A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
April 25, 2008
3. Watersheds -
Importance of keeping alien mussels away from Eastern Sierra trout opener is emphasized. -
Inland Empire Press
County examines options to rid of invasive mollusk -
The Hollister Freelance
Coastal controversy
Outcry over state marine sanctuary plan that would declare prime spots along
Santa Rosa Press Democrat
California
Diminishing aquatic numbers prompt panel to advise moratorium -
The
The Press-Enterprise
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Importance of keeping alien mussels away from Eastern Sierra trout opener is emphasized.
Inland Empire Press
By Aaron Burgin
Folks headed to
They've been ordered to remove wetness and debris from vessels and trailers, or risk being turned away.
They've been mandated to complete a survey explaining where they've been.
The dragnet has been spread as far south as Bishop -- where the Vons/Kmart parking lot serves as an inspection station -- for an alien mollusk that may be more feared than Moses Black and Leander Morton.
The two were the 1870s outlaws who broke prison in
Quaggas, recent arrivals to the West, have infested the lower
Thus the brow-furrowing concern among executives with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, which owns and governs
But another alien mollusk, which has already established itself in
"It could be an epic, all-time opener," says Lane Garrett, manager of Crowley Lake Fish Camp.
"It's supposed to be 70-degree weather on Saturday and fishing should be fantastic."
This forced DFG officials to modify stocking operations and distribute Hot Creek trout only to snail-positive waters, with
That's nearly 100,000 more than normal, and those bonus trout, unlike the smaller fingerlings, were half-pound fish that may now weigh two-plus pounds.
Also included were 1,289 broodstock rainbows averaging three pounds apiece. They may weigh 5-6 pounds.
And this supplements millions of trout, including wild browns, already inhabiting the region's largest and most popular fishery.
Says Garrett, "I'm already seeing a lot of those big fish swirling around
Add trout plants
Fish and Game hatcheries supervisor Dennis Redfern says that by the end of today 40,000 pounds of catchable rainbow trout, from two other hatcheries, will have been planted in Inyo and Mono counties.
"I'd say we'll be doing at least as good, if not better, than last year," Redfern says.
Trout rancher Tim Alpers has spiked Intake II on Bishop Creek with 4- to 8-pound Alpers rainbows.
A Marlon-fishing story
Marlon Meade of
For example, while most anglers will await dawn's first light, Meade, who discovered that the season in
He and a friend once tried fishing from chairs on the bank of Bishop Creek. Meade fell asleep at 2 a.m. Ice formed over the eyes of his pole. Frost shrouded his face. "My buddy was talking to me for 30 minutes and I wasn't answering," he recalls.
Another time, during a full moon, Meade could literally see trout beneath the surface of Weir Pond below
"I felt like we were in
State parks: Still threatened
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's revised budget proposal is due mid-May and it remains unclear whether he will still advocate the closure of 48 state parks to help ease financial woes.
Traci Verardo-Torres, legislative and policy director for the California State Parks Foundation, says the group has received no positive indications and is "urging the Legislature to look for creative solutions that preserve access and maintain the integrity of the system."
Some have motioned to transfer state parks to local governments, which CSPF has vehemently opposed.
"Selling off state parks or giving them to local governments -- who can't afford to operate them -- aren't ideas that will keep parks open or accessible," Verardo-Torres says.
Great white saga continues
An article last month told of a young white shark that journeyed deep into
Readers who requested updates may be pleased to learn the tagged predator has eluded fishing gear and is close to
Scientists at
The aquarium hopes to land another juvenile white shark -- its fourth -- for display in its
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/environment/la-sp-outdoors25apr25,1,2643747,full.column
County examines options to rid of invasive mollusk
The Hollister Freelance – 4/24/08
By Curtis Cartier
The San Benito Water District is looking at several different ways to kill zebra mussels that have infested the San Justo Reservoir, and a water official confirmed this week that the mollusk is isolated there.
The fingernail-size, freshwater mollusk is an invasive species native to southern
San Benito County Water District Manager Lance Johnson said he has been looking into several ways of exterminating the mussels and hopes to use "environmentally friendly" tactics to eradicate them this fall. He said the cost to rid San Justo Reservoir of the invasive species could be as low as $250,000 - or as high as $2 million.
He also said divers have found the mussels as far down as 60 feet deep and that the tenacious mollusk can cling to fishing lines, bait buckets, fish, boats and even the bottom of shoes.
