BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2336
Page 1
Date of Hearing: March 23, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON WATER, PARKS AND WILDLIFE
Jared William Huffman, Chair
AB 2336 (Fuller) - As Introduced: February 19, 2010
SUBJECT : Delta Stewardship Council: Striped Bass
SUMMARY : States Legislative findings and intent regarding
striped bass, and requires the Delta Stewardship Council (DSC)
to assess the adverse impacts of invasive species predation on
native species, to evaluate predator suppression options, and to
recommend changes in laws and actions by state agencies.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Makes Legislative findings and declarations regarding striped
bass, including that striped bass are harmful and highly
invasive species that are not native to this state, the
history of striped bass introduction in California, past
population levels of striped bass in the Delta, and the
predatory habits of striped bass.
2)States Legislative intent that in order to preserve native
fish populations in the San Francisco Bay and the Delta the
DSC include in the Delta Plan programs to discourage promotion
of the Bay and Delta as a striped bass sport fishery, and to
eliminate all existing programs and legal protections for
striped bass.
3)Requires the DSC in developing the Delta Plan, to assess the
adverse impacts of invasive species predation on native
species, to evaluate predator suppression options in areas of
the Delta that evidence the highest levels of predation, and
to recommend changes in law and actions by state agencies to
remedy the situation in as timely a manner as is practicable.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the DSC, the initial members of which are to be
appointed by July 1, 2010. Requires the DSC to develop and
adopt a Delta Plan by January 1, 2012 that furthers the
coequal goals of ecosystem restoration and water supply
reliability.
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2)SBX7 1, part of the water package enacted last year, requires
DSC in developing the Delta Plan to include, among other
things, sub-goals and strategies to promote self-sustaining
populations of native and valued species by reducing risk of
take and harm from invasive species, and by improving water
quality. SBX7 1 also requires DSC in developing the Delta
Plan, to consider each of the strategies and actions in the
Delta Strategic Plan. The Delta Strategic Plan, among other
things, recommends actions to control invasive species, to
re-evaluate wastewater treatment plant discharges, to regulate
discharges from irrigated lands, and to reduce impacts from
urban runoff.
3)Establishes the Delta Independent Science Board which shall
provide oversight of the scientific research, monitoring, and
assessment programs that support adaptive management of the
Delta.
4)Allows monies in the Bay-Delta Sportfishing Enhancement Stamp
fund to be used for the benefit of Bay-Delta sport fisheries,
including but not limited to striped bass, sturgeon, black
bass, halibut, salmon, surf perch, steelhead trout, and
American shad. Requires that the funds be expended consistent
with requirements of state and federal endangered species acts
and the ecosystem restoration component of CALFED.
5)Prohibits striped bass from being transported or carried out
of or into California except striped bass taken from the
Colorado River by sportfishing licensees. Allows striped bass
legally taken in another state that permits the sale of
striped bass to be imported into the state subject to Fish and
Game Commission (FGC) regulations.
6)Prohibits striped bass from being possessed aboard a
commercial fishing vessel, or by a commercial fisherman, and
prohibits striped bass from being taken by any kind of net.
Allows striped bass to be sold or offered for sale only by an
aquaculturalist, or if it was taken legally in another state.
7)The FGC by regulation sets seasons, bag limits and size limits
for take of striped bass. Current regulations establish a
statewide limit of 2 fish, 18 inches minimum in length, except
in the Colorado River District, the Southern District and
certain lakes, where the limit is 10 fish with no minimum size
restriction.
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FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : This bill makes Legislative findings that striped
bass are a harmful and highly invasive species, states
Legislative intent that promotion of the San Francisco Bay and
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta as a striped bass sport fishery be
discouraged and all legal restrictions on take of striped bass
be removed, and directs the DSC, in developing the Delta Plan,
to assess the adverse impacts of invasive species predation on
native species and make recommendations to address those
impacts. The sponsors of this bill assert that striped bass
have become a harmful and invasive species, and are a major
cause of the decline of native species, including endangered or
threatened salmon, steelhead and Delta smelt. They believe that
having the DSC evaluate predator suppression options and
recommend actions to reduce predation will help to address water
supply management and ecosystem restoration in the Delta. While
they acknowledge that striped bass predation is not the only
cause of native fish declines, they assert that too much
emphasis is being placed on water exports as the source of the
problems, and not enough on predation by these introduced
species.
Striped bass, which are native to the east coast, were
introduced into the Delta in 1879, and have been managed as a
game fish in California for the past 100 years. Striped bass
are a prized sport fish, supporting a valued and economically
important sport fishery in California, and have made the Delta a
world class destination for striped bass fishing. According to
the Department of Fish and Game's (DFG's) website, over 300,000
anglers fish for striped bass each year in the Delta, annually
catching over 200,000 fish, and spending $24 million for goods
and services directly connected with striped bass. In the1990s
DFG stocked large numbers of striped bass, which reached a
record low adult population in 1994. The federal Central Valley
Project Improvement Act (CVPIA) calls for a doubling of both
salmon and striped bass populations. DFG received a permit from
the federal government to stock striped bass in the 1990s, but
stopped stocking striped bass around 2000, when the population
reached an abundance of 1.5 million adults. At that time,
federal biologists estimated that about 1 percent of migrating
salmon and smaller numbers of Delta smelt would be impacted by
the stocking and required that stocking be stopped if the
population estimate exceeded 950,000.
