STATEMENT OF JOHN RADOVICH, CHIEF, MARINE RESOURCES BRANCH: ACCOMPANIED BY ELDON HUGHES, TECHNICIAN, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME

Mr. RADOVICH. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, my name is John Radovich. I am chief of the Marine Resources Branch of the California Department of Fish and Game. I wish to thank this committee in behalf of the State and the department for the opportunity to appear in support of the anadromous fish bills now being heard.

Mr. Hughes, our senior biologist in charge of this department, is here and will be glad to answer any questions you may have.

The anadromous fish resources of California, and of other States, have suffered greatly in past years as a result of accelerated and extensive water projects development and other manifestations of man's activities, including pollution, loss of spawning areas, erosion, siltation, and water diversion.

The king and silver salmon, the shad, striped bass, and steelhead are the chief species in California to suffer.

The striped bass, originally introduced to California from the Atlantic coast in 1879, now supplies a major sport fishery and is threatened by water developments and pollution in our lower Sacramento River and Delta region. On the east coast, the same species has already been seriously affected by similar encroachments of man.

The American shad, another import from the east coast, supplies an increasing number of fishermen with fine sport. It has also suffered from changes in its environment on the east coast, and it is seriously threatened in California.

The primary problem facing salmon is the destruction of their habitat. In California, salmon fishing has not been a major contributor to our salmon population's decline. Yet, drastically reduced salmon stocks, and even the elimination of whole runs, are a sad contrast to the abundance of a hundred years ago. The San Joaquin River salmon are already virtually gone. It is possible to bring them back, but only by most energetic and immediate action.

Figure 1 shows the extent of the historical salmon runs in California and the effects of dams on salmon streams. Many of the dams were built before adequate laws were passed to provide for the preservation of fish and wildlife resources. The dams have seriously affected the runs, and in many cases, have completely blocked salmon spawning above the dams.

The chart does not show the whole story. Water flows and water quality below the dams have drastic effects on salmon migration and spawning. Water diversions for agricultural use result in the loss of millions of salmon fry because screening has not been provided to safely bypass them downstream to the ocean.

Reduced flows have allowed cattails and other vegetation to choke up many streams. These reduced flows, coupled with increased waste disposal in the streams, have created pollution problems and oxygen deficiencies which block fish passage. Water must be provided for fish, and the streams need to be restored.

Nearly 15 million pounds of king salmon spawned in California streams are now being taken yearly in the Pacific States. About half are taken in California waters. The major portion of the rest is taken off Oregon and Washington.

Figure 2 demonstrates the importance to the Pacific coast of salmon raised in California. Each dot represent five commercial recoveries of salmon which were marked as fingerlings in the Sacramento River. As you can see, about half the fish are caught by fishermen off Oregon and Washington.

The silver salmon taken in California represent at least a 25-percent contribution by the States of Oregon and Washington. Our own stocks are severely depleted by erosion and siltation in our north coast streams. More stream rehabilitation is needed to build back these important runs.

The State conservation agencies, in most cases, find it impossible to finance sufficient remedial action. California now spends about 12 percent of its fish and game budget, or $1,400,000, per year on anadromous fish. This money comes from the California angling license buyer and the commercial fisherman.

They cannot, in all fairness, be expected to pay more and more to maintain the fisheries which also benefit other States, and whose depletion, in many cases, is associated with Federal water projects or with other developments that may not make adequate provisions for fisheries maintenance or enhancement.

Past water development, both by Federal agencies and local water developers, has played a major role in the decline of these important anadromous fisheries resources. Comparatively speaking, only in recent years have Federal and State laws and policies been designed and improved to protect these fish. While our knowledge is far from complete, we are learning what must be done to assure the protection of these resources.

For example, recent studies in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta have uncovered effects that the U.S. Central Valley project and others have had on salmon of which no one was previously aware.

With better Federal and State laws, greater public interest, and with improved knowledge on the needs of these fish, we will have a better opportunity to protect these resources in future water development.

