Striped bass to blame for California's salmon decline

The Sacramento Bee
By Matt Weiser
February 27, 2010

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.

Cutthroat doing well enough to avoid listing

The Columbia Basin Bulletin
February 26, 2010

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Thursday it will again withdraw its proposal to list as threatened the Southwest Washington/Columbia River Distinct Population Segment of coastal cutthroat trout.

Initially proposed for listing as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act in 1999, the USFWS withdrew the proposal to list the DPS in 2002 after determining the trout were more numerous than previously known and not declining in number as had been thought.

Central Valley Project increases water allocations

Central Valley Business Times
February 26, 2010

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation says it plans to deliver 30 percent of water allocations for agricultural customers south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta through its Central Valley Water Project this year.

"In addition, the department has confirmed with me that it is working to achieve the equivalent of an additional 8-10 percent further allocation through various administrative actions which are all consistent with, and within, the biological opinions," says U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. "This is very good news."

Huge fall chinook jack return...

The Columbia Basin Bulletin
February 26, 2010

Fishery managers are predicting that "upriver" fall chinook salmon returns to the Columbia River this year will be the biggest since 2004, and the third largest since the late 1980s.

A huge return of fall chinook salmon jacks -- 2-year-old fish -- in 2009 is considered a signal that this year's upriver bright and Bonneville pool hatchery tule returns will include an outsized crop of 3-year-olds. Upriver chinook are fish from hatcheries and spawning grounds above Bonneville Dam.

Research to find salmon answers

Highland News
February, 25 2010

Fishermen and conservationists and are united in their concerns about the dwindling number of Atlantic salmon in rivers across the UK with pollution, predation and climate change thought to be potential causes of a massive 70 per cent decline in recent years.

However, new research being presented by the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust at its Scottish Conference on March 19 in the Drumossie Hotel, may shed light on some critical factors affecting Atlantic salmon stocks in rivers across Scotland.

Fishermen rally in Washington for the right to fish

Fish News EU
February 25, 2010

A ‘UNITED WE FISH' rally at Capitol Hill in Washington drew a crowd of several thousand brought together by their concerns over future fishing opportunities.

The protestors were described as an eclectic mix of commercial fishermen, charter and party boat captains, and recreational anglers and tackle shop owners with the majority from the commercial fishing industry.

Quick action by new Delta group

The Stockton Record
By Alex Breitler
February 26, 2010

A leaner, locally leaning Delta Protection Commission made its debut Thursday night by refusing a request by a high-ranking appointee of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to delay action on a management plan for the estuary.

In short, the commission wasted no time flexing its local muscle.

Last fall's legislative water deal included paring down the little-known commission from 23 members to 15. Gone now are some of the state officials who previously sat at the table; the commission is now dominated by county supervisors and city council members, including San Joaquin's Larry Ruhstaller and Stockton's Susan Eggman, and by farmers.

Water package for San Joaquin Valley to be unvailed

The Sacramento Bee
By Michael Doyle and Mark Grossi
February 26, 2010

The Obama administration is expected today to unveil an ambitious-sounding package of irrigation deliveries, water transfers, farm loan guarantees and other programs targeting the parched San Joaquin Valley.

Crafted amid intense political pressure, the package is supposed to alleviate farmers' distress while still protecting fish. Some key California lawmakers said late Thursday they were pleased by the effort, though others still want more detail.

Fish find spawns debate

The Stockton Record
By Alex Breitler
February 24, 2010

Biologists found federally protected steelhead stranded in shallow pools on the Calaveras River, and environmentalists blamed water managers Tuesday for failing to keep the stream flowing so the migratory fish could escape to the ocean.

Stockton East Water District and the National Marine Fisheries Service are years overdue on a fish protection plan that would give Stockton East permission to continue diverting Calaveras water to farms and the city.

Deep-ocean low-oxygen zones spreading

Scientific American
By Michael Tennesen
February 23, 2010

A plague of oxygen-deprived waters from the deep ocean is creeping up over the continental shelves off the Pacific Northwest and forcing marine species there to relocate or die. Since 2002 tongues of hypoxic, or low-oxygen, waters from deeper areas offshore have slipped into shallower near-shore environments off the Oregon coast, although not close enough to be oxygenated by the waves. The problem stems from oxygen reduction in deep water, a phenomenon that some scientists are observing in oceans worldwide, and that may be related to climate change.

