A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
November 30, 2007
3. Watersheds
Tilapia levels at Salton Sea highest in 5 years - Desert Sun
Broader study of the Klamath River Basin urged; Panel says the river's many tributaries must also be given attention - Los Angeles Times
CRABBING BAN LIFTED:
State lifts ban on fishing, crabbing after S.F. Bay oil spill - San Francisco Chronicle
Bay crab, seafood cleared after spill; Schwarzenegger gives go-ahead for season as tests assure safety - Sacramento Bee
Editorial: A very fishy situation; Faulty federal plans contribute to really big mess in the San Joaquin Delta -
Tilapia levels at
Desert Sun – 11/30/07
By Keith Matheny, staff writer
INDIAN WELLS -
So when they do, they tout it - just as they did Thursday in a presentation at the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort and Spa that was part of the Association of California Water Agencies' annual fall conference.
"The tilapia are at the highest numbers we've seen in five years," said Kimberly Nicol,
That's because they no longer have same-sized competitors in the food chain, and they've recovered from the major fish-kills of several years ago, she said.
More tilapia means more pelicans. State officials recorded 6,000 brown pelicans at the sea this year, the most since 2000. And 14,000 American white pelicans spent time at the sea, the most since 2001.
But the good news is only temporary, as the sea's steady deterioration continues.
"The sea is going to die here in the next decade - that's a given if nothing is done," said Dale Hoffman-Floerke, head of the state Department of Water Resources' Colorado River and Salton Sea office.
The sea's steady drop in elevation has produced one of its first major impacts - there's no longer an adequate boat-launching facility to get out on the lake, Nicol said.
It's a bitter reality for a sea that in the 1950s abounded with marinas, boating and fishing.
A thriving sport fishery that once included corvina, sargo and croaker is also a thing of the past, Nicol said.
"The marine sport fishery has been undetectable since 2003," she said. "That means in our gill nets we haven't found any, and no anglers have reported any. So for all intents and purposes, it no longer exists."
Fish and bird habitats could be severely impacted, and an exposed dry lake bed could spew dust into the air for miles into the
The sea's salinity rose this year to 50 parts per thousand, Nicol said. That's more than the ocean but far less than that of
When the full impact of a 2003 water transfer agreement comes in 2017, the
Once the fishery is gone, the birds - more than 400 species that travel along the Pacific Flyway and visit the sea - will go with them.
"Other factors could come into play to make that happen sooner," Nicol said.
State Legislature's actions
After years of false starts and debate, state Secretary of Resources Mike Chrisman this spring chose a 75-year, $8.9 billion plan to restore the sea, ease air quality problems and preserve habitat.
A bill sponsored by state Sen. Denise Moreno Ducheny, D-San Diego, would earmark $47 million in state Proposition 84 water bond money for the sea's early start habitat, air quality monitoring and other first-step work.
But the bill stalled in an Assembly committee at the end of the legislative year.
Only $23 million has been earmarked for beginning restoration.
Desert Hot Springs City Manager Rick Daniels, the former executive director of the La Quinta-based Salton Sea Authority - a coalition of local governments and agencies advocating for sea restoration - blasted the state Legislature's foot-shuffling and "political gamesmanship."
"I think the Legislature failed the
"We need to get serious money. We need to be spending $200 million to $300 million per year in the next three to four years in order to save the sea.
"If we fail to save the sea, it's going to be devastating to the environment, and it's going to destroy the economy you're all here enjoying," he said.
Audience reaction
Some water officials questioned the state's alternative for sea restoration, its more than 53 miles of dam and its huge cost.
"This is just an impossibly big (dollar) number," one audience member said.
Another noted it might cost $50 million a year to create and operate desalination facilities in
The city could then return the large amounts of water it's receiving in transfer from the Imperial Irrigation District, the cause of the
"What am I missing here?" the audience member said. #
http://www.mydesert.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071130/NEWS0701/711300353/1026/news12
Broader study of the
By Eric Bailey, staff writer
SACRAMENTO -- -- Wading anew into one of the West's fiercest water wars, a scientific panel from the National Research Council said this week that a more comprehensive study needs to be done on the problem-plagued Klamath River Basin.
Past studies have focused only on the main river -- which has seen dams and water diversion hurt threatened salmon and suckerfish populations -- ignoring its many tributaries, the panel said in a report.
"It's like trying to understand a tree by only examining its trunk and not assessing its branches," said William L. Graf, a
Graf said past research has been piecemeal and failed to grasp the "big picture" of the workings of the Klamath, which suffered a massive fish kill in 2002 that led to such low salmon returns by 2006 that a 700-mile swath of the Northern California and
The report examined two key studies on how to manage river flows -- one produced by a
To address the gap in scientific understanding, the committee recommended that researchers, government agencies and the various groups jousting over how to manage the Klamath work together with independent experts to produce a basin-wide plan for the ailing river. It should be free of politics while addressing land use and the effect of climate change, the panel said.
