09/11/2023
Urgent: California's fall Chinook/King salmon run in the Sacramento River is facing closure for the first time since 2008-2009, these fish are on the verge of disappearing unless some harsh realities are faced. Record-low returns of 61k adult salmon in 2022📉 – far below the required 122k by federal law. We need action NOW to save them!
Some major factors: Drought, habitat loss, and poor water management. In 2019, an intense drought devastated the Chinook salmon population, resulting in significantly low returns last year. Dam construction, agriculture, and timber operations have also played a part in reducing available habitats and harming water quality.
Some solutions: Better water management, more equitable reservoir release schedules, and the use of hatcheries. While there's opposition to hatchery-raised salmon, these fish come from natural spawning stock and share the same DNA as their wild counterparts. They've been used in salmon restoration efforts across the Pacific for years. Raising and releasing more hatchery fish and constructing new hatcheries can help counter the losses of natural spawning stocks. 🐟
⚠️ The stakes: We're on the verge of another salmon fishery collapse, like the one in 2009 that caused up to $2bn in economic losses, forced 1,200 fishing boats to stay moored, and resulted in up to 23k job losses. We can't afford to wait for lengthy litigation to resolve this issue. If there are no fish, there is no fishing industry. 🎣
It’s common sense: We don’t have the luxury of waiting for years or decades of litigation to play out. Let's act now to protect our precious Chinook/King salmon and the livelihoods of those in the fishing industry before it's too late!
This is a 2 pronged action. The 1st action tab is for all (including Cali residents) and the 2nd action tab is specifically for Cali residents to reach both state and federal reps based on their address.
Read more on website. Then reach a multitude of decision makers. Not a form letter or canned message!
Link in story, profile and web at :https://www.howlforwildlife.org/casalmon
Take Action - Save California’s Chinook Salmon — support common sense solutions. 1 action tab for all sportsmen and the 2nd specifically designed for California Residents.
