The time has come for the 1992 law intended to boost California’s striped bass population to be scaled back. The striped bass is a non-native fish species introduced into our region’s ecosystem in the late 19th Century primarily for the purpose of sports fishing. The unintended consequence of promoting the population of this species is the decimation of the native species, particularly the juvenile salmon since the striped bass is a predator of native species of fish.
While doubling the striped bass population was a goal of the 1992 Central Valley Project Improvement Act, it was also intended to double the populations of native fish throughout the region. Clearly these goals cannot go hand in hand. Congressman Jeff Denham (R-Turlock) is pushing for reform of the Save Our Salmon Act of 2016, a bill that ends the law’s doubling goal regarding striped bass. Congress and the Obama Administration should support this reasonable reform.
The Save Our Salmon Act of 2016 can be read here.
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