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CSPA Supports Fish and Game Commission’s Proposed Regulation Changes: Putah Creek, Alameda Creek, Nacimiento River and Others

by Chris Shutes, FERC Projects Director

September 13, 2009 -- The California Fish and Game Commission has announced several proposed changes in fishing regulations. A comment period for these proposed changes began in late August and will run through mid-October.
 
CSPA supports the proposed changes. They are:
 
·         Putah Creek wild trout designation and zero bag limit. Putah Creek is no longer being stocked, and fish numbers are down. CSPA has been supportive of the efforts of Putah Creek Trout for several months. Links to this group’s sign-on letters can be found here.
 
·         Alameda Creek special regulations. The Alameda Creek Alliance has a multi-year effort underway to restore steelhead to Alameda Creek, by providing both fish passage and instream flow enhancements. The proposed closure of Alameda Creek to fishing will help preserve genetic stock and protect the remaining native strains of trout that will be used to replenish a native run of steelhead to the largest local (non-Delta) tributary to San Francisco Bay.
 
·         Nacimiento River catch and release angling. Trout have been found in the Nacimento River that testing revealed were the offspring of steelhead. The Department of Fish and Game has a policy of not stocking fish where steelhead are present, so stocking of this water has been discontinued. CSPA supports this policy statewide, not only in the Nacimiento River. The current bag limit was based on the presence of stocked fish. The new regulation will allow fishing, but require fish that are caught to be released.
 
·         Lake Sonoma reduced bag limit of rainbow trout to two fish. These fish are remnant steelhead stock that has survived since Warm Springs Dam blocked passage of fish. These fish spawn in upper Dry Creek and other tributaries. Their numbers are down.
 
·         Lake Perris (southern California) size limit for bass. The amount of water in the lake has been reduced because of dam safety considerations, and numbers of bass are down.
 
·         Create bag limits for Pacific Lamprey and Sacramento Splittail. The populations of these species are severely depressed. Splittail were de-listed as threatened from the federal Endangered Species Act, but should not have been.
 
·         Create a bag limit for sunfish and combine it with the bag limit for Crappie. These fish are increasingly being sold commercially.
 
·         Allow year-round fishing for tilapia except in waters with special regulations.
 
For more information, see the Fish and Game Commission website at
 
http://www.fgc.ca.gov/
 
Members of the public can address the Commission regarding any or all of the rule changes at Commission meetings on October 1 and November 4 and 5. These meetings will be held at the Yolo Fliers Club, 17980 County Road 94B, Woodland, California.
 
The Commission will make its decision on the proposed changes at its meeting on December 10 and 11 in West Sacramento (The Ziggurat Auditorium, 707 Third Street, 1st floor).
 
Members of the public can also write letters of support to the Commission at
 
California Fish and Game Commission
1416 Ninth Street, Room 1320
Sacramento, CA 95814

Proposed Regulation Changes