Upper Sacramento River to Reopen for Limited Fishing : Environment: The waterway is making a strong recovery from 1991 toxic spill. The state will stock a six-mile section with hatchery fish to boost the area’s economic recovery.
SAN FRANCISCO — With the upper Sacramento River making a strong recovery from a devastating 1991 toxic spill near Dunsmuir, the state Fish and Game Commission voted Tuesday to reopen the river to limited fishing and to stock a six-mile section with hatchery fish.
The compromise plan is designed to boost the economic recovery of the hard-hit region without slowing the natural repopulation of fish in the 40-mile stretch of river ecosystem that was ravaged when a Southern Pacific train derailed and spilled its load of the toxic pesticide metam-sodium.
Fishermen will be allowed to take up to five fish a day between April and November along an easily accessible stretch of river. Along the rest of the upper river, which will not be stocked, fishermen will be required to throw back any fish they catch.
Tim Farley, chief of inland fisheries for the state Department of Fish and Game, said the river habitat has recovered more quickly than most people expected after the disastrous spill of July, 1991.
“We’ve gone from zero fish to an average of 1,200 fish per mile in two years,†he said. “It’s a remarkable comeback. At this rate it could be fully recovered in two years.â€
Insects upon which the fish feed were the first to return and allowed the repopulation of the river by trout from tributaries that were unaffected by the toxic chemical.
Southern Pacific, which can be held liable for economic losses caused by the spill, has been urging the state for months to begin stocking fish in the river.
The railroad contends that the river habitat has recovered sufficiently to support extensive stocking and that the entire stretch of damaged river could be reopened to catch-and-keep angling.
“It is a very, very healthy river, very capable of handling much larger numbers of fish than are in it currently or have been proposed by the Department of Fish and Game,†said Mike Furtney, a Southern Pacific spokesman. “We are disappointed there will be less than a full recreational opportunity open to people this season.â€
Despite the upper Sacramento’s reputation as a home for wild trout, the state has been stocking a 20-mile section of the river with hatchery fish for many years.
Under the plan approved by the commission at its Sacramento meeting, about 18,000 half-pound fish will be placed in the six-mile stretch of river during the normal fishing season, which runs from April 24 to Nov. 15.
Some angling advocates criticized the plan, fearing that it would slow the recovery of the wild trout by introducing competitors into the river.
Farley said the commission plan was a compromise designed to revive the tourist industry without slowing the natural recovery.
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