Saving Seafood

California, Florida fish mortality pinned to drought, climate change

July 15, 2021 — California officials warned this week that salmon in the state’s Sacramento River might not survive the region’s historic drought.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife said that “nearly all” of the endangered winter-run Chinook salmon’s juveniles might not make it through the season, according to The Sacramento Bee.

The publication reported Wednesday that a final blow, after two years of “severe mortality during the last drought,” would risk the extinction of the species — even though the agency has hauled millions of the Chinook salmon to Bay Area waters as a precaution.

Triple-digit temperatures have plagued the West, killing hundreds of people in the last major heat wave. The severe conditions have exacerbated the climate-driven “megadrought,” leading to less water and less streamflow.

Read the full story at Fox News

CALIFORNIA: CDFW Successfully Relocates 1.1 Million Hatchery Salmon Until Klamath River Drought Conditions Improve

July 15, 2021 — The following was released by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife:

Due to drought and poor water conditions in the Klamath River, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) successfully relocated 1.1 million juvenile, fall-run Chinook salmon from its Iron Gate Fish Hatchery in Siskiyou County. The fish were trucked to a nearby satellite facility and to the Trinity River Hatchery 122 miles away where the fish will remain until conditions in the Klamath River improve.

The baby salmon, about seven months old and about three inches in length, are normally released into the Klamath River in May and June. Due to warm water temperatures, low water flow and an exceedingly high probability of succumbing to disease in the river, CDFW decided to retain these salmon within its hatchery system over the summer until Klamath River conditions improve. The unprecedented relocation happened after extensive monitoring, discussion and close collaboration with federal partners, academic specialists and three Native American tribes in the lower Klamath Basin.

The temporary relocation marks the first time CDFW has not released salmon into the Klamath River since construction of the Iron Gate Fish Hatchery in 1962.

CDFW relocated the 1.1 million salmon to provide adequate water conditions over the summer and additional space to accommodate the growing fish. Another 1 million juvenile Chinook salmon will remain at Iron Gate.

“It’s extremely challenging to raise cold water fish species in a drought,” said Dr. Mark Clifford, Hatchery Environmental Scientist for CDFW’s Northern Region. “The reality is most of these fish would have died if we released them into the river. We need to maintain the integrity of the fall run on the Klamath River and we especially can’t afford to lose this generation of fish.”

Four Klamath River dams are slated for removal by 2024, the largest dam removal undertaking in U.S. history. The removal is expected to restore fish access to the entire river and the relocated Iron Gate fish could be the first salmon to return to a new Klamath River after their life in the ocean and find miles of additional spawning habitat and contribute to future generations of wild fish.

Read the full release here

CALIFORNIA: Monterey Bay fishermen work to reduce chances of whale entanglements

July 13, 2021 — On a cool Thursday morning this week, Calder Deyerle powered up his Boston Whaler and headed out of Moss Landing Harbor in search of the catch of the day. But this catch had no fins or tails or claws. Deyerle was hunting crab gear.

Five or six years ago, more than 70 whales — mostly fin, blue and humpbacks — became caught in the lines that connect a surface buoy to the crab trap resting on the ocean floor. Because of a crash in the krill population, the whales came in closer to shore to feed on alternative food sources and right into the crab lines.

Lines and traps meant for Dungeness crabs can be deadly to whales that become ensnared in the equipment, often causing dehydration, infected wounds, breathing or reproduction problems and even starvation.

But efforts by Dungeness crab fishermen have dramatically reduced the number of whale entanglements. There have been none this year. The far greater threat to whales today is not from crab gear, rather from ship strikes.

Deyerle is one of nine Monterey Bay commercial fishermen who are contributing to a project called the Lost Gear Recovery Project that is coordinated by the Monterey Bay Fisheries Trust, which in turn is permitted by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Read the full story at the Monterey Herald

Dire drought warning: California says ‘nearly all’ salmon could die in Sacramento River

July 9, 2021 — The drought is making the Sacramento River so hot that “nearly all” of an endangered salmon species’ juveniles could be cooked to death this fall, California officials warned this week.

In a brief update on the perilous state of the river issued this week, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife made a dire prediction about the endangered winter-run Chinook salmon and its struggles against consistently hot weather in the Sacramento Valley.

“This persistent heat dome over the West Coast will likely result in earlier loss of ability to provide cool water and subsequently it is possible that nearly all in-river juveniles will not survive this season,” the department said.

