Scientists need your help!

Some of you may know, but the fish populations in the San Francisco Bay-Delta Estuary are experiencing record low numbers of young fish.  Of the specie in decline are the striped bass, delta smelt, longfin smelt, threadfin shad.  Many of you are frequent fishers of striped bass in San Pablo Bay.  Scientist are curious about what striped bass are eating since a significant proportion of pre-adult/adult striped bass consume juvenile striped bass and shad.  I have also noted that the favorate lure/colors for striped bass are near perfect mimics of delta smelt and longfin smelt.  Your task if wish to accept this assignment: Identify what species striped bass are eating.  This can be done by simply dissecting out the stomach contents of fish you bring home, or ID'ing barffed up fish.  Take pictures of the diet if you can and post on this site for identification or if you are inclined you can check out pictures on fishbase.org or I can post pix if the interest it there.  If there is enough interest I could put together a little demo/workshop.  Your participation would be appreciated; I can only catch so many fish. 

Cheers

Jim InSeine Hobbs

Hey Jim I am going to sticky this and move it over to the fishing reports forum so people will remember.

Bill, how many points per inch do we get for longest stomach contents?

-Allen

I am not even going to go there 

This has an indirect ty in to something I read on another fishing forum. There is a move afoot to pump even more water out of the Delta. They want to build a dam and  back up more water. It's in the courts now, but the bad news is the Bay and the Delta appear to be pretty much doomed because the water they already take out of the system has nearly eliminated the brackish water breeding areas.

The problem is there is not enough brackish water (fresh and salt water mixing). The brackish water is important to a lot of bait fish, lamprey eels and other things that the fish we like to catch eat. Stripers, Sturgeon, Founder populations are going down in the Bay. The problem is our water is getting shipped south to grow avacadoes and oranges.

Long Live the Peripheral Canal!


seems like i've heard this nightmare before...I'll be happy to participate, but I rarely keep the stripers, so you'll have to rely on barfed up bait.

I'll be happy to participate, but I rarely keep the stripers

http://www.northernangler.mb.ca/onlinecatalog/accessories/misc/stomachpump.html

Are lamprey actually a positive?

MolBasser

Are lamprey actually a positive?

I think the decline of any native species is a bad sign.
Their life cycle is very similar to the salmon, looks as they are both in trouble.

If you make it this far past all the barf talk, here is some good info regarding the SDIP (South Delta Improvement Project)...

There is only about a week left to solicit public opinion, then the project moves to the next phase.

http://www.californiadelta.org/political.html

http://velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us/pipermail/env-trinity/2005/000617.html

Given the push to export more water by water contractors, the best way to stop the SDIP is to contact Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. We urge you to ask the Governor to stop the SDIP and any additional Delta export projects until the ecology and fisheries of the estuary are restored.

You can email the Governor by going to http://www.govmail.ca.gov where you can fill out the email form and send it to the Governor’s office. Or you can send a letter or card to him at:

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814

You can also call or fax his office:

Phone: 916-445-2841
Fax: 916-445-4633

The message is simple, ask the Governor to stop the plans of the Department of Water Resources to implement the South Delta Improvement Project and the export of any additional water out of Delta until our estuary and its fisheries are restored.

You can mention that DWR’s recently released Bulletin 160 clearly demonstrates that the state’s water needs will be met for at least the next decade with the existing water infrastructure. There is no water crisis to justify the destruction of the Delta! It is time to raise our collective voice. The estuary is truly at stake!

If you would like to send a more detailed letter to the Governor, a sample letter follows:

Date

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814

Dear Governor Schwarzenegger:

I am writing to urge you to stop the efforts by your Department of Water Resources to increase the export of fresh water out of the Delta. Given the ecological value of the Delta as a public resource which meets a variety of water needs for the state, the recent collapse of its food-web is a disaster of unparalleled significance. The future of the Bay-Delta estuary and its vitally important public fishery resources is at stake.

As you may know some 60% of the fresh water that flows into the Delta is exported out of the system for agricultural (85%) and urban consumption (15%). Over the past several months agency scientists have confirmed that the estuary’s capacity to produce the food-web that sustains critical populations of fish and wildlife has collapsed!

I believe your leadership is needed to halt all efforts to increase Delta exports, including the South Delta Improvement Project, until the problems that have caused this catastrophe are determined and solutions implemented that have restored the estuary and its fishery resources.

Given the fact that DWR’s recently released Bulletin 160 clearly demonstrates that the state’s water needs will be met for at least the next decade with the existing water infrastructure, it is imperative to stop additional exports planning until the long promised restoration of the estuary and its fishery resources is accomplished!

Sincerely,

(Your name and address)

On Behalf of the Allied Fishing Groups

To contact CSPA and the Allied Fishing Groups for further information, send your email to: [email protected] or call 510-526-4049


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jackson L. Chapman, President Sacramento Chapter of the CSBA
5042 Caviar Court
Fair Oaks, CA 95628
Home: (916) 863-6285
Cell: (916) 730-5417
Fax: (866) 615-7658
E-mail: [email protected]

Stomach contents- 1 whole crawdad, an additional claw and a few scales of unknown origin, Afew onions and some broth and its almost gumbo. It came from a 20 inck striper on the American at Fair-oaks bridge.