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<h1><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>A better era for California
anglers<o:p></o:p></span></h1>
<p class=byline><span class=fn><span style='font-size:9.5pt;color:black'>David
Schurr</span></span><span style='font-size:9.5pt;color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=org><span style='font-size:9.5pt;color:black;
display:none'>San Francisco Chronicle</span></span><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
color:black'> <span class=updated><span style='display:none'>August 8, 2010
04:00 AM</span></span> <span style='display:none'>Copyright San Francisco
Chronicle. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast,
rewritten or redistributed.</span>Sunday, August 8, 2010<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><a
href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?f=/c/a/2010/08/08/INUM1EODAG.DTL&o=0"><span
style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:blue;
text-decoration:none'><img border=0 width=370 height=246 id="Picture_x0020_27"
src="cid:image001.jpg@01CB36E8.0AEF7950"
alt="http://imgs.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2010/04/15/ba-salmon16_PH_0501496701_part6.jpg"></span></a><span
style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black'><img
border=0 width=17 height=10 id="Picture_x0020_28"
src="cid:image002.gif@01CB36E8.0AEF7950"
alt="http://imgs.sfgate.com/graphics/article/articlebox_img_bg.gif"></span><span
style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=byline><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";
color:black'>Liz Hafalia / The Chronicle</span><span style='font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=caption><b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";
color:black'>The decline in the California king salmon population has affected
fishermen like those at Fisherman's Wharf.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";
color:black'><a
href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?f=/c/a/2010/08/08/INUM1EODAG.DTL&o=0"><span
style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:windowtext;
text-decoration:none'><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";
color:blue'><img border=0 width=7 height=7 id="Picture_x0020_29"
src="cid:image003.gif@01CB36E8.0AEF7950"
alt="http://imgs.sfgate.com/graphics/utils/plus-green.gif"></span></span>View
Larger Image</a> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<ul type=disc>
<li class=MsoNormal style='color:black;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:
auto;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;display:none'><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";display:none'><a
href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/08/08/IN981EOBV4.DTL"><span
style='color:#015660;text-decoration:none'>On marriage, gulf oil leak,
emissions law</span></a> 08.08.10<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";
color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p><b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;color:black'>It was a still and foggy
morning. Two anglers loaded their 25-foot sport-fishing boat with sandwiches,
ice and bait. Under the calm gray sky, they headed out under the <a
href="http://topics.sfgate.com/topics/Golden_Gate_Bridge" target="_top">Golden
Gate Bridge</a> and north to Duxbury in <a
href="http://topics.sfgate.com/topics/Marin_County,_California" target="_top">Marin
County</a>. Within minutes, they could smell the familiar odor of decaying
marine life left on the rocks by the last high tide. Sea lions were barking and
lounging as the boat cleared <a
href="http://topics.sfgate.com/topics/Point_Bonita_Light" target="_top">Point
Bonita</a> lighthouse and skirted up the North Channel near the infamous Potato
Patch shoals.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p><b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;color:black'>It was early September 2005,
and the summer salmon season had been stellar. Harbors from Monterey to
Crescent City had been jammed with boats claiming their prized salmon. That
day, fishermen launched their boats with precision and tact, respecting their
fellow warriors. This was a ritual for anglers, because getting out of the
harbor early is essential for success, and many days found the ocean too rough
to attempt.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p><b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;color:black'>After the placid gray morning,
the sun broke through the fog, and a ripple came upon the sea. A steady north
breeze filled in as more boats appeared. The ocean was alive. Kingfishers and
murres dived on anchovies pushed up by schools of voracious salmon gorging
themselves. An occasional sea lion popped up in a swirl of blood and scales and
flipped a fish high into the air, almost smiling as he looked you in the eye.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p><b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;color:black'>On the boat, downriggers held
spinning bait at a depth of 90 feet, lines were clipped and the rods were
ready. The little boat quickly trolled back and forth while the anglers
patiently watched their fish-finders for red dashes or bait clouds.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p><b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;color:black'>Suddenly a rod popped up as
the downrigger released the deep line, and with a burst of adrenaline, an
angler rushed to the back of the boat. Within minutes, a chrome flash neared
the top of the water column and dashed off again, peeling 30 or 40 feet of line
from the reel.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p><b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;color:black'>Finally, the hefty king
salmon, with translucent blue and silver hues, was netted from the icy <a
href="http://topics.sfgate.com/topics/Pacific_Ocean" target="_top">Pacific</a>.
This prized game fish has an oily scent that cannot be erased from your mind.
Twenty-five five pounds of the richest food source known to man went into the
box. As the lines were reset, the boat slowly trolled back. The surface of the
briny ocean was slick with fish oil as broken anchovy bodies drifted by,
remnants of a feeding frenzy repeated over and over again. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p><b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;color:black'>Although the fishing was
excellent that year, something was wrong. The juvenile fish known as "shakers,"
occasionally caught and released, were missing. I interviewed charter boat
captains and commercial fishermen in ports up and down the coast, and the
consensus was the same: No juveniles were being caught. An entire class of fish
was absent from the ecosystem. As a result of this tragedy, research began, and
I became a scientist and a fishery advocate.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p><b><u><span style='font-size:11.0pt;color:black'>After a year of dismal
fishing in 2006, a sharp decline in numbers was evident. The once sustainable <a
href="http://topics.sfgate.com/topics/California" target="_top">California</a>
king salmon had been reduced to a mere brood stock. The wave of upset affected
the entire food chain. Birds and mammals are still suffering today. The fishery
is gone, the ecosystem has collapsed. Politics aside, this resource has been
lost.<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></p>
<p><b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;color:black'><a
href="http://topics.sfgate.com/topics/Recreational_fishing" target="_top">Sport
fishing</a> and environmental groups are desperately working to reverse this
situation, but they face many challenges</span></b><b><span style='font-size:
11.0pt;color:yellow'>. </span></b><b><u><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>Like
government subsidies and social programs, when a resource is given away - in
this case water, a public trust - it is extremely difficult to get it back.<span
style='color:#1F497D'><o:p></o:p></span></span></u></b></p>
<p><b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;color:black'>Since I was a young man, I
fished for salmon, first in the rivers then on party boats leaving <a
href="http://topics.sfgate.com/topics/San_Francisco" target="_top">San
Francisco</a> twice daily (when the bite was hot). Finally, I bought my own
boat, learned navigation and boating safety and lived to fish for salmon.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p><b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;color:black'>This fishing heritage,
however, has not been passed on to my son. I remember some years ago when I was
talking about the salmon decline to my grandfather, who is a <a
href="http://topics.sfgate.com/topics/World_War_II" target="_top">World War II</a>
veteran, and he simply said:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p><b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;color:black'>"We used to hunt Elk in
Bakersfield, too, son."<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><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;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:#948A54'>Byron Leydecker, JcT<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:#948A54'>Chair, Friends of Trinity River<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:#948A54'>PO Box 2327<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:#948A54'>Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:#948A54'>415 383 4810 land/fax<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:#948A54'>415 519 4810 mobile<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><i><u><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:#4F81BD'>bwl3@comcast.net <o:p></o:p></span></u></i></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><i><u><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:#4F81BD'>bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org <o:p></o:p></span></u></i></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><i><u><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:#4F81BD'>http://www.fotr.org<o:p></o:p></span></u></i></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
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