resistant to atherosclerosisand, during World War II, Norwegiansrecovered from heart attacks morerapidly than previously. Both of theseeffects are attributed to consumption offish, but the specific beneficial com­pounds are yet to be identified. Thecomplex nature of fish oils has ham­pered isolation and evaluation of in­dividual compounds for physiologicalactivity.

Now, the Fish Oil Research Group ofthe NMFS Northwest and Alaska Fish­eries Center's Utilization Research Divi­sion (URD) has found a way to prepareEPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA(docosahexaenoic acid) in purities up to94 percent. EPA and DHA are theomega-3 fatty acids present in fish oilsin the largest amounts. Omega-3 fattyacids, thought to inhibit the plaqueformation and blood clotting responsi­ble for heart attacks, are found in sub­stantial quantities only in marine oils.Oils from terrestrial sources containmainly omega-6 compounds whichappear to contribute to cardiovasculardisease. Consequently, availability ofEPA and DHA in adequate quantitieswill facilitate the biochemical andclinical studies needed to elucidate theexact physiological properties that makefish oils beneficial to human health.

A state-of-the-art method, supercri­tical carbon dioxide fractionation,allows EPA and DHA to be separatedfrom numerous other fatty acids nor­mally present in fish oils. To expeditethe process, short-chain saturated andmonounsaturated fatty acids are re­moved selectively beforehand by urea

48(4), 1986

complexation. In this way, the amountof material involved in the supercriticalfractionation is reduced and also theeffectiveness of the separation is en­hanced. Supercritical extraction is al­ready used to extract residual petroleumfrom oil wells and in the food industryto decaffeinate coffee. The advantage ofsupercritical carbon dioxide are lowtemperatures required, exclusion of oxy­gen, ready availability, low cost, non­toxicity, and absence of solvent residues.

To date, menhaden oil, the fish oilproduced in largest quantities in theUnited States, has been used for ourstudies. It represents a good source ofboth EPA and DHA (Table 1). Becauseof the similarity of these two com­pounds, the presence of one makes iso­lation of the other more difficult. Now,however, we are investigating two re­gional resources which appear to havespecial potential as starting materials forthe isolation of EPA and DHA. Alaskapollock liver oil is especially attractivefor production of EPA, as are tuna oilsfor DHA production. Nonspawning pol­lock liver oil contains 17 percent EPAand 5 percent DHA. The high ratio ofEPA to DHA, 3.5, should simplify iso­lation of EPA in high purity. Thna oilsare very attractive sources of DHA be­cause of unusually high concentrationsin the starting oils, 25-29 percent, andeven more because of the low concen­trations of EPA, 6.7-7.7 percent.

Pollock livers represent a vast un­tapped resource, a byproduct currentlywithout a market. For maximum util­ization, they should be collected fromnonspawning animals because duringspawning, the EPA content drops and

Table 1.-Fally acid profiles of menhaden, Alaskapollock, and luna oils.

Oil Palmitic Oleic EPA DHAsource 16:0 18:1 20:5 22:6 EPNDHA

Menhaden 16.8 9.4 16.0 8.4 1.9

Pollock liverNonspawning 18.6 18.7 17.3 4.9 3.5Spawning 15.9 18.7 15.6 6.4 2.4Spawning 14.5 17.0 13.8 7.6 1.8

TunasAlbacore 17.7 13.7 7.7 29.4Skipjack 18.5 12.4 7.4 27.9 0.27Yellow!in 17.7 15.1 6.7 25.3 0.26

the DHA content rises (Table I). Tunaoils are recovered from the precookliquor and have little commercial value.Purification and production of these oilswould dramatically enhance the value ofthe waste products. Production of EPAand DHA for biochemical and chemi­cal studies and potentially for sale asnutritional supplements and pharmaceu­tical agents would provide attractivemarkets for two unused regional pro­ducts. Source: Virginia F. Stout, URD,NWAFC, Seattle, Wash.

