[env-trinity] Feds release emergency flows to avert fish kill on Klamath River (updated)

[Dan Bacher]

  http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2014/09/16/18761706.php
“While there has not been a confirmation that any fish have died as a  
result of Ich, we are extremely concerned that there could be another  
fish kill in the coming weeks if additional flows are not released. We  
appreciate that the Bureau of Reclamation heeded our request to send  
emergency flows down the Klamath River,” said Thomas P. O’Rourke Sr.,  
Chair of the Yurok Tribe.

800_lewiston_dam_1.jpg
original image ( 5184x3456)

Feds release emergency flows to avert fish kill on Klamath River

by Dan Bacher

The Bureau of Reclamation at 10 a.m. today began to release additional  
water from Trinity Reservoir in response to the discovery of an Ich  
parasite infection in Chinook salmon in the lower Klamath River and at  
the request of the Yurok and Hoopa Valley tribes.

A massive ich infestation among overcrowded fish led to a massive fish  
die-off in September 2002 in the lower Klamath River. Over 68,000 fish  
perished in the largest adult salmon die off in U.S. history.

Starting today and for the next seven days, the flow rate from  
Lewiston Dam on the Trinity river will be increased to a maximum of  
about 3,400 cubic feet per second (cfs), which will provide a flow  
rate of approximately 5,000 cfs in the lower Klamath River. This is  
double the 2,500 cfs flow sustained since August 23.

It will require approximately 35,000-40,000 acre-feet to accomplish  
the flow doubling, according to a news release from Reclamation. The  
public is urged to take all necessary precautions on or near the river  
while flows are high during this period.

"On Monday, Sept. 15, scientists from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife  
Service’s Fish Health Center captured and examined 20 fish from the  
lower Klamath River mainstem. Of those 20, nine tested positive for  
Ich parasites, with six of those nine determined to be severe. Ich was  
the primary pathogen responsible for the fish die-off in 2002," the  
Bureau stated.

The Fish Health Center’s findings are well above the emergency  
response criteria described in an August 2013 joint memorandum from  
USFWS and NOAA Fisheries. The recommended response is an immediate  
doubling of the flow rate in the lower Klamath River for seven days -  
and those increased releases began today.

“This is the only possible means of preventing or reducing the  
severity of a parasite outbreak,” said Mid-Pacific Regional Director  
David Murillo. “We are greatly concerned about the impact today’s  
decision may have on already depleted storage levels, particularly the  
cold water pool in Trinity Reservoir. We must, however, take all  
reasonable measures to prevent a recurrence of the fish losses  
experienced in 2002.”

The Yurok Tribe applauded the release of increased flows down the  
Trinity River to avert a fish kill on the lower Klamath.

“While there has not been a confirmation that any fish have died as a  
result of Ich, we are extremely concerned that there could be another  
fish kill in the coming weeks if additional flows are not released. We  
appreciate that the Bureau of Reclamation heeded our request to send  
emergency flows down the Klamath River,” said Thomas P. O’Rourke Sr.,  
Chair of the Yurok Tribe.

Hoopa Valley Tribal Chairwoman Danielle Vigil-Masten requested Monday  
afternoon that the Bureau of Reclamation immediately double the flows  
released into the Trinity from Lewiston Dam, according to a news  
release from the Hoopa Valley Tribe issued Monday.

"The Hoopa Valley Tribe is very appreciative of the earlier action  
that Reclamation took by releasing preventative flows," Vigil-Masten  
stated. “We are in another stage that we did not anticipate and we  
shouldn’t deviate from what the science tells us to do. We expect that  
Reclamation will take the right action, which is to release the  
emergency flows that are called for under the criteria.”

Below are the press releases from the Yurok and Hoopa Valley Tribes  
regarding the increased flows:

Yurok Tribe Press Release:

At the Tribe’s Request, the BOR is sending emergency flows down the  
Klamath

Tribal biologists find Ich, the pathogen responsible for the 2002  
fish, for the first time in 11 years

Today, following the discovery of a significant number of salmon  
infected with the deadly parasite Ichthyophthirius multifiliis or Ich  
and at the request of the Yurok Tribe, emergency flows will be sent  
down the Klamath River.

On Monday, September 15, the Yurok Fisheries Program, along with the  
U.S Fish and Wildlife Service’s California-Nevada Fish Health Center,  
examined several Klamath River Chinook salmon and confirmed the  
presence of the deadly parasite, which was responsible for the 2002  
fish kill.

Ich was found in 11 of the 26 fish that the Yurok Fisheries Program  
sampled yesterday. Six of the salmon were severely infected with the  
ciliated protozoan parasite. This is the first time Ich has been  
detected since the Yurok Fisheries Program began monitoring for it in  
2003, following the 2002 fish kill.

The prevalence of Ich exceeded a threshold identified by USFWS/NMFS  
during 2013 for releasing emergency flows to prevent a major disease  
outbreak. BOR’s decision today to double the flow in the Lower Klamath  
will help minimize the risk of a major fish kill.

