Posted by Capt Jim Cox
on 5/10/2009, 12:19 pm
98.207.145.56
I know many of you saw this slanted report on the Hannity show on Fox news. Here is a link to a synopsis and blog to make comments. http://hannity.blogs.foxnews.com/2009/05/07/fish-or-famine/
I attempted to make a comment, but the blog would only show my first paragraph. I sent this on to Mr. Hannity (hannity@foxnews.com) We all need to at least make comments on his blog, and hopefully send emails to him, and Roger Ailes head of Fox news through their senior V.P. of corporate affairs and communication (TEverett@newscorp.com)
The report “Fish or Famine” is a biased, slanted piece of propaganda. Forty years of rampant water pumping has brought the California delta, to the brink of ecological collapse. The court decision to curtail water deliveries is not merely to protect one small baitfish, as your report states, but to protect many species that are part of the delta ecosystem. The delta smelt is considered to be an “indicator specie” that shows the over all health of the system.
The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) now exports over 70% of the fresh water that flows into the delta. Much of the water is then used by farmers to grow subsidized crops. You interview a farmer that is part of the Westlands irrigation district, one of the worst offenders in the misuse of water. If he does not have enough water for his crops, then why does Westlands sell off much of their water allotments to water districts in Southern California. By Westlands own admissions they profit more by the re-sale of these water rights than they do by growing crops.
The idea that the curtailment in the delivery of water has created an economic hardship is also false. In Fresno County where you depicted a large unemployed farm workforce, farm payrolls actually increased 3.2 percent in the last 12 months, compared with a 3.4 percent decrease in private non farm payrolls.
The closure of the once abundant salmon fishery on the West coast is also due to the miss-management of California water. Many 2nd and 3rd generation salmon fisherman have lost their businesses, don’t they produce a food source as well? The National Marine Fisheries Service lays the blame for this fishery collapse squarely on the miss-management of water.
My own sport fishing charter business has been affected by these water exporting practices as striped bass, sturgeon, and salmon as well as many bay species decline from the lack of fresh water moving through the bay delta system.
This is not a matter of fish or famine, but a matter of Agricorp greed vs. fish. I challenge your Harrity report to show the truth on your show, not the propaganda of those that would destroy the eco-system for their own self interest.
Capt Jim Cox
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