While We Talk of More Dams and Peripheral Canals, Another Delta Species Endangered-- The Longfin Smelt

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Dan Bacher

As Governor Arnold "Fish Terminator" Schwarzenegger continues to campaign for more dams and the peripheral canal ("conveyance"), the Department of Fish and Game is seeking public input on a petition to list longfin smelt under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA).

The California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) announced on June 20 that it is seeking public input regarding a petition to list longfin smelt (Spirinchus thaleichthys), another victim of years of abysmal water management by the state and federal governments, under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA).

The California Fish and Game Commission is currently considering the petition to list the fish as "threatened" or "endangered" under CESA. The Bay Institute, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Natural Resources Defense Council filled the petition on Aug. 14, 2007 after the longfin smelt, along with its cousin, the delta smelt, declined to record levels after record levels of water were exported out of the California Delta by the state and federal governments.

By operation of law, longfin smelt became a “candidate species” under the CESA when the Commission found that the petition contained sufficient information to warrant further consideration, according to a news release from the DFG.

"Pursuant to the provisions of Section 2074.6 of the Fish and Game Code, DFG must complete a status review of the species and provide a written report to the commission that recommends - based upon the best scientific information available - whether listing the longfin smelt as threatened or endangered under CESA is warranted," the DFG stated. "DFG plans to submit its report to the commission in January 2009 and seeks information from the public to help formulate its recommendation."

The longfin smelt is a small native fish that migrates from salty water to spawn in fresh water. In California the fish are found mostly in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and San Francisco Bay.