California's native fish in steady decline for 50 years

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Ted Grantham

California's fresh water fish are in trouble, and not just because of the drought, reported Lori Pottinger in the Viewpoints blog published by the Public Policy Institute of California.

Pottinger asked Ted Grantham, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the Department of Environmental Science Policy and Management at UC Berkeley, whether the state's fish are adapted to periodic droughts.

Drought is one stressor, he said, but there are additional factors imperiling fish.

"California's native fish have been in steady decline for at least 50 years — in part due to dams, habitat degradation, and the introduction of non-native species," Grantham said. "Native fishes have developed several strategies to cope, but key to their long-term survival is their ability to recover from drought during wet years."

Grantham said there are at least three strategies that would help better manage the state's native fish.

Better define the amount of water needed to sustain healthy fish populations.
Create an accurate accounting system for tracking water availability and use.
Recognize that not all streams are created equal. Some streams support more biological diversity.

The ecosystems science researcher said he is optimistic about the future.

"Although the drought has severely affected California's freshwater ecosystems, it also has raised awareness about the need to improve water management and better prepare for climate change," he said.

For more on threats to California native fish, read Identifying gaps in protecting California's native fish in the UC California Institute for Water Resources' blog The Confluence.