Sacramento Bee On Farmers, Fishers, Finding Common Ground On Central Valley Water

Really interesting read in the Sacramento Bee that provides some hope for Central California’s contentious “water wars” between those who support farming and those who support fish. Both sides of the political aisle have weighed in on the issue, stoking more division (including President Trump and California Governor Gavin Newsom, with neither of the two rivals getting much love on the salmon side of the argument. But based on the Bee’s story, there appears to be some common ground. The entire story is worth reading, but here’s a snippet:

Stakeholders — fishermen, farmers, water managers, researchers, agencies — often find themselves at odds with one another, in need of a living and quick to fight. But recent fish and water crises have challenged these groups to set aside their competing interests.

California’s commercial salmon fishing ban and drought-induced water curtailment to agriculture have rallied an unlikely coalition of fishermen, farmers and water managers hoping to find solutions. And when California researchers identified a new nutritional stressor to salmon, fishermen set their distrust of the scientific community aside to assist with an all-hands-on-deck management plan.

“We have so much in common,” said Johnny Atkinson, the Sausalito director for the Golden Gate Fishermen’s Association. “Instead of fighting each other, we’re sitting down and solving these issues.”