Barry Nelson: About myths, water and California’s salmon industry
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on March 17, 2010 at 7:50 amFrom Barry Nelson at the NRDC Switchboard blog:
“Three cheers to the Los Angeles Times for running this column “Deceptive Arguments are Being Made in California’s Water Wars” by Michael Hiltzik about the misleading arguments made by some in the current debate over California water policy and protections for the Bay-Delta ecosystem and its fisheries.
The column points out that unemployment in the Central Valley is a long-term problem, exacerbated mostly by water rights and drought — not fisheries protections. But perhaps the most important point is the often overlooked linkage between the mismanagement of water projects and the collapse of California’s salmon runs – leading to a two-year closure of the salmon fishery, along with the loss of thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars to commercial and recreational fishing communities. … “
Continue reading this post from Barry Nelson by clicking here.
More salmon coming back: Good news for fish and farms?
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on March 16, 2010 at 5:48 amFrom Sierra 2 the Sea:
“Who gets the blame for a declining salmon population off the California coast? A blog by fishery advocate Dick Pool a few days ago is typical of a popular view around the Golden State.
“The Sacramento Valley’s fall-run salmon have experienced catastrophic declines over the past eight years, falling from 769,000 returning adult fish in 2002 to 39,000 in 2009. The National Marine Fisheries Service report addresses several factors in this horrendous free fall, but you don’t have to dig very deep into the data to root out the primary culprit: the huge state and federal pumps near Tracy that send water south.”
Ah yes, let’s blame the farmers for the demise of this iconic fish.
But NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) scientists actually have a different take.
“The big decline we saw in Chinook salmon returns in 2007 and 2008 was subject to a major study that called poor ocean conditions the ‘proximate reason’ for the low numbers says Dr Michael O’Farrell Vice Chair of the Salmon Technical Team for the Pacific Fishery Management Council. Dr O’Farrell works for the NMFS in Santa Cruz who released that study about a year ago. He says ocean conditions was the “largest factor” although there were other reasons as well. … “
Continue reading this article from Sierra 2 the Sea by clicking here.
The water wars: California’s salmon vs. agribiz interests: Taking re-spawnsibility
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on March 16, 2010 at 5:47 amFrom the Grist, this commentary by
” … there’s something missing in my line-up in recent years, and my customers and I miss it terribly: local, wild salmon. Not long ago, Chinook salmon pulled from our cold, clean offshore waters, constituted up to 50 percent of my business. Today: zilch, nothing. That’s because there hasn’t been a commercial salmon season in California and Oregon for the last two years.
Oh, we still offer some wild salmon … from Alaska and British Columbia. But because we have to compete with Asia and Europe for this very limited resource, the prices are often astronomical. And while these fish are delicious, they’re still not local fish. A salmon caught in near-shore waters on hook-and-line, then promptly iced and sold within 24 hours, is in a league of its own. The freshness, the flavor … there’s nothing comparable.
So for me and Monterey Fish Market’s customers and employees, it’s no small matter when we lose a state salmon season. The same can be said for millions of other people in California — anyone who works in the food or restaurant trades, supports sustainable business, enjoys angling, or simply likes eating fresh, wholesome fish. The loss of our salmon fishery is a catastrophe that cuts across all social strata. … “
Continue reading this commentary by clicking here.
Commentary: The human cost of the salmon crisis
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on March 13, 2010 at 8:03 amFrom the California Progress Report, this commentary by Dick Pool, business owner and a strong advocate of fisheries restoration:
“It’s not exaggerating to say that salmon are my life. As an engineer, I hold numerous patents for salmon tackle. My company, Pro-Troll Products in Concord, specializes in equipment designed especially for salmon angling. I’ve spent the last 30 years fishing for salmon, teaching other people how to fish for salmon, thinking about salmon and volunteering my time and money to organizations dedicated to sustaining these most noble—and delicious — of fish.
I like to think I know quite a bit about salmon, but I admit I’m no biologist. However, I’m familiar enough with the subject to know good fisheries science when I see it. For the last couple of years, I’ve been compiling and analyzing the data included in the National Marine Fisheries Service’s 2009 “biological opinion” for California salmon. This report consists of 800 pages, with 1,500 pages of addenda. Unless you’re a salmon fanatic like me, reading it can be a daunting exercise.
But if eating fresh, local salmon, maintaining a healthy Bay and Delta and supporting the commercial fishermen and small business owners who depend on the salmon fishery are important to you, this report is compelling stuff. It’s by far the best available science on California’s salmon, and it tells us in no uncertain terms what we have to do to save the state’s beleaguered runs. … “
Continue reading this article from the California Progress Report by clicking here.
Some salmon fishing likely permitted this year, but fishermen skeptical about 2010 season
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on March 12, 2010 at 5:55 amHey check this out. Same story, three different ways of reporting it:
From the San Francisco Chronicle:
“Salmon fishermen can dust off their poles, sponge off their boats and get ready to hook some chinook for the first time in three years. There will be at least limited ocean salmon fishing this year, according to almost all of the options laid out Thursday by the Pacific Fishery Management Council.
The 14-member council meets at this time every year to mull plans for the fishing season, an emotionally fraught process that is highly anticipated by fishing industry workers all along the coasts of California, Oregon and Washington.
Federal biologists predicted that 245,000 fall run chinook salmon will swim up the Sacramento and San Joaquin river systems later this year to spawn, more than six times the number that returned last fall.
