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AB 1253, the "Striper Predation Bill" (Fuller) Dies in Senate Appropriations Committee

by John Beuttler, CSPA Conservation Director
September 1, 2009 -- When AB 1253, the “Striper Predation Bill” was introduced Assemblymember Fuller of Bakersfield in February, it was intended to eradicate the Bay-Delta striped bass fishery. CSPA in conjunction with other sportfishing groups, including the strong support from Striperfest, The NCCFFF and members of the scientific community, rallied to oppose the bill. Seeing the bill would not pass the State Assembly’s Water, Parks & Wildlife Committee Hearing, the bill’s author “gutted and amended” the bill during its hearing before the Committee.
 
Several “consultants,” some water district from the Central Valley, and the Metropolitan Water District supported Assemblymember Fuller’s efforts to amend the bill to do more studies on the impacts striped bass have on species listed under the Endangered Species Acts. CSPA, in concert with Save the Delta a grass roots organization formed by the people on Dan Blanton’s fishing website, the Bay Institute and David Ostrach (Phd. U.C. Davis) all argued against the need for further studies before a packed hearing room full of angry anglers, including a strong contingent from the California Striped Bass Association.
           
The author’s initial amendments were modified by the Committee and the bill dropped any reference to striped bass and instead sought a scientific review of the studies that have been conducted on the impacts of predation by a number of species to salmon. The bill was passed by the Committee following an amendment by Chairman Huffman that required additional analysis of the impacts caused to Delta fisheries by the operation of the State Water Project and an evaluation of the project’s mitigation of those impacts.
 
With the amendments in place, CSPA changed its position and supported the bill, since it held out hope that the long overdue review of the slaughter at the CVP and SWP pumps along with the insufficient mitigation for that damage would be one of the two topics the bill would address.
 
AB 1253 recently failed to pass the Senate Appropriations Committee and died an ignoble death due in large part to amendments added in the Senate Appropriations Committee. For unknown reasons, while there, much of the objectionable language was added back to the bill. CSPA again changed its position to opposition to the bill due to those amendments. We had argued that it was waste of money to do an additional scientific review of predation because all the peer reviewed science on the subject demonstrated that predation impacts are so low they do not have an impact on the population of the estuary’s salmon and Delta smelt populations. Further, similar language in the bill had been removed at the Assembly level. A conference with the two committees resolved the issue and the offending language was again removed but, at that point the bill was apparently doomed.
           
CSPA would like to commend the many individual anglers and those from a number of sportfishing groups who rallied to oppose this vindictive and unnecessary legislation! This effort was a clear statement that together we can make a significant difference in protecting our fisheries.