[env-trinity] Stockton Record 4 8 10

[Byron Leydecker]

Striped bass protections stay put


 


Valley coalition, anglers spar over alien Delta fish

 

 
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Alex Breitler

Record Staff Writer

April 08, 2010 12:00 AM

The state Fish and Game Commission on Wednesday kept protections in place
for the popular striped bass, which eats endangered salmon in the Delta.

But the commission also asked for a more comprehensive review of the many
problems that have contributed to the decline of the salmon and other
struggling species, including stripers.

Wednesday's meeting featured many of the same age-old arguments over whether
giant pumps that send water to Southern California are primarily responsible
for the Delta's decline or whether other factors - pollution, smaller
diversions and predatory fish such as stripers - are more significant.

"Pumping that water south is changing everything about the Delta," said
Commission Chairman Jim Kellogg, who lives in Discovery Bay.

"Attacking this issue just because we've got a group of people that are
starving for water filing a (lawsuit) against us ... is not some reason for
me to run scared."

Commissioner Richard Rogers pushed for striper protections to be
re-examined.

"If the commission is going to be concerned about the pumps, ... I don't
understand why the commission wouldn't have the same attitude about the
striped bass," said Rogers, who is from Santa Barbara County.

Some Delta anglers oppose any move to lift limits on how many stripers can
be caught. They fear the fish will be overharvested.

Stripers have lived in the Delta since the late 1800s. Their populations
have declined alongside salmon and other native fish.

A coalition of south Valley landowners has sued the state for protecting
stripers. And a bill pending in the Legislature would require further study
on how alien species prey on natives.

 

 

Byron Leydecker, JcT

Chair, Friends of Trinity River

PO Box 2327

Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327

415 383 4810 land/fax (call first to fax)

415 519 4810 mobile

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 <mailto:bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org> bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org
(secondary)

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