However, funds must be provided to rehabilitate these runs, catch up on past losses, andn provide the means which are urgently needed to accomplish the other purposes of this legislation.

Screening of water diversions is another example of a complex problem for which no adequate legislative remedy exists. At the present time, money is simply not available to counteract these adverse effects of water manipulation.

These are important resources which are being destroyed; important economically, important as food, and important as recreation.

Sport fishing for salmon and steelhead in California is worth over $17.5 million yearly to the net economy of the area. The value of the commercial king salmon fishery is in excess of $8 million per year. Historically, there were probably up to 2 million spawning salmon in the area capable of producing as much as 30 million pounds of fish. In 1963, we were down to about 300,000 spawning fish in the Central Valley. The spawning beds we have left could handle at least 750,000 spawners if the habitat could be managed properly.

The anadromous fish resources of California, of the Pacific coast, and of the Atlantic coast, are important resources-an importance which is being lost, and will be lost unless we do something to retain it.

The Atlantic salmon have suffered even more, probably because the east coast has been heavily populated for a longer time. It may not be too late to restore much of what has been lost. We must take corrective action.

The California Department of Fish and Game has cooperated over the years with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in attempting to save our anadromous fish resources, particularly salmon and steelhead.

We have agreed with the position taken by the Service in support of similar legislation proposed earlier and, in particular, we support the position taken by Secretary Udall in his letter to Chairman Bonner, dated January 22, 1964.

We recognize that anadromous fish are extremely susceptible to other water uses and that the problems needing correction are common to many States. To point out examples of these problems, we suggest the following urgent actions which are needed to protect and enhance the salmon resource in California.

A hatchery should be constructed at Keswick on the Sacramento River to take care of the winter king salmon run. The Nimbus hatchery on the American River should be expanded. To bolster the silver salmon and steelhead populations, and addional silver salmon and steelhead hatchery should be built. Furthermore, a large central hatchery on the coast could serve as a base hatchery for runs of many

streams.

There are several major water diversions where fish screens are badly needed, since large percentages of salmon fry are presently being lost at these locations. These are as follows: Woodbridge on on the Mokelumne River; Anderson-Cottonwood on the Sacramento River; Glen Colusa on the Sacramento River; HalwoodCordua on the Yuba River; West Stanislaus on the San Joaquin River; Banta Carbona on the San Joaquin River; and P.G. & ́E.Van Arsdale on the Main Eel River.

Fish passage facilities are needed at Asa Bean Creek on the Eel River; Upper Deer Creek, Middle Deer Creek, and Clear Creek on the Sacramento River; Los Padres Dam on the Carmel River; and the Big Sur River.

Spawning channels, incubation channels, spawning control weirs and holding ponds are needed in the Klamath River, Big River, and lower Battle Creek.

Stream clearance of coastal streams; gravel loosening in the Klamath River: vegetation removal from the Tuolumne, Stanislaus, Feather, and Merced Rivers: gravel restoration in the Stanislaus, Consumnes, Tuolumne, and Mokelumne Rivers; streambed realinement in the Merced, Consumnes, Feather, and Yuba Rivers; and correction of erosion and siltation are also necessary for restoration of salmon. Controlled waterflows for salmon would necessitate water storage. Engineering investigations and biological studies for water storage facilities in Cottonwood Creek, Cow Creek, Stillwater Creek, Thomes Creek, and Paper Mill Creek need to be inaugurated.

A flow-control structure at Old River in the delta is necessary to allow adult migration of salmon into the San Joaquin River system by preventing existing flow reversal caused to a major degree by pumping at Tracy by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation for the Central Valley project.

Completion of this work would bring the salmon environment into a favorable position to take advantage of mitigation or enhancement features connected with future water developments in the entire San Joaquin River drainage.

The California Department of Fish and Game supports the intent of H.R. 2392 and S. 759 and suggests the above program in California to conserve, develop, and enhance the State's anadromous fish.