Pressurized Containersfor Dispensing Fish Oils

Pressurized containers show promisefor easy, effective storage of fish pro­ducts, reports the Utilization ResearchDivision (URD) of the NMFS North­west and Alaska Fisheries Center,which has been looking for a conveni­ent means of storing and dispensing fishoils for clinical studies on their efficacyin preventing and treating cardiovasculardisease. The physiologically active com­ponents of fish oils, omega-3 polyun­saturated fatty acids, decompose readilyin air. That is one of the reasons for codliver oil's taste, but flavor is not the onlyissue. Oxidation of the active com­ponents of fish oil reduces the potency;even more important is actual toxicity.Adding to the problem is the fact thatthe whole process, formally calledautoxidation, is a chain reaction; onceinitiated, autoxidation keeps expandingas it goes. Oxygen in the air is thedriving force.

Exclusion of oxygen is critical to thepreservation of fish oil and omega-3products. Until recently, two alternativeshave been used for storage of fish oils:Sealed, evacuated glass ampoules andnitrogen-flushed, screw-cap bottles.Ampoules are tricky to open and onlyuseful once, since they cannot be re­sealed easily. Bottles are more conveni­ent for multiple use, but once opened,air is admitted. To avoid autoxidation,the remaining omega-3 material must beflushed again with purified nitrogen, acumbersome procedure.

Pressurized packaging, so popular forcosmetics, paints and insecticides,

73

seems to be the method of choice forstoring and dispensing fish oils. Prelim­inary experiments show that the oils arestable in pressurized cans. With ultra­pure nitrogen as the propellant, metereddoses are easily dispensed. Next, the ap­plicability of the technique to omega-3concentrates will be evaluated. Source:Virginia F. Stout, URD, NWAFC,Seattle, Wash.

U.S. Salmon Faces MoreCompetition in ,Europe

European salmon farming was ex­pected to reach record levels in 1986,with Norway, the leading supplier, ex­pected to produce 40,000 metric tons (t)of farmed salmon in 1986. The othermajor European suppliers, Scotland andIreland, should have 1986 productionlevels of 8,000 and 1,500 t, respective­ly. This level of production, coupledwith weakening of the U.S. market forimported salmon, has resulted in lowerprices in the German market for salm­on. Fresh salmon competes with U.S.exports of frozen salmon.

In 1985, the United States was Ger­many's largest supplier of frozen salmonwith 1,014.9 t. Other suppliers includedCanada (790 t), Norway (174.7 t), andScotland (9.6 t). Summertime Germanwholesale prices for Norwegian salmonwere $3.l3/pound compared with $3.55/pound for comparable quality frozenAmerican salmon (at US$1 = DM2.l8).

Although the fresh salmon enjoysboth a competitive and price advantageover U.S. frozen salmon, German salm­on importers stated that they wouldnevertheless be watching the U.S. salm­on prices during the upcoming season.U.S. salmon exporters wishing to enteror maintain their market shares, shouldbe aware of the current market situationin order to set their prices accordingly.

The Federal Association of the Ger­man Fish Industry and Fish WholesaleTrade has reported that Norwegiansalmon farming is highly subsidized,although there is no information avail­able on Norwegian salmon farming sub­sidies nor a calculation of the indirecteffect of the subsidization on salmon ex­ports to third country markets. The Ger­man fish industry association also

74

speculates that the level of the subsidymight be reduced in the next 3-5 years,thereby bringing a corresponding in­crease in prices for Norwegian farmedsalmon. [However, Norwegian authori­ties have stated in response that theirsalmon farming is not subsidized.]Source: USDC, Business America.