“Fishermen should be relieved to have something this year,” said Peter Dygert, a biologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration fisheries service. “It’s not going to be an economic bonanza, but it will be something.” … “
Continue reading this article from the San Francisco Chronicle by clicking here.
From the Santa Rosa Press Democrat:
“Local commercial fishermen say they’re not optimistic about this year’s salmon prospects, even after a federal panel recommended reopening the fishing season along the California coast, with restrictions.
The Pacific Fishery Management Council approved three options Thursday that outline where West Coast fishermen might be allowed to cast their lines and nets beginning this spring. Oregon and Washington are poised to have better seasons because fish are more bountiful there.
Federal biologists predict a possible return of 245,000 fall-run Chinook, a significant jump from last year’s record low return of 39,500. Last year the federal fishery council predicted a return of 122,000.
That discrepancy worries local fishermen.
“This is the first year where I’ve seen the fishermen are much more conservative than the agencies,” said Zeke Grader, executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations. … “
Continue reading this article from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat by clicking here.
And this from the Associated Press:
“California salmon fishermen may not get much, if any, time on the ocean this year, while their counterparts in Washington and Oregon would fare better because salmon are more abundant there, under recommendations expected Thursday.
The Pacific Fishery Management Council plans to issue three proposals outlining where commercial and recreational fishermen along the West Coast might be allowed to cast lines and nets, and how much salmon they can catch.
More chinook salmon are expected to return to California’s rivers to spawn. But concern about the precipitous decline of salmon in the rivers flowing from California’s Central Valley into San Francisco Bay over the last three years threatens to shut down the fishery along the state’s coastline for a third straight year.
“There’s an option to close everything,” said Chuck Tracy, head of the salmon section for the Portland, Ore.-based management council. “The other two options involve some level of fishing.” … “
Continue reading this article from the Associated Press by clicking here.
LA Times editorial: An upstream battle over chinook salmon
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on March 12, 2010 at 5:47 amFrom the Los Angeles Times, this editorial:
“Even among those who seek to protect wildlife above all, there are moments of great conflict. One of those moments is playing out near Portland, Ore., as sea lions gorge on endangered chinook salmon that gather at the base of the Bonneville Dam, preparing to make their way up the fish ladders to spawn. Last week and this, wildlife officials have killed six of the most incorrigible of the animals, which have refused to be dissuaded by noise, rubber bullets or other harassing techniques.
As regrettable as the dilemma is, the government made the right choice. The population of California sea lions, the kind mainly responsible for the salmon-fest, has been burgeoning, while chinook salmon have presented policymakers with a persistent conservation problem. Their numbers along the Columbia River and elsewhere have been falling, and several runs of the fish are listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act.
This season’s salmon run is especially important because favorable ocean conditions led to an unusually robust population. More than twice as many fish as last year — close to 500,000 — are expected to swim up the Columbia River. That would be the biggest spring run in 70 years. … “
Continue reading this editorial from the LA Times by clicking here.
Zeke Grader: Fair play for California’s salmon and fishermen
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on March 12, 2010 at 5:45 amFrom Zeke Grader, Executive Director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, at the City Brights blog:
“I grew up in Ft. Bragg, a small fishing town on California’s North Coast. More accurately, Ft. Bragg was a salmon fishing town — the fishermen would bring in Dungeness crab, albacore and rock cod as the seasons and opportunities permitted, but the real business of Ft. Bragg was salmon. And business was good.
Because the salmon were caught close to shore during the summer, we were renowned for the freshness of our fish. The boats would go out, catch salmon and offload daily. “Mild cured” Ft. Bragg salmon was in great demand by fish purveyors in New York, who used it for lox. We sold fresh salmon in the Bay Area, Los Angeles and Sacramento. When the fish were off the coast, up to a thousand commercial boats worked out of Ft. Bragg. Tourists would come in by the hundreds, thronging the recreational charter boats. The docks supported fish processors, chandlers, boat repair shops. The motels were packed, the restaurants were full.
My father ran a fish processing plant, and I worked there – along with a lot of other local kids – preparing salmon for the market. We worked the “slime line,” trimming the fish to go into barrels for shipment. We unloaded the boats, hauled ice – whatever needed to be done. It was hard work, but it was good work, and it put many of us through college. And those of us who didn’t go on to school usually went on the boats, became a permanent part of the town’s fishing community. Salmon were a sustainable resource, and in Ft. Bragg, they supported a sustainable economy. They provided the state and the nation with delicious, high-quality protein.
But this was back in the 1960s and 1970s. … “
Continue reading this post from Zeke Grader at the City Brights blog by clicking here.
Salmon, orphans without a home: A historical perspective of the water and landscape modifications to salmon habitat
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on March 12, 2010 at 5:40 amFrom UC Berkeley’s California Colloquium on Water:
Commentary: Salmon are goners if Feinstein gets her way on water
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 28, 2010 at 7:55 amFrom the Sacramento Bee, this commentary:
“By calling California’s water shortage “the Central Valley water crisis,” Sen. Dianne Feinstein has attempted to delegitimize most of California, implying that Central Valley farmers have more right to water than the rest of the state.
Why are Central Valley jobs more important than Delta and Northern California jobs? Why are almond farmers more important than fishermen? Because they have more money?
