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Introduction
Introduction
This species is considered functionally extinct in the wild, with only around 100 fish believed to still exist in their historical habitat. They were once eaten by everything in the Delta, supporting entire populations, but came under threat from invasive species that competed with it for food, as well as extended droughts which have changed the salinity of their habitat.
They exist no where else in the world, and are so critical to their habitat that they are now being bred in captivity, on land to help protect them while conservationists and law makers work to improve the conditions of their threatened delta.
Projects & Programs
Projects & Programs
North America
North America
USA
USA
California
The Delta Smelt Experimental Release Study "involves releasing 90,000 laboratory-raised fish into the Delta this season to determine which methods prove the most effective at production, tagging, transport and release of the fish into the wild. Learning which plan works best could someday help to supplement the population with a goal of aiding in the recovery of the species.
While being raised in captivity, each fish is marked by hand with an adipose fin clip or a fluorescent tag. A particular color indicates to scientists the date, location and experimental method of the release.
Recently 32 metal 20-gallon containers were filled with 200 Delta smelt and emptied directly into the Sacramento River into a specially designed submerged cage. The cage provided a safe environment while the fish adjusted to the river temperature and their new surroundings before they were fully released a few hours later into the river. Through Delta smelt monitoring surveys that are conducted routinely each year, CDFW can learn about their health and survivability.
“Last year was the first time we were able to uniquely mark fish from different experimental release events and get decent numbers of adult fish recaptured in our monitoring surveys,” said CDFW Environmental Program Manager Dr. James Hobbs. “We’re releasing adult fish just before the spawning season, and we’re hoping these fish will meet up and produce the next generations.”
Unfortunately, the same factors responsible for the near disappearance of the fish are still present including a less than reliable flow of freshwater, low food productivity, loss of wetland habitats, predation by non-native species and other reasons. But scientists say the experiment is showing some positive results with survival and recovery of released adults."
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