ADVISORY/Global Fisheries May Be in Crisis but Most Local Fisheries Remain Robust and Sustainable.

News Editors/Business Editors/Assignment Desks

ADVISORY...for Friday (May 16)

--(BUSINESS WIRE)

 Fishermen Say Consumers Can Help Preserve Fish Stocks and the Oceans
        By Selecting Locally and Sustainably Harvested Seafood


WHEN:      Friday, May 16, 2003 at 10AM

WHERE:     Scoma's Restaurant, Pier 47 (foot of Jones Street),
           Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco

WHAT:      News event with local fishermen, restaurateurs,
           wholesalers, and marine biologists to discuss fisheries,
           both globally and locally.  The City of San Francisco has
           demonstrated its leadership by passing two resolutions on
           fisheries by Supervisor Gerardo Sandoval to promote
           locally-caught and sustainably harvested fish and provide
           consumers more information on the health benefits and risks
           of various types of seafood.

WHO:       Larry Collins, San Francisco fisherman and Chairman of the
           California Seafood Council; David Goldenberg, Executive
           Director, California Salmon Council; Natasha Benjamin,
           Institute for Fisheries Resources; and Zeke Grader, Pacific
           Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations

WHY:       Some of California's top fishery leaders say that many of
           the world's fish stocks are at a crisis stage requiring
           international attention, and point to local efforts to
           preserve fish habitats and manage fisheries as examples for
           the rest of the world to follow.  California has lots of
           experience rebuilding its sardine and salmon fisheries and
           carefully regulating its Dungeness crabs, shark and halibut
           fisheries for long term sustainability.  California
           fishermen have also taken the lead in initiating
           legislation to research and manage the squid fishery, as
           well as ban the taking of great white sharks and krill
           (little shrimp) altogether to protect the ocean food chain
           at the top and bottom.

ADDITIONAL
 INFO:     The fishing leaders say consumers can help the cause of
           fish and ocean conservation in two ways:

            1)  Support efforts by fishermen and conservationists to
                better protect fish habitats and prevent overfishing
                on the high seas.

            2)  Support fishing men and women who fish sustainably by
                asking questions about their fish in markets and
                restaurants, using for reference such seafood guides
                that have been developed by the Monterey Bay Aquarium,
                Steinhart Aquarium, and Aquarium of the Bay.