Carlos M. Gutierrez
Office of the Secretary
U.S. Department of Commerce
14th and Constitution Avenue, NW
Room 5516
Washington, DC 20230

Dear Secretary Gutierrez:

I am a business owner whose business relies directly on sportfishing in California and Oregon. Therefore, a closure of the entire California Coast and part of the Oregon Coast, to ocean salmon fishing as recommended by National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) will have a severe impact on my business. I urge you to find a reasonable solution that will allow for a limited season for this year, and in the future address the underlying causes of the decline of the salmon population in the Klamath River.

It is my understanding that NMFS is proposing to close the entire California coast and part of the Oregon coast to ocean salmon fishing. Such a closure would strike a severe blow to the California and Oregon coastal economies from which many businesses may never recover. I urge you to prevent NMFS from overriding a Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) decision that would permit a limited ocean salmon season in 2006. I also urge you to find a reasonable solution by directing NMFS to work with the Council to pass an emergency rule to forestall complete closure, and instead provide for a season that will address salmon population concerns without the severe economic impact of a complete closure. To avoid this problem in the future, it will be critical to address the underlying causes of the decline of the salmon population in the Klamath River.

I firmly believe that a reasonable compromise can be developed if there is the will to do so. To date, NMFS has been unwilling to consider a workable solution. The NMFS opinion was developed without the input of the affected parties and was the most severe measure possible.

Again, I urge you to direct NMFS to work with the Council to pass an emergency rule to forestall complete closure, and instead provide for a season that will address population concerns without the severe economic impact of a complete closure.

Sincerely,

 

LA TIMES OUTDOOR SECTION
 

Dear Shirley,
In this mornings LA TIMES Business Section was a notice that they are
eliminating the "Outdoor Section" from the paper. The last issue will be
Tuesday, December 6th. It is stated as a cost cutting measure do to
declining sales and print costs. There surveys showed only 28% of the
readers bothered to read the section.
For those writers who were at the Big Bear Conference and talked to the
Editor of the Outdoor Section with hopes of article submission,they might
need to be informed of its demise.
I'm sorry to see it go, as it was the only decent attempt the Times has
made to be inclusive of the outdoor enthusiast for many years.

Curtis
 

Salmon found with Gill Wrought

By Ashley of Kevin Brock's Fishing Guide Service
 This salmon was found dead on the bank of the Feather River outside of
Oroville by Kevin Brock. 

The pictures of the gills is showing the start of gill wrought.  The
water temp
below the outlet has been above 70 degree's all week. 

IRVINE LAKE STURGEON
By Steve Carson
June 2005

Irvine Lake stocks sturgeon, the “dinosaur fish” to 100 pounds
In conjunction with the catfish season opener and start of night fishing sessions on June 17, Irvine Lake will receive a special planting of the world’s largest freshwater fish, sturgeon. “The California state record for sturgeon is a monstrous 468 pounds”, said Dave Noyes, general manager of Irvine Lake. “We are confident that over time they will grow to 100 pounds or more in our lake, and we are even going to plant a few that are already that size!”
The first planting scheduled for June 15 will total 1,500 pounds. Some 1,000 pounds of the plant will consist of sturgeon in the 5 to 20 pound class, and a “bonus” 500 pounds will be monster sturgies in the 80 to 100-pound class.
Large sturgeon over 25 pounds must be gently handled for weighing and released at the dock, but any lucky angler doing so will receive a coupon for a free boat rental. Smaller sturgeon may be either released or kept. Anglers choosing to keep their catch will find that sturgeon are one of the world’s finest eating fish.
A total of 4,500 pounds of sturgeon will be planted in Irvine Lake this summer. Although a few sturgeon have been present in the lake for many years, this exciting new addition gives anglers the opportunity to tangle with the largest freshwater fish in California!
Fishing tips
Targeting sturgeon specifically in Southern California lakes is something of an unknown quantity, and exactly which techniques will be most productive remain to be seen.
However, sturgeon are a very popular fish in other parts of California, and veteran Sacramento River guide Kevin Brock advised: “Ghost shrimp are definitely the number one choice for sturgeon bait, with salmon roe and eel also working well at certain times. We have also seen them caught on a wide variety of other baits, including cut sardines, cut anchovies, and even nightcrawlers.”
Brock added: “Change your bait often, freshness is very important. Be sure to use a very short leader, and keep your bait flat on the bottom.”
Legendary San Francisco sturgeon angler Abe Cuanang, California’s premiere sturgeon fishing expert, lists ghost shrimp, grass shrimp, mud shrimp and pile worms as his favorite baits for sturgeon in San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay. 

LAKE OROVILLE COHO SALMON
By Steve Carson
May 2005
 

Coho meeting
Last week saw the Oroville Recreation Advisory Committee [ORAC] conduct a public meeting which included discussion of the problems and possible solutions connected with the popular coho salmon planting project in Lake Oroville.
Representatives of the Department of Fish and Game, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration’s fisheries division [NOAA], and Department of Water Resources were in attendance. Numerous members of the general public also commented on the subject.
Key speakers were fish pathologist Dr. Bill Cox of the DFG, and Eric See, the DWR’s biologist for Lake Oroville. Both experts agreed that no coho salmon will be stocked in Lake Oroville for 2005.
The DWR’s license to operate Oroville Dam includes a mandate to stock coldwater fish species such as trout and salmon. Due to the outbreak of IHN virus [Infectious Hematopoetic Necrosis] in the late 1990’s, stocking of king salmon was discontinued.
Many other popular coldwater species such as kokanee salmon and cutthroat trout were tested for resistance to IHN, and all failed except for coho salmon. Although brown trout do not generally succumb to IHN, they do transmit and amplify the virus. The DFG then placed a moratorium against planting any salmonid species in Lake Oroville except coho salmon.
After several years of successful stocking, it was found that the broodstock coho salmon being used at the Aquaseed facility in Washington state were found to be infected with BKD [Bacterial Kidney Disease].
It should be noted that IHN and BKD have no effect whatsoever on humans. The diseases also have no effect on warmwater fish species such as bass, catfish and crappie.
Although NOAA fisheries personnel voiced concerns that errant cohos may escape downstream and mingle with endangered coastal cohos, Dr. Cox said his primary worry was for spreading disease to the salmon and steelhead immediately below the lake in the Feather River Hatchery.
Several possible solutions were discussed. The most viable appears to be working with the Aquaseed company to locate a completely disease-free group of broodstock, then transporting them to the Feather River Hatchery to start a self-sustaining population.
The strain of coho salmon approved for Lake Oroville is Aquaseed’s “Domsea-strain”, which is patented. An arrangement that paid Aquaseed a royalty for the propagation of the fish could be worked out.
Another possibility is increasing coho salmon production at the DFG’s own Trinity or Iron Gate hatcheries. That plan is complicated by the fact that coho egg production is extremely limited at these facilities, and BKD testing has not been conducted.
Since any fix will involve a year or more to take effect, an interesting proposal came up that some mitigation for anglers be made in the meantime. The simplest mitigation solution would be for additional fish plants be made in the Thermalito Forebay, along with resuming long-discontinued stockings of the Thermalito Afterbay and the Diversion Pool.
See remarked that all of DWR’s fishery programs are focused toward the main lake itself, but he promised that he would discuss the possibility with management. Cox said that both rainbow and brown trout would be good candidates for increased stocking in those locations.