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ABSTRACT: The introduction of striped bass to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Estuary has established one of California’s most important recreational fisheries. Striped bass requirements are being studied so they can be considered in planning for future water project and other development in the estuary. Study results have shown that striped bass spawning is affected by annual variations in salinity in the San Joaquin River, and survival of the young and subsequent recruitment to the fishery are related to the magnitudes of water diversions from the nursery area and river flows.
Mortality caused by entrainment in power plant cooling systems probably has been low relative to that caused by water development, but losses due to entrainment at power plants may be increasing because increased power production is causing lethal temperatures to occur more frequently.
Factors other than angling kill about 15 to 30% of the adult bass each year. Part of this mortality occurs during large die-offs in the Suisun-San Pablo Bay area when bass are migrating back to salt water after spawning. Attempts to determine the cause of these kills have been unsuccessful.
Reduced flows resulting from water development may change water circulation patterns in San Francisco and San Pablo bays. Such changes potentially affect the abundance and distribution of forage for adult bass. Water management actions that would benefit the striped bass resource include maintaining adequate freshwater flows through the estuary and moving the intakes for the federal and state water diversions to a location upstream from the nursery area.
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