[Water_news] 3. DWR'S CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS: WATERSHEDS - 3/4/09

Department of Water Resources

California Water News

A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment

 

March 4, 2009

 

3. Watersheds –

 

Salmon fishing could be off limits for second year

The Santa Rosa Press-Democrat

 

Recreational Miners Attack Indian Salmon Fishery
YubaNet.com

 

Commentary: Could mussels put a kink in your water system?

The California Farm Bureau Federation

 

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Salmon fishing could be off limits for second year

The Santa Rosa Press-Democrat – 3/3/09

By Robert Digitale

 

California salmon fishermen face the likelihood of a second year of no fishing off the state's coastline, based on early warnings Tuesday about the need to save a dwindling salmon population.

 

 "There's really no fish to play with," said Duncan MacLean, a commercial fisherman from Half Moon Bay. Current data, he said, suggests that state and federal regulators will need to save all the available salmon in order to ensure the spawning run in the Sacramento River.

 

More than 80 fishermen, scientists, conservationists and regulators gathered Tuesday in Santa Rosa, mostly to hear about the state of Sacramento River chinook. Those fish normally make up most of the salmon caught in California and Oregon.

 

They were told that even if California fishermen stay off the water for a second straight year, the number of salmon returning to the Sacramento River will barely meet the minimum number needed for a healthy population.

 

If federal regulators were to allow some fishing, they later might have to determine that the Sacramento salmon has undergone "overfishing," a finding that could lead to stricter rules on fishermen in future years.

 

Marija Vojkovich, a state Fish & Game official and member on the federal fishery council, acknowledged that chances are slim for an ocean fishing season again this year.

 

She based that view partly on the numbers of juvenile salmon, a key indicator of how many adult salmon are expected this spring and summer. Biologists have said the number of juvenile Sacramento River salmon was the second-lowest on record last fall.

 

"That tells you there's not a lot of extra fish to harvest," Vojkovich said.

 

With the Sacramento chinook in poor shape last year, regulators banned all salmon fishing in the ocean off California and allowed only a limited fishery for coho salmon off Oregon.

 

Even so, only about 66,000 chinook returned to spawn in the Sacramento last fall, far below the minimum goal of 122,000 adults.

 

This year the federal government is predicting 122,196 adult salmon to return if all fishing is banned.

 

The Sacramento already has failed to meet the federal government's minimum goal for two years. Should that happen for a third year, the federal Pacific Fishery Management Council would be required to conduct an "overfishing" study and consider ways to boost the river's salmon population. One proposal likely would be to set aside more fish by further restricting fishing.

 

Vojkovich and other regulators noted that salmon from the Klamath River are expected to be more abundant this year. However, regulators must consider how many Sacramento fish would be caught if they were to allow fishing in the ocean near the mouth of the Klamath.

 

Both commercial fishermen and charter boat owners said they didn't want to fish if it meant risking not having enough salmon return to the Sacramento.

 

"I don't recommend a fishery," said Roger Thomas, president of the Golden Gate Fishermen's Association, a group of about 50 charter boat operators. "I don't want a fishery."

 

The fishery council in April is to receive a report on the cause of the decline of the Sacramento salmon. It will recommend whether to allow any ocean fishing off the West Coast. The U.S. Commerce Department makes the ultimate decision on ocean fishing.

 

Tuesday's meeting was held at the Sonoma County Water Agency.

 

Fishermen there continued to argue that the decline in the Sacramento salmon is tied largely to water diversions to farms and cities. But biologists maintain that poor ocean conditions also played a factor, possibly a larger factor.#

 

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20090303/articles/903030251

 

Recreational Miners Attack Indian Salmon Fishery
YubaNet.com – 3/3/09

By: Karuk Tribe

 

Happy Camp, Calif. March 3, 2009 - Since the arrival of miners in the mid 1800's the Karuk Tribe has lost nearly everything. Once the lone occupants of over 1.4 million acres of the Middle Klamath Basin, the Karuk had over 100 villages and associated fishing sites. A peaceful society blessed with an abundance of acorns, fish, and game, early observers described the Karuk as the wealthiest people in North America. Today, nearly 90% of Karuks living in ancestral territory live below the poverty level and Tribal members have access to only one fishery. Yesterday, a recreational gold mining club called The New 49ers challenged the Tribe's right to fish there.

