It may be beautiful above water, but things aren't so rosy under the Delta's surface.
A new report regarding the health of the fisheries in the California Delta has just been released and…big surprise…things don’t seem to be looking all that great.
The Delta is a complex system that houses gamefish like Chinook salmon, steelhead, sturgeon, striped bass, largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass, American shad, catfish and panfish…along with important forage species such as delta smelt, threadfin shad, splittail and many others. The problems that plague it are just as multifaceted: Water diversions are a huge killer, as is pollution and habitat loss.
You can read all about the decline and what biologists found in recent trawl studies HERE
Lew Maciel says
It’s just a question of over use on so many levels. That and political greed and corruption. Once the MWD gets it’s hooks into the delta water,which they have, it’s Katy bar the door. Read Cadillac Desert to see what happend in the Owens Valley. There’s no excuse for it , just the failure of government to act responsibly and to place value on the delta ecology; I hate to say it , but once the fish are gone then there will be no need to restrict water exports and I’m sure that on some level that’s exactly what’s desired. Oh,by the way, I recall when 25 lb. stripers were common.
fishbird says
everyone should link on to trawl studies here and contact lois wolk