[env-trinity] Trinity Journal: Locals challenge dead fish estimates

[Tom Stokely]

http://www.trinityjournal.com/news/environment/article_13320fee-3303-11e4-8f15-0017a43b2370.html

Locals challenge dead fish estimates
Posted: Wednesday, September 3, 2014 6:15 am
By AMY GITTELSOHN The Trinity Journal | 0 comments
Agency estimates grossly understate the number of kokanee salmon from Trinity Lake that died when they were swept through the power plant and into Lewiston Lake, according to people who spend a considerable amount of time at Lewiston Lake.State Department of Fish and Wildlife information officer Andrew Hughan, quoted in last week’s article in the Journal, said estimates ranged from 200 to 400. From the federal Bureau of Reclamation, Area Manager Brian Person said agency estimates range from a few hundred to 2,000.
The dead fish are the result of the low level of Trinity Lake. The fish were apparently seeking cooler water in the smaller pool and were sucked into the intakes for the power plant, Person said.
Both sources are way off base on the numbers, according to residents who have watched the die-off.
Tom Gannon, who works at Pine Cove Marina on Lewiston Lake, said he saw the dead fish floating past for several weeks.
“I bet any given day I saw at least 2,000 go by and that went on for four weeks I’m sure,” he said, adding that the number would be in the “multiple thousands.”
The parade of small, dead fish seems to have let up, Gannon said. He speculated that perhaps all of the smaller fish that can’t escape were sucked through the power plant.
The fish died as a result of the sudden pressure change from being in deeper water in Trinity Lake to the surface of Lewiston, Person said.
The kokanee are landlocked sockeye salmon that are not native to the area and may have been planted in the lake, according to the DFW. The situation does not appear to still be ongoing, Person said, and there isn’t a good solution other than the lake refilling. Power plant intakes are typically not screened, and to do so would be a “significant engineering challenge,” he said.
There have only been two years in history when the lake has been this low, Person said.
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