Feinstein wants to “make technical modifications to the biological opinions that restrict Delta pumping.” In plain English, she wants to overrule the conclusions reached by scientists who have spent years studying salmon and the Delta. Feinstein calls ignoring scientific truth “a fair, short-term compromise,” but it will only be short term if the drought is really over, which is unlikely. … “
Continue reading this commentary by clicking here.
Lawsuit: Striped bass to blame for California’s salmon decline
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 27, 2010 at 8:45 amFrom the Sacramento Bee:
“Some fish do the eating and others get eaten. That is the nature of nature. But if man helps one voracious eater that doesn’t belong, is that fair?
This is the essential question in a lawsuit over the striped bass, a non-native fish introduced to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta from the East Coast in 1879 to create a commercial fishery.
Today the striper is caught only for sport – prized by anglers for its tasty flesh and hard fighting on the rod.
But while the California Department of Fish and Game props it up as a sport fish, the striper has become the Delta’s top predator, feasting on Delta smelt, juvenile salmon and steelhead. These are endangered species in California – and the focus of Herculean conservation efforts.
The suit was brought by the Coalition for a Sustainable Delta, a nonprofit made up of San Joaquin Valley water agencies linked to Stewart Resnick, a billionaire with a huge Kern County farming operation. … “
Continue reading this article from the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.
Invasive striped bass identified as major threat to salmon
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 27, 2010 at 8:43 amFrom the Coalition for a Sustainable Delta, this press release:
“The Coalition for a Sustainable Delta and other water users earlier this week filed for summary judgment in their lawsuit against the California Department of Fish and Game related to the management of striped bass, an invasive species that is known to feed upon endangered salmon and delta smelt. The lawsuit was originally filed in late 2008 and is pending in the U.S. District Court in Fresno before Judge Oliver Wanger.
The California Department of Fish and Game’s own experts in the case acknowledged that striped bass predation accounts for the loss of a significant number of protected, native salmon. The Department’s experts estimate the take could be as high as 25-50 percent of both the endangered Sacramento River winter-run and the threatened Central Valley spring-run Chinook salmon. The experts also admitted under oath that:
Striped bass sport-fishing regulations, by protecting the Delta’s striped bass population, increase striped bass predation on the two federally protected salmon species, and
Ending the enforcement of the striped bass sport-fishing regulations would benefit the federally protected species by reducing striped bass predation.
“Clearly striped bass are having a very real and significant impact on endangered salmon and the sustainability of the entire Delta estuary,” said Coalition for a Sustainable Delta spokesman Michael Boccadoro. “In the long run, if we are going to protect salmon and restore the estuary, regulators must do something about predation by striped bass. State regulators can no longer ignore the problem.”
Limited salmon season possible this year
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 26, 2010 at 8:09 am
From the Santa Rosa Press Democrat:
“The North Coast may have a salmon season for the first time in three years, but it could be so limited that few fishermen would find it financially worthwhile to go out.
The California Department of Fish and Game released forecasts Thursday for the number of chinook salmon that it expects to return this fall to the Central Valley, a key component in whether commercial fishing will be allowed this year. The forecast is for more fish — 65,000 — over the threshold set by the state before it allows a commercial fishing season.
However, for the 300 California trawlers plus the out-of-state boats, that may be too few to pay the costs of even venturing out, fishermen said. And after missing the mark badly on this year’s forecast, there are questions on how accurate the numbers are.
“From the feedback I get, things are very bleak,” said Dave Bitts, a Eureka fisherman who advises the Pacific Fishery Management Council. “I will do everything that I can to offer a season with what’s available.” … “
Read more from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat by clicking here.
The San Francisco Chronicle covered the story like this:
“A surprisingly optimistic projection Thursday that nearly 250,000 salmon will spawn in the Sacramento River system next fall has created a dilemma for fishermen who crave the opportunity to reel in some chinook after a two-year fishing ban: They’re worried that they might contribute to the demise of the species.
The National Marine Fisheries Service predicted that 245,483 fall run chinook salmon will spawn in the Sacramento and San Joaquin river systems later this year, opening the door to the possibility that ocean fishing of the chinook will be allowed in California and Oregon.
The forecast came as a surprise given that the lowest number of chinook salmon in recorded history made their way up the Central Valley river system last fall, a situation that fisheries experts called an environmental and economic catastrophe. … “
Read more of this story from the San Francisco Chronicle by clicking here.
New report cautiously optimistic on Sacramento River salmon
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 25, 2010 at 8:33 amFrom the Contra Costa Times:
“Despite a record-low number of salmon returning to California rivers in the fall, there is a good chance that anglers will have at least some chance to fish for king salmon for the first time in three years.
Figures released Wednesday show that under normal circumstances, regulators could allow as many as 120,000 fish to be caught.
But because of the dire condition of what has been historically the state’s most valuable salmon run, they are unlikely to allow that much fishing.
A third consecutive year of no fishing is not out of the question; even after regulators determine how much fishing to allow, they will have to determine how much of that to allocate to sport fishers and how much to commercial anglers. … “
Read more from the Contra Costa Times by clicking here.
From the Sacramento Bee:
“A report released Wednesday suggests better times may be ahead for the Sacramento River’s fall-run chinook salmon.
The preseason report by the Pacific Fishery Management Council estimates 245,483 chinook will make up the 2010 fall run. That’s about six times more than 2009’s fall run, which set a record low.
