Public Invited to Discuss Proposed Regulation Changes for Striped Bass

Media Contacts:
Marty Gingras, DFG Region 3, (209) 948-3702
Kirsten Macintyre, DFG Communications, (916) 322-8988

The California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) will hold a public workshop to review its proposal to change sport fishing regulations related to striped bass. The workshop will be held Tuesday, Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. at the Rio Vista City Hall, One Main Streetin Rio Vista.

The proposal is supported by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries and is intended to help recover several fish species listed under theCaliforniaand federal Endangered Species Acts. The proposed changes affect the striped bass bag, size and possession limits.

The proposal will be presented to the California Fish and Game Commission for consideration at its December meeting.

Striped bass have been abundant in California waterways since they were introduced from the Atlantic Coast in the 1800s. DFG scientists believe that the striped bass population in California has numbered in the millions every year for more than a century.

Striped bass are known and/or expected to prey on listed Chinook salmon, coho salmon, steelhead, delta smelt, longfin smelt and tidewater goby. While the extent of striped bass predation on listed species cannot be precisely determined, the best available science indicates that the impact could be substantial.

Efforts to manage striped bass became controversial in the 1990s with the listing of Chinook salmon and delta smelt under the state and federal Endangered Species Acts and have remained controversial since. To address concerns about winter-run Chinook salmon, DFG temporarily stopped stocking striped bass in 1990.

DFG worked until 1999 to receive federal permits from the US FWS and NOAA Fisheries to begin stocking striped bass again, and in 2000 suspended all stocking to address concerns about several listed fish species in the Central Valley. Controversy over striped bass management peaked in 2008 when the Coalition for a Sustainable Delta sued DFGunder the federal Endangered Species Act, seeking to require the department to apply for federal permits to enforce one of the fishing regulations that limits sport harvest of striped bass. Both as part of a settlement agreement and as a result of continuing work by USFWS, NOAA Fisheries and DFG to recover the listed species, DFG and the federal agencies developed the proposal to modify striped bass fishing regulations in an effort to reduce striped bass predation on the listed species.

Although the amount of impact attributable to striped bass predation is not certain, DFG strongly suspects that the impact can be reduced by the proposed regulations. With the proposed changes, striped bass would likely become somewhat less abundant and the average size of striped bass would decline, but fishing effort and fishing success would likely increase for a period of at least several years.

DFG is also recommending an adaptive management plan that will help assess how the new regulations influence the fishery.

Anglers Asked to Step Up Efforts to Conserve California Sturgeon

Media Contacts:
Marty Gingras, DFG Bay Delta Region, (209) 948-3702
Kirsten Macintyre, DFG Communications, (916) 322-8988

The Department of Fish and Game (DFG) asks anglers to use special techniques and extra vigilance to help conserve California’s green and white sturgeon. Both species are caught by anglers in a popular sport fishery centered in the San Francisco Estuary, but anglers need to be aware of special regulations in place to protect the long-term health and growth of the species.

White sturgeon are a substantial management concern and green sturgeon are a threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act.

“The state’s anglers are on the front line of saving the ancient green sturgeon in our waters,” said Marty Gingras, DFG Supervising Biologist. “Together we can grow their populations, save a threatened species and continue year-round sturgeon fishing in California.”

Sturgeon can be caught year-round and must be carefully measured. White sturgeon need to be between 46 and 66 inches (those that are smaller or larger must be released immediately). Green sturgeon may not be kept. Strict regulations are designed to conserve older sturgeon and ensure that they survive catch-and-release as well. The effectiveness of catch-and-release depends in large part on angler technique.

It is common practice for anglers to remove sturgeon, including those that are oversized, from the water for measurement. This stresses the fish, particularly females, and may lead to ovarian follicular atresia, which means they absorb their eggs rather than spawn them. Egg-laden females are routinely caught and egg loss can take several years to recover from.

In 2010 California anglers reported catching 5,446 white sturgeon (most were undersized) and 151 green sturgeon. Another 73 sturgeon were reported as caught but not identified by species.

DFG encourages anglers to use high-strength fishing line to reduce duration of the fight, in-water techniques for measuring fish size and single-barbless hooks to facilitate quick release. Anglers should leave oversize sturgeon in the water at all times and know how to identify an endangered green sturgeon.

Data on the sturgeon fishery can be found at ftp://ftp.delta.dfg.ca.gov/Adult_Sturgeon_and_Striped_Bass/2010 Sturgeon Card Complete Draft Version 1.pdf.

A flyer on identifying green sturgeon is at ftp://ftp.delta.dfg.ca.gov/Adult_Sturgeon_and_Striped_Bass/Green Sturgeon flyer 2-3-11.pdf.

For complete fishing regulations see www.dfg.ca.gov/regulations.

Nimbus Hatchery Fish Ladder to Open Nov. 1

Media Contact(s):
Dr. Mark Clifford, Nimbus Hatchery, (916) 445-2416
Andrew Hughan, DFG Communications, (916) 322-8944

The salmon ladder at Nimbus Hatchery in Rancho Cordova will open on Nov. 1, signaling the start of the spawning season on the Sacramento River. Department of Fish and Game (DFG) hatchery workers will take more than a half million eggs during the first week alone in an effort to ensure the successful spawning of the returning fall Chinook salmon.

The three major state-run hatcheries in the Central Valley – Nimbus in Sacramento County, Feather River in Butte County and Mokelumne in San Joaquin County – will take approximately 38 million eggs over the next two months in order to produce a total of 24 million Chinook salmon for release next spring.

Each hatchery has a viewing area where visitors can watch the spawning process. At Nimbus and Feather River hatcheries, thousands of schoolchildren tour the facilities each year. The visitors’ center at Nimbus Hatchery includes a playground with replicas of giant salmon that are enjoyed by young and old alike. For more information about spawning schedules and educational opportunities at each hatchery, please visit the DFG website at www.dfg.ca.gov/fish/Hatcheries/HatList.asp.

Around the state, there are eight state-run salmon and steelhead hatcheries, all of which will participate in the salmon spawning effort. Those hatcheries, along with federally run hatcheries, will together be responsible for the release of 40 million juvenile salmon into California waters. These massive spawning efforts were put in place over the last 50 years to offset fish losses caused by dams that block salmon from spawning in historically used waters.

Today, hatcheries are multimillion dollar operations that employ scientific methods to spawn, rear and return healthy young salmon to various river systems each year. At each hatchery, a team of managers and staff monitor the progress of batches of eggs that will become tomorrow’s returning salmon, while pathologists work with each hatchery to ensure fish health. Once the young salmon reach 2 to 4 inches in length, one quarter of stock will be marked and implanted with a code wire tag prior to release. DFG biologists use the information from the tags to chart their survival, catch and return rates.