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Since 2000 the striped bass population in the Delta has been in
decline. The most recent population numbers available on DFG's
website estimate adult striped bass abundance in the estuary at
approximately 800,000. Since 2000 the number of juvenile
striped bass produced in the Delta have been at record lows.
Striped bass were included in the CALFED pelagic organism
decline (POD) project, along with Delta Smelt, Longfin Smelt,
and Threadfin Shad, as conditions in the Delta are negatively
impacting all four species. According to the 2007 POD Progress
Report, trawl indices showed abundance of all four species began
to decline sharply in 2000. Abundance indices for 2002-2006
show record lows for juvenile smelt and striped bass.
Several studies on striped bass were summarized in the committee
analysis on AB 1253 (Fuller), a related bill heard by this
committee in 2009. In general, the studies showed that while it
is clear striped bass are apex predators that feed on other
small fish, including salmon and juvenile steelhead, and have
been identified as one of several stressors on these
populations, the studies were not conclusive as to whether
striped bass predation is having a population level effect on
these species. Given the complexity of the food web and
predator prey relationships, it was also unclear what the
effects of different predator control actions might be. For
instance, several fishery scientists opined that for a predator
control program to have a chance of being effective it would
necessarily have to focus on multiple species, since striped
bass also feed on other fish that in turn prey on salmon or
compete with them for food. In addition, several studies noted
that artificially created structures, like Clifton Court Forebay
and the Red Bluff Diversion Dam, create special problems by
attracting predators, and that both pumping operations and
current mitigation protocols contribute to conditions that make
fish particularly vulnerable to predation. (See the analysis on
AB 1253 for a more in depth review of various prior studies.)
The committee should be aware there are several other processes
currently ongoing where the impacts of invasive species, as one
of the other stressors on native fish in the Delta, are being
analyzed, including the following:
National Academy of Sciences (NAS) : The NAS's recently released
report on alternatives for reducing water management effects on
threatened and endangered fishes in the Delta included a section
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on other stressors, including invasive species. The report
notes that multiple other stressors affecting fish in the Delta
need to be considered, as well as their comparative importance
with respect to the effects of export pumping. Given the time
constraints, the NAS indicated they will be conducting further
study on these other stressors, which will be described in
further detail in a second NAS report to be released next year.
The NAS report does point out that a holistic approach to
managing the ecology of imperiled fishes will be required if
species declines are to be reversed. With regard to introduced
fishes, the NAS notes the Delta is a substantially altered
ecosystem, and that some of these changes likely enhance spread
of nonnative species. The report notes that striped bass and
Sacramento pikeminnow prey on juvenile Chinook salmon,
especially where they congregate below Red Bluff Diversion Dam
and other structures, and at the Suisun Marsh salinity control
gates, where they are the predominant predators of juvenile
Chinook salmon. The report also notes that other introduced
species may be even more threatening to native species, for
example, silverside, which likely prey on juvenile Delta smelt
or compete for similar copepod prey, largemouth bass, catfish,
and other species of introduced smelt such as the wakasagi. The
report notes that Delta smelt have co-existed with these
non-native fish for over 100 years before the recent declines,
and so the decline of smelt cannot be attributed entirely to
their presence. Nevertheless, some other predator species have
increased recently (though not striped bass), and their effects
on salmonids and the potential for smelt populations to recover
have not been well studied. The report is consistent with other
studies showing there is a complex and largely unknown
relationship between non-native predatory fish species and their
population level impacts on native species, and that, more
scientific analysis is to be conducted.
Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) : The BDCP steering
committee's list of proposed Other Stressor Conservation
Measures includes measures to reduce the effects of predators on
covered fish species by conducting localized predator control of
high predator density locations. The report also calls for
research on increasing the harvest of non-native predatory fish
to decrease their abundance.
Fish and Game Commission (FGC) : The FGC at their February
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meeting agreed to consider a regulatory action to relax the bag
limit and other restrictions on take of striped bass to allow
increased harvest. FGC staff was directed to prepare an
evaluation of the proposal which was scheduled for further
consideration on the FGC's April and May meeting agendas.
Pending Litigation : The committee should be aware that the
issues raised by this bill are also the subject of a lawsuit
that is currently pending in federal court before Judge Wanger.
A trial date has been set in the case for June 22, 2010.
SBX7 1 (Simitian) (Chapter 5, Statutes of 2009) : The Delta
governance legislation enacted last year requires that the Delta
Plan to be developed by the DSC include measures that promote
characteristics of a healthy ecosystem, including, among other
things, viable populations of native resident and migratory fish
species, reduced threats and stresses on the Delta ecosystem,
and conditions conducive to species recovery plans and meeting
federal salmon doubling goals. In addition, the plan is
required to include measures to promote a more reliable water
supply that, among other things, meet the needs for reasonable
and beneficial uses of water and improve water quality. SBX7 1
also requires the plan to include certain sub goals and
strategies, including measures to promote self-sustaining
populations of native and valued species by reducing risk of
take and harm from invasive species, and by improving water
quality.
