San Francisco Bay in Crisis San Francisco Bay is an estuary in crisis. Seven of the Bay’s native fish species are officially endangered or threatened. Fisheries that once formed the foundation of nort...

This is a “North Bay Addendum” to the April 2026 report.  With support from the Wetlands Regional Monitoring Program (WRMP), the UC Davis team has been trawling at many new places in San Francisco Bay...

There are way more fishes in the Bay than you think.

There are way more fishes in the Bay than you think.

Cal-Neva AFS Annual Meeting – Chico When: February 10 – 13, 2026 Where: Hotel Katerina, Chico, CA Registration: Opens December 8th, 2025 Reserve your room by January 10th, 2026 to receive discounted r...

Christina Parker leads native fish conservation in California, using climate-resilient strategies like species rescue and habitat restoration to protect vulnerable aquatic life.

Extra Baby Fish Month!  It happened again.  Every once in a while, we see a bigger goby baby boom in May instead of April.  This month, we counted 714 baby gobies versus only 308 in April.  We experie...

As often happens, there was no room for discussion about bottom fishes and bugs in Part 1 of the March report.  The list of loose ends is long.   1. Flatfishes.California Halibut count = 16.  Halibut ...

This is a third and final report on 2025 Longfin Smelt Broodstock Trawls.  I was not present at most of the Broodstock events.  Instead, UC Davis team members sent phone camera photos of their most in...

Longfin Smelt Broodstock trawls continued over numerous days through January, February, and even into the first weeks of March.  I only attended three of the events: one in Suisun/Grizzly Bay and ...

I accompanied the UC Davis crew on a “Longfin Smelt Broodstock” trawling expedition in north San Francisco Bay in December 2024.  Longfin Broodstock background:  For several years, the UC Davis “OGFL”...

Why are Chinook salmon moving to the urban creeks of San Jose in increasing numbers?

This is the rest of the February report – Fishes, bugs, plus a few other items that didn’t fit into part 1. 1. Flatfishes.We tend to overlook the importance of delicious flatfishes.California Halibut ...

Good news? Or Bad News?  Shad population explosion has spilled over into February.  January counts broke previous records: 533 American Shad & 232 Threadfin Shad. In February, American Shad num...

Effective. Impartial. Resilient. The civil service comprises dedicated, nonpartisan federal employees who work tirelessly across the country and around the world to ensure the effective delivery of go...

This second part covers other fishes and bugs that were not included in the January report.   1. Colorful Clupeiforms.  Wintertime abundance of Shad, Anchovies, and Herring affords us yet another o…

Fears grow for endangered species as the US president sets about dismantling basic laws to protect them to make way for oil and gas drilling

January 2025 was a very disappointing month for Longfin Smelt.  Longfin spawning season started well enough.  November and December numbers looked promising.  But then, Longfin numbers abruptly tur…

Citing the LA fires, Trump directed agencies to "immediately take actions to override" water operations and environmental rules. But the water mostly serves Central Valley farms.

The functionally extinct delta smelt entered national politics in 2009, when Sean Hannity made it a symbol of environmentalism gone wrong.

At issue is the longfin smelt, whose better-known relative, the delta smelt, has long been at the heart of high-profile habitat battles.

Merry Fishmas everyone!  I fell horribly behind in my fish reporting, so I am combining Fishmas with the November blog.  November notes: Temperatures were several degrees cooler compared to October…

FULL RESEARCH ARTICLE Dylan Keating Stompe1,2* and James A. Hobbs3 1 California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Bay Delta Region, 2825 Cordelia Road, Unit 100, Fairfield, CA 94534, USA (former)2 C…

Merry Fishmas everyone!  I fell horribly behind in my fish reporting, so I am combining Fishmas with the November blog.  November notes: Temperatures were several degrees cooler compared to October…

By Alastair Bland Federal wildlife officials formally listed the San Francisco Estuary longfin smelt as an endangered species in July. Whether the action is