Golden State Salmon Association New Executive Director Talks Salmon And Water

Golden State Salmon Association executive director teamed with  Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, executive director of Restore the Delta, to pen an editorial piece in the Sacramento Bee, where they talked salmon and the peril the fish face amid California’s ongoing water wars. It’s a murky issue that even President Donald Trump has waded into.

Here’s a sample from Staplin’s and Barrigan-Parrilla’s piece:

It’s time for decision-makers to take bold action to save California’s largest salmon runs and the fishing jobs that depend on them. That starts with California’s State Water Resources Control Board, which is setting new water diversion rules to protect salmon, the Bay-Delta and Valley rivers for the first time in three decades.

The number of wild Sacramento River Fall run Chinook — the cornerstone of California salmon fishing — has crashed by 95% over 20 years. The loss of fishing seasons has devastated California’s salmon fishing industry. When salmon runs are healthy, they generate $1.4 billion per year and 23,000 jobs. Coastal fishing families and ports are struggling, as are Central Valley fishing-related businesses.

The cause is clear: During the last drought, irresponsible operation of Shasta Dam resulted in warm river flows in the fall that killed nearly all the baby salmon in the river. Similar actions harmed salmon in other Valley rivers. Excessive summer water diversions also meant that the few surviving baby salmon faced low flows that made their migration down rivers and through the Delta even harder. Predictably, three years later, there were not enough adult salmon to support fishing or ensure healthy runs for future years.

It’s a really good read with lots of pertinent information. Whether or not the water diversion Trump wants prioritized for the state’s farmers will ultimately affect salmon runs remains to be seen.