… The Delta smelt benefited from massive releases of stored water to send more fresh water into the Delta in a bid to help them. That also meant less water for growers in the southern part of the San Joaquin Valley. Those releases have been criticized by impacted farmers who argue the water is simply going out to sea and not being diverted for human uses especially during drought periods.  They point to surveys of Delta smelt populations before and after such massive releases and note the decline in numbers haven’t slowed down. … There are Delta smelt being bred in programs the University of California at Davis operates near Stockton and at a fish hatchery near Shasta Dam managed by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. And it is those hatchery bred Delta smelt that farmers contend are now being used to enforce federal and state regulations requiring the reduction in Delta water exports despite a flush year of precipitation year.
—Written by Dennis Wyatt, editor with the Manteca Bulletin