BILL ANALYSIS
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| SENATE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER |
| Senator Fran Pavley, Chair |
| 2009-2010 Regular Session |
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BILL NO: AB 2063 HEARING DATE: June 9, 2010
AUTHOR: Huffman URGENCY: No
VERSION: June 1, 2010 CONSULTANT: Katharine Moore
DUAL REFERRAL: Governmental OrganizationFISCAL: Yes
SUBJECT: Fish: Chinook salmon.
BACKGROUND AND EXISTING LAW
Anadromous salmonid species native to California include the
Chinook, coho, pink and chum salmon as well as steelhead and
coastal cutthroat trout. Anadromous fish are born in fresh,
cold water streams, migrate to the ocean and then return to
spawn in the stream of their birth. Several distinct
populations of Chinook salmon have existed in California for
hundreds of years and longer. In the past these runs have
supported thriving commercial and recreational fisheries. The
first commercial harvest in California of Chinook salmon was in
the 1850s. Chinook salmon have also played a major role in
shaping California's history, including serving as an important
food source and cultural icon for indigenous peoples and early
European settlers. Further, anadromous salmonids are important
components of the local fresh water, estuarine and oceanic food
webs and ecosystems throughout their life-cycles. In recent
years, all Chinook salmon runs in California have been in
decline, and two of the four distinct runs (i.e. populations) in
the Central Valley have been listed under the state and federal
endangered species acts. Many of the other salmonid species in
California are also threatened, endangered or "species of
concern" under one or both of these laws.
The Central Valley Chinook fall run is the mainstay of the
recreational and commercial salmon industry in California and
much of the Pacific Coast. Due to the wide-ranging geographic
distribution of California's salmon in the ocean and other
factors, both federal and state agencies are involved in salmon
management in California. During the last decade, Central
Valley fall run Chinook populations have dropped dramatically -
95% - from 738,000 returning adult fish in 2002 to only 39,500
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in 2009. In response to this precipitous decline, the Chinook
salmon fishery was closed in 2008 and 2009. Fishery closure was
an unprecedented step and economically devastating to the
fishery industry with financial and employment losses estimated
at over $2 billion and 23,000 jobs, respectively. Scientific
study has primarily attributed the sudden collapse in the 2008
and 2009 returning salmon populations that forced the closure of
the fishery to shifts in the timing of ocean upwelling in 2005
and 2006 when these salmon originally entered the ocean.
Existing fishery management practices, however, including the
predominance of hatchery-derived fish in the Chinook fall run,
likely produced a salmon population more susceptible to wide
gyrations in number. Further, the overall multi-decadal decline
in anadromous salmonid populations from the regular runs of
millions reported in the 19th century to today is associated
with large scale loss and degradation of habitat resulting from
the settling and development of California, poor timber
management practices, and the introduction of non-native
predator species, among others .
The Salmon, Steelhead Trout, and Anadromous Fisheries Program
Act (c. 1054, Statutes of 1988) established a state policy to
significantly increase the natural production of salmon by 2000.
It directed the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) to develop a
plan and program to double the natural production of salmon.
Federal law - the Central Valley Project Improvement Act - also
establishes a goal of doubling natural salmon production.
California has two state fish: The Golden Trout (fresh water,
designated in 1947) and the Garibaldi (marine, designated in
1993).
PROPOSED LAW
This bill:
(i) makes various findings and declarations with respect to
Chinook salmon and other salmonid species and their value
to the state;
(ii) establishes a state goal to recover Chinook salmon and
other salmonid species to sustainable levels within a
decade;
(iii) calls on the Department of
Fish and Game and the Fish and Game Commission to work
collaboratively with other stakeholders to restore
salmonid populations using science-based methods; and
(iv) names Chinook salmon the state anadromous fish.
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT
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The author argues that "this bill seeks to promote public
education of the unique values and benefits of Chinook salmon to
the state by designating Chinook salmon as the official state
anadromous fish. It also proclaims a state goal to restore
Chinook salmon to sustainable levels, sufficient to support
viable recreational, commercial and tribal fisheries" and states
legislative intent that the "best available science" be used in
planning efforts to promote salmon population recovery.
The Crab Boat Owners Association argue succinctly that "these
last couple years of no salmon fishing has been extremely hard
on our members and their families." Further, the California
Association of Professional Scientists state that "restoring
California's salmon population to sustainable levels is vital to
the ecosystem."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION
While acknowledging restoration of California's salmon runs is
"an honorable goal", the Association of California Water
Agencies believes "the bill should reflect the co-equal goals of
providing a more reliable water supply and restoring the Delta
ecosystem which the legislature followed in the passage of last
year's legislative water package. The bill states the intent of
restoring Chinook salmon within a decade, which seems like an
arbitrary time deadline."