The reason for the estimated increase is the large number of 2-year-old fish that spawned in 2009. This often indicates a large number of that generation didn’t spawn but remain in the ocean and may return to the river in 2010 as 3-year-olds, the typical spawning age. … “
Continue reading this story from the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.
From the San Francisco Examiner:
” … “It looks like there may be enough for a very, very small season, a little bit of fishing but not much,” Zeke Grader, executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, an industry group.
“A lot of this is going to depend on how conservative the council feels it has to be. They over-predicted the last couple of years.”
Still, the council has more study to conduct before any final decisions are made, said Chuck Tracy, head of the salmon section for the Portland, Ore.-based council. A final recommendation will be made during the council’s March meeting in Sacramento.
The Sacramento River king salmon run is watched closely as it provides much of the salmon caught off the Oregon and California coasts.
The precipitous decline of fish returning to the Sacramento area in recent years has resulted in commercial and recreational salmon fishing seasons in California being canceled. … “
Read more from the San Francisco Examiner by clicking here.
Read the press release here: PCFFA Press Release (Actually, it’s the Pacific Fisheries Management Council; I misnamed the file on the upload – sorry!)
Huffman introduces legislation to restore Chinook salmon populations to sustainable levels and declare Chinook salmon California’s state anadromous fish
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 23, 2010 at 7:53 amFrom the Office of Assemblyman Jared Huffman, via YubaNet.com:
“SACRAMENTO, Feb. 18, 2010 – California’s native Chinook salmon have for centuries been an integral part of California’s natural environment, supporting tribal, commercial and recreational fisheries, and serving as an economic, cultural and ecologically vital resource for the people of the state. Today, California’s Chinook salmon runs are threatened with extinction, as the numbers of fish returning to spawn have dropped to record lows, prompting the unprecedented closure of the salmon season for the last two years. The economic impact of the closure is estimated at over $2 billion, with as many as 23,000 jobs lost. This year the numbers of returning fish are again extremely low, making it likely the season will be closed for the third year in a row.
In recognition of the unique values of this iconic species, Assemblymember Jared Huffman has introduced AB 2063 which establishes three important state policies for Chinook salmon.
* Declares the Chinook salmon as the official state anadromous fish.
* Establishes a state goal to restore Chinook salmon to sustainable levels within a decade.
* Calls upon the state Department of Fish and Game to work collaboratively with other public and private partners to implement the goal of restoring Chinook salmon, and to prioritize conservation planning efforts for recovery of Chinook and other salmonid species. … “
Continue reading at YubaNet.com by clicking here.
Unearthed blog: Proposal would let California salmon perish at the pumps
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 20, 2010 at 9:51 amFrom the EarthJustice blog Unearthed:
“Thousands of jobs linked to the decline of Sacramento River salmon have been lost—but big agricultural interests in California are stepping up political efforts that may permanently extinguish salmon and the industries they support.
Even without this latest assault, the future of California’s king salmon is in doubt. Salmon runs are at all time lows, due in large part to water pumps in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River delta that suck baby salmon in and kill them. The water is going to agricultural operators south of San Francisco Bay—and now they want more.
Those operators, addicted to the extra water delivered during the last decade, are fighting tooth and nail to have a federal restoration plan overruled. The plan was introduced last year, calling for a more balanced division of water between agricultural operators and salmon. … “
Read more from the Unearthed blog by clicking here.
Valley Economy blog: Salmon job loss exaggerations
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 20, 2010 at 9:40 amFrom the Valley Economy Blog:
“Job loss exaggerations are now officially an epidemic in the water debate. Yesterday, a group of Democratic Congressional Representatives claimed 23,000 lost jobs from the salmon fishery closure in a letter to Diane Feinstein.
The number comes from a report written by a consulting firm, Southwick Associates, for a sportfishing group. I have been aware of this estimate for some time as it has been referenced by some environmental and fishing groups, but I never took a close, critical look at the actual report until yesterday when members of Congress started using it.
It is not a credible number, and it appears to be driven by taking credit for an implausibly large share of retail sales in California’s very large consumer seafood market. … “
Continue reading this post at the Valley Economy blog by clicking here.
Carl Pope: The triage begins for Sacramento River chinook
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 17, 2010 at 8:05 amFrom Carl Pope, Executive Director of the Sierra Club, posted at The Huffington Post:
“The last remaining healthy salmon run in California — the Sacramento River chinook — has taken a catastrophic turn for the worse. This year, only 39,500 fish returned to the river. Just eight years ago, there were 800,000. This is the third year in a row of stunningly low numbers — and it’s happened in spite of the complete cancellation of the ocean salmon-fishing season for the past two years.
Scientists had expected at least three times as many returning fish. “Oh, my God!” said Jim Hie, a member of the Pacific Fishery Management Council’s salmon advisory panel. “It’s the worst in history. We have just seen the whole thing tumble.”
There are multiple reasons for the collapse. Warmer oceans mean less food. An overreliance on hatchery fish to make up for losses to dams and diversions has resulted in less-robust gene pools. And the enormous pumps that suck water south from the Bay-Delta ecosystem to Central Valley agribusinesses seem to have been the coup de grâce. … “
Continue reading this commentary from Carl Pope at the Sierra Club by clicking here.
Circling the drain? Sacramento salmon numbers down as delta pumping fight heats up
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 13, 2010 at 8:47 amFrom the San Francisco Chronicle:
“The lowest number of chinook salmon in recorded history made their way up the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers last fall, turning what was already a disaster for the fishing industry into what some are calling an environmental and economic catastrophe.
