The state of the Delta and our stripers

[put_em_back]

Every year our fishery gets worse.  You can't bet the farm on one year of trawl data, but the trend is downwards for the fish in the Delta.

 

By Dan Bacher

For the fifth September in a row, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife has caught zero Delta smelt in its Fall Midwater Trawl Survey of Northern California’s Delta.

Once the most abundant fish on the entire estuary, the species is now near extinction in the wild, although U.C. Davis continues to raise the fish in a captive breeding program.

The Delta smelt population has plummeted over the decades since the State Water Project began exporting Delta water to San Joaquin Valley growers in 1967.

While there are several factors that scientists pinpoint for the ecosystem collapse, including toxic chemicals, decreasing water quality and invasive species, no factor reportedly figures greater in the collapse than the export of massive quantities of state and federal project water from the Delta to San Joaquin Valley agribusiness interests like the Resnick family and the Westlands Water District. 

The last year when Delta smelt were recorded in September was in 2015, when 5 were caught by state Fish and Wildlife biologists. The last year when any Delta smelt were caught during the four-month survey was in 2016, when a total of 8 Delta smelt were reported.

The Delta smelt is an indicator species that demonstrates the health of the Delta, the largest estuary on the West Coast of the Americas.

“All signs point to the Delta smelt as disappearing from the wild this year, or, perhaps, 2022,” according to a California Water Blog analysis by Peter Moyle, Karrigan Börk, John Durand, T-C Hung and Andrew L. Rypel on January 10, 2021. “In case you had forgotten, the Delta smelt is an attractive, translucent little fish that eats plankton, has a one-year life cycle, and smells like cucumbers.”

”Delta Smelt are the thread that ties the Delta together with the river system,” said Caleen Sisk, Chief of the Winnemem Wintu Tribe. “We all should understand how that affects all the water systems in the state. They are the irreplaceable thread that holds the Delta system together with Chinook salmon.”

State Fish and Wildlife also found only one longfin smelt, another native fish species, in its surveying stations throughout the Delta. The survey didn’t find any longfin smelt last September.

For the tenth September in a row, state scientists caught zero Sacramento splittail, a native member of the minnow family. The last time that any splittail were reported in the survey was in 2017, when 1 splittail was reported in December.

Striped bass, a gamefish from the Eastern Seaboard introduced to the Delta over 130 years, fared poorly also. Fire and Wildlife caught only 1 young-of-the-year striped bass this September, compared with 11 last September.

The catch of American shad, another introduced species, did poorly this September also. Biologists found only 24 of this member of the herring family, compared with 202 in September 2020.

Finally, Fish and Wildlife officials caught just 11 threadfin shad, an introduced forage fish, this September. That compares to 43 fish last September. 

Between 1967 and 2020, the state’s Fall Midwater Trawl abundance indices for striped bass, Delta smelt, longfin smelt, American shad, splittail and threadfin shad have declined by 99.7, 100, 99.96, 67.9, 100, and 95 percent, respectively, according to Bill Jennings, Executive Director of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA).

“Taken as five-year averages, the declines for striped bass, Delta smelt, longfin smelt, American shad, splittail and threadfin shad are 98.1, 99.8, 99.8, 26.2, 99.3 and 94.3 percent, respectively,” said Jennings.

 

https://sacramento.newsreview.com/2021/10/13/extinctions-edge-biologists-continue-to-find-zero-delta-smelt-in-sacramento-san-joaquin-waterways/?fbclid=IwAR0WVQqg9Rnki90zsAfAakopkbuSqqMVCNSAVFI9XpFM3v2Z2OecUNsG4_M

 

[Mike Fixter]

Money talks & the Delta along with all its crucial eco systems go down the toilet.....

[Mike Fixter]

I'm surprised more people have not responded to this topic............. We should call this forum the Morgue & Mortuary..

[moocks]

California and to a great extent the federal government have been taken over by the ban everything crew. Banning fishing would result in a big backlash but slowly letting extinction do its job for them and being rewarded by the likes of Resnick is just icing on the cake.

Oh and I'm sorry for poking your bear but I just couldn't help myself

[Mike Fixter]

Hey Moocks,  you can poke my bear anytime.... At least I got a response out of someone......What I should be doing today instead of making plugs is fishing for Bluefin Tuna........  I was up the coast this morning dog training & I could see boats headed west for a location off Davenport nick named "The Fingers" where they have been getting a few......... The ocean looked like a pond.......... Stay healthy my friend & keep your mug off the milk carton............Mike

[put_em_back]

California recognizes water as a public trust resource, but it has also allowed deep-pocketed corporate interests to commandeer a lot of its water. Alexandra Nagy, California director of advocacy organization Food and Water Watch, says she is keeping an eye out for policies that could favor the Resnicks coming out of California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office. Newsom survived his recall with the Resnicks as a top donor, but he still has the potential to lose his reelection next year. He will have to deliver before then. 