Given that the salmon generally have a three-year life cycle, a near-total wipeout of one year’s run of juveniles “greatly increases the risk of extinction for the species,” said Doug Obegi, a lawyer with the Natural Resources Defense Council.

The winter-run salmon endured two years of severe mortality during the last drought as well.

Read the full story at The Sacramento Bee

IPHC Announces Early Closure of California Sports Halibut Fishery as 39,000 lb Limit is Caught

July 2, 2021 — For the first time in at least six years, the California sports fishery for Pacific halibut closed on June 30, months earlier than the usual September closure and among the highest allocations in that period for recreational stakeholders.

Based on the latest catch projections, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) “expects the 2021 California recreational quota of 39,260 net pounds will be exceeded unless the fishery is closed,” the department announced in a statement on Tuesday this week.

Read the full story at Seafood News

California’s latest bid to bolster its economy? Releasing 17 million fish into the San Francisco Bay.

June 10, 2021 — California is rolling out a fresh strategy to keep its economy afloat — releasing 17 million salmon into the San Francisco Bay.

Millions of Chinook salmon raised in hatcheries will bypass California’s drought-stricken riverbanks to be released directly into colder, downstream sites in the San Francisco Bay, in an attempt to maximize their survival rate amid some of the most extreme environmental conditions the state has ever faced.

By the end of June, around 16.8 million young adult salmon, also called smolt, will travel more than 30,000 miles by truck from hatcheries to direct release sites around the coastline.

At the release sites around the San Francisco, San Pablo, Half Moon, and Monterey bays, the salmon will be set free to make their way into colder ocean waters.

Read the full story at Business Insider

New Strategy Applies Local Knowledge and Science to Salmon and Steelhead Recovery in Northern California

June 2, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Salmon and steelhead in Northern California have been in trouble for more than 100 years, primarily because of habitat damage and loss resulting from human activities. Climate change has only worsened these habitat problems. For the last 50 years, communities have worked to restore this habitat in hopes of reversing the fortunes of these fish. Scientists and local restoration communities are seeking new ways to maximize the benefits of habitat restoration so that rivers and streams can support healthy fish populations again.

One new approach to maximize these benefits is the Salmonid Habitat Restoration Priorities (SHaRP) process. The process creates a strategy to rebuild salmon and steelhead within a watershed by focusing on restoring its healthier, less impaired areas. Scientists expect that improved fish survival and reproduction in these restored areas will enable faster recolonization of the more degraded areas.

“The SHaRP process builds upon existing recovery plans and identifies very specific actions to create real wins for declining species. This approach to conservation offers the restoration community a seat at the table to design a near-term recovery strategy to maximize restoration impacts for their watershed,” said Barry Thom, NOAA Fisheries West Coast Regional Administrator.

NOAA Fisheries and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) developed the SHaRP process. They first applied it to the South Fork Eel River, a few hours drive north of San Francisco Bay. Historically, the Eel River supported hundreds of thousands of Chinook salmon, coho salmon, and steelhead. Today, these three species reflect only about 5 percent of their historical numbers.

Read the full release here

California closing Dungeness season June 1 as humpback whales migrate

May 25, 2021 — California crabbers must pull their gear by noon June 1, with a decision by state officials to end the season, anticipating movement of humpback whales from their breeding grounds back to coastal waters.

The closure will shorten the season by four weeks in the central management zone and six weeks in the northern management zone. But the state Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Risk Assessment and Mitigation Program – developed after court challenges from environmental groups seeking to prevent gear entanglements – is working, state officials say.

The agency made its preliminary determination a week before the announcement, said Ben Platt, president of the California Coastal Crab Association.

“What’s extremely frustrating is that the Whale Working Group voted 10-2 to keep the state open with a 30 fathom depth restriction. The only whales spotted were outside of this depth,” said Platt. “This was already the management in the northern half of the state for the past two week period.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

CALIFORNIA: Dungeness crab fishing season ends four weeks early

May 25, 2021 — The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is ending the Dungeness crab fishing season early on June 1 because of an increase in humpback whales in the Pacific Ocean.

On May 18, Charlton Bonham, director of the state agency, announced that recent survey data indicated an increase in humpback whales returning from their winter breeding grounds to California fishing grounds.

In a press release, Bonham said that considering the data and recommendations from the Dungeness Crab Fishing Gear Working Group and other stakeholders, he assessed the entanglement risk under the Risk Assessment Mitigation Program (RAMP) and announced the early closure of the commercial Dungeness crab fishery.

All commercial crab traps must be removed from the fishing grounds by noon on June 1.

Read the full story at The New Times