It is the second year in a row that there have been record low numbers of spawning salmon, a situation that has created a political conundrum as the battle among farmers, fishermen and various municipalities over water rights heats up.
Only 39,530 fall-run chinook spawned in the once-thriving salmon factory known as the Sacramento-San Joaquin River system. That’s compared with 64,456 in 2008 and 87,940 the year before that. It is the worst three-year period in the watershed since records were first compiled in the 1970s, biologists said.
“It is bad,” said Michael O’Farrell, a fisheries biologist for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration fisheries service. “This is the lowest number of adult spawners that we have observed in the Sacramento system and it is continuing a three-year pattern of decline. Certainly we’re going to take a very close look at this situation.” … “
Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle by clicking here.
From the Eureka Times-Standard:
” … The Sacramento River basin normally produces the salmon that are the backbone of the West Coast salmon industry. But for the past three years, returning chinook salmon have been so few that fishing has been shut down or seriously curtailed. Fishing and conservation interests say the downturn corresponds with increased diversions by Sacramento River delta pumps that kill salmon that pass nearby.
Feinstein’s amendment would reportedly increase pumping from 10 percent in last year’s drought to 40 percent for the next two years.
The U.S. Department of the Interior said that the Bureau of Reclamation is currently complying with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s biological opinion that governs the pumping restrictions to protect the delta smelt.
”We are in the process of reviewing Senator Feinstein’s proposal,” said Interior press secretary Kendra Barkoff. … “
Read more from the Eureka Times-Standard by clicking here.
PCFFA: More bad news for salmon
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 13, 2010 at 8:36 amFrom Lloyd Carter’s Chronicles of the Hydraulic Brotherhood, this press release from the Pacific Fisheries Management Council:
“San Francisco, CA — The Pacific Fisheries Management Council has just released numbers showing California’s once abundant salmon runs came in at a new all time record low in 2009.
The Council reports In 2009, a total of 39,530 natural and hatchery SRFC [Sacramento River Fall Chinook] 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
The Council’s report shows that federally protected runs of winter and spring run chinook both came in at less than 5,000 individuals each. The San Joaquin River is in particularly bad shape with just under 2100 salmon representing perhaps the last of their race there.
Salmon have been part of California for thousands of years and this report shows we’re losing them, said Zeke Grader, executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations. If we wipe our salmon out, well also be wiping out generations of fishing families from the central California coast to northern Oregon that have all relied on king salmon from the Sacramento River to make a living. Why are San Joaquin agricultural operators selling their water to southern California developers and then demanding more water from the Delta? … “
Continue reading at the Chronicles of the Hydraulic Brotherhood blog by clicking here.
Declining salmon numbers doom season for third straight year
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 12, 2010 at 8:35 amFrom the Silicon Valley Mercury News:
“Don’t count on buying a lot of California salmon again this year. The run that until recently accounted for more than 80 percent of the salmon caught off the California coast has dipped to a record low.
“It’s worse than we thought. There’s no way in hell we have a season this year,” said Zeke Grader, executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, a commercial salmon fishing group.
Late Thursday, the federal body that regulates salmon fishing off the West Coast posted figures on salmon returns this year.
Sacramento River fall-run, which had been the backbone of a salmon fishing industry that in the 1970s generated $100 million and supported a fishing fleet of 4,500 boats, now appears certain to be off-limits to fishing for a third straight year.
Before 2008, the fishery had never been closed. … “
Read more from the Silicon Valley Mercury News by clicking here.
Dan Bacher: Sacramento River fall salmon run reaches new record low
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 12, 2010 at 8:30 am
From Dan Bacher at IndyBay.org:
“In more bad news for West Coast fisheries, The Pacific Fisheries Management Council (PFMC) has just released alarming numbers showing California’s once most abundant salmon runs came in at a new all-time record low in 2009, according to a news release from the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations (PCFFA) and Water for Fish.
The Council reported that in 2009 an estimated total of only 39,530 natural and hatchery Sacramento River Fall Chinook adults returned to the Sacramento River basin to spawn.
“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,” according to the PFMC.
In 2008, a record low of only 66,000 fall-run fish returned to the Sacramento, American, Feather and Yuba and other Sacramento Valley rivers. The minimum escapement for long term sustainability of these fish is 122,000.
State and federal biologists had predicted that 122,196 fish would return to the Sacramento in 2009, so the actual returns were less than one-third of the number forecasted. The Sacramento run, the driver of West Coast salmon fisheries, numbered nearly 800,000 fish in 2002. … “
Read more of Dan Bacher’s commentary by clicking here.
Doug Obegi: A bit of good news for California’s salmon fishermen
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 11, 2010 at 8:23 amFrom Doug Obegi at the NRDC Switchboard blog:
“Today, the federal court in Fresno denied a motion to relax pumping restrictions in the Bay-Delta estuary, finding that the restrictions were necessary to protect endangered fish species, and would also benefit salmon and the salmon fishery. The Court also acknowledged that salmon fishermen have faced economic ruin the past two years, as a result of the salmon fishery being shut down.
Delta pumping will continue, but the pumps will be turned down a bit to protect migrating salmon, smelt and other species. … “
Continue reading this post at the NRDC Switchboard blog by clicking here.
