[env-trinity] Scientists on the Klamath River's salmon disease epidemic

[Thomas P. Schlosser]

The BiOp need not be challenged, instead the agencies should reinitiate 
consultation and adopt new protective measures to avoid jeopardy.

The new fish health information should be enough to get NMFS to reopen 
the biological opinion protecting coho salmon voluntarily. There is a 
disease condition for BOR's operations on BiOp p. 392, Table 13.6 
"Summary of annual incidental take of SONCC coho salmon expected to 
occur as a result of the proposed action". It says, for C. shasta: 
"Measured by a surrogate of *up to 54 percent (via histology or 49 
percent via QPCR) of the total annual Chinook salmon juveniles in the 
mainstem Klamath River between the Shasta River and the Trinity River 
may be infected with C. shasta during the months of May to July.*" An 
infection rate of 90-100% of juveniles is twice the incidental take that 
was anticipated; it should be enough to trigger reinitiation.

BiOp page 410 says: "As provided in 50 CFR §402.16, reinitiation of 
formal consultation is required where discretionary Federal agency 
involvement or control over the action has been retained (or is 
authorized by law) and if: (1) *the amount or extent of incidental take 
is exceeded*; (2) new information reveals effects of the agency action 
that may affect listed species or critical habitat in a manner or to an 
extent not considered in this opinion;"

Tom

On 5/19/2015 12:49 PM, Felice Pace wrote:
> Last year up to 100% of the juvenile salmon which were captured and 
> tested while migrating down the Klamath River in hopes of reaching the 
> Pacific Ocean were found to be diseased. Only 8% of the juvenile 
> salmon fitted with radio transmitters made it to the Klamath Estuary 
> and to the Pacific Ocean. This year few juvenile salmon are showing up 
> in down-migrant monitoring traps; up to 100% of juvenile salmon tested 
> are already diseased even before the hottest months with the worst 
> water quality have arrived.
>
> Independent scientists at Oregon State University say that "severe 
> infection by the myxozoan parasite /Ceratomyxa shasta/ has, in large 
> part, been responsible for the declining numbers of juvenile KR fall 
> Chinook and coho salmon and subsequent impacts on later adult 
> returns." They add that "the reduction of the commercial (ocean 
> salmon) catch by 90% in 2006 was a direct result of the weak returns 
> of Chinook salmon to the Klamath River (KR)."
>
> Read the entire statement by OSU scientists and access related 
> information at: 
> http://microbiology.science.oregonstate.edu/content/disease-effects-wild-populations.
>
> The Klamath River's unprecedented salmon disease epidemic is 
> negatively impacting coastal economies in Oregon and California, not 
> to mention Klamath River and tribal communities. Why is it then that 
> we read nothing about this in the press? Why are the tribes, fishing 
> organizations and environmental groups which claim to be champions and 
> defenders of Klamath Salmon silent? And how is it that a Biological 
> Opinion (on operation of the Bureau of Reclamation's Klamath 
> Irrigation Project) can stand unchallenged when that Opinion robs the 
> Klamath of the flushing spring flows which scientists say are one of 
> the few things humans can do to stem a Pacific Salmon disease epidemic 
> that is both unprecedented and the direct result of the Klamath's 
> terrible water quality?
>
> Most importantly, which tribe, fishing or environmental organization 
> will end the silence and step up to challenge the Biological Opinion 
> which is killing most of the juvenile salmon produced in the Klamath 
> River, its tributaries and even the Iron Gate Hatchery?
>
> Felice Pace
> Klamath, CA 95548
> 707-954-6588
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> env-trinity mailing list
> env-trinity at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us
> http://www2.dcn.org/mailman/listinfo/env-trinity

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://www2.dcn.org/pipermail/env-trinity/attachments/20150519/ab690dd4/attachment.html>