Astroturf Arnold hates fish.

I have, more than once, cited material from Dan Bacher, the editor of The Fishsniffer magazine. I know of no one who is working more diligently on both the environmental and economic issues of fish anywhere. I would like to reference two new items: one from the Environmental New Service and the other a new release by Bacher, but you will have to click read more to get it all and here is the scare quote to get you to do that.

Fishes that once were abundant in North American streams, rivers and lakes are now disappearing, with nearly 40 percent of all species in jeopardy, according to the most detailed assessment of the conservation status of freshwater fishes in the last 20 years.

The Environmental New Service sent out a release on 9/11/08 headlined North American Freshwater Fishes Fading into Extinction. Then they go one to cite a new study in the journal Fisheries that says 40% of all freshwater fish species are in jeopardy in the US.

The fish at greatest risk are the salmon and trout of the Pacific Coast and western mountain regions.

That is both an environmental and an economic issue, as the government is forced to suspend fishing and then to pay the fishing boats to stay in the harbor. It does not stop there, as the economic pinch flows from there, to the shippers, fish markets and to your local restaurants.

In California, Astroturf Arnold makes a great show of being the Green Governor, and then, according to Bacher, he turns around and vetoes a bill that would help protect fish in the delta from that acts of man. Last year, I showed pictures of the Prospect Island Fish Kill, where a rescue was attempted in the Delta, and the results of not being able to move quickly enough.

Bacher sent out a release today that nails the situation.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, hailed as the “Green Governor” in his news conferences and photo opportunities touting “green jobs” in recent weeks, showed his true anti-environmental credentials today when he vetoed the Fish Rescue Plans Bill sponsored by Assemblywoman Lois Wolk.

AB 1896, spurred by the fish kill at Prospect Island last fall, would require the Department of Fish and Game to develop a set of protocols to evaluate the need for fish rescue and relocation plans within the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.

“While I am disappointed that AB 1806 was not signed, I want to express my thanks to the fishing community for their strong support in this effort,” said Assemblywoman Wolk, Chair of the Assembly Water, Parks, and Wildlife Committee. “The fishing community took up the challenge to help restore the state’s fisheries and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, and has proven a force to be reckoned with. When thousands of striped bass and other sport fish dying on Prospect Island last year, it was fishermen who mounted the rescue operation that saved thousands of fish--and their advocacy helped send AB 1806 to the Governor’s desk."