Department of Water Resources
California Water News
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
May 30, 2008
3. Watersheds –
DFG moves to solve salmon mystery
Stockton Record – 5/28/08
By Peter Ottesen
King salmon smolts have been implanted with acoustical tags under a multi-agency research project to provide scientists answers to why as many as 90 percent of the young fish die each year while out-migrating through the south Delta and San Joaquin River.
"The project goal is to figure out what is killing the young salmon during their journey and solve those problems," state Department of Fish and Game spokesman Harry Morse said. "It's a mystery that must be solved."
He said 1,000 smolts have been implanted with transmitters at the Merced Hatchery as part of the Vernalis Adaptive Management Plan in the San Joaquin River Agreement. The transmitters are programmed by the U.S. Geological Service. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and two private consulting firms are providing technical assistance to the project.
"Tracking is done in the river and south Delta with acoustic receiver buoys," Morse said. "Buoys have been anchored in key locations throughout the river system and water diversion pathways to track the salmon."
Said Fish and Game biologist Tim Heyne: "The results of this study and other evaluations being conducted in the San Joaquin River basin will determine stream flows that are needed to overcome all the impediments to adequate salmon and steelhead production in this river system."
Each year a remnant run of fall-run salmon still migrate into the San Joaquin, Merced and Tuolumne rivers. Eggs spawned and reared at the Merced Hatchery will produce the fish for this study over the next four years. Releases of smolts carrying the transmitters began the last week in April. All of the salmon were released before May 15. Currently, the tiny fish are being tracked in "real time" from sounds emitted by the acoustic tags.
The Vernalis Adaptive Management Plan focuses on understanding the relationship between south Delta inflow, Delta exports and juvenile salmon survival. ONITAGBOLDONIInformation:ONIENDBOLDONI sjrg.org.
Challenges ahead
The bulk of fall-run king salmon - as much as 85 percent of all the chinook found off the California Coast - are Sacramento River stock fish. That resource literally collapsed in 2007 when 79,000 adults returned to spawn, a reduction of 90 percent of the run, down from a high of approximately 800,000 salmon in 2002. The Sacramento River system includes major tributaries - the American and Feather rivers and Battle Creek. Poor ocean conditions are blamed for the collapse of the run.
On May 9, the California Fish and Game Commission adopted a "zero bag" limit on all Central Valley rivers in 2008 to give fall-run salmon maximum protection and completely closed recreational salmon fishing in ocean waters.
Central Valley salmon regulations were purposely structured as "zero salmon bag" limit to allow fishing for other non-salmon species such as striped bass, trout, sturgeon and shad. While catch-and-release fishing for salmon is not prohibited in rivers, Fish and Game officials are asking the public to refrain from using fishing methods that target salmon.
The five-member panel did approve an in-river exception that calls for a one-salmon bag limit in the Sacramento River from the Diversion Dam at Red Bluff to Knights Landing from Nov. 1 to Dec. 31. Commissioners approved this rule to give sport anglers limited access to late-fall chinook.
The forecast of returning Klamath and Trinity River fall-chinook is more than needed to meet conservation and reproduction goals, DFG scientists said. As a result, recreational salmon fishing will be permitted and allow for a 37,000-fish quota for Indian tributes and a 22,500-fish quota for recreational anglers.
Guide Dave Mierkey of Stockton said half the recreational quota, about 11,250 salmon, will be allocated to the lower Klamath River from the mouth to Weichpec. The other 11,250 salmon will be designated for anglers who try their luck in the upper river, from Weichpec to Iron Gate Dam near Hornbrook. Mierkey will fish the mouth of the Klamath from Sept. 6-28 and, after a week's layoff, will shift to the upper end for most of October.
"Last year, we didn't reach the recreational quota," Mierkey said. "Since there is no ocean salmon fishing this year, the quota was increased by 1,000 fish. That's the good news."#
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080528/A_SPORTS03/805280310
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