Cooperative Efforts toSave Endangered Species

A mid-July flight to Hawaii's FrenchFrigate Shoals was made to assist inrecovery of the "threatened" green tur­tle and the "endangered" Hawaiianmonk seal, reports Richard S. Shomura,Director of the NMFS Southwest Fish­eries Center's Honolulu Laboratory. Aprivate conservation organization paidfor the flight which took green turtlehatchlings to French Frigate Shoals forrelease to the wild and returned toHonolulu with a weaned but under­developed female monk seal pup forrehabilitation.

Shomura said the 46 turtle hatchlingswere from Sea Life Park's captive tur­tle breeding program and were releasedat Tern Island at French Frigate Shoalswhere they crawled down the beach toenter the ocean. Hopefully, the turtleswould imprint there and return some­day to nest on that protected island. Tinymetal tags were placed on their flippersso that identification of them would bepossible if they are resighted. Other SeaLife Park hatchlings were released onOahu beaches earlier in the year.

Recovery of the small female monkseal is part of a project being conductedby the NMFS Marine Mammals andEndangered Species Program. Accord­ing to William G. Gilmartin, Programleader, female pups like that are broughtto Honolulu for "fattening" and then re­introduction into the wild at Kure Atollin the northwestern Hawaiian Islandswhere the monk seal population is verydepleted and in critical need of females.Three other females were collectedearlier this year, flown to Honolulu, andwere being cared for by NMFS. Gil­martin said five young females collectedand rehabilitated in 1984 and 1985 hadalready been added to the Kure popu­lation.

Shomura also reported that a younggreen sea turtle which was found injurednear Kailua-Kona during the summerwas taken to Honolulu and treated,thanks to the efforts of several concernedcitizens. The turtle was found by per­sonnel aboard a private dive boat whohad noticed that the animal was unableto submerge and had a hole in its shelljust behind the head.

The divers turned over the turtle toRussell Yim, an agent with the HawaiiState Division of Conservation and Re­source Enforcement. All sea turtles inHawaii are protected, and illegal takingor possession can result in imprison­ment and fines of up to $10,000. The tur­tle was held temporarily in a hotel ponduntil it could be treated.

"When we were notified," said JohnHenderson, NMFS Fishery Biologist,"we decided to fly the turtle to Hono­lulu for treatment. According to PatrickLeadbeater, Honolulu veterinarian, towhom the turtle was taken "the hole ap­peared to have been made by a spear orarrow." Said Leadbeater, "air had gotteninto the animal's body cavity, making ittoo buoyant to submerge and feed. Wetreated the turtle with antibiotics andremoved some damaged shell andmuscle tissue from the wound. After wewere confident that there was no infec­tion, we patched the hole with a biologi­cally compatible foam plug and a coat­ing of fiberglass resin. If the air insidethe cavity was coming from the hole, theturtle could biologically rid itself of thegas in a couple of weeks. But, if thelungs are damaged and leaking air intothe body cavity, it would take a muchlonger time to heal."

"We have recovered many turtles dur­ing the last few years with spear holes,and most of them died ," said WilliamGilmartin, Leader of the NMFS MarineMammals and Endangered Species Pro­gram. Gilmartin believed the effort bymany concerned people to get this tur­tle treated quickly could payoff andallow the turtle to survive. "Eventhough these turtles are protected by theFederal Endangered Species Act andState law as well," Gilmartin added,"the illegal taking of turtles makes re­covery of the population extremely dif­ficult." Gilmartin said the public can bea big help with this by reporting inci-

Marine Fisheries Review

dents in which turtles are injured orcollected by poachers to enforcementofficers at NMFS (546-5670) or theState (548-5918, or outer islands, askoperator for toll free Enterprise 5469).The turtle was being kept at the NMFSKewalo Research Facility, and, shouldit completely recover, it will be taggedand released, possibly back in the areawhere it was found.

