NEWS
‘Witnessing the Collapse’
Officials warn of cascading crises facing Pacific salmon By Elaine Weinreb
newsroom@northcoastjournal.com
I
magine six or seven thirsty people sitting in a hot room around a small table, at the center of which sits only one medium-sized glass of water. Who gets to drink? If everybody takes a single swallow and passes it on, there could be enough to temporarily quench everyone’s thirst. Unfortunately, this is not likely to happen. Several of the people claim that they have a right to all or most of the water, and if there isn’t enough for everybody else, too bad. It’s especially frightening for one member of the group who has no voice, and can’t speak her needs. She was shunted aside the last time this happened and is now close to death. She has many names, but in English she is called Salmon. A Everything deeply troubledfor groupthe of high-ranking state officials, tribal leaders, environmentalists and fishermen met July 27 to discuss the triple whammy that is threatening some species of Pa-
modern child
A fast-spreading disease is killing nearly all of the juvenile salmon on the Klamath River. Courtesy of The Yurok Tribe
cific salmon with extinction — a combination of record-breaking heat, drought and disastrous federal water policies — particularly those of the Trump administration, which drained mountain reservoirs of cold water, sending it to the Central Valley. The lengthy online hearing, appropriately entitled “California’s Salmon Fisheries in Crisis: Historic Drought, Low Flows and Dead Fish,” was sponsored by the state Senate Joint Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture chaired by North Coast state Sen. Mike McGuire. The hearing featured a dozen or so speakers who testified about unprecedented conditions facing the state’s rivers and, by turn, salmon. “Salmon are an incredibly hardy species,” said McGuire. “Salmon have
migrated [to the ocean] from the cold water of the California streams and mountain rivers for centuries. They overcome great odds to return to their home streams, their birthplace, to lay their eggs and start the process of that great migration over again. … But today we’re witnessing the collapse of that iconic species right in front of our eyes.” Baby salmon need cold water to survive and stay healthy. Usually, in the spring, the Sierra snow pack gradually melts and fills rivers, lakes and streams in northern and eastern California with enough cold water to keep the larger rivers — such as the Klamath and the Sacramento — at tolerable temperatures. This year, however, the snow pack had vanished by early June. And the ice-
melt did not flow into the creeks and rivers but instead sunk into the parched soil, which had been baked from unprecedented heat waves. “The river is facing some of the most terrible conditions in history — conditions so bad on the Klamath that nearly every fish is infected with heat-loving parasites. So hot that it’s going to be too risky to let a single baby fish swim downstream from Iron Gate Hatchery,” said McGuire. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has done what it could to help the situation, said Director Chuck Bonham, making a “hard decision” to evacuate the hatchery on the Klamath River and move the baby fish to a facility on the Trinity River, and hold them Continued on page 15»
THANK YOU FOR VOTING US
B EST P ET S TORE!
Thank You for Voting us 330 2nd St. Eureka CA 707.798.6326
Best Children’s Clothing Store!
FIN-N-FEATHER.COM 2931 F St. Eureka 707.443.4914 NEW HOURS: M-Sat 10-6 Sun 12-5
northcoastjournal.com • Thursday, Aug. 5, 2021 • NORTH COAST JOURNAL
13
