PNP comment:  The Greenies always get their articles published in the San Francisco Chronicle; but it doesn’t mean they are right. California Farm Water Coalition provides a great response to Greenie Zeke Grader. Science is constantly being skewed to the liberal-left Greenie point of view. — Editor Liz Bowen

Fisheries

Buon Appetito!

Blog
By Zeke Grader
From SF Chronicle – Tuesday, May 1, 2012
California’s salmon fishing men and women were set to depart from dozens of ports today for what many expect to be the biggest commercial salmon season the state has seen since 2005…The salmon decline was sparked by poor water conditions in the Klamath and excessive freshwater diversions from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta estuary causing mass mortality in baby salmon before they could reach the ocean.

California Farm Water Coalition response  …The author references scientists who agree with fisherman in his claim that water exports from the Delta shoulder the blame for recent declines in salmon population. However, he ignores a study released this year from National Research Council scientists who cite multiple causes for the drop in Delta fish numbers. These scientists, part of the National Academy of Sciences, stated it could not rank one stressor over another. The scientists insisted that addressing the Delta ecosystem must include a multi-faceted approach directed at all of the stressors.

In his rush to continue his campaign against sending water to 25 million Californians and to the production of a reliable and healthy food supply, the author omits such factors as predators that await the arrival of juvenile salmon in the Delta as they make their way to the ocean. Fish agencies have also pointed to ocean conditions resulting in poor habitat and food supply as an ever-increasing cause of the low salmon numbers. Add the ammonia being discharged into Delta waters by local municipalities and you begin to grasp a more accurate look at all the factors impacting fish numbers.