Ted Frink

 

PFMC Press Release about 2008 Salmon Closure

 

Unfavorable Ocean Conditions Likely Cause Of Low 2007 Salmon Returns Along West Coast

Unfavorable Ocean Conditions Likely Cause Of Low 2007 Salmon Returns Along West Coast

ScienceDaily (Mar. 3, 2008) — NOAA scientists are reviewing unusual environmental conditions in the Pacific Ocean as the likely culprit for the dramatically low returns of Chinook and coho salmon to rivers and streams along the West Coast of the United States in 2007.

Researchers from NOAA's Northwest and Southwest Fisheries Science Centers are comparing data on the low food production of the California Current in 2005 that occurred when this year's returning salmon would have been entering the ocean from their natal streams to feed and grow.

The cold waters of the California Current flow southward from the northern Pacific along the West Coast and are associated with upwelling, an ocean condition caused by winds that bring nutrients to the ocean's surface and is the main source of nourishment for the ocean's food web.

In 2005 a southward shift in the jet stream, delayed favorable winds and upwelling for the California Current, which normally begins in spring.

The winds instead arrived in mid-July, causing high surface water temperatures and very low nutrient production within the near-shore marine ecosystem.

"We are not dismissing other potential causes for this year's low salmon returns," said Usha Varanasi, NOAA Fisheries Service Science Center Director for the Northwest Region. "But the widespread pattern of low returns along the West Coast for two species of salmon indicates an environmental anomaly occurred in the California Current in 2005."

New data released by the Pacific Fisheries Management Council indicate the 2007 returns of fall Chinook salmon to the Sacramento River in California's Central Valley were approximately 33 percent of what fishery biologists expected. Projections for 2008 are substantially lower than last year's estimate.

Coho salmon returning to spawning streams in California and Oregon are also considerably lower than predicted. A preliminary analysis found an average 27 percent of the parental stock returning in 12 streams monitored in California. Even though coho returns appear to improve along the coast from south to north, Oregon Coast coho salmon had less than 30 percent of their parental stock return.

Coho salmon are listed as either endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act in the Central/Northern California and Southern Oregon watersheds.

Adapted from materials provided by NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service.

 

Delta Smelt Petition

See Petition

DAM REMOVAL INFO

http://www.pcl.org/pclf/pclf_water_sanclementedam.asp

Conservation News

Central Valley Project Improvement Act Public Meeting

he Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service will host a public meeting to present the California Central Valley Project Improvement Act (CVPIA) Annual Work Plans for Fiscal Year 2007. Presentations at the meeting include: the Anadromous Fish Restoration Program; the San Joaquin River Basin Resource Management Initiative; the Refuge Water Supply Program; and the Water Acquisition Program. The meeting will be from 1300 to 1600 HRS on 10 April at Federal Building, 2800 Cottage Way, Conference Room C-1001-1002, Sacramento, CA. Questions regarding the meeting can be directed towards Shana Kaplan at 916-978-5190 or e-mailed to skaplan@mp.usbr.gov.

Public comments on implementing Magnuson-Stevens Act sought

he Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Conservation & Management Act (MSA) was reauthorized by the 109th Congress. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is responsible for implementing the new regulations created by the reauthorization of MSA. The new MSA states that overfishing in all federal commercial and recreational fisheries be terminated by 2010, which will modify the National Standard 1 of the Act, also known as the “overfishing standard.”  All fisheries must be regulated by annual catch limits with accountability measures to prevent landings exceeding the regulated catch limits. Additionally, the reauthorized MSA places considerably more emphasis on science-based management.  Until 2 April, NMFS will receive public suggestions on how to prevent “overfishing” now and in the future. NMFS will then collect all of the comments, draft a proposal of specific regulations to implement the changes, and then another public comment period will follow.  NMFS hopes to complete the project by the end of 2007. Written comments should be e-mailed to: annual.catch.limitDEIS@noaa.gov; or faxed to: 301-713-1193; or mailed to: Mark Millikin, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910. For additional information about MSA see www.nmfs.noaa.gov/msa2007 or about the MSA “overfishing” implementation read www.fakr.noaa.gov/notice/72fr7016.pdf. 

Auburn SRA General Plan

Announcement of the Auburn SRA General Plan development which includes the upper American River North and Middle forks. No mention of fisheries resources assessment or management objectives in this or the newsletter  http://parks.ca.gov/pages/21299/files/asraweb.pdf.

 

Klamath Fish Passage Issues

In the House, Representative Mike Thompson (D-CA) introduced HR 5213, the Salmon Assistance & Recover Act, with 35 co-authors from California and Oregon that would:

• Provide $81 million in funding for commercial fishermen, Tribes and related businesses impacted by the restricted fishing season.

