Friday, May 17, 2013

News articles and links from May 17, 2013


FISHERIES

Column
By Alastair Bland
From Marine Independent Journal - Thursday, May 16, 2013

Coalition response...Millions of acre-feet of water have been taken from agriculture to benefit fish since the passage of the Central Valley Project Improvement Act by Congress. Despite 20 years of water supply cuts intended to help fish, salmon numbers have continued to fluctuate through the years, meaning that dedicating more water to fish has not resulted in higher numbers.  

Scientists from the Pacific Fisheries Management Council and the National Marine Fisheries Service have identified poor ocean conditions---warm temperatures and reduced food supply---as the leading cause of the drop in salmon numbers.

In February 2008 a NMFS report (http://swfsc.noaa.gov/publications/FED/00994.pdf) concluded  that the overall cause of the recent salmon decline was ocean conditions. A year later the Pacific Fisheries Management Council reported that all the evidence they could find pointed to ocean conditions as being the proximate cause of the poor performance of the 2004 and 2005 broods of Sacramento River Fall Chinook --- http://www.pcouncil.org/bb/2009/0409/H2b_WGR_0409.pdf.  


Since the adoption of CVPIA, studies conducted by the California Department of Fish & Game and UC Davis have also shown a strong increasing trend in the abundance of warm water predatory fish in the Delta that feed on juvenile salmon as they make their way through the Delta.  The result is predator species consuming and replacing native fish in the Delta --- http://www.farmwater.org/centrarchids.pdf. The article doesn't mention it but that's the real reason salmon smolts are trucked around the Delta.

In contrast, public water agencies are translating science into action by supporting, developing and/or implementing solutions that address the need for multi-solution approaches, such as those found in the Bay Delta Conservation Plan. Those solutions will increase both the quality and quantity of habitat diversity through ecosystem based management, as will solutions recommended by a range of science interests from Pacific Fisheries Management Council to the Public Policy Institute of California. 

Environmentalists and fishermen have the opportunity to be part of the solution but it will take a concerted effort to move beyond the old approach of simply blaming the pumps.

BAY DELTA CONSERVATION PLAN

Blog
By Nancy Vogel
From BDCP - Thursday, May 16, 2013

DELTA

Press release
From Delta Stewardship Council - Thursday, May 16, 2013

Story
From The Record - Friday, May 17, 2013

Story
From Fresno Bee - Thursday, May 16, 2013
From News 10 - Thursday, May 16, 2013

Radio news
From Capital Public Radio - Thursday, May 16, 2013

Story
From Central Valley Business Times - Thursday, May 16, 2013

TRANSFERS

Story
From Chico Enterprise-Record - Thursday, May 16, 2013

WATER BOND

Story
From Malibu Times - Thursday, May 16, 2013

Blog
By Ellen Hanak
From California WaterBlog - Thursday, May 16, 2013

PEOPLE

Editorial
From Sacramento Bee - Friday, May 17, 2013

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