Outdoors : OUTDOOR NOTES : Destruction of Mono County Stream Doesn’t Go Totally Unpunished

When Mono County Judge Edward Forstenzer fined Nevada farmers $5,000 for destroying a trophy trout stream last week, he went as far as the law allowed.

A $1,000 fine on each of the five misdemeanor citations--four from the state Fish and Game Code--amounted to the maximum penalty.

The essence of the jury’s verdict was that the Walker River Irrigation District had rights to the water in Bridgeport Reservoir but didn’t have the right to draw it off in such a way as to destroy the East Walker River fishery, which is what happened in September of 1988.

Forstenzer also ordered the district to run a 400-cubic-feet-per-second flow for 14 days to flush out silt in the stream and to maintain a 30-c.f.s. minimum flow year-round to prevent icing.

Since the defendant was an entity and not an individual or individuals, the law did not allow for jail time.

Forstenzer, himself a fisherman with a reputation as a conservationist, agreed with angling interests and Mono County District Attorney Stan Eller, who prosecuted the case, that the maximum penalties he imposed weren’t strong enough to have a punitive effect.

Jim Edmondson, Region 5 Manager for CalTrout, says his group will push to change that and also to increase fines for similar violations.

“You’ve got to make the fines commensurate with the action,” Edmondson said. “Society wants these abusers punished.

“(But) we’re pleased that this is a victory. We’ve never won a case like this before. It sends a very strong message.”

The Committee to Ban Gill Nets--in conjunction with Cortez Yacht Charters of Lemon Grove and Aames Travel of Irvine--is auctioning a fishing trip to Cabo San Lucas in an attempt to raise money to stop the controversial practice of gill-netting off the Southern California coast.

Bids must be submitted to the committee (P.O. Box 2323, Cypress, Calif., 90630) by March 1, with the highest bidder winning a three-night stay at the Melia Cabo Hotel, four days of fishing aboard the 32-foot Melisa, with an English-speaking captain, and round-trip air fare.

The bidding will start at $1,300 and all will be kept secret until the winner is announced. Estimated value of the prize is $2,500.

The committee is also accepting donations and urges the public to get involved in its petition drive to put an initiative on the November ballot. Copies can be obtained by calling (714) 828-9269.

The Wildlife Waystation in San Fernando, a haven for injured and displaced wild animals and birds, is an official charity of the Los Angeles Marathon March 4. The Waystation is seeking runners who will run for pledges. Details: (818) 899-5201.

San Diego long-range: The Polaris Supreme returned from a 16-day trip to the Revillagigedo Islands Saturday with its 18 passengers having caught 152 yellowfin tuna, 187 wahoo and 149 grouper. Armin Loepfe of San Diego topped the list with a 235-pound yellowfin.

Cabo San Lucas: Rough seas that cooled the striped marlin fishing have calmed and fishing has been slowly improving, according to Darrell Primrose of Tortuga Sportfishing.

Primrose said hotel boats are averaging one striper a boat per day and that fishing for dorado, roosterfish and pargo has improved.

Briefly

The oil booms were lifted Monday, and the Newport Bay sportfishing landings--Davey’s Locker and Newport Landing, shut down since Feb. 8--are back in full operation. . . . Fred Hall’s Western Fishing Tackle and Boat Show will be held Feb. 28-March 4 at the the Long Beach Convention Center. . . . Those interested in working in an outdoor environment are alerted to the 352-page third edition of the National Parks Trade Journal, a guide to employers at parks, ski resorts, lodges and organizations worldwide. The guide is available , at $14.50, from the journal at P.O. Box 2221, Wawona Station, Yosemite National Park, Calif., 95389. . . . . Irvine and Santa Ana Lakes will receive six 18-pound rainbows each Thursday morning as part of a campaign to break the lake records. The trout are “triploids,” sterile hybrids. The Irvine record is 14 pounds,10 ounces, Santa Ana’s 16-11. Manager Steve Miller said anyone catching a record fish can have it mounted free of charge. The lakes also got 3 1/2 tons of rainbow plants last week and are due for another 3 1/2 tons Thursday.

Times staff writer Pete Thomas contributed to this story.