Delta's struggles turn fishing festival serious

California's largest hunting and fishing festival became a platform for environmental action Saturday as organizers turned over the stage to a panel of advocates working to restore Delta fish species.

The "Plight of our Fisheries Summit" was the first of its kind ever held at the annual International Sportsmen's Exposition, now in its 21st year. The event continues today at Cal Expo in Sacramento.

The event draws about 50,000 visitors a year, most of them focused on buying the latest tackle, hunting gear or a guided trip from more than 700 vendors. It has never included an overt call to political action.

That changed Saturday as six panelists urged anglers to sign petitions and rally their elected officials to save the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, a nursery for some of California's most important fish species.

"The problem is, the control of water policy in California is not in fishermen's hands at all," said panelist Dick Pool, president of Concord-based Pro-Troll Fishing Products. "If we can organize ourselves, we have more power than anybody at the ballot box."

Pool is also founder of water4fish.org, a petition drive through a Web site started last year that has already signed up 21,000 anglers. Their goal is to restore fish habitat in the Delta and on California's major rivers, and improve water flows to benefit fish.

Brian Layng, owner of the Sportsmen's Exposition, said he decided to hold the advocacy event this year after a wave of bad news about the state's fisheries.

On Jan. 10, state Department of Fish and Game biologists released the latest results from an annual fall survey of Delta fish species. The results show record-low numbers for three species and continued trouble for two others, including the striped bass, a popular sportfish.

The 2007 fall chinook salmon run in the Central Valley is also considered to be poor, though final numbers aren't yet in.

"Fishermen are not very 'green,' frankly," said Layng. "But they're rapidly realizing they need to take care of the fish and the habitat and the ecosystem. A lot of people's livelihoods are at risk here."

A team of state and federal biologists studying the fish declines has not yet pinpointed a cause. They point to a combination of factors, including Delta water exports to the Bay Area and Southern California, contamination from urban and farm runoff, and invasive species consuming the aquatic food supply.

Another panelist was Lois Wolk, D-Davis, who chairs the state Assembly's Water Parks and Wildlife Committee. She described three bills she is developing to address the Delta's problems.

"We need to restore the entire ecosystem, and that includes sportfish and endangered species," she said. "It's not enough to introduce legislation. It's not enough to get angry. You have to engage in politics. You need to speak out and say 'save the fisheries.' "

In November, a federal judge ordered state and federal officials to reduce Delta water exports to protect fish. The first of those reductions began Dec. 29. The ruling could mean shortages for Delta water users – and a potential water war.

The final panelist was Jim Martin, retired chief of fisheries for the state of Oregon and now conservation director for the Berkeley Conservation Institute, an advocacy group backed by the fishing industry.

Martin sought to motivate the crowd of about 100 listeners with the fire-and-brimstone approach of a tent revivalist.

"Fishermen have a bad tendency to be asleep at the switch while politicians sell our resources down the river," he said. "I want to know where in the hell is the outrage?"

Martin and others hope a major share of California's 2.4 million anglers will back their campaign. Only a small fraction were listening Saturday. But many are concerned.

John Lane and Leonard Datus, both of Cameron Park, came to the expo to plan a fishing trip to Alaska. Lane wants California to hire more game wardens to control poachers. Datus doesn't fish his home state anymore.

"I stopped fishing in California a long time ago, just because it's not as good as it used to be," said Datus. "I'll never get to share that with my daughter."

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