Fish stocking in California imperils native aquatics, lawsuit states

The California Department of Fish and Game's fish stocking program is partly responsible for the decline of several federally protected aquatic species, a new lawsuit contends.

According to a complaint filed by the Center for Biological Diversity and Pacific Rivers Council, 39 species of fish and amphibians are in decline partly due to fish stocking. These include the mountain yellow-legged frog, the Lahontan trout and the Little Kern golden trout, California's state fish, all listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

"There's a whole slew of native fish and amphibians that are imperiled by stocking," said Noah Greenwald, a Center for Biological Diversity conservation biologist. Of particular concern are rainbow trout and other sport fish, which prey on some native species and compete with others for food, plaintiffs say.

The groups are seeking a moratorium on fish stocking in areas with imperiled species until the state completes an analysis on the environmental effects of stocking. Such a review is required by the California Environmental Quality Act, plaintiffs say. If necessary, critics say state fishery managers should suspend stocking in areas where the practice is harming native species.

According to the Center for Biological Diversity, 47 California water bodies with imperiled species were included in the state's trout stocking program in 2005.

"Introduced trout are a big factor in these declines," said Vance Vredenburg, a research scientist at the University of California at Berkeley who found a correlation between fish stocking and the decline of the mountain yellow frog in the Sierra Nevada mountains. "It's a very strong link."

Steve Martarano, a spokesman for the California Department of Fish and Game, said the agency had not reviewed the lawsuit and declined to comment on the specifics of the complaint. But he said the department recognizes that stocking, which has a 150-year history in California, has helped push some native species toward extinction.

Based on reviews of its program in the Sierra Nevada, California has stopped stocking water bodies where imperiled species were found there, Martarano said. "We have responsibly modified our high mountain lakes management for the benefit of amphibians," he said.

Martarano acknowledged that CEQA requires the agency to review the environmental effects of stocking on native species. At the same time, fishery managers are subject to a new state law, passed last year, that requires the agency to divert one-third of proceeds from fishing licenses to boost financially strapped hatcheries.

Recreational fisheries in California bring in $17 million in license fees alone, Martarano said.

Staffing issues also make it difficult to conduct a state-wide assessment of the fish stocking program. "It's a big state," Martarano said.

Deanna Spooner, conservation director for Pacific Rivers Council, is convinced such a survey can be done. "If Fish and Game doesn't take immediate steps to reform its stocking program, then imperiled species like the mountain yellow-legged frog may go extinct in my lifetime," she said.