Fish’s Threatened Status Raises Water Concerns

A shiny finger-size fish that smells like a cucumber and usually lives only a year was declared a threatened species Thursday by the federal government, heightening concerns about the vitality of the state’s most important estuary and raising the prospect of vast restrictions on drinking water supplies.

The listing of the delta smelt under the federal Endangered Species Act was announced in Portland, Ore., by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. The agency suggested that the delta smelt’s demise “may be indicative of the relative health” of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, where two-thirds of the state’s drinking water is collected and pumped statewide.

Although biologists compare the fish’s significance to the delta to that of a canary in a coal mine, officials charged with meeting California’s enormous water needs say it has become the aquatic equivalent of the spotted owl.

State and local water officials said the delta smelt’s new status places water supplies in doubt because they expect that a recovery plan for the fish--required now that it has been listed as threatened--will mandate that large amounts of water remain in the delta at the expense of cities and farms.

“It is in effect a pumping restriction,” said David Kennedy, director of the state Department of Water Resources, which runs one of two major water export systems in the delta.

The designation will not change water supplies to urban and agricultural users this year because deliveries already have been reduced by the two systems in anticipation of the decision, officials said.

Because of continued rain and snowfall, a spokesman for the State Water Project said, the agency will provide 70% of requested supplies--up from 55% just a few weeks ago--and federal operators of the Central Valley Project predicted that they soon will raise their projection of 25% deliveries, possibly to 40%.

Officials from the Fish & Wildlife Service said it is too early to know what constraints might be placed on water exports from the delta because talks about a recovery plan are continuing. In announcing the listing, the agency said it had postponed a decision until fall on identifying the fish’s critical habitat, a crucial factor in evaluating measures for the fish’s long-term recovery and one that takes economic considerations into account.

In an interview before Thursday’s announcement, a biologist for the agency acknowledged that discussions about the recovery program have focused on water reductions. Matt Vandenberg said the options include limiting the volume of water exported and the time of year exports would be allowed, the latter to protect young fish and larvae from the massive hydrologic pumps.

“Since the delta smelt lives only one year, it would be possible for the pumps to kill off the species in a matter of a year or two,” Vandenberg said. “If that species gets wiped out, it is really saying the delta is going to the dogs.”

Many biologists and environmentalists say the plight of the smelt reflects far-reaching problems in the delta. In the early 1970s, the delta smelt was one of the most abundant fish in the estuary; its dwindling numbers today, biologists say, coincide with increased pumping that has altered the ecosystem by depriving it of fresh water. Two other delta fish--the longfin smelt and the Sacramento split-tail--are candidates for federal protection.

Many water industry officials agree the delta is in disrepair, but they say there is no conclusive scientific evidence linking the problems to water-delivery projects. They also complain that a balance must be struck between the needs of the delta’s fish and those of the state’s growing population.

“The time has come . . . to solve problems for endangered species and people at the same time, rather than pitting fish against people in the haphazard and adversarial way we have been doing,” said Stephen Hall, executive director of the Assn. of California Water Agencies.

A study by a group of urban water agencies predicts that the fish’s listing could cost the state tens of thousands of jobs and more than $12 billion in lost business if the recovery requires cutting water exports from the delta. The worst-case projections were made on the basis of a permanent 15% to 30% reduction in supplies to industries from the State Water Project.

“It is easy for the public to say we want a better environment, but ask someone what they care about--this minnow in the delta as it relates to their job, their water rationing and higher costs for less water--and their priorities change pretty quick,” said Jason Peltier, manager of the Central Valley Project Water Assn.

Environmentalists dispute water industry predictions of economic gloom and doom, but they acknowledge that protecting the fish could permanently alter California’s water picture. The first indication of the long-term consequences could come next week, when temporary environmental regulations for the delta--drafted with the threatened fish in mind--are to be considered by a state board.

“The listing of the delta smelt could be the most important step in restoring the delta,” said David Behar of the Bay Institute of San Francisco, one of several environmental groups that sued the federal government in December to force a decision on the designation.

The announcement culminates a four-year effort by environmentalists to save the vanishing fish, known to exist only in the delta. The fish spends most of its life in the so-called entrapment zone in Suisun Bay, where incoming saltwater from San Francisco Bay mixes with out-flowing freshwater from the Sacramento River and its tributaries.

Biologists who have tracked the nearly translucent fish report that it has declined 90% over the last two decades, leaving the population at historic low levels. Although fish counts were up slightly in 1990 and 1991, they dropped precipitously last year. One sampling of 80 delta sites last fall found only two of the fish.

Once the listing becomes official in 30 days, it will be illegal to harm or kill the delta smelt without a permit from the federal government.

“This is long overdue,” said UC Davis fisheries biologist Peter Moyle, who first brought the fish’s plight to government attention.

The listing of Hypomesus transpacificus marks the second native delta fish to be designated as threatened by the federal government. The winter-run chinook salmon was listed in 1989, leading to a series of pumping restrictions and other measures to safeguard salmon smolts as they migrate toward the ocean.

The powerful pumps, at the southern tip of the delta, often reverse the natural freshwater flows toward the ocean, disorienting the salmon and ultimately killing them. Delta pumping was halted last week to protect the smolts.

Biologists anticipate more complex remedies for the delta smelt because it is a year-round resident and depends more heavily on the overall well-being of the estuary. A recent report by the state Department of Fish and Game concluded that the fish are vulnerable to pumping during all stages of its life.

Although the Fish & Wildlife Service focused its blame for the delta smelt’s decline on pumping, the drought and insufficient flows of fresh water, some biologists also have cited other contributors. Since 1986, for example, the fish has had to compete for its primary food source--tiny crustaceans called copepods--with a small Asian clam that made its way into the estuary through the ballast water of cargo ships.

The fish is also a favorite food source of larger fish, particularly striped bass, which have declined in population over recent years but are now being spawned in hatcheries and reintroduced.

Although a threatened species is considered less imperiled than an endangered species under federal law, biologists said the effect is much the same because both listings protect the species and require a plan for recovery.

“The bottom line for me is that we don’t have the right to eliminate a species,” Moyle said. “It is a moral issue, especially when we know keeping it around will mean a healthier ecosystem.”

The Delta Smelt

These fish, once abundant in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, decreased substantially during the 1980s. Here are some facts about the delta smelt. Size: Three to five inches long, with a small mouth and large eyes. Color: Nearly translucent, with a steely-blue sheen on the sides and a silvery belly. Life span: One year is average; some survive for two years. Diet: Feeds on planktonic crustaceans and insect larvae. Habitat: Found only in the San Joaquin Delta and Sacramento River systems. Reproduction: Spawns in fresh water, February through June. The eggs adhere to rocks, gravel, tree roots and submerged vegetation. After hatching, the larvae drift downstream to where fresh and salt water mix and grow rapidly. Full length is reached when fish are 6 to 9 months old. Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Compiled by Times researcher Tracy Thomas