There'd be no salmon if McClintock gets his way
Just on the heels of the positive news that California’s salmon fisheries seem to be on the rebound, comes this: U.S. Congressman Tom McClintock (R), of California’s 4th District, has apparently declared war on salmon.
On April 5th and 11th McClintock held hearings in Washington, DC and Fresno vowing to destroy the
government protections for salmon so that more Delta water can be pumped to junior water rights holders in the San Joaquin Valley. In orchestrating his water plan he said, “The facts we gather from this hearing will be instrumental as we begin the process to rescind government policies at the root of the San Joaquin Valley’s misery.”
McClintock proposes to remove the National Marine Fisheries Service salmon protections that restrict Delta water exports.
It’s time to fight back. Every fisherman in McClintock’s district (from Citrus Heights to the Nevada and Oregon borders) should be outraged and should write him a letter. To see a suggested letter you can send to McClintock go to:
Water4Fishby JD on February 11, 2011
California's Most Wanted
Those of you who thought that the battle to kill all striped bass in California died when State Assembly Member
Jean Fuller (R-Bakersfield) had her anti-striper legislation kicked to the curb for a second straight year last summer…think again! Water purveyors from the southern portion of the state, along with the National Marine Fisheries Service, are waging a war to get stripers eradicated from our waters.
The flawed logic goes like this: Get rid of the predatory stripers and salmon will come back. But it’s just a diversionary tactic to get us to ignore the fact that the Delta ecosystem is literally falling apart at the seams due to unprecedented water exports and poor water quality. And the funny thing about it all is getting rid of stripers may actually cause worse problems for native fishes in the Delta. Listen to what Dr. Peter Moyle, Professor of Fish Biology at UC Davis and William A. Bennett, UC Davis, Fish Ecologist have to say about it all:
“The key to restoring populations of desirable species is to return the Delta to a more variable, estuarine environment,” they say. “Reducing striped bass and other predator populations is unlikely to make a difference in saving endangered fishes, and will serve only to distract attention from the real problems. Any program to control striped bass should carefully consider the likely consequences. If initiated, it should involve an intensive study effort on the impacts of the program and an adaptive management plan (missing from all current proposals) to make sure the alleged cure is not worse than the supposed disease.” Read more reasons why removing our stripers is a bad idea on the
California Water Blogby JD on September 17, 2010
The infamous Outlet Hole has been absolutley stuffed with kings this summer and fall!
Finally, some good news from the California salmon scene! The Feather River is loaded with kings this year and they should have no problem reaching spawning escapement here! Maybe a sign of better times ahead!
Here’s what the DFG is saying…
Healthy returns of both spring and fall run Chinook salmon are expected when the Feather River Hatchery opens the spawning holding pen gate Wednesday. The hatchery gate is scheduled to open at 9 a.m. on Sept. 15. Based on observation of the number of salmon holding in the river below the hatchery, an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 fish are likely to return to the hatchery over the next few weeks. They will be spawned in the hatchery over the next two months. [click to continue…]
What do salmon mean to you?
On April 1, a congressional panel led by Congressmen George Miller and Mike Thompson will assemble in San Francisco to hear from fishery leaders and the public about the economic and human costs of the closed 2008 and 2009 fishing seasons. This is the best opportunity in years for salmon fishermen and other supporters to join in a united statement that we support salmon, salmon fishing and the water and habitat needs that will allow the stocks to rebuild. Please attend and help make a statement. Show our leaders that salmon are important.
[click to continue…]
The Pacific Fisheries Management Council, at it’s Sacramento meeting this week, has announced three options for the California recreational salmon season in 2010. They range from a full-blown season to none at all. Keep in mind, these are the options and the National Marine Fisheries Service gets the last say on the matter in April.
But for now, here’s what’s being considered… [click to continue…]
Will things never change??
To keep up on the fast moving, often underhanded and corrupt water politics of California and how they usually don’t turn out so well in the favor of fish and those who make their livings off them, check out Lloyd Carter’s
Chronicles of the Hydraulic Brotherhood. There’s you’ll learn about all kinds of interesting stuff like Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s efforts to gut the Endangered Species Act on behalf of the Westlands Water District; that the United Farm Workers Union has come out against the $11 billion water bond and why the salmon weren’t saved half a century ago…thanks to all the usual political B.S.
It’s all a very good read…though pretty sobering in many cases…
by JD on February 24, 2010
Will we or won't we??
The $1 billion question…Will California have a salmon season in 2010? Some folks are suggesting we should have a season, based on the fact that Sacramento River Fall Run jack counts were high enough in 2009 to forecast a run this year that should be well above minimum escapement goals, but I think that is very flawed logic.
Jack counts alone are, overall, a poor predictor of run size and to open a season based on that seems irresponsible to me. All you have to do is look at the jack numbers in 2008, which predicted a full run of 121,000 adult kings in 2009. We of course ended up with 35,000 that year!
[click to continue…]by JD on February 11, 2010
The numbers are in for California’s Central Valley Chinook salmon in 2009 and they aren’t pretty: The Pacific Fisheries Management Council’s just-released counts indicate the state’s salmon population hit a new all time record low in 2009.
The Council reports “In 2009, a total of 39,530 natural and hatchery Sacramento River Fall Chinook (SRFC) adults were estimated to have returned to the Sacramento River basin for spawning….The 2009 adult escapement estimate is the lowest on record and continues the declining trend in SRFC escapement despite the 2008 and 2009 closures of nearly all ocean Chinook fisheries south of Cape Falcon…” [click to continue…]