Tuesday’s top of the scroll: Pumps blast water to west Valley farmers
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 9, 2010 at 9:00 am
From the Fresno Bee:
“Federal officials are pumping an extra billion gallons of river water daily into San Luis Reservoir for west Valley farmers, thanks to a federal judge’s order and a string of winter storms.
But if the storms disappear, the full-blast pumping could stop far sooner than the two weeks ordered by the judge.
West San Joaquin Valley farm leaders say the extra water would help them keep stressed orchards and vineyards alive. There’s even a small chance some idled acreage would be brought back into production, which would help a region suffering from widespread job losses.
U.S. District Judge Oliver Wanger on Friday set aside pumping restrictions designed to protect the endangered winter-run salmon from being chewed up in giant water pumps. Winter storms are making rivers run high, keeping fish away from the pumps and flushing ocean salt water away from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. … “
Read more from the Fresno Bee by clicking here.
Ecologists say unrestricted pumping will harm fish
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 9, 2010 at 8:57 amFrom the Silicon Valley Mercury News:
“Environmentalists say a federal judge’s order to temporarily allow unrestricted pumping in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta threatens to push endangered salmon into extinction.
Last week’s decision by U.S. District Court Judge Oliver Wanger freed up irrigation supplies for farms hammered by years of drought. Farmers had complained that pumping restrictions in place to protect winter-run Chinook salmon worsened their situation. … “
More of this brief story from the AP & Silicon Valley Mercury News by clicking here.
Bad headline, says Alex Brietler on his blog:
” … “Environmentalist” and “ecologist” are not the same thing. Some ecologists may be environmentalists, and some environmentalists may have been trained as ecologists. But the first term suggests activism while the second suggests unbiased science. … “
More thoughts from Alex Brietler by clicking here.
Judge eases curbs on pumping to San Luis Reservoir
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 9, 2010 at 6:16 amFrom the Hollister Free Lance:
“A federal judge has temporarily lifted pumping curbs designed to protect salmon migration in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, an action that allows the diversion of more winter storm flows to the San Luis Reservoir and to farms and cities in the south.
Friday’s ruling is the latest in a tortuous legal fight over Endangered Species Act protections that limit pumping from the troubled delta east of San Francisco, a source of water for 23 million Californians and millions of acres of farmland.
The decision was a victory, however brief, for San Joaquin Valley irrigation districts that have tried in the courts and the halls of Congress to loosen pumping restraints that have reduced their water deliveries.
Ironically, the ruling was issued by U.S. District Judge Oliver Wanger, whose earlier decisions forced the federal government to strengthen protections for the delta’s collapsing fisheries. … “
Read more from the Hollister Free Lance by clicking here.
Columbia River salmon runs plentiful now, but don’t count on the trend continuing
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 8, 2010 at 6:04 amFrom the Oregonian:
“In some Northwest streams, it seems like a return to the storied days when it was said salmon ran so thick you could walk across their backs.
Record numbers of coho have returned to the Columbia River in recent years, and this year forecasters predict the same for spring chinook. But it’s not time to pop the champagne corks and declare victory in the nation’s most expensive wildlife restoration venture.
The reason: Most scientists agree much of the thanks for the recent runs, in addition to improved river conditions and more hatchery fish, goes to favorable circumstances in the ocean where the salmon mature after being born in fresh water.
“It looks like the abundance of adult salmon that we see come back to the rivers appears to be set or at least strongly regulated by their early ocean experience,” said Nate Mantua, a climate scientist and fisheries researcher at the University of Washington.
If the Pacific has been a cornucopia, it can just as easily flip to an environment with all the bounty of a vegan butcher shop. Signs are showing it already has. … “
Read more from the Oregonian by clicking here.
Sunday’s top of the scroll: Testing waters for salmon in San Joaquin River
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 7, 2010 at 7:58 am
From the San Francisco Chronicle:
“Water has begun flowing down 64 barren miles of the San Joaquin River in what is being touted as California’s most ambitious effort to bring back long-lost native salmon.
The floodgates of the colossal Friant Dam outside Fresno were opened last week so researchers can study how the water flows down California’s second longest river. The releases, which will continue until Dec. 1, will accelerate this spring until enough water is flowing down the parched riverbed to fill an Olympic-size swimming pool in less than a minute.
It is all part of a historic agreement reached after two decades of legal wrangling over efforts to bring back the salmon that were wiped out a half-century ago when the 319-foot dam was built. … “
Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle by clicking here.
Cardoza hails court order to temporarily lift restrictions on Delta pumps
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 7, 2010 at 7:52 amFrom the American Chronicle, this from Congressman Cardoza:
“Congressman Cardoza praised a federal judge´s decision to ease the restrictions on the Delta pumps, temporarily increasing irrigation water supplies to farmers in the San Joaquin Valley.
“Finally we are seeing some sanity after what has been years of dysfunctional management of our state´s water system,” Cardoza said.
In Fresno, U.S. District Court Judge Oliver Wanger said that restrictions placed on irrigation supplies from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta could be eased for 14 days. Several Valley water districts – including Westlands Water District and the San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority – had requested a Temporary Restraining Order on pumping restrictions that resulted from the National Marine Fisheries Service´s Biological Opinion on Chinook salmon. … “
Read more of Congressman Cardoza’s commentary by clicking here.
