The Fish and Game Commission meeting on August 7 will discuss the proposed Delta Fisheries Management Policy and the repeal of the 1996 Striped Bass Policy. The Commission meeting starts at 8:30am in Sacramento. This is Agenda Item #11, and the topic is expected to come up sometime in the early morning.
 
Representatives of the fisheries community have had several productive meetings with FGC and CDFW staff, and have spoken with the proponents supporting the repeal and new policy. Collectively, we (proponents, fisheries opponents, staff) have all agreed that we still need more time offline to collect information on our Delta Fisheries and negotiate the language of any proposed policy changes. Therefore, we have agreed not to mobilize people to attend the meeting on August 7th, and to ask the Commission for more time to discuss this each offline before reporting back to the Commission at their October and December meetings. We will be asking the Commission to table this agenda item and defer any conversation until at least their December meeting.
 
However, the Commission meeting is a public meeting, and this item is on the agenda. If you still want your voice to be heard please feel free to attend the meeting and let the Commissioners know how changing this policy will affect you, your livelihood, or your passion for recreational angling.
 
Finally, while discussions may prove fruitful, they could ultimately not lead to anything productive. If that is the case, we will need the fisheries community to turn out in large numbers at the December meeting (December 11-12) in Sacramento to voice their concerns about protecting this thriving recreational fishery.
 
Please watch this space for future updates!  Thank you everyone for your support for maintaining a vibrant and thriving bass fishery in California.