Coastside's letter to the California Fish and Game Commission regarding the proposed striped bass regulation changes

From: Taj Sharma

Chairman of the Board

Coastside Fishing Club

In two days, (Thursday February 2nd) the California Fish and Game Commission will be meeting on a proposal whose stated intent it to harm our Striped Bass Fishery. The commission needs to realize that we expect our fisheries need to be managed in a responsible manner. To take all sustainability factors into consideration including the underlying water quality issues that threaten the entire delta ecosystem system and its diverse wildlife.

Coastside's Board of Directors will be present at this meeting standing side by side with our fellow recreational fisherman to stop this unethical proposal. We ask that you all join us at this meeting, as Coastsider’s and as true conservationists of our resources. Carpool, take the CSBA buses, however you can, please attend this meeting. We hope to see you all there.

Meeting Details

Thursday February 2nd @ 8.30am

Resources Building Auditorium

1416 Ninth Street

Sacramento, CA

The agenda can be found here: http://www.fgc.ca.gov/meetings/2012/020212agd.pdf

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Here is Coastside letter to the CFGC.

On November 18, 2011, Coastside sent the following letter to the California Fish and Game Commission

Subject / Position: Oppose the DFG Negotiated Proposal Regarding Striped Bass The Coastside Fishing Club is an all-volunteer organization of recreational fishermen dedicated to enhancing the recreational fishing experience for all Californians. So when a proposal comes before the Commission that would have the exact opposite effect we cannot sit idly by. Such is the case with the Department’s negotiated proposal regarding changes to the striped bass fishery. Never before have we been faced with a proposal whose stated intent is to do harm to a recreational fishery. This proposal is completely at odds with the ethics of fishermen, and with the legal mandates of the Department and the Commission – it must be stopped, and the Commission must act to do so. We urge the Commission to reject the Department’s proposal, and do what is right for the fisheries of California.

The proposal to increase the bag limit and reduce the legal size of striped bass is intended to bring about a state of overfishing on the species in order to reduce their numbers. The Department is quite open about that; but they have failed to establish that doing so will enhance the salmon fishery. The Department has entered into a negotiated settlement with water contractors who don’t care one iota about the health of our fisheries; their only objective is to take more water no matter who or what gets hurt. In this case they have created a ruse that just doesn’t stand up to the “red face test” – namely, that salmon and striped bass cannot sustainably coexist.

One has only to look at the data from the 132 years following the introduction of striped bass in 1879 to know that this premise is false. Striped bass and salmon have successfully coexisted, even during times of massive populations of striped bass. It is clear that striped bass do include salmon smolts as part of their diet, but it is not at all clear that striped bass predation is in any way related to the sustainability of the salmon population. This is where the science is lacking – the cause and effect relationship has not been demonstrated. In fact the opposite may be closer to the truth – both the salmon and the striped bass populations have gone through a low point in the last few years. Not one fishery at the expense of the other, but both together. During periods of high striped bass populations, salmon have also been high, and conversely they have fallen together. Simply acknowledging that striped bass eat salmon smolts does not substantiate the causal relationship

  of one species being a significant factor in the demise of the other. No, obviously some other factor is dominating both of these species (and probably green sturgeon, delta smelt, steelhead and other native species), and we know what that is – habitat issues directly related to water export and management.

This issue is more complex than just looking at salmon and stripers without assessing the whole ecosystem; what if the striper population was actually reduced – what other predator would step in to fill the ecological void, and what would the effect be on other prey species? Perhaps the stripers are keeping other, equally voracious predators in check. Where is the science that considers these broader ecological issues? We must understand these broader ecological factors before we adopt a policy that may do more harm than good.

Recreational fishermen have long identified ourselves as the original conservationists. Sustainable fisheries are an inherent part of our recreational ethos. We expect that our fisheries will be managed in a sustainable manner, and we demand that the Department and the Commission join us in ensuring that our fisheries are so managed. We are willing to make sacrifices when called for, but the science does not support the destruction of the striped bass fishery; and without a solid scientific basis neither the Department nor the Commission should support such an action. We call on the Commission to step up and do the right thing – reject the flawed premise coming out of a negotiated settlement with the water contractors, by rejecting the proposal to unsustainably change the regulations related to the striped bass fishery. The correct way to sustain and enhance our salmon and our striped bass fishery is not to destroy one for the unsubstantiated benefit of the other, but to address the fundamental water issues that underlie the health of both.

Please reject the Department’s proposal to increase the daily bag limit and lower the size limit on striped bass.

Dan Wolford, Science Director

Coastside Fishing Club