My family is supported by commercial fishing (dungeness crab and king salmon), which is kind of ironic since I am a vegetarian. For the second time in recent years, there will be no salmon season in California. Last year’s season lasted only four days, and the year before that was a complete closure due to the Klamath River. The collapse of the Klamath salmon population was due to Bush’s water diversion policies, that were implemented to get a Republican elected in Oregon. This year’s Sacramento River collapse is also the result of Bush administration decisions, which were followed up by lies to cover up the true source of the problem.

As has happened repeatedly throughout the Bush administration, scientists have been forced to mislead the public about the true cause of the Sacramento fisheries crisis. Government scientists claim that low ocean food supply is the cause of the collapse, whereas independent scientists cite water diversion from the delta as the biggest culprit. Rep. George Miller (D) Martinez explained:

They changed the science, the conclusion of the scientists and what we see now is we’ve closed the entire Pacific fisheries to salmon and the salmon are much more endangered now than they were five, six, seven, 10 years ago.

Although warming may have caused a lack of upwelling in the California current responsible for phytoplankton and zooplankton growth, denying the negative effects of water diversion is irresponsible of the Bush administration. Politics should not dictate or manipulate scientists. We deserve to know the truth.

In related news, a recent effort to truck Chinook salmon failed miserably in California. 75,000 of 180,000 young fall-run salmon being hauled in tanker trucks from Coleman National Fish Hatchery in Anderson to San Pablo Bay died on Monday. The trucked smolts were part of an experiment to see how trucking might boost salmon stocks in the ocean in response to the salmon crisis. Last year only 22,000 salmon returned to the Coleman hatchery, compared to the record number of 450,000 in 2002.

I am tired of the Bush administration manipulating environmental scientists for political gain, whether it is about climate change or fisheries. Massive fish population collapses should not be covered up, and harebrained trucking experiments will not restore our rivers. We need honesty in the face of environmental crisis.

Image: RJL20 at Flickr under a Creative Commons license

Related posts on the Pacific Salmon Crisis:

• Why the Klamath Dams Don’t Provide “Green” Energy : Sustainablog

• Warren Buffett Ignores Klamath Dam Protesters Again : Planetsave

• Low Impact Living: A Thirsty Nation (part 1) : Sustainablog

• Sobering News for This Fish Lover : Eat. Drink. Better.

The four dams on the Klamath River in far Northern California are under relicensing, something that only occurs every 50 years. The dams are owned by billionaire Warren Buffett, who purchased Pacificorp, one of the lowest-cost electricity producers in the United States, three years ago. Many Californians were hopeful this purchase would mean the end to the dams, but their concerns for the salmon fell on deaf ears. Once again, Warren Buffett rebuffed salmon advocates.

On Saturday, May 3, 2008, American Indian tribes and salmon fisherman failed to gain a private audience with Buffett and were ignored at the Berkshire Hathaway Inc. meeting in Omaha, Nebraska. Protesters shouted, “Un-dam the Klamath! Bring the salmon home!“, while shareholders enjoyed complimentary cocktails Friday night. For two years, an unprecedented alliance of tribes, businesses, conservation groups and commercial/recreational fishermen has tried to reach an agreement with Buffett for dam removal. Buffett said that his company would not decide the fate of the Klamath dams, but Berkshire will defer to regulators in California and Oregon. Ironically, dam removal is cheaper than building the fish ladders regulators are recommending.

Salmon fishing has been canceled this year and declared a “disaster” in California and Oregon, largely because of the Sacramento River; however, the previous fisheries disaster was due to the Klamath salmon population. This year’s closure amounts to a loss of $255 million and 2,263 jobs to California coastal communities. Just as hard hit, or even harder hit, are the Native Americans in the region, many who traveled to Omaha in protest of the Klamath dams. “It’s the fight for the salmon, and it’s the fight for our species,” said Yurok member Frankie Myers. The salmon have not had full access to the Klamath River since the first dam was built in 1916.

Related posts on the Klamath River and Salmon:
Why the Klamath Dams Don’t Provide “Green” Energy
Sobering News for This Fish Lover