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Longfin smelt not endangered in California, regulators say; Feds deny protection

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on April 9, 2009 at 7:44 am

From the Contra Costa Times:

Longfin smelt in the Bay and the Delta do not warrant protection under the federal endangered species law, regulators said Wednesday.

The fish are already protected under state law, but the decision to reject another layer of environmental protection angered environmentalists who said the fish is disappearing in California and could be in similarly bad shape in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska.

“I don’t think their conclusion is credible,” said Tina Swanson, executive director of the Bay Institute, one of three environmental groups that asked for the listing in 2007. “It’s a tragedy.”

Read more from the Contra Costa Times by clicking here.

From the Sacramento Bee:

The longfin is slightly larger than the Delta smelt, already listed as threatened under federal law. It is also known to venture into the Pacific Ocean, unlike the Delta smelt, which spends its entire life in the Sacramento-San Joaquin estuary. Both are considered important indicators of ecosystem health.

Wildlife Service spokesman Al Donner said biologists know the longfin drifts north on ocean currents as far as Alaska and may breed with other longfin populations. But no one knows if the Delta’s longfin ever return or whether they are genetically unique, he said.

Only one genetic study has been done on the populations, Donner said. It dates to 1995, and examined a lake-bound longfin population in Washington state, not one that ventures into the ocean. “There is limited information on the species, and that is part of the problem,” he said.

Read more from the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.

From the San Jose Mercury News:

“Part of the challenge was a lack of information,” Donner said. “There’s not as much good data as would be helpful, that would allow us to make a more detailed analysis.”

Lisa Belenky, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, said the agency “pretty much ignored the science that was provided in the petition.”

Donner cited a 2007 report by Bay Institute conservation biologist Jonathan Rosenfield titled “Population Dynamics and Distribution Patterns of Longfin Smelt in the San Francisco Estuary” as “one of the studies that indicated (to the agency) that the populations do go out into the currents” of the ocean.

However, Rosenfield said today the fact that the fish migrate out into the ocean is “not news to anybody”, but asked “how are those fish coming back (to the Bay Area) if the current is going north? What does that have to do with sustaining the population here?”

“If anything, that makes it more distinct, and makes it more necessary to conserve here if this population is crucial to maintaining the population up the coast,” he said.

Read more from the San Jose Mercury News by clicking here.

From Stockton’s Record:

“The numbers are low on the smelt. We recognize that. … We’re aware of it. But more information is needed,” said Al Donner, a spokesman for Fish and Wildlife in Sacramento. His agency called for a broader assessment of the species that could lead to protections in the future.

Wednesday’s decision may not have a dramatic impact on water supplies in California, since the longfin smelt just last month was already extended protection under the state’s Endangered Species Act.

Groups that export water from the Delta to two-thirds of California said that earlier decision could put yet another dent in their supplies; they have sued the state over new longfin smelt restrictions.

Environmentalists, however, said Wednesday that federal protection is “absolutely necessary” given the fact that several other species in the Delta have earned such protection.

Jonathan Rosenfield, a biologist with The Bay Institute, called Wednesday’s decision “incomprehensible.”

Read more from The Record by clicking here.

April 9, 2009 · Filed Under Longfin Smelt

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