Apparently deciding that nature does not know best, a group of fisherman decided this week to open a direct channel through a sandbar at the mouth of the Carmel River in California. "Instead of angling the direction of the channel to slow its current, they cut the breach directly out to sea, creating a swift flow of water that could sweep young steelhead into the ocean." Chris Counts in the Carmel Pine Cone.(Thanks to reader Sherelyn Campbell for sending this link.)
Willful Ignorance Threatens Carmel River Steelhead
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Though wrong of these fishermen to take these matters into their own hands and breach the river. The Carmel River was just a couple hours from opening it's self as the lagoon was about to spill it's banks into the sea in that same spot. This river had been opening and sealing up on it's own for days before this and continued to do so for weeks after as low water flows couldn't keep it open and a sand bar would form and seal it up. In a day or two the lagoon would fill up and spill back into the sea the same way, this went on for many days before & weeks after. The spot were the fishermen opened it was right where it would of opened on it's own with a couple more hours of filling. The fishermen were wrong for doing this, but this was a very poorly written article with little facts. If they really cared about these Steelhead on this river they should have written an article on how the water agency's continue to take 70% more water than they are allowed and have been doing so for way to long. It's a water issue that has these Steelhead in trouble, not some fisherman breaching the lagoon when it would have done so the same way in a couple hours by it's self. It seems like the press love giving black eyes to the fishermen, but continue to turn their backs to the real problem, Over Pumping of Carmel River Water, when will they get it right?