Karuk fishermen use traditional dip nets to fish for migrating salmon as they navigate the rapids at Ishi Pishi Falls near Somes Bar, California. Salmon are harvested for subsistence and ceremonial use only and the Tribe rarely harvests more than 200 fish. This falls far short of meeting the Tribes' needs as there are 4,200 members.

In a press release, the miners charge that the Karuk Tribe is guilty of "widespread and wanton" killing of salmon.

"These accusations are ridiculous," responded Leaf Hillman, Vice-chair of the Karuk Tribe. "Our fishery is gear limited. This means that because we use traditional dip nets, we can only catch a very small percentage of fish that are coming up the falls. This is by design. The creator taught us to use dip nets in order to not over harvest fish. We would not have survived here for thousands of years had we abused this privilege granted to us by the Creator."

Although many Tribes in the Pacific Northwest use gill nets that are strung across the river, the Karuk do not. Karuk fishermen stand on rocks and dip large nets on poles into the river to catch fish. Hillman noted, "Our fishery is non-lethal. This allows us to selectively harvest fish. In other words, we release ESA listed Coho and smaller chinook back into the river unharmed and we eat the rest. It also provides opportunities to tag fish for purposes of conducting scientific studies."

The New 49ers' petition to Fish and Game comes in retribution to the Tribe's recent effort to restrict suction dredge mining in areas that serve as critical habitat for ESA listed coho and other fish listed as ‘species of special concern' under the California ESA. This includes Pacific lamprey and green sturgeon.

Suction dredges are powered by gas or diesel engines that are mounted on floating pontoons in the river. Attached to the engine is a powerful vacuum hose which the dredger uses to suction up the gravel and sand (sediment) from the bottom of the river. The material passes through a sluice box where heavier gold particles can settle into a series of riffles. The rest of the gravel is simply dumped back into the river. Often this reintroduces mercury left over from historic mining operations to the water column threatening communities downstream. Depending on size, location and density of these machines they can turn a clear running mountain stream into a murky watercourse unfit for swimming.

Suction dredging is a recreational activity that has been popularized in recent years by hobby groups and clubs such as The New 49ers.

In 2005 the Karuk Tribe sued Fish and Game for allowing the practice of suction dredge mining to occur in areas known to be critical habitat for endangered and at-risk species. At the time, Fish and Game officials submitted declarations to the Court admitting that suction dredge mining under its current regulations violates CEQA and Fish and Game Code §§5653 and 5653.9 (the statues which authorize the Department to issue permits for suction dredging under certain conditions) because the activity causes deleterious harm to fish - including endangered fish, such as the Coho salmon.

The suit ended in a court order directing Fish and Game to conduct a CEQA review and amend its regulations by June 20, 2008. Fish and Game has yet to initiate the process to change rules. Earlier this year the Tribe sued Fish and Game again in an effort to force immediate protections for fish.

The miners' suit over the Karuk fishery is retaliation for the Karuks' efforts. "Rather than address the issue head on, the miner's attorney has resorted to threats and intimidation," said Zeke Grader, of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations. "People would not tolerate someone ripping up their yards or their crops in the field, but that's exactly what the miners are doing to the salmon the tribes and fishermen depend on. It's got to stop."

"We just want to do what we where doing when the first wave of miners showed up in 1850 - fish and feed our families. Over the last 150 years miners have taken nearly everything from the Karuk People. We will not allow them to take our last fishery," concluded Hillman.

To date, Fish and Game has made no public comment regarding the miners' petition.#

 

http://yubanet.com/regional/Recreational-Miners-Attack-Indian-Salmon-Fishery.php

 

Commentary: Could mussels put a kink in your water system?