Gulf IchthyoplanktonSamples for Research

The Gulf States Marine FisheriesCommission has announced the avail­ability of Gulf of Mexico ichthyoplank­ton samples for loan to qualified re­searchers. Samples have been and arecontinuing to be collected for SEAMAP(Southeast Area Monitoring and Assess­ment Program), a multi-year interna­tional Federal/state/university programof the GSMFC. Neuston and bongo netswere employed for specimen collectionin a one degree latitude/longitude gridover the entire Gulf from lat. 26°Nnorthward; samples were sorted andpreliminarily identified by the PlanktonSorting and Identification Center,Szczecin, Poland.

At present, samples from 1982 (7,057

ThIs statemant Is required by The let 01 Aug..l.st 12, 1910.

Section :5685, TItle 3/}, U.S. Code. sl1l::Jlllng cwnenhfp,

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publlcetlon numb!ll'" :!6H30, tinct was flied on 10::tob9r 1986.

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an (Irln!01 subsalp1IO'l prlC8 ot S8.75 (sold by the~rln1endem of D:lcI.mllnts. U.S. GoY'&r_f Printing OfflOll,

'lfllShlngton, a: 3>402). The~lete"'lltngedlTE6S0t TI'l9

office of publlceTlon Is: Scientific Publ'cetlons Office,

ffi,\tfll, """'S, N::),I,A. 7600 S!lnd Polrrt '<lev "I.E •• Btn Cl5700,SelIttle, WI 96115. the canplet. ITelllng eddrass of tho

I'o9!ldQuelrters of the publishing Ilg9f1CY 15: tetl00a1 M/lrlne

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Office, 7~ SIlrd Point """Y H.E., Bin CI51OO, Sellttle, ""98115. The oon... Is the U.S. C&partrtunt of Ccrrmer"ce, 14th St.,H.W., leshlngton, OC JJ230; there 111"8 no txlo'ldlloldef"S,

ou-tgtgEl8S. or other" security holders. The purpose, funCTion,

erd I'lO"lProfit ste1\ls of the orgenl~etlon (eQ9OCY) erd the

~tstaf\lsforFederellncanate"P'JI'"posesl'1aSnotCh1lnged

durJng the preceding 1211Qf1ttl5. The act....t erd f"oISture of

clrculetlon Is as follows: Totel""."tut" of c»p185 (Al (e__ega

IlI,jrrOOr of copl85 of eech Issue d..rlng the preceding 1211'O'lfl'lSl

wes 2,400 erd tho eCTU!l1 nurnbBr of copIes of the single Issue

pubtlsll9d _rest to the flllnQ dIIte _<IS 2,400. P&ld

clrculetl(f1 (8) Is h1Il'dled by the U.S. Gc::offlrrment Printing

Office, libshlngton, OC 2)4()2, Ilrd (Cl tr. totlll IlU!ItIer prInted

fO'" their sales (lIlIll subscrlptloosend IndlvldUi!l1 salesl_es

7~fortxrththeo~9l'~rrberofcopl&>e"chlssuedU'"lngttoe

prQC8jing 12 IIDIltIls ond ttoe ectUi!l1 nlMl'\l:lef" of copIes 01 the

single issue publiShed llEIo5I'"est to the filing dIlte. Free

dIstribution (0) by ""II, ClYr ler , 0'" other" IIl6llns; SolIll'4lles,

conpllmemery, en::! other free copies (ll'0'8rl19l' .....lTtler of copies

eadl Issue during the precedIng 12monthslwes 1,650 end the

aCTUllI nuntlerof COlli. of ttlBslngle Issuepubllshed_llISt

to th& fitlng date Wll$ 1.6~. The total dlstrlbutlOl (E: sum

ofClln::! 0) (e~gel'lUr/tl8rot c»pJ&>e"ch Issue dU'"lng the

preceding 12 months) WllS 2,400 am tl'e acfulll nutlIber of copies

of tile single issue publlshed.--rest totl'l8 f1lingdlltewllS

2,400. There were no eopl95 not d Istr Ibuted or returned tron

news egents (Fl. The toto I (G: sum of E lln:l F) Is 8QlJ!l1 to the

net prlllSS rl.l'l flgurfllS sllooln In Item A: 2,400 <l1'd 2,400 copIes,

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ore correct and conplste: (Slgledl.kK:kl4l:Co'1nlck,f'ubllsher,

