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<H1 style="MARGIN: 0pt"><B><FONT face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma"><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
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<H1 style="MARGIN: 0pt"><B><FONT face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">CHINOOK SALMON
RUNS:<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></H1>
<H1 style="MARGIN: 0pt"><B><FONT face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Chinook salmon shortfall puzzles
anglers, experts; The numbers of fish returning are far below
expectations<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></H1>
<H1 style="MARGIN: 0pt"><?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on"><B><FONT face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Sacramento</SPAN></FONT></B></st1:place></st1:City><FONT
face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">
Bee – 11/1/07<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></H1>
<H1 style="MARGIN: 0pt"><B><FONT face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">By Matt Weiser, staff
writer<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></H1>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">For fishermen and biologists, fall has become a season
for fretting in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State
w:st="on">California</st1:State></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">For the second year in a row, spawning fall-run chinook
salmon are not returning to the Central Valley's rivers in the numbers that
anglers and experts anticipated, touching off what may be a record year for
nail-biting and hand-wringing.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">"Horrible. Slowest year in their lifetime. Never seen
salmon fishing this bad," said Ron Howe, summing up the feelings of many salmon
fishermen this fall. He has pursued the mighty chinook, also known as king
salmon, in the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">American</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">River</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> for 17 years.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">"Everybody's saying the same exact things. This is just
unbelievable that the fishing's so poor," he said.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Hard numbers on the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">American</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">River</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> are difficult to come by until the
run is over at the end of the year, said Terry West, manager of the state fish
hatchery at Nimbus Dam. That's because there is no way to count natural spawners
in the river.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">But the 11th Annual American River Salmon Festival, held
Oct. 13 and 14, offered one sad indicator. There were no salmon climbing the
hatchery's fish ladder that weekend, normally the festival's star
attraction.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">West managed to collect just 22 fish in five hours –
compared to 120 in prior years – just to put some salmon in a big tank as a
display for festival-goers.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">He said he has never seen so few salmon in the river at
festival time.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">"We're kinda lucky we caught enough," he said. "I try to
always have a positive outlook on Mother Nature. So I'm going to continue that
until I get all the figures in."<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">The most reliable running tally of spawning chinook in
the Central Valley comes from the Coleman National Fish Hatchery on <st1:City
w:st="on">Battle Creek</st1:City>, a Sacramento River tributary in <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Shasta</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Through Oct. 24, about 20,700 chinook returned to
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Battle Creek</st1:City></st1:place> to
spawn. That's only about 20 percent of average for that date compared to the
previous four years, according to state Department of Fish and Game
records.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">The numbers baffle experts and laymen alike, because all
indicators are that this fall should produce a vigorous salmon
run.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">"We just don't understand why there aren't more fish
around," said Roger Thomas, who has run salmon fishing charters out of
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Sausalito</st1:City></st1:place> since
1968. "We had some lean years in the 1970s, but this kinda looks like the
leanest in a long, long time. All of us are seeing the same conditions and share
the same concerns."<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Regulations limited the commercial salmon fishing in the
ocean the past two years, which should have left more fish to return
upriver.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">A strong, cold upwelling in the Pacific Ocean this
summer also produced ample food along the California coast, resulting in a
bumper crop of herring, sardine and anchovy, said Frank Schwing, director of
environmental research at the Southwest Fisheries Science Center in Santa Cruz,
a division of the National Marine Fisheries
Service.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">But there's a gaping hole in that news: Schwing said the
population of krill has mysteriously crashed in the ocean. This zooplankton,
which resembles a tiny shrimp, is a key salmon
food.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Several bird species that depend on krill have also
crashed, Schwing said, such as the Cassin's auklet, a seabird that nests on the
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Farallone</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Islands</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>. Also, whales that
normally gorge on krill shifted to eating fish.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">"Historically there's a strong relationship between
abundance of krill and the amount of upwelling that occurs," said
Schwing.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">"But this year that model has broken down for some
reason."<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Everyone recognizes it's still early in the fall run,
said Allen Grover, a biologist who monitors the ocean salmon fishery for Fish
and Game. The run normally continues through December and even into January, and
it's normal for the run's peak to shift each year.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">"I'm concerned, but it's too early to say 'Sell your
boat,' " said Grover. "Trying to correlate oceanographic events to fish survival
is pretty hard to do."<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">A combination of plumbing problems in the <st1:place
w:st="on">Central Valley</st1:place> may also be hurting the run this year.
State and federal water managers had to slash water exports from the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta early this summer to protect the Delta smelt, a
threatened fingerling.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">This put water deliveries to cities and farms behind
schedule, forcing water officials to ramp up reservoir releases for most of the
summer.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">This, combined with a drought year, left many of the
state's reservoirs with below-normal storage, including Folsom Reservoir, which
feeds the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">American</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">River</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">A question lingers as to whether the water left behind
the dam is still cold enough to trigger the salmon run. The fish need water at
60 degrees or colder to start migrating. This week, those flows are leaving
Nimbus Dam at around 63 degrees, said West.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">For now, anglers are hoping the best of the run is still
to come. Veterans say anglers can still find salmon in the ocean and rivers:
Howe hooked three and caught two in two days on the American River this week,
both over 20 pounds.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">But they'll need to balance their worries with fistfuls
of those other fishermen's friends: luck and
patience.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">"Normally I would hook over 50 fish in the last two
days, and I hooked three," said Howe. "And I was lucky to do that, because other
guys were out there not hooking any." #<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><A
href="">http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/465062.html</A><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
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style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
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