|
|
Changes to California striped bass regulations on the table
|
|
|
|
Last Wednesday the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) hosted a public meeting in Rio Vista to unveil proposed changes to striped bass fishing regulations. The DFG is required to make changes to the regulations under a lawsuit settlement earlier this year. The meeting was heated and emotional at times with approximately 300 in attendance, representing sport fisherman throughout the state. Many expressed their concerns over the impacts the proposed regulation might have on the future of striped bass fishing in California.
The lawsuit by the Coalition for a Sustainable Delta against the DFG was settled in April 2011. Under the settlement, a comprehensive proposal to address striped bass predation in the Delta must be developed by state and federal fishery management agencies. As part of the settlement DFG must make appropriate changes to the bag limit and size limit regulations to reduce striped bass predation on the listed species, develop an adaptive management plan to research and monitor the overall effects on striped bass abundance, and create a $1 million research program focused on predation of protected species.
The striped bass regulations include raising the daily bag limit for striped bass from 2 to 6 fish with a possession limit of 12, and lowering the minimum size for striped bass from 18 to 12 inches. There will also be a "hot spot" for striped bass fishing at Clifton Court Forebay with a daily bag limit of 20 fish, a possession limit of 40 fish and no size limit. Fishing the hot spot will require a report card to be filled out and deposited it in an iron ranger or similar receptacle.
These proposed regulations are not designed to extirpate the striped bass population in California, but are expected to help reduce predation pressure by striped bass on native salmonids and Delta smelt. There are multiple factors, such as diversion facilities, loss of habitat, water quality and predation that have adverse effects on endangered fish in the Delta. In order to address recent declines in salmonid and Delta smelt populations various changes in management practices have been implemented. These practices include, the Biological Opinions on the long-term operations of the Central Valley Project and State Water Project, the Central Valley Project Improvement Act (CVPIA), Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) requirements and state and federal fishing regulations. The proposed striped bass reduction plan would join the line up of controversial policies aimed at minimizing the effects of these potential stressors.
|
|
|
|
|
IN THE NEWS: Recent stories you might have missed...
|
|
Lethal Atlantic salmon virus now found in four Pacific salmon species
The Province
A lethal salmon virus that could pose a new threat to British Columbia's prized Pacific salmon has now been detected in four wild species, prompting fears about its effect on the multi-billion-dollar fishery. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans is now conducting its own tests, as a group of U.S. senators say Canadian officials can't be trusted to identify the presence of the infectious salmon amenia (ISA) virus.. Read more >
|
A fishy experiment out in the Delta
Lodi News-Sentinel
 At the confluence of two major rivers, just outside of Walnut Grove, you can find the Delta Cross Channel. On a normal day, strong currents from the Sacramento River push freshwater through the channel and into the Mokelumne River. At peak summer flows, water rushes by at a rate of up to 9,000 cubic feet per second. Those flows can confuse migrating salmon. Luckily, there is a set of of massive gates that can control the torrents... Read more >
|
|
Chinook salmon returning to Battle Creek
Corning Observer
Larger numbers of threatened Chinook salmon have returned to spawn upstream in newly restored habitat on North Fork Battle Creek near Manton, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and its partners in the Battle Creek Salmon and Steelhead Restoration Project announced. The bureau credits the salmon increase to the removal of the Wildcat Diversion Dam.Battle Creek, a tributary to the Sacramento River, is being restored through the Battle Creek Salmon and Steelhead Restoration Project... Read more >
|
|
Water suppliers' delta accord under scrutiny
San Fransisco Chronicle
California is moving at breakneck speed on a plan to build what could be huge tunnels under the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to carry water from Northern California to Southern California and the Central Valley. The final project may use a smaller tunnel or perhaps a canal around the delta, but the big tunnel approach is favored by those that would benefit most: the major suppliers of water for agriculture and for Southern California residents. Read more >
|
|
Yuba County Water Agency looks at restoring a salmon run
Sacramento Bee
No salmon or steelhead have swum in the North Yuba River since at least 1941. But if a trial program is successful, it could be one of the first major Sierra Nevada streams to welcome back the majestic fish. The Yuba County Water Agency is preparing a plan to move spring-run chinook salmon and Central Valley steelhead around its New Bullards Bar Dam. The dramatic arc of concrete - 645 feet tall - is the nation's sixth-tallest dam, making a traditional fish ladder infeasible. Read more >
|
|
|
|
|
|
