<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">P<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana; ">hoto: Protest by the Klamath Justice Coalition and members of the Hoopa Valley, Yurok, Karuk and Winnemem Wintu Tribes to pressure the Bureau of Reclamation to release cold water down the Trinity River last year to prevent a massive fish kill on the lower Klamath. Photo by Dan Bacher.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; "><br></span></div><div> <img width="800" height="533" alt="800_westlands_sucks_the_trinity_dry_1.jpg original image ( 5184x3456)" src="cid:DFAEBB26-1968-4330-A52A-5B16EAD05E57"></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/02/23/1366249/-Sacramento-and-Klamath-salmon-returns-released">http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/02/23/1366249/-Sacramento-and-Klamath-salmon-returns-released</a><div><br></div><div><a href="http://www.fishsniffer.com/blogs/details/sacramento-and-klamath-salmon-return-numbers-for-2014-released/">http://www.fishsniffer.com/blogs/details/sacramento-and-klamath-salmon-return-numbers-for-2014-released/</a><br><div><br></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="6">Fall 2014 Sacramento and Klamath salmon return numbers released</font><br><div><br><div>by Dan Bacher</div><div><br></div><div>As anglers get ready for the upcoming ocean and river salmon seasons, the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) revealed that 212,000 adult fall-run Chinook salmon returned to spawn in the Sacramento River and its tributaries in 2014. </div><div><br></div><div>About 10,000 adult salmon returned to the San Joaquin River system, including the Cosumnes, Mokelumne, Stanislaus, Tuolumne and Merced rivers.</div><div><br></div><div>The 2014 adult salmon return, or escapement, exceeds the minimum conservation goal set by fishery managers of 122,000 to 180,000 fish. </div><div><br></div><div>Representatives of fishing groups, including the Golden Gate Salmon Association (GGSA), are "cautiously optimistic" about the outlook for upcoming ocean and river salmon seasons.</div><div><br></div><div>Another 25,359 two year olds, called "jacks" or "jills" by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, returned to the Sacramento Basin. These sub-adults are capable of spawning, just like the adults are. The state and federal scientists use the "jack" and "jill" return numbers to develop models of salmon abundance for upcoming fishing seasons.</div><div><br></div><div>"Only a relatively small percentage of jacks come in from the ocean, with the rest staying out at sea one more year," said John McManus, Executive Director of the Golden Gate Salmon Association. "The number of returning jacks is multiplied to calculate the expected number of three year old adult fish out in the ocean."</div><div><br></div><div>"The 2014 jack count is about 25 percent higher than the 2013 jack count," he explained. "Although the multiplier that’s applied changes slightly from year to year, a layman’s analysis suggests there could be about 25 percent more three-year-olds in the ocean now than the 600,000 estimated at this time last year. This suggests there could be close to 800,000 adult salmon forecast for 2015."</div><div><br></div><div>The official 2015 forecast will be announced by state officials at a California Department of Fish and Wildlife informational meeting February 26 in Santa Rosa. This number will be used by the Pacific Fishery Management Council to propose times and areas where ocean salmon fishing will be allowed off the California coast, according to McManus.</div><div><br></div><div>The Council will finalize setting the 2015 season by April. As of now, the sport salmon season is set to open on Saturday April 4 off the California coast south of Horse Mountain, near Shelter Cove in southern Humboldt County.</div><div><br></div><div>"Things look relatively good on the Klamath River," noted McManus. "There, fishery managers were shooting for a minimum escapement of 40,700 natural adult spawners. Instead they ended up with more than twice that at 95,330. Another 31,000 adult salmon returned to the hatchery." </div><div><br></div><div>The Klamath River barely avoided a massive fish kill like the one that took place September 2002, due to direct action and protests by the Klamath Justice Coalition and members of the Hoopa Valley, Yurok, Karuk and Winnemem Wintu Tribes, along with lobbying and litigation by the Tribes and fishing groups, to release cold water from Trinity River to cool down water temperatures on the Klamath last summer and fall.</div><div><br></div><div>The release of the PFMC data took place as water rights attorney and California Water Impact Network (C-WIN) Board Member Mike Jackson warned of the tremendous environmental and economic damage that would result from approval of the Temporary Urgency Change Petitions to increase Delta water exports now before the State Water Resources Control Board. </div><div><br></div><div>He said that 95 percent of endangered winter run Chinook salmon perished last year, due to poor management by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation - and another massive fish kill could take place this year if the state and federal water agencies mismanage Central Valley rivers and dams and the Delta pumps like they did last year. </div><div><br></div><div>"Evidently after the Bureau of Reclamation’s killing of 95% of the endangered winter-run salmon last year, the Federal government has decided to propose a much worse water plan for 2015," said Jackson. "It’s a much more complicated plan, but if it is approved by the California Water Board it may send both the endangered salmon and Delta smelt to extinction. We will find out soon if the Governor’s office intervenes with the Water Board to help finish off the fish.” </div><div><br></div><div>“Once again, Senator Feinstein (D-Westlands) favors big agribusinesses on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley over the economic and environmental needs of the people who live in the Bay-Delta Estuary," said Jackson. "Commercial salmon fishing is a $1.5 billion economy, Delta farming a $5.2 billion economy, and of course there are the millions of people who live in communities surrounding the estuary. With this drought, we are poised to lose Delta smelt, Winter-run salmon, and steelhead as these fisheries are collapsing." </div><div><br></div><div>How will the massive die of winter-run Chinook salmon impact this year's salmon seasons? "Although we now know that federally protected winter run largely failed to reproduce in the wild in 2014 due to elevated river temperatures, fishing restrictions to further protect them likely won’t kick in until next year when they’re big enough to bite a bait," said McManus.</div><div> </div><div>Complete information about the upcoming salmon seasons will be available at the CDFW salmon information meeting in Santa Rosa. The meeting is scheduled on Thursday, Feb. 26 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Sonoma County Water Agency, 404 Aviation Blvd. in Santa Rosa.</div><div><br></div><div>"The public is encouraged to provide input on potential fishing seasons to a panel of California salmon scientists, managers and representatives who will be directly involved in the upcoming Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) meetings in March and April," according to the Department news release.(<a href="https://cdfgnews.wordpress.com/2015/02/05/cdfw-to-host-public-meeting-on-ocean-salmon-fisheries-2/">https://cdfgnews.wordpress.com/2015/02/05/cdfw-to-host-public-meeting-on-ocean-salmon-fisheries-2/</a>)</div><div><br></div><div>Meanwhile, Jerry Brown, the worst Governor for fish, water and the environment in recent California history, is rushing the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) to build the peripheral tunnels, the most environmentally destructive public works project in California history. The tunnels would hasten the extinction of Sacramento River Chinook salmon, Central Valley steelhead, Delta and longfin smelt and green sturgeon, as well as imperil the salmon and steelhead populations on the Trinity and Klamath rivers.</div></div></div></div><div><br></div></body></html>