Stunning Television Footage of Huge Delta Fish Kill/Prospect Island Update

Judging by the number of fish shown in this footage shot from a helicopter by Channel 13 TV in Sacramento, this fishery disaster could end up being comparable to or worse than the Klamath Fish Kill of 2002. The majority of visible fish are striped bass, but salmon, steelhead, sturgeon, bluegill, crappie, largemouth bass and carp are also dead or dying. There is a very real possibility that delta smelt, a fish on the verge of extinction that is supposedly "protected" by the state and federal Endangered Species Acts, will be among the victims of this fish kill that is occuring while you read this.

Bob McDaris, Owner of Cliff's Marina, (916) 769-8047, one of the first to bring this situation to light, is on standby right now with 75 volunteers to go out and rescue any fish that are still alive. All he needs is the authority and means of transporting these fish across a muddy wallow to be released back into the river/slough system. He is also willing to donate money to hire a helicopter to transport the last remaining fish.

"We did comprehensive sampling of the fish on the island before the levee was closed," according to Jeff McCracken, spokesman for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. "We found no smelt or salmon. It was due to the lack of threat to the threatened species that the federal fishery agencies concluded we could seal the levee at low tide. And a fish salvage for the entire 1,200 plus acre island was problematic due to the vegetation on the island which the FWS and NMFS concluded fish salvage couldn't be accommodated."

It looks like the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service made a tragic miscalculation of the amount of fish that would be killed by repairing the levee on Prospect Island and draining it. Unfortunately, an area like Prospect Island, with abundant vegetation, cover and forage, is ideal habitat for an array of Delta fish species. Draining an area like this is very destructive, without finding a way to do a fish rescue, because the flooded island is an area where fish from throughout the Delta system congregate.

Something needs to be done about this intolerable situation before more fish needlessly die on the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. I urge people concerned about the stranding of thousands of fish on Prospect Island to call or write to the following officials and urge the federal and state governments to do something about saving the fish:

Ron Milligan, Operations Manager
Central Valley Operations Office
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
3310 El Camino Avenue, Suite 300
Sacramento CA 95821
916-979-2180
fax: 916-979-2494

Richard B. Rogers, President
California Fish and Game Commission
1416 Ninth Street
Sacramento CA 95814
916-653-4899
email: fgc [at] fgc.ca.gov

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
916-445-2841

You can call also call the Bureau of Reclamation, Public Affairs Office, 916-978-5100.