This is just one post in the Delta Issues Category

Delta smelt population disappearing

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on May 23, 2007 at 5:54 pm

The Aqua Blog Maven is concerned … Recent trawls for determining the population of the Delta smelt netted only 25 fish - no zeroes were left off the end of that number - grow just one more hand or foot and you would be able to count them on your fingers and toes. It’s 93% less smelt then was found this same time last year.

What is amazing is that this information has been known since May 15th, and only recently reported on in the Northern California papers. It is getting NO attention down here in Southern California.

This from the Sacramento Bee, from yesterday:

“The numbers are so low that we are very concerned,” Armor said. “Something happened out there this year. Hardly any are out there.” The state typically conducts eight smelt surveys through June. Because smelt live for just one year, this spring’s low count does not bode well for the future, Armor said.

Environmental and fishing groups have complained that the state’s water-pumping operations are a factor in the decline of several species, including smelt. State researchers are studying whether other species are eating the smelt’s food or toxins in the river are killing the fish.

“We’re reducing water pumping as a precaution, but we believe it’s a toxic episode,” said Sandy Cooney, a spokesman with the California Resources Agency.

Quote of the day: State officials say no smelt have been killed at the Harvey O. Banks facility, the main pumping station outside Tracy that sends water to the San Francisco Bay area and Southern California.

Aqua Blog Maven would like to thank the state officials for somehow not capturing the remaining twenty-five smelt that are still surviving in the Delta …

For the full story as reported in the Sacramento Bee, click here.

In a letter addressed to Ryan Broddrick (Director of the Dept. of Fish & Game), Lester Snow (Director of the Dept. of Water Resources), and Pam Doduc (Chair of the State Water Resources Board), Darrell Steinberg, Chair of the Senate Natural Resources & Water Committee, says “it’s time to stop arguing about what took the smelt to the brink of extinction and time to start taking decisive actions to bring them back.”

Steinberg expresses his dismay that, despite all of the recommendations of respected biologists and state’s Pelagic Fish Action Plan, the DWR has taken action on none of them and at times, taken actions diametrically opposed to the recommendations of the scientists.

He writes: ” … I’d like to know which of the recommendations in the Pelagic Fish Action Plan, by Drs Moyle and Swanson, and the Delta Smelt Workinfg Group you will be implementing and when, which you will not be implementing and why, and what additional actions you will be taking beyond those recommended in the Pelagic Fish Action Plan … and the Delta Smelt Working Group.”

The Aqua Blog Maven will let you know if there is any response.

So what does this mean, really?

The Delta smelt are the “canary in the coal mine”, so to speak. They are also an important part of the food chain. If the Delta Smelt become extinct, so will other species who depend on them. The ecosystem of the Delta will collapse.

Why should we in Southern California care? Because a major portion of our water comes from the Delta area. In the Northern part of the state, much attention is paid to water. It is also where most of the water is. The water pumped from the Delta goes to agricultural purposes in the Central Valley, and to Southern California as a major portion of its’ water supply. Or, in other words, the fish are dying off due to, at least in part, the operations of the pumps that take water out of the Delta, water which is on it’s way to the agricultural fields of the Central Valley and to the faucets of Southern California.

Hank Shaw has a great story on this, which you can read by clicking here, and also Waterlog, which you can visit by clicking here. You will also find the full text of the letter at the Waterlog site.

Even though several Delta species (the smelt not being the only ones) have been declining precipitously over the last six years, the State DWR has taken no real action to prevent and avoid extinction. Last year, the State and Federal water projects exported near record amounts of water through the massive pumps located in the Delta.

So what can you do? If this concerns you, and the Aqua Blog Maven believes that it should, then you can send an email to the governor by clicking here.

May 23, 2007 · Filed Under Delta Issues