The California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA) and California Water Impact Network (CWIN) issued a press release on Monday, January 26, 2015 criticizing a decision that will allow government pumps to kill twice as many endangered Delta smelt than was previously permitted. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service approved the Bureau of Reclamation’s request to increase the Delta Smelt “take” limit only two days after learning the population abundance of Delta smelt has collapsed to historical new lows.
“As goes the Delta smelt, so goes the Delta,” said Bill Jennings, the executive director of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance. “The crisis isn’t limited to the smelt. All the (Bay/Delta’s) pelagic species are in trouble.”