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<h1 style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;
font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>Looks like California could be salmonless
again<o:p></o:p></span></h1>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>ESPNOutdoors.com
– 2/24/09<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:14.0pt'><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;
font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>By James Swan</span></b><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>In 2002, 800,000 Chinook
salmon passed through San Francisco Bay and up the Sacramento River to their
ancestral spawning grounds in the Upper Sacramento and its tributaries. Those
were the "good old days" for party boats out of the Bay, plying the
ocean. Limits around with big lugs to 40, even 50 pounds as the rule, not the
exception. Same for guides fishing the big river.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>The
Kenai River may have some bigger Kings, up to 90 lbs. and more. And the
Columbia and Fraser Rivers certainly have decent runs, but historically the
Chinook salmon run up the Sacramento River has been the largest on the West
Coast, and that has meant big business for commercial fishermen, restaurants,
party boats in the ocean, guides along the Sacramento and Feather Rivers, and
sport fishermen, as well as a lot of prime salmon on the table. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>In
2007, only 80,000 Chinooks made their final run up the Sacramento River. As a
result, the Fall Run of Chinooks, which has always been the biggest, in April,
2008 was declared off-limits to fishermen by the Pacific Fisheries Management
Council — no fishing in the ocean or the Sacramento River and tributaries
— with only a Winter Run fishery in the river for about a month
remaining. Silver salmon fishing had already been banned and sockeyes and pinks
don't get down this far south, so in effect there was virtually no salmon
fishery in California last year, except for the Klamath River run. And that
meant thousands of people out of work and several hundred million dollars in
lost income.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>According
to a meeting between National Marine Fisheries and a coalition of stakeholder
groups held last week in Sacramento between National Marine Fisheries and a
coalition of stakeholder groups, it's likely that there will be no ocean or
fall run salmon fishery this year, also. According to Pro-Troll tackle
manufacturer Dick Pool, from Water4Fish, "The primary indicator of
catchable salmon in the ocean is the number of 2 year-old jacks that return to
the rivers. The jack count in 2008 was at or near an all time low. This means
the numbers of mature fish that will return in 2009 will be very low." <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>Pool
is predicting there will be no season this year, but that decision is yet to be
made as it rests with the California Fish and Game Commission and National
Marine Fisheries. However, it looks like Pool's forecast will be right. On
February 18, the Pacific Fishery Management Council reported that last year
only 66,264 natural and hatchery adult fall chinook salmon were estimated to
have returned to the Sacramento River basin for spawning.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>When
the bad news came out last spring, fingers were pointing everywhere to look for
reasons for the rapid decline in salmon. Some immediately said it was more
example of global warming. Global warming may be a factor in salmon
populations, but for such a dramatic decline in five years, it would signal
that in five more we should all be frying in triple-digit winters. And besides,
the Columbia River and Klamath River runs seem to be doing quite well.
(Incidentally, it's in the 30's today on the Coast, with a snow level at 2000'
and the road to Tahoe has been blocked most of the day by snow and ice.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>Warming
is involved in the sorry state of the Sacramento salmon, but it's not the ocean
waters so much as those in the river. It's the summer water temperatures
upstream in the Sacramento River and in the tributaries, which NMF says is a
major problem. Warmer water, associated with dams, water diversions, and
drought conditions for the last several years, is killing off eggs and small
fish, killing off 10% of the eggs. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>But
that's just the beginning. An even bigger factor for the young fish in the
Upper Sacramento is decreased water levels, stress passing through dams, and
increased predation, which collectively mean that only 20% of the young fish
leaving Red Bluff make it to the Delta.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>Then
when they get to the Delta, pumps, predation and water chemistry kill 65% of
the young fish.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>According
to the report, "Overall, when the Sacramento survival of 20% is combined
with the Delta survival of 40%, only 8% of the smolts make it to the West
Delta," (which connects with San Pablo Bay and San Francisco Bay).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>You
also have to factor in a problem for returning spawners, poaching, which
because of the game warden shortage in California has become very significant.
In 2007 game wardens cited over 400 people for snagging salmon in and around
the state capitol, Sacramento. And the wardens believe they are only able to
catch about 10% of the violators as California has the worst per capita wardens
of any state or Canadian province.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>As a
result of the studies reported at the meeting, "NMFS currently concludes
jeopardy for all salmon species, green sturgeon, and the southern resident
killer whale species." In addition, in the San Joaquin River, a tributary
of the Sacramento that once had a salmon run approaching 300,000 fish a year,
due to low flows and predation, "endangered steelhead survival out of the
San Joaquin is near zero." Without drastic measures, the report finds:
"there is no question that several runs are now headed to
extinction."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>Problems
with dams, diversions, water temperatures and poaching, have made the future of
Sacramento River salmon heavily tied to hatcheries. This increases costs, but
it does result in some control that can be helpful to circumvent the gauntlet
of problems salmon face currently in the Sacramento River. One strategy that
offers some hope is carrying smolts from the hatcheries in tank trucks to
holding pens in San Francisco Bay, thus avoiding contact with the Delta, and
its hungry stripers and diversion pumps. And then when the young salmon are
ready to be released into the wild, they are released in deeper water offshore,
which minimizes feeding frenzies by sea birds and seals.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>To
be a fisherman is to always cultivate hope. With salmon runs, you always have
to think 2-3 years ahead of time. Dick Pool observes wistfully, "We are
hoping for a 2010 season based on the 23 million smolts that were trucked
around the delta in 2008." <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>To keep abreast of
developments in the California salmon struggle, visit the websites for
Water4Fish, the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, and the National
Marine Fisheries Pacific Northwest Division. A copy of a recent presentation by
NMFS to CAL-FED with many graphic charts and graphs describing the salmon
situation in California, can also be viewed online</span><b><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Byron
Leydecker, JcT</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Chair, Friends
of Trinity River</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>PO Box 2327</span></i><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Mill Valley, CA
94942-2327</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>415 383 4810
land</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>415 519 4810
cell</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'><a
href="mailto:bwl3@comcast.net"><span style='color:blue'>bwl3@comcast.net</span></a></span></i></b><b><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'><a
href="mailto:bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org"><span style='color:blue'>bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org</span></a>
</span></i></b><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>(secondary)</span></i><b><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'><a
href="http://fotr.org/"><span style='color:blue'>http://www.fotr.org</span></a>
</span></i></b><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
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