Sporting Classics Digital

S P O R T I N G C L A S S I C S 1 6 8 Continued from page 10 Chinook Taxi The historic drought in California is affecting the state's hatchery program and fishing industry. Generally, the state releases chinook salmon smolts into rivers that feed into the Sacramento River Delta. From there, the smolts migrate through the delta and on to the Pacific. This year, however, the little fish would likely not survive the trip as river levels are too low and water temperatures are too high to offer a safe pathway to the sea. So, the state has trucked 12 million smolts from a federal hatchery and another 18 million from state-run hatcheries to San Pablo Bay, which is part of the delta and where the fingerlings will be held in pens before release. California's commercial and recreational fishing industry generates $1.5 billion annually, and it depends heavily on the hatchery fish that typically migrate from Sacramento River Delta to the sea and back. The transport of the smolts is an emergency measure to help insure the long-term feasibility of the fishing industry. Salmon released this year will be among the mature fish that return to the delta in a few years. The Pacific Fishery Management Council predicts more than 630,000 chinooks will return to the delta this fall. That's fewer than in 2012 but more than enough to support the fishing season. California endured its driest year on record in 2013. Across the state, according to Bloomberg News, reservoirs ebbed one-third below normal. Gov. Jerry Brown has called for a voluntary 20 percent cut in water use, and restrictions are mandatory in some areas. Snowfall in the mountains, which melts and helps fill lakes and rivers, is only a quarter of it has been historically. Since the beginning of 2014 more than 800 wildfires have broken out since – three times the norm.

• Cover