Another effort launched to rescue stranded fish

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Last winter thousands of fish died when they were left stranded by repair work to a levee on an island in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. Workers, like the one pictured here, had to haul away thousands of dead fish from Prospect Island.

But more than 6,000 fish -- striped bass, bluegill, catfish and others -- were saved by volunteers who used nets, buckets and a long pipe to funnel the fish back into delta waters.

The problem started when the levee that rings Prospect Island, about 20 miles south of Sacramento, broke in January 2006, flooding the land. Over time, fish found their way through the breach. When federal authorities hired a private construction firm to repair the levee and pump water off the island, many fish began dying as the waters receded. That’s what prompted the rescue effort in December.

Now Prospect Island is back in the news. It turns out that some fish were still living in the shallow waters around the island. Water levels are dropping in the summer heat, so this week federal officials are launching another operation to save the fish. The Sacramento Bee has the details on the latest rescue effort.

Coincidentally, another fish rescue is being launched today at Caples Lake in the High Sierra.

The California Department of Fish and Game announced that 50 department workers and 85 volunteers will attempt to cut down on the loss of fish expected when the El Dorado Irrigation District lowers the lake level to repair Caples Lake Dam. The fish -- mainly Mackinaw, brown, rainbow and brook trout -- will be hauled to Silver Lake seven miles away.

-- Steve Padilla