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Food for Irrelevant Thoughts?

When Delta smelt got caught in researchers' nets back in the 1970s, they often ended up as lunch. But this once common, one-time snack is a now a federally listed threatened species and down to less than half its 1959- 82 abundance average.

This July, Cal Fish & Game reported the annual smelt summer "townet" abundance index as up from last year's 2.4 but still only 8.1. The department had hoped to see more smelt due to a successful spawning season and increased freshwater outflows - flows generated by more rain and fewer exports. The clamp down on exports came about because of both the smelt and earlier chinook salmon listings, and the implementation of the new, fish-friendly Central Valley Project Improvement Act.

Though Governor Pete Wilson and others argue that this tiny, translucent fish streaked with silver isn't important enough to slow down the giant turbines of state and federal water delivery systems, Davis Professor Peter Moyle disagrees. "It's quite a remarkable fish," says Moyle, "because it has a one-year life cycle and lives under rather unstable conditions."

Moyle says he recognizes that the Delta smelt's relative insignificance in human terms - it its neither commercially harvested nor does it appeal to sportfishermen - may add fuel to opponents of the Endangered Species Act. "That's why instead of appointing a Delta smelt recovery team, we appointed a native fishes team," says Moyle. "This is basically an ecosystem recovery plan."

His team and plan encompass not only the Delta smelt, but also the longfin smelt, the splittail minnow, the San Joaquin fall run chinook, the spring run chinook and the river lamprey. "I really believe we can come up with a reasonable plan to protect the ecosystem without cutting into water supplies," says Moyle. As for the smelt's alleged irrelevance, Moyle insists it's an indicator species for the Delta. It's also a close relative of a smelt the Japanese harvest commercially. So who knows, with a strong recovery plan, the Delta smelt might just end up in a frying pan again.

Contact: Peter Moyle (916)752-6355

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