This morning while I was watching the morning news, they did a story on the closing of the American River and Nimbus Dam Hatcheries. The thing is, they are in the same place, just raise different fish. One raises Rainbow Trout the other raises Salmon and Steelhead.
The information they are providing on TV is a little confusing. They talk about two and three pound fish, talk about putting fish in the American River, but it sounds like they are putting those two and three pound fish in the river, but this is not the case.
About 1 million Rainbow trout will
be planted throughout the state mostly in Sierra Nevada lakes, but at a much younger age and smaller size.
The department also will release 430,000 Steelhead from
Nimbus Hatchery into the American River about six months earlier than
usual. Because they have not yet matured to the point where the instinct to
swim downstream takes hold, they will remain vulnerable to
warm temperatures and predators, including birds and striped bass.
Steelhead are normally released from the hatchery when they are about 1
year old. These are half that age.
State and federal officials took
extraordinary measures, earlier this year, to protect some 12 million hatchery salmon from
warm water temperatures and low river flows throughout the Sacramento Valley. Most of those Chinook salmon made their downstream migration in tanker trucks to the Delta rather than via the Sacramento River, as a means to assure that more of them will survive the drought.
One bright side to this is the facility will be able to do some much needed maintenance and repairs that they've not been able to do, since they've only been shut down once since World War II.
The other bright spot is that there are going to be a BUNCH of fish out there to catch.
I was listening to the CADFW chief of fisheries speak about this. He cited additional concern that the overall water quality that would be pumped into the hatcheries would be too poor. The question left unanswered is how this will affect production next year, when some hatcheries will have to ramp up from zero. Hopefully the other hatcheries that remain in operation will be able to feed fish to those that are closed. What a year!
ReplyDeleteVery interesting, thanks for the read and information. And best of luck to you in catching all those fish!
ReplyDeleteHi Mark,
ReplyDeleteI really find all of this disturbing. This is not an attack at you by any means but i am fed up with confusing reports like the one you heard.
Truck trout is a truck Salmon and so is a truck Steelhead. Wait, isn't a Steelhead a Truck Trout? Our State, political leaders, water mongers and Dept of Fish & Game has decimated our Wild and Native stocks and we have been reduced to nothing more than a put and take fishery with regard to our Salmonids at this point. Not something I am proud of or look forward to at all. Kids today have almost no chance catching a Wild Chinook or Steelhead. We are Lucky to have decent populations of Wild trout. Some Native and some introduced but they reporduce in Gravel. Not on a stainless steel table after swimming into a cement holding area.
All of this is primarily due to 1. Water exports 2..Habitat distruction(see #1) and 3. Political pressure by big and extremely wealthy Ag interests that use a tremendous amout of water. (see #1 again) .4 Commercial fishing Industry.
The few wild fish left are getting taxed by the drought to no end and we continue to send water to millions of acres of Pistachios, Walnuts and Cotton in the Central Valley. Almost all of these products are for export by the way.
This isn't just Happening in Cali either. Oregon, Wash and other places have adopted this Hatchery saves all phiosophy. It is a HUGE waste of resources. Put DFG hatchery employees in the FIELD doing meaningful tasks like , I don 't know lets start with Habitate resoration and maybe monitor wastefull irrigation practices on these huge corporate farms during one of the worste low water years in history. Better yet, shut off x million acre feet of water to some of these farms in the middle of the desert.
California has the awnser though..Limit folks from watering there damn lawn or filling swimming pools. Really?
Like I said, not directed toward you or even Hatchery fish. We all catch and enjoy them but you instantly when you have a wild fish on and we have the ability to save them. Why wouldn't we? We choose not to and that is very sad.
Dave
Don't forget them telling you not to wash your car! lol
DeleteThis is a sad story. I have never really seen anything like this.
ReplyDeletelets go catch some of these fish, Mark!
Good luck catching all of those fish! Hopefully, they can get those repairs done to make the hatchery better for the future. I also, hope you guys get some rain, and lots of it. Maybe someone should organize a mass rain dance like some of these flash mob things.
ReplyDelete