Poke and Nudge blog: Judge Wanger’s order and the salmon fisheries
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 7, 2010 at 7:44 amFrom the Poke and Nudge blog:
“Here are some facts concerning Judge Wanger’s ruling to allow a temporary hold on the management plan for endangered salmon.
The order allows for the pumps to be turned back on giving the San Joaquin Valley farmers much needed water. The restraining order is only good for two weeks during which the risk for salmon injury is slight. Read the restraining order here.
Besides the harm to humans from the pumping cutbacks, Wanger also based his ruling on the number of salmon that are permitted to be killed by the pumps without jeopardizing the species.
Currently, that number is calculated at 22,897 juvenile winter-run salmon. But in January, only 1,154 were found in the pumps — or about 5% of the limit. Normally in January, about 14% of the population is found in the pumps, according to the ruling. … “
Read more from the Poke and Nudge blog by clicking here.
Saturday’s top of the scroll: Judge relaxes Delta salmon rules
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 6, 2010 at 8:21 amFrom the Contra Costa Times:
“In a win for central and Southern California farmers and cities, a federal judge on Friday suspended salmon protection rules just weeks after they began affecting water deliveries. The decision, which angered salmon fishermen, means that for at least the next two weeks water agencies serving mostly the San Joaquin Valley and Southern California can run Delta pumps to take full advantage of flows from recent storms without regard to restrictions meant to protect salmon, steelhead and other fish.
“I thought we were on the path to getting those fish back,” said San Francisco fisher Larry Collins, who like other salmon fishers has not been able to fish for two years. “I don’t know what we’re going to do.”
U.S. District Judge Oliver Wanger suspended a portion of the permit that limits how hard Delta pumps can run, saying federal water managers did not sufficiently analyze the impact of the new rules.
“The principle the court applied is very clear,” said Dan Nelson, executive director of the San Luis & Delta Mendota Water Authority, which represents San Joaquin Valley farmers. “The judge found that the federal agencies should have considered alternatives that would still adequately protect the fish while causing less harm to people.” … “
Read more from the Contra Costa Times by clicking here.
From the Stockton Record:
” … Despite a series of wet storms since mid-January, the state and federal governments have been unable to pump as much as they normally could. That’s because of new rules to protect endangered salmon and steelhead, rules which have brought national attention to the San Joaquin Valley.
District Court Judge Oliver Wanger’s order says that since the storms began, perhaps 190,000 acre-feet of water have drained to the ocean instead of being diverted from the state pumps near Tracy to cities as far south as San Diego. One acre-foot is enough to serve an average family for one year.
Federal pumps that irrigate farmland in the south San Joaquin Valley also have been crimped.
The Westlands Water District sought the restraining order. Until January, cuts in water deliveries to Westlands have been largely because of drought, not protections for Delta fish. Nevertheless, Wanger said any water that is not pumped south “will continue to … exacerbate the currently catastrophic situation” faced by farms and cities. … “
Read more from the Record by clicking here.
From ABC News:
” … Environmentalists warned that would heighten the risk that fish were ground up in the pumps. “We’re very concerned that this may be the last nail in the coffin of these species that are on the brink of extinction already,” said Erin Tobin, an attorney with Earthjustice.
The pumping restrictions are part of a plan by federal biologists to safeguard endangered salmon as they spawn in the state’s rivers and swim through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to reach the Pacific Ocean.
Environmentalists and fishermen sued to get those protections in place, arguing that the collapse of one of the West Coast’s biggest wild salmon runs two years ago foretold the extinction of related species. … “
Read more from ABC News by clicking here.
From the Los Angeles Times:
” … [Judge Wanger's] decision sent mixed signals about the ultimate outcome of the case. He found that plaintiffs “have not yet established a likelihood of success” on their claims against the Endangered Species Act.
Instead, Wanger ruled that the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation had not performed the necessary analysis of the pumping permit and its restrictions under another federal law, the National Environmental Policy Act.
“This is not a decision on the soundness of the [permit], the analysis included in it or the actions required by it,” said Chris Yates, a NOAA Fisheries Service assistant regional administrator. “We continue to stand by those conclusions very strongly.” … “
Read more from the Los Angeles Times by clicking here.
MORE COVERAGE:
- Fresno-Based Judge Orders Washington to Keep Water Flowing to Valley Farms, KMPH
- Fresno salmon ruling frees up water supply, Fresno Bee
Dan Bacher: Fresno judge halts protection plan for winter run chinook
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 6, 2010 at 8:08 am
From Dan Bacher at IndyBay.org, this commentary:
“Federal Judge Oliver Wanger on Friday afternoon put a temporary hold on a federal plan (biological opinion) protecting salmon from the fish-killing California Delta pumps that deliver water to corporate agribusiness and southern California.
The ruling, in place for 14 days, allows for unlimited pumping, at least unless the projects hit “take” limits for salmon killed at the pumps or until Delta smelt protections are triggered in the Delta. The ruling can be extended by the judge for 14 more days.
Westlands Water District, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) and other water districts requested the Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) so that water exports from the Delta could be increased. The pumping restrictions are designed to protect migrating juvenile winter-run Chinook salmon from being killed in the massive federal and state project pumps.
Endangered winter run Chinook salmon are unique to the Sacramento River system. After migrating for thousands of years to spawn in the McCloud River every year, the run was blocked from migrating to its spawning grounds after the construction of Shasta Dam. Since then, the fish has been forced to spawn in the Sacramento below Keswick Dam and has declined dramatically due to increased Delta water exports, declining water quality, unscreened or poorly screened diversions and other factors. … “
Read more of Dan Bacher’s commentary at IndyBay.org by clicking here.
