California Drought Since 2010, California, United States

California has been experiencing a drought since 2010. In 2013 the total rainfall was less than 34% of what was expected. Many regions of the state accumulated less rainfall in 2013 than any other year on record. As a result of this, many fish species are threatened. Streams and rivers are so low that fish can’t get to their spawning grounds, and survival rates of any eggs that are laid were expected to be low. Lack of rainfall has caused the mouths of rivers to be blocked off by sand bars which further prevents fish from reaching their spawning grounds. Stafford Lehr, Chief of Fisheries within the California Department of Fish and Wildlife says that 95% of winter run salmon didn’t survive last year.
In response to heightening drought conditions, California has tightened fishing restrictions in many areas of the state. Streams and rivers on the northern coast have unprecedented amounts of fishing bans. In February 2015 the California Fish and Game Commission voted unanimously to further tighten regulations on both recreational and commercial fishing. The U.S. Endangered Species Act has listed steelhead as threatened and coho salmon as endangered. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife closed dozens of streams and rivers to fishing in 2014. Lehr has said that he fears coho salmon may go completely extinct south of the Golden Gate Bridge in the near future. In early 2014 the main stems of the Eel, Mad, Smith, Van Duzen, and Mattole rivers were closed pending additional rainfall. Large areas of the Russian and American rivers were closed indefinitely. Most rivers in San Mateo, Santa Cruz and Monterey counties were also closed pending further rainfall. Other actions have also been taken, such as releasing more water from the Kent Dam in hopes of raising the levels in the Lagunitas Creek watershed – one of the last spawning grounds that wild coho can still reach.
Protesters say that banning fishing will disrupt the economy and threaten the livelihoods of individuals who rely on salmon fishing during the winters. Officials feel that it will help prevent species that are already in trouble from slipping to extinction.
The period between late 2011 and 2014 has been the driest in California history since record-keeping began. In May 2015, one state resident poll conducted by Field Poll found that two out of three respondents agreed that it should be mandated for water agencies to reduce water consumption by 25%.