[env-trinity] Coho Listed by F&G Commission

[Tom Stokely]

Klamath-Trinity coho are officially listed as threatened under CESA.


FISHERIES PROTECTION
Northern California's coho salmon now on endangered species list
Associated Press - 8/6/04
SAN FRANCISCO - Northern California's struggling coho salmon population will get an extra layer of protection from the state's Endangered Species Act. 

The state Fish and Game Commission voted Thursday in Bridgeport to place coho salmon from San Francisco to Punta Gorda in Humboldt County on the state's "endangered" list. Coho from Punta Gorda to the Oregon border will be designated as "threatened." 

"It was time to bite the bullet here and list the species as endangered," said Sam Schuchat, commission vice president. "We're down to thousands of fish. If we hadn't done what we did today, the species is going to wink out of existence and be gone forever." 

Environmentalists who pushed for the listing hailed the vote, which now mandates that loggers, farmers and other developers seek special permits before embarking on projects that might harm the once-abundant fish. 

>From San Francisco to Oregon, the coho population has plunged 70 percent since the 1960s, and is estimated to be just 6 percent to 15 percent of its 1940s level despite the release of millions of hatchery-raised fish, according to the commission. 

Commercial harvests dropped off dramatically in the 1970s. 

In 2002, the state Department of Fish and Game released a comprehensive review on the coho, warning of impending extinction and recommending the protections. 

In February, the commission approved a $5 billion, 25-to-30-year plan to revive the species and restarted the process to seek protections. 

The massive recovery plan included more than 1,000 recommendations intended to boost the salmon population to the point that it can sustain recreational, commercial and tribal fishing, eventually resulting in its removal from the endangered list. 

"Recovering the species is a question of fixing thousands and thousands of little things across the state that add up to one giant thing," Schuchat said. 

Groups representing logging and farming interests have opposed the listing, saying it creates additional regulatory burdens and questioning whether the situation is as perilous as wildlife regulators describe. 

Farmers and ranchers monitoring the issue are "counting a lot of coho out there," said Pam Giacomini, director of natural resources and commodities at the California Farm Bureau. "That doesn't tell us that the coho are at risk of extinction." 

Federal protections already exist for the species, and Thursday's move will allow the state to request federal money for the recovery plan. 

Coho south of San Francisco Bay have been under state protection since 1995. 

- On the Net: Read the report: http://www.dfg.ca.gov/nafwb/CohoRecovery/ #


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