• Secure $45 million for immediate conservation measures on the Klamath River, including requiring the National Marine Fisheries Service to produce a recovery plan for the salmon population within six months, and to install and update stream gauges and monitoring equipment, improve river habitat and build fish passage projects, and add NMFS staff and resources to better track and study the Klamath River's salmon in rivers and oceans.

• Require NMFS to submit an annual report updating Congress on the progress of its efforts to boost water quantity, improve water quality and increase salmon populations on the Klamath River.

S. 2649 was introduced in the Senate and is very similar, while S. 2662 asks only for the $81 million in direct assistance. Since the introduction of the House and Senate bills, Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR) attempted unsuccessfully to insert language into HR 4939, the Emergency Supplemental Appropriation bill approved by the Senate, to provide funds for the Iraq war and disaster relief to victims of Hurricane Katrina and other natural disasters. The Smith language would have included the $81 million for disaster relief for the west coast fishing industry but the Senate Parliamentarian held that because the fishing closures stem from regulatory actions (not a physical natural disaster) therefore the request for aid was non-germane. Senator Ron Wyden (OR) is currently holding up the Senate Magnuson Act reauthorization bill (S. 2012), also seeking $81 million in disaster aid.

12:08/03. PACIFICORP PROPOSES "TRAP AND HAUL" ALTERNATIVE FOR KLAMATH DAMS: The cost of installing fish ladders and screens circumventing turbines to protect and create passage for migrating salmonids through the four lower Klamath hydropower dams, Iron Gate, Copco I & II and J.C. Boyle, owned by Pacificorp on the mainstem of the Klamath River, is estimated at $200 million dollars. Pacificorp, currently participating in settlement negotiations as part of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) re-licensing process, is required to create ways for fish to get around the four dams as part of the re-licensing process. To get out from under the $200 million dollar cost, Pacificorp has instead proposed trapping migrating fish and hauling them upstream to spawn, which Pacificorp believes will cost much less than creating fish passage at the dams. Since 1917 these dams have block fish passage to hundreds of miles of once used salmon spawning and rearing habitat, and were built without any consideration of fish passage.

Glen Spain of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations said, "We have never believed that trap and haul is a substitute for a free-flowing river. Nor does any of the science support it." PCFFA is pushing for the complete removal of the four lower dams, which currently represents only 1.9% of Pacificorp’s overall energy production. In a new special appeals process that was created in the new Energy Bill only a few months ago, hydroelectric companies are allowed to make alternative proposals to fish passage requirements of federal agencies, which all recommended full volitional fish passage for the Klamath. Organizations, Tribes and agencies can then challenge the company’s proposals and request a hearing to make a determination.

If Pacificorp, now owned by MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co. of Des Moines, Iowa, loses the appeal, Pacificorp would then be required to install fish passage on their dams at full costs. However, none of these dams produce much power, and the California Energy Commission has previously issued an opinion that loss of the 161 megawatts of total power they can produce would have "insignificant effects" on the region’s power supply. The dams, and the warm water reservoirs behind the dams, do have devastating impacts on lower river fisheries, however, including encouraging fish parasites.

On 11 April, PCFFA and other organizations and Tribes all filed a challenge to PacifiCorp’s "trap and haul" proposal, stating the proposal does not meet the requirements of being as biologically effective as dam removal or fish ladders. Dam decommissioning is currently thought to cost less than installing fish passage on the 4 dams. See the 30 April AP article in the Daily News http://www.tdn.com/articles/2006/04/30/area_news/news03.txt.

12:08/04. REMOVAL OF KLAMATH DAMS GAIN MOMENTUM: By approving a 2006 emergency rule season, the Pacific Fisheries Management Council is trying to ensure that enough salmon will get back to the Klamath to maintain commercial, recreational and Tribal fisheries. However, with the future survival of juvenile salmon heading to the ocean under question as current Klamath River conditions continue to deteriorate, the Pacific Fishery Management Council voted on April 24th to formally support the removal of the four key dams, acknowledging that these dams affect fish habitat and passage.

The San Joaquin River Restoration Reports have recently become available for viewing on the Farm Water Coalition Web site http://www.cfwc.com/.
Note: "It is important to note that this Draft Restoration Strategies Report does not constitute a
restoration plan for the San Joaquin River. This document is the culmination of a reconnaissance, planning-level effort designed to identify and explore conceptual approaches to restoring the San Joaquin River in order to inform a settlement process. The development of a restoration plan for the San Joaquin River will require the acquisition and consideration of more site-specific information and a broader involvement by local landowners and stakeholders." (Stillwater Sciences 2003)

September Update of Salmonid ESA and CESA Status

California Senate Bills of Interest

New Book on Present and Historical Distribution of Salmonids in the SF Estuary

National Wildlife Federation - FEMA Court Ruling