First, my thanks to Arnold York for letting us carry on this steelhead trout debate in the pages of The Malibu Times, and my thanks to Scott Winner for his interest and his time in making his response. Scott, we need you and all interested parties as ongoing participants in the effort to keep these great fish swimming amongst us! Interested people are the first, and the essential factor in any effort of this type. I’d love to talk to you and to have your help in fighting for this great fighting fish.
The points I set forth are best found in a summary of numerous studies and papers on Southern California steelhead, the summary title: California Department of Fish and Game, Habitat Conservation Planning Branch, Steelhead-Southern California (South Coast), Oncorhynchus mykiss irideous, State Status: Species of Special Concern, Fish Species of Special Concern in California, Southern Steelhead, California Department of Fish and Game, 1995. Ah, bureaucracy.
You’re absolutely correct. The Southern California Steelhead’s ability to negotiate a few inches of water is remarkable and a key factor in our hope to revitalize the Southern California Steelhead strain. This ability to negotiate shallow water is essential to the fishes’ travel through the lower portions of our shallow, slow flowing creeks while moving to, and from, the up stream spawning and rearing waters.
2. We have a special interest in the Southern California Steelhead strain as its unique ability to survive in the extreme conditions of low, warm water, intermittent flowing Southern California streams may be needed to repopulate more northern streams if global warming makes life difficult for his northern cousins.
3. Obstacles and physical barriers to anadromous migration in streams and rivers are considered the major difficulty faced by fish on their way to the spawning grounds. Water supplies expanded by “return water” from sewage treatment plants may provide an important means to recharge streams and ground water.
4. The numerous short coastal streams may represent significant steelhead habitat.
5. Malibu Creek has been a major southern steelhead stream, probably the southernmost stream still actively producing steelhead. The U.S Fish and Wildlife Service, 1991, found that it had an annual run of up to 60 spawners in some years. This spawning is probably due to consistent stream flows, and these flows aided in the 1980s by the influx of water from the Tapia Water Reclamation Facility.
6. Regards the money, Scott, I did not refer the dollars and cents to fishing in Malibu, I referred to public expenditures in general. If we’re concerned about spending public money on sports and recreation, keep in mind the many ways we do that, and keep in mind that sporting activities also generate a lot of business, and keep in mind that the fishing business is amongst the biggest sports businesses.
Bo Meyer