A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
August 25, 2008
3. Watersheds –
Feds launch second fish rescue effort on Prospect Island
Sacramento
Monster bass won't be counted as a world record
San Francisco Chronicle
Sierra dam repairs necessitate fish rescue
Associated Press
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Feds launch second fish rescue effort on Prospect Island
By Matt Weiser
Federal officials today plan to launch a second fish rescue on
They're going back because many fish were left behind the first time, and the island has begun to dry out in the August heat.
In 2007, the bureau hired a contractor to fix the levees, then pump out the island. But no plans were made for the fish. Thousands died.
Outraged fishermen pressured the bureau to rescue the survivors in November, and an estimated 10,000 fish were saved – mostly carp, catfish and bluegill.
But many more have apparently survived ever since in the shallow water left behind. That water has gotten ever shallower, and the bureau wants to save the rest before it has a bigger crisis on its hands in the form of thousands of rotting carcasses.
"We've been keeping an eye on it, and we could see from one week to the next the evaporation was pretty serious," said Bureau of Reclamation spokesman Louis Moore. "As the water diminishes, they're going to get less oxygen and just create more problems."
Federal officials will work with the California Department of Fish and Game to rescue the fish,
Starting at 10 a.m. today, the team will use equipment to stun the fish, then load them into containers that will be floated to the levee, then carried over the levee and dumped back into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
The agencies are looking for additional volunteers from the public, and they've called on Bob McDaris to help.
McDaris, owner of Cliff's
In the midst of a vacation in
He said he was pleased to be asked to help this time.
"I think it's great," McDaris said. "Everybody's got the right attitude."
Anyone interested in helping can call
"We really want to do a good job and get as many fish out of there as we can," Moore said.#
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/1182565.html
Monster bass won't be counted as a world record
San Francisco Chronicle – 8/24/08
(08-23) 16:51 PDT -- A 52-inch, 70-pound striped bass, the largest ever caught in California and a potential world record for a lake, will not be certified as a state or world record, according to the bait shop that verified it.
The striper was caught at O'Neill Forebay near San Luis Reservoir on Highway 152 by Frank Ualat of
But the scale at the shop was not certified and
The state record striped bass is 67 pounds, 8 ounces, caught in 1992 from O'Neill Forebay. That catch is also the current world record for landlocked striped bass.
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http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/08/24/SPFR12G8I2.DTL
Sierra dam repairs necessitate fish rescue
Associated Press – 8/23/08
Brendan Riley, AP
More than 100 people have volunteered to help save thousands of fish, including many trophy-size lunkers, in a scenic Sierra lake that's being lowered from about 55 feet to just 11 feet so that dam repairs can be made.
Harry Morse, spokesman for the California Department of Fish and Game, said thousands of fish will be netted over three days starting Tuesday, and will be quickly transferred, via trucks used for fish planting, to
"It should be a good gathering of people, all working toward an excellent thing, and that's to move, relocate and rescue the fish," Morse said of the volunteer effort. "There really is the potential for saving thousands of fish."
Representatives of Trout Unlimited and the California Sportfishing Alliance organized the volunteer effort after learning of the drawdown and concerns that many Mackinaw, brown, rainbow, cutthroat and brook trout might be lost. Fish and Game also is borrowing some nets from the Nevada Department of Wildlife, to add to its own nets, boats and fish-planting trucks.
While critics of the drawdown previously had expressed concern about the
The district, which purchased rights to
After discovery of the gate problems in June, the irrigation district board declared an emergency, saying a gate failure could cause a release of the entire lake. The project could cost the district as much as $2 million, including about $400,000 for the fish transfer.#
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/08/23/BAQC12H49P.DTL&hw=caples&sn=002&sc=833
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