“Assets like this that were once in public control and now are in private control need to be returned to the public,” Nagy says. “Especially with climate change and in moments of drought, we need to see trends toward transparency. When we’re having a crisis, that’s when corporate interests take advantage and push their agenda the hardest.” 

The water bank, the largest underground water storage facility in California, has been a critical asset for Wonderful over the decades. Climate change makes the Resnicks’ majority ownership of key water conservation infrastructure even more contentious. At this point, who else might be able to control this kind of asset, other than a billionaire? 

 

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/officedepotofficemax/2021/09/21/this-founder-is-turning-restaurants-and-hotel-rooms-into-coworking-spaces/?sh=7a8671012ace

Edited October 16, 2021 by put_em_back

[put_em_back]

I've been seeing a LOT of pictures of fish between the Gate and up into the Sacramento River....lots of BIG fish.  I also see people asking other people to conserve and not to kill the big fish.  A of people are releasing their fish as well. 

 

What is upsetting is that there are a lot of people who think that because they are catching a lot of fish now, there is nothing wrong with our fish population and that there isn't any need to conserve so they keep everything.

 

On top of that there are the people who have been brainwashed by the water monger's minions that stripers are invasive so you are doing the salmon a favor by killing every striper you can catch.

[put_em_back]

For years CA has been limiting the water that flows south to protect the endangered Delta Smelt.  So if there weren't any Delta Smelt, what would happen?   The first step to grabbing even more water is to declare the Delta Smelt extinct.

 

https://californiaglobe.com/articles/petition-to-request-delta-smelt-be-declared-extinct-will-be-filed-with-fish-and-game/

[put_em_back]

California exports 774 million pounds of almonds (www.almonds.com)

 

It takes roughly 2000 gallons of water to grow 1 pound of almonds. (www.stacker.com)

 

That equates to the just the almond crop using 1,548,000,000,000 Gallons of water a year.

 

 

[Mike Fixter]

Holy smokes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  that graph is a real eye opener...... Follow the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ leading to all the crooked politicians & rich agriculture/water whores....For someone who has fished for stripers over 50 years & seen how great it once was & to see what it is today is very disheartening...........to say the least.... Mike

[Hokahey]

This is so disgusting what is going on in our state on many levels I could just vomit thinking about all this . From predatory removal programs on the down low , stealing water out of the delta , slot limit proposals being stalled and jerkoffs killing large female stripers I’m not sure my 1 year old son will be able to catch a striper when he comes of age this sucks 

Edited October 18, 2021 by Califulltiltfishing

[ING]

I am blaming farmers who are using arhaic irrigation system by chanels where huge amount of water evaporating or imbibing by soil. Yes, contemporary irrigation system requiring some investments, but it is one time investment. Instead of that farmers asking more and more diverted water and officials welcome it! Why Europian and Middle East countries with much smaller budget understanding that water must be conserved? By the way, quality of our domestic fruits very low, taste like potato, tomatoes (except Early Girls) remind grass... Cucembers becoming soapy through short time... I've lived in the Europe and Middle East. Tiny Israel almost without water resourses providing half of Europe by highest quality agriculture products and taste drastically better!

Edited October 21, 2021 by ING

[moocks]

On 10/21/2021 at 2:08 PM, ING said:

I am blaming farmers who are using arhaic irrigation system by chanels where huge amount of water evaporating or imbibing by soil. Yes, contemporary irrigation system requiring some investments, but it is one time investment. Instead of that farmers asking more and more diverted water and officials welcome it! Why Europian and Middle East countries with much smaller budget understanding that water must be conserved? By the way, quality of our domestic fruits very low, taste like potato, tomatoes (except Early Girls) remind grass... Cucembers becoming soapy through short time... I've lived in the Europe and Middle East. Tiny Israel almost without water resourses providing half of Europe by highest quality agriculture products and taste drastically better!

It's not the water that makes the taste..... We just don't have any camel fertilizer...

[ING]

8 hours ago, moocks said:

It's not the water that makes the taste..... We just don't have any camel fertilizer...

You lost main idea. Read again. Taste - it is "by the way".

[moocks]

15 hours ago, ING said:

You lost main idea. Read again. Taste - it is "by the way".

I read it again and now I am sorry I did. arhaic irrigation system by chanels  got me lost. And  Europian  got me wondering what   Cucembers  are and if they are  resourses  or resources ?  You see you have me all Kungfused...