Those findings and conclusions came as no surprise to many of the groups that have warred over how to fix the river.
"We've known from the beginning that salmon and steelhead populations rely on the health of the entire river system, not just one segment," said Rep. Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena), one of the leading congressional critics of the way the Bush administration has managed the river.
The panel also backed the
One environmental group welcomed that finding as a way to help salmon. "For years, the Bush administration and agribusiness have claimed Klamath salmon don't need more water, and now the National Academy of Science has slammed the door on their arguments," said Steve Pedery, of Oregon Wild.
The report marks the second time that the council has assembled a scientific panel to study the Klamath -- but the two groups reached far different conclusions on water flows. A report released in 2003 determined that increased flows were not justified to save endangered fish.
For years, a fight over the
Meanwhile, four dams that block upper river spawning grounds are being targeted for removal by tribes and environmental groups. But earlier this month, a federal power agency recommended that they remain and that migratory fish be trucked around them.
Ongoing talks launched by the Bush administration more than two years ago are aimed at inking a deal that could tie dam removal to controversial Endangered Species Act concessions in the
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-klamath30nov30,1,3346988.story?coll=la-headlines-california
CRABBING BAN LIFTED:
State lifts ban on fishing, crabbing after
San Francisco Chronicle – 11/30/07
By Peter Fimrite, staff writer
Locally harvested crab and seafood will be back on Bay Area menus just in time for Christmas, but that oyster barbecue might have to wait.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger lifted the ban on crabbing and fishing in
"We have been advised and have concluded that the fishery is safe and that all existing seasons can resume according to existing laws," said John McCamman, acting director of the California Department of Fish and Game, announcing the end of the ban that began Nov. 13.
"There is a possibility of residual oil remaining in the water, and it could remain over the next couple of months. We urge fishermen to use common sense. If it looks like oil and smells like oil and tastes like oil, you don't want to eat it," McCamman said.
The fishing ban had delayed the scheduled Nov. 15 start of the local Dungeness crab season. After Thursday's announcement, crabbers said they weren't immediately sure when they would set out to catch the prized crustaceans. Some harbors said they hoped to get crab this weekend.
Testing of 1,138 crabs and fish, which were caught at various locations around the bay and along the coast over a five-day period, found almost no detectable levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, the most toxic component in the 58,000 gallons of fuel oil that spilled Nov. 7 from a container ship that clipped the Bay Bridge. The pollutant is probably cancer-causing, according to the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.
However, the contaminants were found in mussels collected at the Berkeley Pier and
"People should refrain from eating the mussels in those areas,"
Mussels are filter feeders that remain in place on rocks, so any toxic contaminants in the water end up in their bodies. Oysters also are filter feeders, which is why the state decided to keep its ban in place.
Kevin Lunny, an owner of Drakes Bay Oyster Co. in
"We still don't know when we can open," Lunny said. "This is absolutely killing us."
As for the oysters themselves, he said, "they're still fine."
"We don't think we've been harmed in the oil spill. But it's lost profit for us," he said. "We're trying to keep our staff paid. It's leading into the holiday, and they're scared to death."
Fish and Game's Denton said tissue samples were taken from Dungeness crab, red and brown rock crab, shiner, herring, black surfperch and mussels throughout the bay west of the Carquinez Bridge and along the San Mateo and Marin county coasts, including Bodega and Tomales bays.
"The data came back negative, with the exception of mussels at the Berkeley Pier and
Fish and Game banned fishing in the bay and a 3-mile-wide band of ocean between Pedro Point in San Mateo County and Point Reyes starting Nov. 13 after it became clear that the fuel oil had spread all along the coast. The ban went into effect five days after the spill.
That left open nearly all the traditional crab grounds outside the
The crabbers greeted the news with relief Thursday but pointed out they are by no means out of the soup.
"This oil spill has ruined us," said Larry Collins, president of the San Francisco Crab Boat Owners Association. "We've been trying to do the right thing. We live here. We care about the consumers and the resource, and we want to make sure nobody gets sick. But it's not good for your business when somebody dumps a crapload of oil."
Steve Edinger, the Fish and Game assistant chief, said he expects to start seeing Dungeness crab on the market in a couple of days, so residents should get out their cooking pots.
"I expect there's going to be a mad rush of crab fisherman headed out there to get the crabs they've been waiting for," he said.
Collins, however, advised against boiling the water too soon. He said it could take a few days before local crab is back on the menu while his organization works with
"The weather's bad right now," he said, referring to the small craft advisory with gusting winds and 9-foot swells in effect through Friday evening. "That's not good with a load of gear on the boat."
