Comment on California Department of Fish & Game's Hatchery and Stocking Program

The California Department of Fish & Game is soliciting comments now is for their hatchery and fish stocking programs. This is one big convoluted mess, so bear with me.

Historically, Fish & Game was all about sportsmen. Hunters, fishermen, etc. etc. Only since the late 60s/early 70s has its focus started to change somewhat, from managing the state's resources for hunter/fisher folk to shoot at or pick off, to protecting and conserving the resources for their own sake. However, old habits die hard. Fishermen used to be able to catch lots of fish, BIG fish, in lots of different places. Human overpopulation, pollution, water diversions and land conversion have drastically affected fish populations and so there just aren't that many places for big fish left any more. Fishermen don't want to hear such excuses, they just want their fish. So, a few years back the fishing lobby got someone in the state assembly to write a bill forcing Fish & Game to increase their stocking each year by a certain percentage. After that was passed, Fish & Game got sued by the Center for Biological Diversity on the ground that their stocking practices violated the law and were ecologically unsound. Funny? Allow me to explain.

We've already established that Fish & Game was originally formed to serve the state's sportsmen. Also already established is that sportsmen like their target species plentiful and large. Fish & Game has stocked rainbow trout all over the state since the late 1800s, and with the advent of aerial stocking in the 1940s, it was even easier to sprinkle trout in all sorts of places, such as the high Sierra where they had not been present since before the last glaciation 10,000 years ago. Without fish present, other species had a chance to thrive there, such as the mountain yellow legged frog. Another form of trout, the cutthroat trout, also had a chance to evolve into many different variations (Wikipedia lists 14), many of which are unique to Sierra streams, and none of which can compete with the hardier, far more aggressive rainbows. The lawsuit is forcing a full environmental impact report (EIR) be done by Fish & Game before they are allowed to resume stocking.

Please take a moment to share your thoughts. Visit Fish & Game's website and click on the red link on the right side for "Public Notices". It will take you to a different window which will list the public hearings scheduled on this issue and also a way for you to submit your comments. Consider bookmarking it so you can keep up on all the latest and greatest at Fish & Game.