Fish Stocks Continue Freefall in Sacramento River Delta

Several aquatic species, including most notably Delta Smelt, have continued to see their numbers drop precipitously in 2015. Index stations in the Sacramento River collected just six of the endangered Delta smelt over the past year. Only fifty-two striped bass were collected, while only seventy-nine American Shad were netted, with both species underpinning the economically important sportfishing industry in the region.

The ongoing collapse of fish stocks in the Delta is a major point of contention in light of the ongoing fight over the proposed water resources plan culminating in the proposed Delta Tunnels, which would divert large amounts of water from their natural beds to better serve irrigation demand in California’s agricultural heartland. While the sportfishing industry has been hard hit by the region’s ecological troubles, the greater impact may be on California’s imperiled salmon runs, which have declined by more than 98% in recent years. Conservation advocates blame government inaction for the continued failure to stem the disastrous effect of water mismanagement on California’s fish populations, and see the Delta Tunnels as a final nail in the coffin for the Sacramento River Delta’s threatened fishing industries.