The California Farm Bureau Federation - March 4, 2009

By Alexia Retallack,

 

(Alexia Retallack is the quagga mussel communications coordinator for the California Department of Fish and Game.)

California farmers and ranchers are all too familiar with the water shortage currently facing the state. But another, more insidious, hard-to-see threat looms on the horizon, menacing California's ability to deliver water: quagga and zebra mussels.

 

For farmers and ranchers, quagga and zebra mussels can disrupt water distribution. The mussels cling to any hard surface their larvae contact and can quickly clog pipes, trash grates, intakes, canals, pumps—everything from the water intake to the sprinkler head.

 

Many reservoirs in California serve primarily as water distribution sources. A clogged distribution system would reduce water flow, could cost millions to control and would force a dramatic rise in farm costs. Once infested, eradication is extremely difficult.

 

The quagga mussel (Dreissena bugensis) and its sister species the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) are freshwater mussels that hail from Ukraine. They were first discovered in the Great Lakes in the late 1980s. Speculation is they were introduced through ballast water from ships.

 

Efforts to keep the mussels east of the Rockies failed, and in January 2007, they were identified in Lake Mead and the Colorado River. By the end of 2007, they had spread from California's border with Nevada throughout the river system and to associated lakes and reservoirs to San Diego County. Any water body receiving raw Colorado River water had been exposed, and several have become infested. Six counties have verified mussel populations in lakes or reservoirs: San Bernardino, Riverside, San Diego, San Benito, Orange and Imperial.

 

Zebra and quagga mussels reach a maximum size of 2 inches, and have alternating light and dark bands. Zebra mussels can attach to surfaces down to 180 feet. Quagga mussels will attach to any surface, hard or soft, to more than 400 feet.

 

Both mussels reproduce prolifically: A single mussel can release more than 40,000 eggs in a reproductive cycle and up to a million eggs in a year. Rapid and repeated reproduction makes them a serious threat to water-dependent enterprises like agriculture, power utilities and water distribution.

 

For fish, the mussels obliterate the base of the food chain by filtering out phytoplankton and zooplankton. Clearing the water causes algae blooms, which result in fish die-offs from oxygen deprivation. The mussels can hitch rides on boats and equipment either as adults or in pockets of water as larvae. Some water agencies have closed infested reservoirs and lakes to prevent the spread. Other water managers have closed their waters to all recreation to prevent infestation. The response to the mussels' presence has varied greatly.

 

The mussels have had a devastating impact on power and water distribution in the Great Lakes region. Congressional estimates of impacts in the East have been in the billions of dollars. In California, the cost could be even greater. The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California has spent millions of dollars over the past two years managing the quagga mussel infestation. San Benito Water District closed San Justo Reservoir to all boating and recreation.

 

A task force of state and federal authorities—including the Department of Fish and Game, Department of Water Resources, Department of Boating and Waterways, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and others—focuses on preventing the spread of mussels. Nearly 2 million "quagga cards" with prevention tips have been distributed to boaters and water enthusiasts around the state.

 

Gov. Schwarzenegger signed two Assembly bills chaptered as Fish and Game Code Sections 2301 and 2302. Section 2301 primarily addresses existing infestations, and requires containment, control and response plans. Section 2302 works to keep mussels out of uninfested waters by implementation of prevention programs. The Department of Fish and Game has staff in each of its regions training inspectors, monitoring waters and working on plans to help water managers contain, control and prevent infestation.

 

For farmers, ranchers and other water-dependent enterprises, DFG recommends monitoring water systems and sources, and checking in with local water managers and agencies to see what steps have been put in place to prevent infestation. DFG is developing volunteer monitoring programs, and staff in each of its regions can assist and advise. Working together, Californians can stop the mussels from spreading and keep the water flowing. #

 

http://www.cfbf.com/agalert/AgAlertStory.cfm?ID=1250&ck=81E5F81DB77C596492E6F1A5A792ED53

 

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