The Great Lakes are reeling from record-high water levels, but they are also facing a crisis in California’s supply of food, as a record-low snowpack and drought has caused the region to become a major feeder for the Pacific Northwest’s salmon fishery.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife says it has lost nearly 60 percent of its fish stocks since last winter, and that the fish are not only vulnerable to being depleted, but also to being lost or lost due to climate change, such as the polar vortex.
In a letter sent to Congress, the agency said that it is struggling to manage the resources it has on hand, especially in the Pacific Ocean.
“Our current situation is unsustainable,” said Chris Poynter, the department’s regional director of fisheries.
“It’s a matter of life and death.”
The loss of fish stocks is already causing a shortage in fish supplies in California, where there are only about 10 million tons of fish, according to the U.S. Fish and Aquarium.
That means, as of Friday, the state was facing a shortage of about 6,400 metric tons of salmon per day, or about three-quarters of the supply.
The situation is especially bad in the central California watershed, where the state has the second-largest salmon population in the United States.
The situation is also worse in the Sierra Nevada, where about 20 percent of the state’s salmon are killed each year.
While the fish crisis has become a crisis for the Great Lakes, it is also a crisis on the coast, with salmon stocks dwindling due to the melting permafrost and a severe drought.
The state’s fish stocks are also at risk because of a global warming that is disrupting the ocean cycles, making it less productive for fish.
According to a report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, California’s fish populations have dropped by more than 100 million pounds since 2008, when the state began monitoring them.
The decline is due to a number of factors, including the effects of global warming on the atmosphere, the effects on the ocean’s cycles, the fact that more than half of California’s ocean water has been depleted, and the loss of species that have adapted to the changing climate.
While California is the only state that has lost more than 70 percent of fish stock in the last five years, other states, including Hawaii and Alaska, have seen significant increases in fish populations, according the report.
California is one of the last states to rely entirely on commercial fishing, so the loss is particularly devastating for those that rely on the fish for their livelihoods, such a shrimp fisherman or a boat owner who depends on fish for his livelihood.
It’s been tough for the fishing industry to find a sustainable way to recover from the salmon stock decline, said Michael T. Poynar, president of the California Fishermen’s Association.
“The fishery is at risk,” he said.
“There’s no question about it.
This is a crisis that will take years to recover.”
In an attempt to save the fishery, the California Department, which oversees the state, is proposing to cut its current harvest from 8 million pounds a year to 5 million.
But many fish owners are opposed to this proposal.
They say it would cost millions of dollars, and they believe that would only worsen the problem.
“I think it’s very, very difficult to do anything about it because it’s not going to be implemented,” said John A. Smith, a California-based fisherman and fishery executive.
“This is a political issue, and it’s a political football.”
Smith said that in order to make a difference, he and other fishermen will be gathering signatures for petitions to get the measure on the November ballot.
“We need to put pressure on elected officials in Sacramento, and make sure that there is a response to this,” he added.
The Department of Fisheries and Wildlife has already rejected proposals from three California politicians to increase salmon stocks.
A petition signed by nearly 3,000 fish owners has already been delivered to the Sacramento office of state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-Calif., who has also said that he is opposed to increasing the harvest.
The other proposal to raise salmon stocks was introduced by state Sen: Joe Scarnati, D, who has said that there are enough fish stocks to feed all of the world.
Scarnati has said he would consider a change in the state fish laws to allow for greater use of the trawl fishery to help replenish fish stocks.
The salmon-farming industry is also trying to get more funding for research and conservation efforts.
The federal Fish and Food Conservation Service, the USDA, has said it will take action on the fisheries crisis, including implementing additional requirements for fish farms, reducing waste and pollution, and requiring all fish farms to produce more fish.
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