Feds predict better year for California salmon

Mercury News
By Mike Taugher
February 24, 2010

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.

2010 salmon season predicted to come up short

Capital City Weekly
By Laine Welch
February 24, 2010

Alaska's 2010 salmon season will produce 15 percent fewer fish, if predictions by state fishery managers hold true.

The statewide all-species harvest is pegged at 138 million salmon, compared to last year's catch of 162.5 million salmon, the 12th largest take since 1960.

New comprehensive view of deep-sea mountains

Underwatertimes.com
February 22, 2010

Lying beneath the ocean is spectacular terrain ranging from endless chains of mountains and isolated peaks to fiery volcanoes and black smokers exploding with magma and other minerals from below Earth's surface. This mountainous landscape, some of which surpasses Mt. Everest heights and the marine life it supports, is the spotlight of a special edition of the research journal Oceanography.

Placement of marine reserves is key

Science News
By Alexandra Witze
February 22, 2010

Saving both fish and the fishermen who depend on them appears to come down to one thing: location, location, location.

Marine protected areas, which currently limit fishing in 1.6 percent of the waters claimed by countries, need to be located in the right spots to have the maximum effect, researchers report. The work comes in a suite of papers published online February 22 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science on February 21.

Bill proposes giving Chinook salmon official distinction

The Sacramento Bee
By Matt Weiser
February 22, 2010

California's declining Chinook salmon populations would gain a new legal distinction under a state law proposed by Assemblyman Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael.

Huffman's bill, AB 2063, proposes to declare Chinook salmon the "official state anadromous fish," distinguishing its ocean-going status from California's existing state fish, the freshwater golden trout. The bill, introduced Thursday, does not distinguish among the state's four Chinook salmon runs and does not propose new regulatory measures.

Despite predictions, state farm jobs aren't disappearing

The Los Angeles Times
By Bettina Boxall
February 22, 2010

When California Sen. Dianne Feinstein drafted legislation that would weaken endangered species protections to deliver more water to San Joaquin Valley farms, her rationale was jobs.

"People in California's breadbasket face complete economic ruin," the Democrat said in a recent statement.

She was joining a chorus of Central Valley politicians and farm groups that during the last year have painted the region as a dust bowl, beset by drought and environmental protections that are cutting vital water deliveries and the jobs that depend on them.

Feinstein water transfer bill would hurt salmon

The Sacramento Bee
By Matt Weiser
February 21, 2010

Sen. Dianne Feinstein has proposed legislation to make it easier to transfer water to San Joaquin Valley farmers from other areas of the state, part of her ongoing effort to help farmers contending with water shortages.

Feinstein made headlines last week with a controversial proposal to amend a federal jobs bill to guarantee San Joaquin Valley farmers 40 percent of their contract water deliveries from the federal government.

Delta water compromise will save jobs

The Sacromento Bee
By Dianne Feinstein
February 20, 2010

Re "Feinstein's play threatens to roil the water world" (Editorial, Feb. 14): Given the magnitude of the Central Valley water crisis, I was surprised by The Bee's sharp criticism of an Emergency Temporary Water Supply amendment I am proposing to provide farmers with the minimum amount of water necessary to stay in business (38 to 40 percent of their contractual allocation), while maintaining environmental protections.

Water is jobs in our state. More than 2,700 growers, who farm 800,000 acres of land south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, rely on water from the Central Valley Project to stay in business. Three consecutive years of drought have caused more than 400,000 acres of farmland to be fallowed. Rows of almond trees have been uprooted, and thousands of farmworkers are unemployed.

Researchers help identify a big fish that ate small

Info Zine
February 20, 2010

An international team that includes researchers from the University of Kansas describe how new fossils from Asia, Europe and the United States reveal a previously unknown dynasty of giant bony fishes that filled the seas of the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, between 66 million and 172 million years ago. The team reported their findings in the Feb. 19 edition of the journal Science.

Stakeholder group considers marine protected areas

The Log
February 20, 2010

The California Department of Fish and Game has announced the appointment of the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) North Coast Regional Stakeholder Group (NCRSG), a 31-member group tasked with providing alternatives to established Marine Protected Areas(MPAs).

Stakeholder group members, who represent broad interests and perspectives from the state's northern Pacific coast region, will work with the MLPA Blue Ribbon Task Force, the science advisory team and MLPA staff to evaluate existing marine protected areas within the north coast study region.