"By some miracle they are still isolated in the reservoir," he said. "We have a hope we can stop them here before they spread to other bodies of water."
When the mussels were discovered by a fisherman earlier this year, the California Fish and Game Department immediately shut down the reservoir. The fear was that they would hitch a ride on a boat's hull or other surface and be brought to other lakes or streams.
There known presence at
B.J. Miller, a Consulting Engineer with the San Luis and Delta-Mendota Water Authority, said many
"The problem is their larvae are very small and float on the water," Miller said. "If they got into the delta, then they would get carried all over
http://www.freelancenews.com/news/241648-county-examines-options-to-rid-of-invasive-mollusk
Coastal controversy
Outcry over state marine sanctuary plan that would declare prime spots along
Santa Rosa Press Democrat – 4/25/08
By DEREK J. MOORE
Fishing has been a way of life in Arch Richardson's family ever since his ancestors used gold to purchase property on
But that 130-year legacy will vanish, the retired store owner said, if state officials move forward with a proposal to declare the waters off
"No more taking the kids fishing. No more getting abalone for dinner. No nothing," said
About 80 square miles from
The state Fish and Game Commission will study four proposals put forth this week by a blue ribbon task force that was convened as part of the Marine Life Protection Act.
Passed in 1999, the legislation envisions a network of protected marine areas from
Hearings this summer
The commission is expected to hold public hearings on proposals for the north central coast this summer. But already there is a strong undercurrent of dissatisfaction with the task force recommendations.
"They say the perfect compromise means nobody is happy. They may have struck the perfect compromise," said Sean White, a biologist for the Sonoma County Water Agency and the owner of a kayak company.
White took part in months of negotiations that involved environmentalists, commercial fishermen, sport anglers, divers, citizens, civic leaders and other stakeholders along the coast.
Their charge was to whittle down their diverse interests into workable proposals, which would then be considered by the task force, which was led by former San Diego Mayor Susan Golding.
New plan recommended
The group managed to put forth three plans. But meeting in
Some viewed that as a last-minute betrayal of the process.
"They threw us under the bus and came up with their own plan. It's cherry-picking each proposal, but it doesn't work," said C.E. Brown, a retired clinical psychologist who lives at The Sea Ranch with her husband.
Melissa Miller-Henson, the project's coordinator, said participants were informed early on that the task force reserved the right to alter the proposals.
"To say it was cobbled together is far from the truth," she said.
She painted criticism of the preferred proposal as a positive sign that "maybe we hit the middle ground."
Covers 155 square miles
The proposal calls for restrictions along 155 square miles of ocean from
This is separate from a federal proposal to protect marine habitat from 3 miles offshore to as far out as 51 miles from Bodega Head.
Some of the region's most iconic areas are in the state plan, including Point Arena in
Other areas on the
"The north took a beating. It's not fair at all," said White.
Brown's dire warning was that the plan "will be the destruction of The Sea Ranch," a concern that underscores the complexity of trying to identify areas for protection.
The task force's preferred proposal calls for leaving The Sea Ranch basically untouched, aside from expanding the Del Mar reserve that already exists in the ocean off the 10-mile development.
But Brown said the recommendations to ban fishing, including abalone diving, in some areas of Salt Point and near Point Arena will increase the number of people using The Sea Ranch, where the public is guaranteed access to the ocean using seven access points.
She said homeowners already pay $5 million annually in dues to cover security and other costs related to that access.
"They're closing the state parks and leaving us open to be trashed," she said.
In all, 18 marine protected areas would be created under the task force plan between
Special closures
The task force also recommended seven special closures to offer additional protection to seabirds and marine mammals from disturbance.
Environmentalists were disappointed that the task force did not recommend expanding Fitzgerald Marine Reserve at
But the Ocean Conservancy signaled its general approval of the task force's preferred plan, noting that it would still leave 90 percent of the coast open for fishing.
"The task force had a real challenge and no one got exactly what they wanted, but this balanced compromise will still offer a legacy for all Californians, and it is a critical step forward towards restoring marine ecosystems in the Pacific Ocean," Samantha Murray, Pacific Region Ecosystems Manager at Ocean Conservancy, said in a statement posted on the group's Web site.
Unhappy fishermen
Motoring in to
"That's our fishery," he said. "You take that and we're done."
