Petition to Protect Delta Fish Declined

By The Sacramento Bee, Calif.

Oct. 12–State wildlife officials Thursday declined an emergency petition to protect another Delta fish under the California Endangered Species Act, saying the request failed to prove an urgent threat.

A trio of environmental groups including the Bay Institute submitted the petition to the California Fish and Game Commission at its meeting in Concord. They said a sharp decline in the longfin smelt population in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta justifies immediate protection. The longfin is a close cousin of the Delta smelt, which is already protected and also declining.

Tina Swanson of the Bay Institute said longfin numbers in the Delta fell 96 percent this summer relative to the preceding four years, based on state survey data. The decline may be related to factors affecting Delta smelt, including water diversions, poor water quality and invasive species.

“In my view, that represents a very, very serious level of concern for this fish. It represents an emergency,” said Swanson.

Commissioners agreed the longfin is at risk but said the petition didn’t prove extinction is likely and therefore failed to meet the legal standard for emergency protection. The commission ordered the Department of Fish and Game to review the petition by December and may consider listing the fish under a normal rule-making process after that.

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Copyright (c) 2007, The Sacramento Bee, Calif.

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