Extinction
It’s no surprise to anyone who is familiar with our California Rivers, fish populations are a small fraction of historic levels. You’ll hear it from the older generation, “things aren’t what they used to be. You could walk across their backs, the fish were so thick.” It’s hard for those of us who haven’t seen it with our own eyes but the photographs and records are proof; the fish were plentiful and endless.
But according to a new report issued by Peter Moyle, distinguished fisheries professor at the University of California at Davis, many of our native steelhead and salmon face extinction within the next 50 to 100 years. At the top of the list, Klamath River Coho and Chinook salmon and Central Valley steelhead.
As stated in our film Rivers of a Lost Coast, the finger cannot be pointed at one single culprit. The massive problem we face with our fisheries stems from a fusion of many issues. Dams, over-fishing, habitat-loss, water diversions, genetic-tampering, the list goes on.
Habitat restoration has proven an effective tool in restoring native fish populations. The problem is the conflict with human nature and our tendency to grow, expand, and deplete the resources around us. We have to start asking some important questions and making some significant changes as far as our environment is concerned. What do healthy watersheds and ecosystems mean to us? How important are they? Are they more than just trees, rivers, and animals? I invite your thoughts.
Link to the original report written by Peter Moyle, Joshua Israel, and Sabra Purdy.
California Trout Report