“While there has not been a confirmation that any fish have died as a  
result of Ich, we are extremely concerned that there could be another  
fish kill in the coming weeks if additional flows are not released. We  
appreciate that the Bureau of Reclamation heeded our request to send  
emergency flows down the Klamath River,” said Thomas P. O’Rourke Sr.

If the additional flows were not released back in August, it is highly  
likely there would have already been a massive fish kill on the  
Klamath River.

Last Friday, the Yurok Fisheries Program hand-delivered slides, made  
from imprints of the gills of salmon believed to be sickened by Ich,  
to the USFWS Fish Health Center in Anderson, Ca. Over the weekend  
Fisheries crews continued to collect fish, many of which later tested  
positive Ich. On Monday, the Fisheries Program and Dr. Scott Foote  
from the center examined the 26 fish for Ich.

“This quick response from the BOR and USFWS Fish Health Center will  
greatly lessen the chance of another fish kill,” Chairman O’Rourke said.

The Yurok Tribe will continue to monitor fish health in the Lower  
Klamath River until the fall run has subsided.

Ich outbreaks are the result of a combination of three factors, which  
consist of low flows, warm water and high fish densities. The Klamath  
River Basin is suffering through three years of extreme drought and is  
seeing a larger than predicted run of salmon in a relatively low  
flowing river.

Prior to this year’s fall run of Chinook salmon, the Yurok Tribe,  
anticipating unhealthy river conditions that could trigger a fish  
kill, submitted two formal requests to the Secretary of Interior  
asking that additional flows be sent down the Klamath River from  
August 26 to September 21. Originally, the BOR declined to implement  
the Yurok Tribe’s proposal for additional flows to lessen the  
likelihood of another fish kill. At the Yurok Tribe’s request, the BOR  
reconsidered its decision to not provide these additional flows from  
August 23 – mid-September to protect fish.

“We are glad that BOR reconsidered our request and most likely the  
earlier releases prevented a large-scale fish kill similar to what  
took place on the Yurok Reservation in 2002,” Chairman O’Rourke said.

Based on the observations of Yurok fisheries biologists and tribal  
fishers, it is likely that this year’s run of Chinook salmon was  
substantially under predicted. During crowded conditions, such as  
during a large escapement year, Ich is more readily passed from one  
fish to the next. In order to reduce fish densities and the chance of  
another catastrophic fish kill, the Yurok Tribe plans reopen the  
subsistence fishery for two weeks, with a 2-day closure each week for  
the protection of Coho.

Hoopa Valley Tribe Press Release:

The Hoopa Valley Tribe took swift action responding to the Klamath  
River fish kill and contacted the Bureau of Reclamation Regional  
Director, Dave Murillo. A potentially catastrophic outbreak of disease  
among fall Chinook salmon has today commenced in the lower Klamath  
River. Samples examined by Dr. Scott Foott show infection with ich of  
at least nine fish, including six with “severe” infestations.

Consequently, an emergency doubling of flows at the USGS “KNK’ gage  
from pre-existing levels for a period of 7 consecutive days, will be  
required in an attempt to avoid a massive fish kill. They asked Mr.  
Murillo to please take action immediately to release emergency flows.  
Our leadership is currently in discussion with Mr. Murillo on the  
proposed action.

Chairwoman Danielle Vigil-Masten stated that, “The Hoopa Valley Tribe  
is very appreciative of the earlier action that Reclamation took by  
releasing preventative flows. We are in another stage that we did not  
anticipate and we shouldn’t deviate from what the science tells us to  
do. We expect that Reclamation will take the right action which is to  
release the emergency flows that are called for under the criteria.”

Dr. Scott Foott, a pathologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife  
Service, discovered severe ich (ichthyophthirius multifiliis)  
infestations in fall run Chinook salmon taken from the Lower Klamath  
River.

Massive ich infestations among overcrowded fish led to a massive fish  
die-off in 2002, which left tens of thousands of fish dead and dying  
along the Klamath and Trinity Rivers.

Robert Franklin, senior hydrologist with Hoopa Tribal Fisheries, said,  
“The fear is that all the fish might die in the Lower Klamath like  
they did in 2002.”

This year, like in 2002, massive amounts of water have been diverted  
from the Klamath and Trinity Rivers to agricultural users hit by  
severe drought, leaving only a small portion of the rivers’ natural  
flows to sustain their ecosystems.

As more water is diverted away from local rivers, lower water flow  
leads to higher temperatures in the water, and diseases and parasites  
spread among fish crowded into the few deep pools along the river.

Franklin said only an immediate doubling of flows on the Trinity could  
prevent the infection from spreading rapidly. “It needs to take place  
immediately because the water will take several days to reach the  
Lower Klamath.”

Hoopa Valley Tribal Chairwoman Danielle Vigil-Masten requested this  
afternoon that the Bureau of Reclamation immediately double the flows  
released into the Trinity from Lewiston Dam.

“We expect that the Bureau of Reclamation will take the right action  
and release the emergency flows that are called for,” Vigil-Masten  
said. 
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