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California officials will truck more than 15 million young salmon raised at fish hatcheries in the state’s Central Valley agricultural region to the Pacific Ocean because projected river conditions show that the waterways the fish use to travel downstream will be historically low and warm due to increasing drought.
Officials announced the huge trucking operation on Wednesday, saying the effort is aimed at ensuring “the highest level of survival for the young salmon on their hazardous journey to the Pacific Ocean”.
Getting the fish transported means taking about 146 truckloads to the Pacific Ocean from four state hatcheries and federal officials will do the same from one hatchery, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
John McManus, president of the Golden State Salmon Association, which advocates for fishers, told the Chronicle he appreciates the extra effort to save the fall-run chinook amid the drought.
But he said the underlying problem for salmon is that state and federal water officials have allowed too much water to be pulled from rivers and creeks for agricultural irrigation.
“These river conditions are made worse by decisions that put salmon last,” he told the Chronicle.
