CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : SACRAMENTO : Pesticides Cited in Decline of Fish

Pesticides in runoff farm water may be a key factor in the sharp decline of striped bass in the Sacramento River, state scientists reported. Staff of the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board said in a report circulated among government agencies that they have detected levels of pesticides that are lethal or toxic to tiny animals in the striped bass food chain. The pesticides are carbofuran, ethyl parathion and malathion. “Pesticides in rice discharge water may be responsible, in part, for the decline in size of the striped bass population in the Sacramento-San Joaquin (rivers) Delta,” the report said. Scientists noted that striped bass production in the delta is at an all-time low. Responding to the report, Brian Finlayson, supervisor of the state Department of Fish and Game’s pesticide unit, said more scientific studies are needed to prove that farm chemicals are to blame. Water diversions and other factors may have much to do with the decline, he said.