Why the striped bass lawsuit is important to us all.....
The law suit filed by the “Coalition for a Sustainable Delta” is aimed at destroying the Publics striped bass fishery, that has historically generated some $50 million annually to our state and local economies. The Coalition is composed of “Water Districts” that front some Central Valley agricultural interests who hold water contracts from the Federal Central Valley Water Project.
Their lawsuit won’t do anything to make the Delta more sustainable but it would compel the State to abort the management of the estuary’s striped bass and all sport fishing regulations that would protect the fishery from excessive harvest. Even though the estuary’s once premier sport fishery is a shadow of its former greatness and has fallen on hard times, along with all of the other fisheries that depend on the Delta. Corporate Agriculture feels the need to destroy this very valuable public resource so they can continue to drink at the Publics water trough and maximize their profits.
If they prevail, striped bass will become a non-sport fishery that would not be protected from excessive harvest. It could quite possibly be exterminated because it would not be protected under State sport fishing laws and there would be no harvest limit and no regulation on the methods allowed to harvest them. Even though the fishery is alleged by the coalition to be vicious non-native predator of Delta smelt and salmon listed under the Endangered Species Acts, the scientific evidence clearly demonstrates the opposite is true.
According to a leading expert on the state’s native fish species, "All the studies that have been done on striped bass feeding habits show that they virtually never take Delta smelt," said Peter Moyle, a University of California, Davis, professor as quoted by the Stockton Record, on February 16, 2008.
Further, the coalition alleges that striped bass predation of ESA listed species impacts their ability to receive water from the Delta. However, we know that the Delta export pumps are the most significant villains and that’s why the federal court recently ruled that water export must be substantially cut back during the spawning and rearing season to protect the smelt. The increase in water exports are among the real reasons for smelt and salmon declines!
The filing of the litigation appears to be an attempt at legal retribution for the recent court victories overturning politically corrupt Biological Opinions crafted by the National Marine Fishery Service managers and in the case of the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service, the Department of the Interior’s politically appointed leadership. While some point to the Federal Council on Environmental Quality and the leverage that may have been applied by the Bush administration, the bottom line is that these Federal agencies with trust responsibilities, politically amended the biological science so that more Delta water could be exported. This was the finding in the Federal Courts, thus the Courts overturned the biological opinions.
So, who is the interest behind this litigation anyway? The growers who filed the litigation have the luxury of using their water districts to file the litigation [Bellridge Water Storage District, Berrenda Mesa Water District, Lost Hills Water District, and Wheeler Ridge - Maricopa Water Storage District]. It appears many of them live in the Southern Central Valley where much of the desert has turned green due to nonnative crops grown by nonnative people who are very fond of perpetuating nonnative myths to protect their nonnative capitol at the expense of the Publics fishery resources.
The Press Release on our legal action doesn’t cover one very important element. This litigation will cost a ton of money and we need real help in raising funds for this cause. If you believe that we shouldn’t let the Coalition get away with trying to destroy this fishery and our right to enjoy it, please go to our new website at http://www.calsport.org/ and donate!
You should keep in mind that this is fight is not just about striped bass! Should the Coalition prevail, then consider that many of the other fish that swim in the Delta are non-native predators (something that all fish have in common) that will become candidates for extinction such as largemouth bass, panfish, and American shad to name a few. Who was it who said you’re either part of the problem or part of the solution? That’s a pretty broad generalization, but in this case it’s meaningful! We need your help!!
Mike
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