California Hatchery Salmon Truck Delivered To San Pablo Bay

June 18th, 2008 — Delta, Sacramento, Salmon, San Francisco Bay, San Pablo Bay 

Here Come the SalmonIn an unprecedented step in an attempt to revive the wild California King Salmon population the nonprofit Fishery Foundation of California trucked all all hatchery raised King Salmon to the top of the San Pablo Bay. The effort took 2.5 months an involved some 20 million fish.

The step was taken due to the severe decline of wild salmon returning to spawn in the American, Feather, and Mokelumne rivers. An all time low this year, which resulted in a complete closure of the west coast salmon fishery. Next year is predicted to be even worse.

The fish released this year will return as adults to spawn in 3 years time... 20% of the released fish where tagged to track to which rivers they return... According to the California State Fish and Game Department, fish released via truck delivery and net pens into San Pablo Bay are 200% to 400% more likely to survive to adulthood and return to spawn. The idea being that fish released directly from the hatcheries have a number of additional threats with which to deal: intake pumps, pollution, and other hazards. But the main reason seems to be the deteriorating condition of the Sacramento Delta and contention over water resources.

The operation was paid for by sport fishing license stamps for San Francisco and San Pablo Bays.

I sure hope this works...

Hatchery SalmonHere are a few other articles on the Salmon delivery...

Do your part... help the worldwide fish stocks... Only eat sustainable harvested fish. One example is the Kona Kampachi

Photo Credits: 1, 2

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California Salmon Population Dropped 88% in 5 Years

January 29th, 2008 — Delta, Sacramento, Salmon, San Francisco Bay 

California Salmon are disappearing.  The number of King Salmon (aka the Chinook) returning to the Sacramento watershed was at a near record low low and an 88% drop from the population 5 years ago. Calif. salmon population declines.

Regulators are still trying to understand the reasons for the shrinking number of spawners; some scientists believe it could be related to changes in the ocean linked to global warming.

Some fishermen and environmentalists believe the sharp decline is related to increased water exports from the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta, which supplies drinking water to millions of people in dry Southern California, as well as irrigation for America's most fertile farming region.

"It's time to reduce pumping of delta waters before we destroy the fish and wildlife species we appreciate so much in California," said Mike Sherwood, an attorney for Earthjustice.

Only about 90,000 returning adult salmon were counted in the Central Valley in 2007, the second lowest number on record, the memo said. The population was at 277,000 in 2006 and 804,000 five years ago.

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"The magnitude of the low abundance ... is such that the opening of all marine and freshwater fisheries impacting this important salmon stock will be questioned," he said.

It's only the second time in 35 years that the Central Valley has not met the agency's conservation goal of 122,000 to 180,000 returning fish, according to the council, which regulates Pacific Coast fisheries.

More worrisome is that only about 2,000 2-year-old juvenile chinooks — used to predict returns of adult spawners in the coming season — returned to the Central Valley last year, by far the lowest number ever counted. On average, about 40,000 juveniles, or "jacks," return each year.

Salmon that spawn in Central Valley rivers form the backbone of the West Coast's commercial and recreational salmon fishery and are caught by fishermen from Southern California to British Columbia.

"Sacramento fish are really what the fishery depends on," said Chuck Tracy, the council's salmon management officer.

Not long ago, salmon restoration efforts in the Sacramento watershed were being touted as a wildlife management success story. But recent years have seen populations dwindle in many Western rivers, and scientists are trying to understand why.

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