Dan Nelson, San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority’s statement on salmon decision
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 6, 2010 at 8:06 amFrom the California Farm Water Coalition:
“Statement by Dan Nelson, Executive Director, San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority:
“The San Joaquin Valley secured a small measure of relief following a judge’s decision to allow an increase in pumping water to storage facilities south of the Delta during the next two weeks. The judge determined that no risk exists for salmon from the increased pumping.
“The temporary restraining order issued today by Judge Wanger recognizes that the salmon biological opinion that was sending water to the Pacific Ocean instead of going into storage for use by farms and 25 million Californians did not take into account the harm caused to people and the human environment. … “
Read more from the California Farm Water Coalition by clicking here.
This just in … Judge Wanger halts endangered-salmon plan
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 5, 2010 at 3:54 pmFrom the Fresno Bee:
” U.S. District Judge Oliver W. Wanger today put a two-week hold on a federal government management plan for endangered salmon species, a decision that should result in increased water pumping in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
Though the ruling is only in force for a short period, it comes at a time when there is increased water flow into the delta. Water pumped from estuary supplies water to agricultural users in the Westlands Water District as well as urban residents from the East Bay to Southern California.
The basis for Wanger’s ruling is the lack of endangered winter-run salmon around the massive delta pumps. If that situation changes, Wanger said the federal government could seek a change in the order. … “
Read more from the Fresno Bee by clicking here.
Read Judge Wanger’s decision here (hat tip to ag leader on the twitter feed!).
The Pacific Legal Foundation’s Liberty blog posted a response, saying:
” … Water is desperately needed in these parts of California, but even though the Golden State has received a substantial amount of precipitation over the past month, the salmon biological opinion has prevented water from getting to where it’s needed most.
Under today’s decision, however, federal agencies will not be able to implement a significant component of the biological opinion for at least the next 14 days, meaning that much more water will be able to be pumped to California water projects.
Although the harm from the federal government’s “fish before people” policy has been clear to many, some have contended that environmental restrictions aren’t that big of a deal. Today’s decision, however, should put to rest the notion that the man-made, regulatory drought is anything but real … “
Read more from the Pacific Legal Foundation’s Liberty blog by clicking here.
Earthjustice: Kill the fall-run salmon, argue corporate attorneys
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 4, 2010 at 8:50 amFrom Unearthed, the blog of Earthjustice:
“Yesterday (Feb. 2), Westlands Water District – California’s largest and most politically powerful agribusiness group – asked a federal judge to block a federal salmon restoration plan that protects salmon and other fish in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
Earthjustice attorneys, who won a court order in 2008 putting the restoration plan in place, were there to defend it. Westland’s move could put the survival of the river’s salmon – and California and Oregon’s multi-billion dollar commercial and recreational salmon fishing industry – on the line. The judge will announce his decision next
week.Westlands wants to end restrictions on the operation of huge delta water pumps and canals from February through May, when baby salmon migrate from the Sacramento River to the ocean. … “
Read more from Unearthed by clicking here.
Barry Nelson: The future of the California salmon industry
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 2, 2010 at 8:31 amFrom Barry Nelson at the NRDC Switchboard blog:
“Tomorrow, a federal district court in Fresno will hear a request from water users south of the Delta for a temporary restraining order to block protections under the Endangered Species Act for threatened and endangered species that are harmed by water project operations in the Central Valley. These species include winter-run Chinook salmon, spring-run Chinook salmon, steelhead, green sturgeon, delta smelt and even orca (which feed on anadromous fish from the Bay-Delta system). Although the fall-run Chinook salmon is not among these listed species, the fate of the fall-run – and the fate of California’s salmon fishery – may also hang in the balance.
The Central Valley fall-run is the backbone of the commercial and recreational salmon fishery in California and southern Oregon. The protections in place under the current federal biological opinion for listed salmon species also protect the young fall run currently migrating through the Delta and out the Golden Gate, to rear in the ocean. These protections are helping to give this fish – and the fishery – a fighting chance. … “
Continue reading this post from Barry Nelson by clicking here.
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Recent Posts
- Science justifies California water limits
- Legal Planet blog: Delta NRC committee issues initial report
- Statement of the Coalition for Sustainable Delta on the NRC Bay-Delta report
- Center for Biological Diversity: Report finds Delta water pumping restrictions to protect fish “scientifically justified”
- Westlands Water District statement on the NAS Report
- Academy of Sciences report validates biological opinions to save salmon, other fish
- National Academies deliver mixed message on California Delta dilemma
- Statement of California Secretary for Natural Resources Lester Snow on the NAS report
- Senator Cogdill: California is rain rich, water poor
- Friday’s top of the scroll: NAS report backs biological opinions but still needs further study; also finds other ’stressors’ have hurt delta fish
- Links for National Academies of Science report
- Secretary Salazar’s statement on National Academy of Sciences review of California Bay Delta water issues
- National Academies of Science Report: Most federal actions to protect endangered fishes in California’s Bay-Delta ’scientifically justified,’ but additional clarification needed
- Costa and Cardoza deny health bill for water vote swap
- Westlands pilot project targets San Joaquin Valley salt water pollution
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