This was the second of two public meetings that the DFG agreed to conduct after many anglers showed up at a Fish and Game Commission meeting on February 2 to protest a DFG emergency regulation change proposal. The measure would restrict sturgeon fishing to catch and release from March 1 through June 30 on the Sacramento River above Highway 12 and on the San Joaquin River above Interstate Five.

Larry Week, Branch Chief of the DFG’s Native Anadromous Fish and Watershed Branch, and Marty Gingras, DFG fishery biologist, gave a short history of the sturgeon fishery. The DFG decided to propose the emergency regulations, along with other measures, after they uncovered a dramatic downward trend in the sturgeon population during trammel net surveys in September and October in San Pablo Bay.

The population declined from 144,000 legal-sized fish in 1997-98 to 70,000 in 2001-2002. However, the DFG became very concerned when the population in September and October 2005 dropped to 10,000 fish.

“We were concerned about the data showing a decline in 2001-2002, but sturgeon populations are known to fluctuate wildly, so this wasn’t a red flag,” he explained. “Sturgeon may go over a decade before they produce a strong year class; one or two year classes normally sustain the fishery. We thought that the fish from 1993 would be a strong year class until we discovered that the estimated population had declined from 70,000 to 10,000 fish in our 2005 survey.”

Week estimates that only 2,000 females would be going up to spawn in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers this season – and it was necessary to institute an emergency closure to protect the remaining fish.

He said the annual recreational sturgeon harvest rate is approximately 10 percent. “If every tenth fish is being caught each year, we don’t think this is a sustainable fishery,” he said.

Other factors, including illegal poaching and natural mortality, amount to another 15 percent, combining to make an annual mortality rate of 25 percent. “Besides changing the regulations, we are trying to figure out ways to improve the sturgeon habitat,” said Week.

After Week and Gingras made presentations, they and other DFG staffers, including Sonke Mastrup and Dennis Lee, took questions and suggestions from the crowd of sturgeon anglers and party boat skippers. Prominent charter boat captains including Jim Smith, Erik Anfinson, James Smith, Rich Tipton and Steve Talmadge attended the meeting.

Keith Fraser, past president of United Anglers of California and owner of Loch Lomond Live Bait and Tackle, and Abe Cuanang, sturgeon expert and book author, attended and spoke out at the meeting. Donna Santiago of Martinez Bait and Tackle and Debbie Vinje of Leonard’s Bait Shop also gave their input.

The discussion was wide ranging and heated at times, with no real consensus reached, since sturgeon anglers are a very diverse bunch. Some anglers contended the fishery was relatively healthy, while others claimed it was definitely on the decline.

However, virtually nobody agreed with the DFG’s current population estimate of 10,000 fish. Many spoke out for more law enforcement against poaching and in favor of more restrictive slot limits and the institution of a sturgeon punch card.

Keith Fraser made some of the most hard-hitting and humorous comments during the meeting in criticizing the DFG’s data collection process.

“I put very little credence based on netting and tagging sturgeon in San Pablo Bay in September and October when the fish are not there,” said Fraser. “The population in the bay shifts from year to year for a number of reasons. If the DFG statistics are so accurate, why did it take so long to register alarm?”

“Where did the 134,000 fish go to? Did Abe Cuanang catch them all? Did they pack their bags and go to Guatemala? How did we lose 134,000 of these prehistoric creatures in eight years?” emphasized Fraser.

Although Fraser acknowledged an overall decline in sturgeon numbers, he noted that the sturgeon fishing for private boaters has been very good this season.

“A seagull knows about as much about sturgeon as does the DFG and all of the people in this room. All we really know is that we don’t know very much,” quipped Fraser, to a lot of applause and laughter.

“The three P’s – Pumping, Poachers and Pollution – are the main culprits in the decline of sturgeon and all of our species.” he emphasized. “If the latest scam by the state and federal governments to export more water from the Delta comes to fruition, our fisheries are in a tremendously bad situation.”

Rich Tipton of Lucky Strike Charters said he was having one of his best sturgeon fishing seasons ever, an apparent contradiction to the DFG data. “We caught 78 keepers and 285 shakers so far this season and I only fish 3 days per week,” he said.

He said that the DFG should make an increased effort to apprehend sturgeon poachers if it believes there is a serious decline in the population.

On the other hand, Jim Smith, captain of the Happy Hooker, said, “I think the numbers of sturgeon have gone down greatly because the water is going south in the state and federal pumps. We used to put 86 sturgeon in the boat in four days when the fishing was good. Now it takes a whole season to do that.”

To supplement the number of sturgeon lost to the fishery because of water exports, Smith said he’d like to have the DFG develop a fish hatchery program to raise sturgeon.

“We definitely need to do something to protect sturgeon now,” said Bob Strickland, president of United Anglers of California. He supported instituting a sturgeon report card, putting more wardens on the water and implementing a slot limit. He also said he plans to bring up the concept of a sturgeon hatchery in an upcoming meeting of the Bay Delta Stamp Committee.

Mike LaRocco of the Recreational Fishing Alliance said he was against more closures, such as a night fishing closure. “Considering the DFG data, we need to err on the side of caution. We want to improve the fishery so we have it around to the future,” he stated.

Rather than penalizing anglers, he suggested as solutions increased penalties for poaching, a punch card limiting an angler to a number of sturgeon each season, more education of anglers and better service by the CALTIP.

Dale Myer of Coastside Fishing Club urged the DFG to stop crisis management of species. “Instead of managing one species at a time, why don’t you look at the big picture?” he asked DFG officials.

The DFG staff will incorporate the suggestions gathered at the Yuba City and Vallejo public input meetings and present them before the Fish and Game Commission at their meeting in Riverside on March 2. The Commission is then expected to make a decision based on the information they are presented.

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