CSPA Advisory - Letter writing instructions for AB 1253

[CSPA Webmaster]

CSPA Action Alert 3-18-09
Legislation to Eradicate Striped Bass Fisheries Introduced! We need your letters and support!
AB 1253 (Fuller) Would abort the management of the public’s striped bass fishery, open it to unlimited harvest, and send it to oblivion.

Apparently not satisfied that the litigation filed last year by agricultural interests will succeed, Assembly Woman Jean Fuller (R-Bakersfield) has introduced legislation to eradicate the fishery. She’s the front person for certain Corporate agricultural growers and irrigation districts in the Central Valley that believe it is fine to destroy a legendary public fishery to enhance their economic interests. They justify this based upon the contention that striped bass predation of ESA listed species impacts their ability to receive water from the Delta.

AB 1253 would prohibit the importing, shipping, transporting, or planting of striped bass in any water within the state. It would fine any person who violates that prohibition up to $10,000. The bill would require the Department of Fish and Game to adopt regulations to carry out these provisions and it deletes all harvest restrictions that currently protect striped bass from commercialization. The bill would also delete the striped bass fishery from the fisheries for which Bay-Delta Sport Fishing Enhancement Stamp revenues are to be used.

The proponents of this bill justify their striped bass litigation in part because of their belief that stripers eat and cause jeopardy to Delta smelt protected under the Endangered Species Acts. When that misinformation was exposed as false based on the best science available in the opinions of the state’s foremost fishery scientists that include Peter Moyle, Matt Nobriga and David Ostrach, the proponents simply changed their propaganda to say the stripers eat salmon and steelhead protected under the ESA. However, science shows the minute predation caused by striper bass is not a significant factor in the decline of winter-run and spring-run salmon and steelhead.

Science also shows that the most critical factor in the decline of the Delta’s productivity and its fisheries is WATER EXPORT! But, instead of solving that problem, these pillars of industry have put a full court press on destroying fisheries that get in their way. They are attacking sport fishing in the state because it stands in the way of their power play to eliminate anything they believe will stop them from getting water out of the Delta.

They don’t care about the science, or about the collapse of all the fisheries dependent on the estuary over the past years. And, they don’t give a darn about our state’s sport fishing industry that generates some $4 billion a year to the state’s economy, or about the salmon fishing closures and the destruction of the lives that hang in the balance.

They don’t care about you or your quality of life! They are conducting an undeclared war and you and the fishing you hold so dear are the target.

Should they succeed in eradicating stripers, they will target the Delta’s black bass (largemouth) fishery, the smallmouth, American shad, crappie and any other fish that have a “non-nativeâ€

[12lblargemouth]

Take the time to do it fellas!

[Robert F]

I say let the stripers go down. Give us back all the money that has been mishandled in this "enhancement" program and let the chips fall. You guys can't have it both ways. You want to keep all the water for some worthless species and now you are getting your payback. I keep telling you that the treehugger path is going to bite you in the arse. Back the treehugger camp and the next thing to go will be the levees so we can reclaim the estuaries.

[bonsaibp]

I say let the stripers go down. Give us back all the money that has been mishandled in this "enhancement" program and let the chips fall. You guys can't have it both ways. You want to keep all the water for some worthless species and now you are getting your payback. I keep telling you that the treehugger path is going to bite you in the arse. Back the treehugger camp and the next thing to go will be the levees so we can reclaim the estuaries.

If the strippers go the LMB will be next. This has nothing to do with tree huggers! If you took a little time to find out whats going on if you're a fisherman you would be more concerned
Following the above link as an easy positive way to show the powers that be that we have a voice and will not just quietly ruin our sport.
Don't kid yourselves if we do nothing it won't be too long before the delta is ruined as a sport fishery.
PLEASE TAKE A COUPLE OF MINUTES TO SUPPORT OUR SPORT
Thanks