"Furthermore, there are currently numerous environmental laws
and regulations which are intended to provide for the
protections of endangered or threatened species such as the
Chinook salmon. Placing an arbitrary timeline on the
restoration of the species would only complicate matters
further."
COMMENTS
There is a 2010 commercial and recreational salmon season in
California. While extremely limited in duration and catch, the
Pacific Fisheries Management Council recommended opening the
2010 salmon season. The California Fish and Game Commission
recently adopted this recommendation. The committee may want to
consider minor revisions to the text of the bill to reflect this
(amendment 1).
What is a science-based approach to restore salmonid
populations? In recent years, considerable scientific research
has been undertaken in order to understand salmonid population
dynamics that are relevant to California. This research is, in
part, motivated by the listing or potential listing of many of
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the salmonid species under the state or federal endangered
species acts as well as the general declining trend in observed
salmonid populations over the last 160 years. Study of the
peer-reviewed technical literature indicates that several proven
and robust concepts are widely-held within the expert scientific
community with respect to recovering salmonid populations. The
committee may want to consider adding these concepts to this
bill (amendment 2).
Is restoration of the Delta ecosystem relevant to this bill? It
is important to recognize that not all of California's
anadromous fish populations pass through the Sacramento/San
Joaquin River Delta. Therefore the co-equal goals recognized by
the Legislature (section 29702 (a), Public Resources Code) in
2009 are not wholly relevant here. Further, the primary code
section modified by this bill is contained in the Salmon,
Steelhead Trout, and Anadromous Fisheries Program Act in the
Fish and Game Code (sections 6900 - 6930) and is consistent with
the overall intent of the Act to increase anadromous fish
populations. The importance of the surrounding ecosystem to
salmonid populations - and the vital role salmonid populations
play in the ecosystem - is recognized within the scientific
community (see amendment 2).
Is the one decade timeframe scientifically defensible?
California's anadromous salmonid species have diverse natural
life histories and life spans. Native anadromous species, with
the exception of the coastal cutthroat trout which may spawn
more than once, die shortly after spawning. Specifically,
Chinook salmon live 2 - 5 years, although most spawn at 3 years.
Coho salmon primarily spawn at three years with a few returning
at two. The other native anadromous species live broadly
similar amounts of time, although some of the trout may live
slightly longer (pink salmon (2 years), chum salmon (mostly 3 -
5 years), steelhead trout (3 - 7 years), and coastal cutthroat
(4 - 7 years, with first spawning occurring at 4)). Ten years,
therefore, represents roughly three or more generations of
Chinook, pink and coho salmon and 2 - 3 generations of steelhead
and coastal cutthroat trout, and chum salmon. Three generations
are generally considered the minimum necessary from a biological
perspective to assess trends in population. While salmonid
populations may fluctuate sharply from year-to-year due to
varying external environmental conditions, ten years represents
a reasonable assessment point in order to determine the state's
progress in restoring populations. Furthermore, not all
salmonid runs are listed as threatened or endangered pursuant to
either the federal or California endangered species acts.
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SUGGESTED AMENDMENTS
AMENDMENT 1
Page 3, lines 6 - 7: Replace "the last two years" with "in
2008 and 2009" and
Page 3, lines 22 - 24: Replace "It is anticipated that if
the salmon season is closed again in 2010 as many as 30
percent of the remaining businesses will fail." with "The
extremely limited duration of the 2010 commercial and
recreational salmon seasons may be inadequate to support
all of the remaining businesses."
AMENDMENT 2
Page 4, lines 13 - 17: Replace "In implementing this
goal, it is the intent of the Legislature that the
department utilize best available science, a life cycle
analysis, and scientifically driven hatchery operations in
determining where to focus and prioritize conservation
planning efforts for recovery of Chinook salmon and other
salmonid species." with "In implementing this goal, it is
the intent of the Legislature that the department utilize
the best available science in determining where to focus
and prioritize conservation planning efforts for recovery
of Chinook salmon and other salmonid species. This
includes, but is not limited to, an integrated management
approach to ensure the health of the ecosystems the
salmonids depend upon, a life-cycle analysis, conservation
of salmonid genetic diversity to promote population
resilience, and sufficient data collection efforts to
support and adaptively manage scientifically-defensible
hatchery operations."
SUPPORT
American Sportfishing Association
California Association of Professional Scientists
California Trout
Coastside Fishing Club
Crab Boat Owners Association, Inc.
East Bay Municipal Utility District
Golden Gate Fishermen's Association
Johnson Hicks Marine Electronics
Monterey Fish Market
The Nature Conservancy
Northern California/Nevada Council Federation of Fly Fishers
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Outer Limits
Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations
RFJ Meiswinkel Company
Trout Unlimited
Water 4 Fish
One individual
OPPOSITION
Association of California Water Agencies
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