News Release Archive

RESEND - Media Advisory - Second Fish Rescue Effort Planned For Prospect Island

Media Contact: Pete Lucero, 916-978-5100, 08/22/2008 22:27

For Release: August 22, 2008

The Bureau of Reclamation is helping coordinate a 1-day effort to rescue fish remaining inside Prospect Island in the San Joaquin-Sacramento Delta. This rescue will take place on Monday, August 25, 2008, starting at about 10:00 a.m. A previous rescue effort occurred in November 2007 as a result of a levee repair.

Biologists with the California Department of Fish and Game and Reclamation will capture the fish and transport them over the island levee. This small-scale activity may be aided by some experienced volunteers who assisted with the November 2007 effort.

This second rescue effort has been planned because a survey of the remaining aquatic habitat inside Prospect Island has revealed a larger-than-expected number of fish that survived the dewatering of the island in 2007. As the available habitat has shrunk due to evaporation, its ability to support these fish has also diminished.

Most of the fish likely to be transported on Monday are exotic species like carp and sunfish, but it is likely a few Sacramento blackfish and possibly other native minnows will also be removed.

For additional information, please contact Louis Moore at 916-335-9755.

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