The California Department of Fish & Game (DFG) completed and filed the Hatchery and Stocking Program Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement (EIR/EIS) earlier this year.
DFG has been stocking both inland and anadromous fish species in the inland waters of California since the late 1800s. It stocks trout in approved waters in high mountain lakes, low elevation reservoirs and various streams and creeks throughout the state. Salmon have been planted mostly in rivers and direct tributaries to the Pacific Ocean, with the exception of inland kokanee, coho and Chinook salmon populations, which have historically been planted in reservoirs for recreational fishing.
A link to approved DFG stocking can be found at http://dfg.ca.gov/fish/Hatcheries/FishPlanting/Evaluation.asp. It will be updated with completed pre-stocking assessments and with scheduled plantings.
DFG officials vowed to implement mitigation measures and monitoring protocols identified in the EIR/EIS to reduce stocking impacts to native species.
Before being stocked, each state water body will be evaluated to determine whether stocking can take place with little or no impact to native species.
DFG is developing a source of sterile hatchery rainbow trout and will prioritize planting those triploid, or sterile, trout in waters that have a potential connection with native steelhead waters.
The EIR/EIS also covers the operation of hatcheries , stocking of those fish, issuance of private stocking permits, the Fishing in the City Program and the Classroom Aquarium Education Program.
DFG's mitigation meassures were also included in the document. Many state residents expressed concern over the declining status of native mountain yellow-legged frogs in high elevation lakes and possible impacts of introduced trout.
Since 1998, DFG has been removing previously stocked hatchery trout from dozens of frog habitats, eliminated stocking in waters with existing frog populations and selectively planted areas where the frog is not present, and where stocking improves angling, offficial said.
The final EIR/EIS is the culmination of a two and a half year effort to evaluate and analyze impacts of fish stocking on certain California native species. The review was ordered by the Sacramento Superior Court in July 2007, in response to a lawsuit by the Pacific Rivers Council and the Center for Biological Diversity. DFG's filing of this document addresses the court's requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
Joe Segura, a mild-mannered reporter for a major metropolitan newspaper, has covered Gotham City, er Long Beach, for 34 years. During his very, very long -- endless -- tenure, he's covered almost every beat, and he was the main writer for BeachWeek, which focused on life and lifestyles of the shoreline communities from downtown Long Beach to the Huntington Beach pier.
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