SBX7 1 also requires DSC in developing the Delta Plan to
consider each of the strategies and actions in the
Administration's Delta Strategic Plan. The Delta Strategic Plan
contains several strategies related to other stressors. For
example, the Plan recommends actions to control invasive species
at existing locations and in new restoration areas, to
re-evaluate wastewater treatment plant discharges into Delta
waterways, to regulate discharges from irrigated lands, and to
reduce impacts of urban runoff.
Arguments in Support : Supporters assert this bill would ensure
a significant Delta stressor, predation on native species, would
be adequately considered in the Delta Plan development and
adoption, as a crucial part of an overall Delta solution.
Supporters assert the state has focused on the export pumps for
restrictions, but that without acknowledging and eliminating the
effects of invasive and predatory species, restrictions at the
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pumps will not restore the populations of listed fish species.
The sponsors of this bill assert data on the effects of
predation is overwhelming, and that with water shortages, job
losses and billions in economic losses, it is crucial that all
factors affecting the Delta be addressed. They note DFG
estimates striped bass consume 5.3% of the Delta smelt
population annually, and 6% of Sacramento winter-run Chinook
salmon, and that recent radio tagging surveys on the Sacramento
and San Joaquin Rivers show salmon smolt mortality at or above
50% from predator species. They assert all stressors to native
Delta species should be fully and independently analyzed, and
problems with non-natives assessed now in light of the crisis
affecting the state's salmon populations and water supply
reductions.
Arguments in Opposition : Opponents strongly oppose this bill,
particularly Section One, which states Legislative intent to
discourage promotion of the Delta as a striped bass fishery,
eliminate all programs to improve striped bass, and eliminate
all restrictions on take of the species. Opponents assert that
although there are currently no active programs to enhance
striped bass populations, this statement of intent represents a
fundamental shift in state policy away from regulation of
striped bass as a game fish. Opponents assert this bill lacks
scientific justification, and note the SWRCB science panel, at a
March 23, 2010 workshop, identified control of predatory fish as
the lowest priority item when compared with other stressors,
based on importance and likelihood of having a beneficial
effect. Opponents further assert this is a disguised effort to
obtain more water for exports by destroying a publicly owned
natural resource, when the facts show excessive water exports
from the Delta to be the main cause of the collapse of
California's anadromous and pelagic fisheries. Opponents argue
the issue of striped bass predation should be left to state and
federal fishery agencies charged with managing these resources.
Some opponents also argue a practicable alternative to this bill
would be to screen Clifton Court Forebay as required in the
CALFED Record of Decision.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Kern County Water District (co-sponsor)
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (co-sponsor)
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Modesto Irrigation District (co-sponsor)
San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority (co-sponsor)
American Society of Civil Engineers - Region 9
Association of California Water Agencies
California Cattlemen's Association
California Chamber of Commerce
California Citrus Mutual
California Cotton Ginners Association
California Cotton Growers Association
California League of Food Processors
California Manufacturers and Technology Association
Desert Water Agency
Eastern Municipal Water District
Friant Water Authority
Glenn-Colusa Irrigation District
Industrial Environmental Association
Northern California Water Association
San Diego County Water Authority
Turlock Irrigation District
Valley Ag Water Coakition
Western Agricultural Processors Association
Western Growers Association
Westlands Water District
Several individuals
Opposition
Allied Fishing Groups
Bass Classics of Santa Clara
Black Bass Action Committee
California Fly Fishers Unlimited
California Sportfishing Protection Alliance
California Striped Bass Association
Chico Flyfishers
Coastside Fishing Club
Delta Bass Tactics Club
Delta Fly Fishers
Diablo Valley Fly Fishermen
E.C.Powell Fly Fishers Fishery Foundation of CA
Eddo's Harbor & RV Park Inc.
Fly Fishers for Conservation
Fly Fishers of Davis
Friends of Butte Creek
Gold Country Fly Fishers
Golden Gate Angling & Casting Club
Golden Gate Fishermen's Association
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Golden West Women Flyfishers
Granite Bay Flycasters
Grizzly Peak Flyfishers
Mission Peak Fly Anglers
Monterey Peninsula Flycasters
Northern CA Council Federation of Fly Fishers
NORCAL Kayak Anglers
North Coast Fishermen's Association
Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations
Palo Alto Flyfishers
Pasadena Casting Club
Peninsula Fly Fishers
Recreational Fishing Alliance
Salmon Restoration Association
San Jose Flycasters
Santa Cruz Fly Fishermen
Shasta Trinity Fly Fishers
SWC Federation of Fly Fishers
Tracy Fly Fishers
Tri-Valley Fly Fishers
United Outdoorsmen, Inc.
United Pier & Shore Anglers of California
USA Fishing
Wilderness Fly Fishers
Over 100 individuals
Analysis Prepared by : Diane Colborn / W., P. & W. / (916)
319-2096