He and other fishermen said they've felt excluded during the negotiations.
"Since the very beginning they've disregarded most of the fisherman's input," he said. "It's not going to do anything as far as saving any species. It's a feel-good thing."
The north central coast is the second of five regions in
The Fish and Game Commission will hold a June hearing on the proposals, followed by public hearings. A final decision is not expected until December.#
http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/article/20080425/NEWS/804250384/1033/NEWS&template=kart
California
Diminishing aquatic numbers prompt panel to advise moratorium
The
By Denis Cuff, STAFF WRITER
80 square miles of coastal waters stretching from
The governor's Marine Life Protection Act Blue Ribbon Task Force released its plan Wednesday, urging the creation of 24 protected areas where fishing and seafood harvesting would be restricted or banned in state waters within three miles of shore. The aim is to protect diminishing populations of rock fish, sea lions, abalone, birds, and other aquatic life.
The state Fish and Game Commission will hold public hearings on the plan in June, and consider three alternatives. A final decision is expected later this summer.
"
She helped craft the recommendations, together with a diverse group of fishermen, environmentalists, educators, and other stakeholders over the past year.
"No one got everything they wanted," she said, "but everyone got something."
The compromise plan calls for a network of new state marine preserves, parks and conservation areas that form the core of an ambitious plan ordered by state lawmakers in a bid to reverse plunging fish populations. Fishing would be banned in marine preserves, and restricted to varying degrees in conservation areas.
Protection areas would be established at Point Reyes in
Environmentalists and marine biologists say
Some recreational fishermen worry the restrictions could undermine their sport by forcing anglers to travel farther to more inaccessible fishing spots.
The American Sportfishing Alliance submitted an alternative plan that called for 21 marine protected areas, three fewer than the recommended proposal.
"We support sustainable fisheries. We think it can be accomplished, while still keeping people out there on the water fishing," said Patty Doerr, the sportfishing alliance's ocean resource policy director.
The task force proposal calls for nine marine conservation areas, two marine parks and 11 marine preserves. The combined areas would impose fishing restrictions on 160 square miles of ocean, or 20.4 percent of the 763 square miles of coastal waters in the stretch of ocean under study.
Last year, the state Fish and Game Commission established restrictions in 29 marine protection areas covering some 110 square miles along the central coast from Half Moon Bay south to Santa Barbara.#
http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_9051769
WAYWARD WHALE SEES THE SIGHTS
Accidental tourist floats under bridge, entertains visitors at Crissy Field, vanishes
San Francisco Chronicle – 4/25/08
A gray whale that was supposed to head north made a detour east into
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2008/04/25/MNRE10BHDI.DTL
The Press-Enterprise – 4/25/08
By AARON BURGIN
A UC Riverside scientist on Thursday performed a high-tech fish survey on the lake. The survey uses a device that sends sound waves through the water to determine the size of objects, mostly fish.
That information, coupled with further study by the state Department of Fish and Game, will tell the city whether the lake's carp population is on the decline.
City officials stocked
"We are going to see if we have made a substantial dent," said Pat Kilroy, the city's director of
For years, bait fish such as carp and shad dominated the lake, while sport fish such as striped bass struggled to proliferate, Kilroy said.
Carp were a culprit in the lake's frequent algae blooms, which choked the lake's oxygen supply and resulted in undesirable fish kills. Carp feed on the zooplanktons that keep the algae growth in check.
There were an estimated 2 million carp in the lake in 2003, when the city and the
The plan calls for the annual removal of 90,000 pounds of carp until 2010. Kilroy said 1.4 million pounds have been removed.
Kilroy and Mark Norton, the authority administrator, both said it seems the efforts are paying off.
"It appears the carp levels are declining; the last few years the city hasn't been removing as many carp," Norton said.
"And the bass that we have stocked in the past are getting bigger," Kilroy added.
The bass population also got a boost Thursday morning when the lake was stocked with 3,200 pounds of striped bass. The young bass aid in the city's carp-removal program because they eat the carp.
Carp removal was part of a multimillion-dollar effort to improve the quality of the lake. Norton estimates $10 million of a $15 million water-improvement bond passed in 2000 has gone to improving
"We need to quantify the benefits of our programs, and this study will go a long way in doing that," Norton said.#
http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_D_fish25.1b77108.html
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