48(4), 1986

lots, 93 families), 1983 (8,351 lots, 106families), and material from one sum­mer cruise in 1984 (4,155 lots, 75 fam­ilies) are available for loan. Lots of un­sorted fish eggs are also available fromthese years. Most samples are sorted tothe family level, although many haveidentification to generic or species level.Additional 1984 samples are expected tobecome available by the end of 1986.Specimens are available for loan on a6-month renewable basis. Researchersinterested in obtaining additional infor­mation can contact either the SEAMAPIchthyoplankton Curator, Florida De­partment of Natural Resources, Bureauof Marine Research, St. Petersburg, FL33701, or the SEAMAP Coordinator,Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commis­sion, P.o. Box 726, Ocean Springs, MS39564.

NMFS Helps to PreserveLouisiana Wetlands, Fish

The National Oceanic and Atmos­pheric Administration (NOAA) is help­ing protect economically vital fishhabitat in a Federal-state effort to re­cover valuable Louisiana coastal wet­lands. Biologists with NOAA's NationalMarine Fisheries Service have devel­oped procedures for the operation ofwater control structures installed inLouisiana canals to allow fish to enterthe marshlands during crucial early lifestages.

In 1985, 27 percent of the 6.3 billionpounds of fish harvested in the U.S.were caught off Louisiana. The state'scatch that year was worth more than$229 million at dockside. About 90 per­cent of those fish, including shrimp,menhaden, seatrout, croaker, flounder,and blue crabs, depend on wetlands dur­ing some stage of their development.For the past 3 years, Louisiana has beenlosing about 32,000 acres of coastal landannually.

NMFS biologists at Galveston, Tex.,have reviewed plans for about 300,000acres of wetlands and for the last 3 yearshave encouraged land managers to con­trol the structures to allow young fishand shellfish to enter the marsh area andreturn to the Gulf of Mexico aftermaturing. Land managers used the

structures to increase the water level inponds by the start of the waterfowl hunt­ing season in November to provide bet­ter marsh habitat for ducks and geesethat migrate to the area during thewinter. In the spring and summer theywould drain the marshes to allow newplant growth. However, this methodprevented several important species offish and shellfish from entering themarsh area during their peak migratoryperiods.

The Commerce Department agencyhas provided guidance for the manage­ment of about 200 of the structures in­stalled throughout the state's 2.5 millionacres of marshlands. They are instilledacross man-made canals to alleviate thesaltwater intrusion and extreme waterlevels that often damage plant life.

The canals are built to make themarshland accessible to barges for oiland gas exploration. The control struc­tures regulate the direction, velocity andamount of fresh and salt water allowedto enter or leave the canals. The wetlandconservation effort involves marshowners, the NMFS, Soil ConservationService, Fish and Wildlife Service,Corps of Engineers, and Louisiana'sDepartment of Wildlife and Fisheriesand Natural Resources.

FDA, NMFS,SIGN MOU

The U.S. Food and Drug Administra­tion (FDA) has provided notice of amemorandum of understanding (MOD)between the National Marine FisheriesService (NMFS) of the National Ocean­ic and Atmospheric Administration,U.S. Department of Commerce, and theFDA of the Public Health Service, U.S.Department of Health and Human Ser­vices. This MOD describes the coopera­tive methods that FDA and NMFS willemploy to deal with illegal commercein molluscan shellfish. The agreementbecame effective on 24 July 1986 andfurther information on it is availablefrom: Walter 1. Kustka, Intergovern­mental and Industry Affairs Staff (HFC­50), Food and Drug Administration,5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD20857, (301) 443-1583. (Source: 5IFR,No. 164, 30271.)

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