He said he will be angling for a Saturday start to be fair to everybody.
"It always is a race out at the beginning of crab season," Collins said. "Nobody knows where the best spots are, but you know where you like to fish."
The boats are allowed to keep only male crabs with at least a 6 1/4-inch-wide shell. The season ends when there are so few of those crabs that it's no longer profitable to fish for them.
Zeke Grader, the executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations, said he is still upset that it took nearly a week for Fish and Game to close the season, which could have resulted in contaminated fish on the market.
"We really have to learn how to do this better," Grader said. "Sometimes it is better to take a small hit with a closure than to put your market at risk perhaps for years to come if any contaminated product got on."
Grader said the biggest danger now is when herring season begins Sunday in the bay. Any oil sitting on the bottom of the bay could get on the nets and foul the fish, so he is asking Fish and Game officials to conduct more testing in herring fishery areas.
Other than that, he said, "it's back to business as usual."
Recreational anglers also were affected by the ban, including those who catch fish to feed their families. Some of those fishers will return to the bay Friday after driving as far as the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to catch dinner. #
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/11/30/MN13TLBV0.DTL
Bay crab, seafood cleared after spill; Schwarzenegger gives go-ahead for season as tests assure safety
Sacramento
By Kevin Yamamura and Chris Bowman, staff writers
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger reopened fishing season for crab and other marine life Thursday throughout most of the
Fishing had been banned since Nov. 13, right before the commercial crab fishing season was slated to begin. Schwarzenegger instituted the fishing prohibition by executive order after the container ship Cosco Busan crashed into the
"The test results our scientists have analyzed demonstrate that there is a clean bill of health for the fish, and that they are safe to eat," Schwarzenegger said in a statement.
The clean bill of health came as welcome news for commercial crabbers, who lost the best two weeks of their season to the oil spill.
"This brings a degree of confidence that there won't be a problem," said Zeke Grader, executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations, a commercial fishing group.
The oil spill occurred at the worst possible time and place for the Dungeness crabbers.
The coast south of
Come Saturday, when the northern Pacific crabbing opens, fishermen will lose the price bonus.
"Rather than getting $2.50 a pound, they'll be getting $2 a pound," Grader said.
While most fishing is now allowed, the state maintained its ban on mussels caught at the Berkeley Marina and
For purposes of the study, the state Department of Fish and Game defined the oil spill zone as the
Two days after Schwarzenegger issued his executive order, Fish and Game began collecting samples of Dungeness crab, red rock crab, herring shiner, black surfperch and mussels from locations such as
Various state agencies analyzed the samples, including the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment and the state Department of Public Health. In order for a species to be declared fit for consumption, it had to be safe enough that eight ounces could be eaten once per week for 30 years and cause at most one additional case of cancer per 10,000 people.
Most species were deemed safe to consume. Only mussels at Berkeley Marina and
Herring fishermen, whose season opens Sunday night, still have concerns, Grader said.
While the fish tested clean, the catch may become contaminated aboard if the nets or anchors get coated in oil globs on the floor of
The Governor's Office warned that it is possible for marine life to get contaminated with pockets of oil in the next several months and urged sport fishermen to avoid fish with an oily smell or taste. #
http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/532366.html
Editorial: A very fishy situation; Faulty federal plans contribute to really big mess in the
A small San Joaquin Delta island north of Rio Vista has become a massive killing zone for thousands of forgotten fish trapped in shallow, receding water during recent levee repairs.
A private company contracted by the federal Bureau of Reclamation drained 1,253-acre Prospect Island in Solano County as part of a project to close two levee breaks caused by January 2006 storms.
Someone forgot to tell striped bass, sturgeon, carp, catfish, bluegill, king salmon, steelhead and other fish species on the flooded island.
For a week, fish have been dying - some from lack of oxygen (only 8 inches of water over a 260-acre site remains) and others in pumps discharging water from the island.
Bureau of Reclamation and California Department of Fish and Game workers reacted belatedly - not to rescue what aquatic life remained, but to remove the rotting fish stranded.
Meanwhile, the federal repair project has been suspended.
Not only did bureau officials fail to allow for so many fish dying. There also is no provision for relocating fish, dead or alive.
By this weekend, officials hope to pump fresh oxygen into the shrinking pool to rescue some species.
"I guarantee, when they get done, they won't save one fish," said Bob McDaris, owner of Cliff's
State and federal officials have argued for years about the cost of - and responsibility for - repairing long-neglected Delta levees.
The
Bureau of Reclamation officials should learn from this mess that there are no substitutes for fully planning such projects while providing appropriate monitoring and oversight. #
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071130/A_OPINION01/711300307/-1/A_OPINION
#####
No comments:
Post a Comment