The recently announced closure of the salmon fishing season delivered yet another devastating blow to the thousands of families that depend on commercial and recreational fishing for their livelihoods. For the second year in a row, fishing boats at Fisherman’s Wharf will remain mothballed. The recent drought contributed to the salmon decline, but the larger problem is archaic water policies that allow too much water to be diverted from our rivers and the Delta. As a result, salmon experience manmade droughts almost every year, and the droughts we notice become mega-droughts for fish. … California desperately needs water reform, but strong opposition has come from what might seem like an unlikely suspect. The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, which manages our Hetch Hetchy Water System, is one of the worst culprits when it comes to poor stewardship of our aquatic ecosystems.
-Written by Peter Drekmeier, Policy Director for the Tuolumne River Trust; and Scott Artis; Executive Director of the Golden State Salmon Association.​