Posted by red on 2/21/2008, 6:28 am
4.246.248.181
I posted this in the bee in answer to a report that the dfg lawsuit was targeting striped bass.
they edited it quite a bit.red
Delta pumps caused decline of valley salmon
last updated: February 20, 2008 10:45:26 AM
In regard to your opinion on salmon ("Where have the salmon gone?" Feb. 10), you are almost right. Striped bass are not the biggest predator on salmon. You have small-mouth, large-mouth, squawfish, otters and others. In the '40s, there were 50,000-plus salmon on the Tuolumne and the striper population was around 3 million in the entire Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. A supplemental hatchery was proposed for the river and had the support of the Board of Supervisors, local fishing organizations and others. We got stopped by the environmentalists and had no support from the irrigation districts. When you raise flows and fish start to spawn, then drop flows, you kill the fry. Fry cannot live in water moving at 50 cubic feet per second and with 100-degree temperatures in summer (since some smolts lay over).
Check out the decline of all fish in the bay and delta and you'll see where it started -- when the State Water Project pumps came online.
RED BARTLEY
Waterford
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