Klamath fish kill may be worse than first thought

A team of federal, state and tribal biologists are combing the lower Klamath River in search of dead salmon, trying to piece together what happened to cause the worst fish kill on the river in memory.

A team of federal, state and tribal biologists are combing the lower Klamath River in search of dead salmon, trying to piece together what happened to cause the worst fish kill on the river in memory.

While at least 1,500 dead chinook salmon were found by Monday, many expected the final tally to reach as high as 4,000 -- and perhaps higher.

Officials are also trying to figure out what to do to prevent more adult salmon from dying. They are considering measures from releasing more water down the tributary Trinity River in an attempt to cool the Klamath, to closing sport and tribal fisheries on the river to avoid further stressing the fish.

River temperatures remain high as they have been for weeks. Stress from that may have brought on diseases commonly called "gill rot." Pathologists are still looking at samples to confirm or deny the presence of the diseases.

"Warm water stresses the fish that would otherwise have no problem with diseases," said California Department of Fish and Game spokesman Paul Wertz.

Bright fish that have recently entered the river and are otherwise unharmed, Wertz said, have gills like "mush."

The fish kill may have begun as early as last Tuesday or Wednesday, and right in the middle of a major run of chinook up the river. Chinook, however, are not federally protected like their cousin the coho. Only a couple of coho have been reported dead so far.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service fisheries program leader George Guillen said the large run isn't moving very quickly, and that may allow the disease to spread more quickly.

"Just like a kid in kindergarten ... all it takes is one to start spreading the flu around," he said.

River guide Mick Thomas of Lunker Fish Trips, Bait and Tackle out of Crescent City said the scene is traumatic, mainly because people aren't accustomed to seeing the fish die before they spawn.

"It's a shame to see that many fish die," Thomas said. "It's hard to look at."

Still, fishing has been excellent on the river for weeks, and Thomas said there are an enormous number of fish in the river. The longtime fisherman said that there may be another side to the fish kill, that nature takes care of its own.

Just what to do about conditions on the lower river -- mainly upstream from the mouth to 16 miles -- underscores the conundrum that is the Klamath watershed. Trying to find clean, cold water this late in the year won't be easy.

It's not likely to come from Upper Klamath Lake, the river's headwaters. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation operates an irrigation project that serves 200,000 acres there. It's policy has been to provide full water deliveries to irrigators this year, and releasing additional water downstream would mean breaching its obligation to keep the lake at a certain elevation. The bureau does not appear to be considering shutting off irrigation water in an attempt to help.

Also, even if the shallow lake has cooled with the onset of fall, that water would warm on its way down the river and may do little to drop river temperatures far downstream. The issue is similar for releases from Lewiston Dam on the Trinity River.

"Even if you could drop a bunch of ice cubes in Lewiston," Wertz said, "how long would it take to get to Pecwan?"

Pecwan is about 25 miles up the Klamath.

Reclamation bureau spokesman Jeff McCracken said the bureau is asking its attorneys for advice on whether releases from the Trinity would be legal. Litigation brought on by irrigators in the Central Valley may hamper the Bureau's ability to use Trinity water.

"We're talking to the attorneys and we're talking to the service," McCracken said.

The Fish and Wildlife Service is examining temperature models to find out if the releases would do any good. Also of concern is Trinity Lake above Lewiston, which would have that much less water in it, and which could pose a problem for the river if drought-like conditions continue into next year.

What isn't known is what an infusion of clean water would do to the quality of water in the lower Klamath. Farming in the Upper Klamath Basin and along the Scott and Shasta rivers puts lots of fertilizers, pesticides and other pollutants that stress fish.

Dave Hillemeier, a biologist for the Yurok Tribe, said at this point the damage has been done and that the fish infected by the disease will simply die. But Hillemeier said the solution will be over the course of years.

"We need some long-term solutions to make sure this doesn't happen again,"
he said.

Hillemeier said he thought those solutions were being formulated last year, but then a major policy shift set the process back. He said the flows called for in the bureau's 10-year operation plan were seen from the start as being bad for fish.

Hillemeier said the only positive aspect of the fish kills will come from increased cooperation from all the interests in the basin.

Irma Lagomarsino, a supervisor at the National Marine Fisheries Service in Arcata, said the fish kill highlights the need for an emergency response team, like the one that is handling the situation now. She said protocols for fish kills have been more geared toward dealing with juvenile fish, however.

"I'm sure after this there's going to be a lot of 'what is the best way to respond?'" Lagomarsino said.