Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Sacramento Bee Accused of Mangling the Facts About Fish Caught in Pumps
News
By News
Published 12 months ago on
April 23, 2024

The Sacramento Bee' recently scrutinized federal and California agencies over potential kills of endangered salmon and steelhead. Environmental law attorney Paul S. Weiland say the article was skewed by omissions and misrepresentations. (Shutterstock)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The Sacramento Bee’s “Reality Check” series recently published an article accusing California water agencies of breaking their own rules and potentially killing thousands of endangered fish. However, the article is being criticized for misrepresenting and omitting pertinent facts.

According to Paul S. Weiland, the article falsely claims that over 3,000 winter-run Chinook salmon and nearly 3,000 steelhead were caught by federal and state water pumps between December and March. Weiland points out that a significant proportion of these fish, referred to as “salvaged” actually survive and are transported downstream to continue their migration.

“Scientific research indicates that salmon and steelhead salvaged at the pumps and released downstream are more likely to survive as they emigrate to the ocean than those that approach the intake facilities but are not entrained there and must then brave a gauntlet of invasive predatory fishes and swim through greatly degraded Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta habitat,” Weiland points out.

The article also inaccurately states that the number of fish captured is “well beyond the agencies’ own ceiling for permissible fish harm under the Endangered Species Act.,” writes Weiland, who is an environmental law attorney and formerly worked in the Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. He clarifies that the agencies establish an “anticipated level of take” or “maximum anticipated annual incidental take level,” not a “ceiling.”

If the number of fish captured exceeds this level, additional consultation is required. However, it is not a violation of the rules, Weiland states.

Weiland calls for more responsible news coverage on California water policy, emphasizing that false and misleading coverage is detrimental to public interest and policymaking.

Read more at California Water Center.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

These Fresno First-Graders Are Topping Their Peers in Reading

DON'T MISS

Fresno Burial Ceremony to Honor Five Abandoned Babies Set for Saturday

DON'T MISS

Visalia Man Arrested for Soliciting Sex From Minor in Kingsburg

DON'T MISS

Camalah Saleh Cruises to Win in Stormy Fresno State Student Elections

DON'T MISS

Trump Goes Golfing While Stock Market Chunks

DON'T MISS

Brandon Vang Wins Fresno City Council Special Election Outright

DON'T MISS

Trump Says He’s Giving TikTok Another 75 Days to Find a US Buyer

DON'T MISS

Tulare County Man Arrested After Firing at Deputies During Eviction Attempt

DON'T MISS

If ex-Bitwise CEOs Behave in Prison, How Much Less Time Will They Serve?

DON'T MISS

Trump Just Bet the Farm

UP NEXT

Fresno Burial Ceremony to Honor Five Abandoned Babies Set for Saturday

UP NEXT

Visalia Man Arrested for Soliciting Sex From Minor in Kingsburg

UP NEXT

Camalah Saleh Cruises to Win in Stormy Fresno State Student Elections

UP NEXT

Trump Goes Golfing While Stock Market Chunks

UP NEXT

Trump Says He’s Giving TikTok Another 75 Days to Find a US Buyer

UP NEXT

Tulare County Man Arrested After Firing at Deputies During Eviction Attempt

UP NEXT

If ex-Bitwise CEOs Behave in Prison, How Much Less Time Will They Serve?

UP NEXT

Trump Just Bet the Farm

UP NEXT

Staged Crashes and Insurance Fraud: Is Your California Commute a Target?

UP NEXT

Fight Over Phonics: Will CA Require the ‘Science of Reading’ in K-12 Schools?

Camalah Saleh Cruises to Win in Stormy Fresno State Student Elections

3 hours ago

Trump Goes Golfing While Stock Market Chunks

3 hours ago

Brandon Vang Wins Fresno City Council Special Election Outright

3 hours ago

Trump Says He’s Giving TikTok Another 75 Days to Find a US Buyer

4 hours ago

Tulare County Man Arrested After Firing at Deputies During Eviction Attempt

5 hours ago

If ex-Bitwise CEOs Behave in Prison, How Much Less Time Will They Serve?

5 hours ago

Trump Just Bet the Farm

5 hours ago

Staged Crashes and Insurance Fraud: Is Your California Commute a Target?

5 hours ago

Fight Over Phonics: Will CA Require the ‘Science of Reading’ in K-12 Schools?

6 hours ago

Russia Says Trump’s Threats Against Iran Could Trigger ‘Global Catastrophe’

6 hours ago

These Fresno First-Graders Are Topping Their Peers in Reading

Fresno Unified School District has been on the hunt for ways to help bootstrap its youngest students struggling with reading and phonics, an...

1 hour ago

1 hour ago

These Fresno First-Graders Are Topping Their Peers in Reading

A public burial ceremony will be held Saturday, April 5, 2025, in Fresno to honor five abandoned infants, organized by Garden of Innocence – Fresno County. (Garden of Innocence)
1 hour ago

Fresno Burial Ceremony to Honor Five Abandoned Babies Set for Saturday

Uriel Alcala Rios, 25, was arrested for soliciting sex from a 14-year-old girl on Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Kingsburg PD)
2 hours ago

Visalia Man Arrested for Soliciting Sex From Minor in Kingsburg

3 hours ago

Camalah Saleh Cruises to Win in Stormy Fresno State Student Elections

President Donald Trump waves as he arrives at the Trump International Golf Club, Friday, April 4, 2025, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP/Alex Brandon)
3 hours ago

Trump Goes Golfing While Stock Market Chunks

3 hours ago

Brandon Vang Wins Fresno City Council Special Election Outright

4 hours ago

Trump Says He’s Giving TikTok Another 75 Days to Find a US Buyer

Kenneth Bratton, 43, was arrested after allegedly firing at Tulare County Sheriff’s deputies during an eviction attempt in Porterville. (Tulare County SO)
5 hours ago

Tulare County Man Arrested After Firing at Deputies During Eviction Attempt

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend