Science Spotlight

Joe Millosovich, an environmental scientist who specializes in lake and fisheries management in the Central Valley, came all the way from Fresno to captain one of the electrofishing boats collecting bass in the Delta Jan. 16. Several of CDFW’s biologists participating in the outing called it one of their favorite days of the year.


Max Fish, an environmental scientist with CDFW’s Inland Fisheries Program, captained the electrofishing boat that collected the largest largemouth bass of the morning – a 10-pound-plus whopper.


Kyle Murphy, a senior environmental scientist with CDFW’s Inland Fisheries Program, shows off two of the larger Delta largemouth bass headed for the International Sportsmen’s Exposition demonstration tank in Sacramento.

Among the more popular attractions at the Sacramento International Sportsmen’s Expo each January is the Western Bass Aquarium Demo Tank. The 6,000-gallon aquarium displays dozens of trophy largemouth bass collected by CDFW biologists from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The aquarium demo tank, with bleachers on both sides, is where professional bass anglers lead seminars demonstrating the latest techniques and can’t-miss lures – all without hooks attached so as not to injure the fish.

“This is the best display of largemouth bass anywhere in the country,” said Kent Brown, the longtime host of the ISE demonstration tank. “And that’s not just me talking. That’s from tournament bass fishermen who travel all over the country. There’s just no bass anywhere that can rival these Delta bass.”

The tank is also a tremendous source of pride for the CDFW fisheries biologists tasked with collecting the fish.

“It’s great for people to see the kind of fish they can catch here in their own backyard,” says Ben Ewing, a CDFW district fisheries biologist who headed the ISE collection effort this year. “All the fish get released back into the Delta immediately after the show and literally are available for anyone with a fishing license to catch.”

A mix of 16 fisheries biologists and volunteers assembled along the Delta near Stockton the morning of Jan. 16, the day before the opening of the four-day ISE show at Sacramento’s Cal Expo. They climbed onto four electrofishing boats to probe likely largemouth hideouts – tule stands, rip-rap shoreline, sunken boats, submerged tree limbs and other structure.

“We all come together to try and make a good display for the public,” Ewing said.

Over the years, a friendly competition has developed. A trophy and bragging rights go to the CDFW boat captain who collects the largest bass for the show. Each of the four captains took off with their crews in different directions searching for a largemouth bass that might not only win the day but one that might top their all-time ISE show record fish of more than 13 pounds.

The boats sent targeted currents of electricity through the water while crew members standing on the bow were ready with nets to scoop up the stunned fish for deposit into the live wells for safekeeping. In more than 20 years of providing Delta largemouth bass for the Sacramento ISE show, CDFW biologists have refined their methods and strategies.

In addition to looking for the largest fish, a mix of sizes is collected. Smaller bass add perspective in the tank and make the biggest fish look even bigger. Suckers, catfish and large sunfish add some fun diversity to the display. Striped bass are a no-go – they don’t do so well in transport and they’ve been known to jump out of the aquarium.

Max Fish, an environmental scientist with CDFW’s Inland Fisheries Program, piloted one of the electrofishing boats. He explained how these vessels are important research tools that allows CDFW scientists to survey fish populations and assess health in the state’s lakes and reservoirs. CDFW puts one of the boats on display at the ISE show each year and points out the connection between the boat and the bass in the tank.

On that overcast January morning with major winter storms looming in the forecast, Fish sent 340 volts of electric current through the shallow Delta waters. The conditions for electrofishing were nearly ideal – the plentiful organic material in the Delta helps conduct electricity while the overcast skies were unlikely to spook fish and send them deep beyond the boat’s effective reach.

Fish said the boat’s electric current ranges about 10 feet deep and about 20 feet wide – roughly the span between the two sets of anodes extending from the boat’s bow into the water.

Fish’s efforts were rewarded with the largest bass of the day – a 10.3-pound lunker among others in the 9- and 8-pound class. After congratulations, photos and good-natured ribbing from his colleagues back at the dock, the 60 or so fish collected by all the boats were shuttled directly to Sacramento’s ISE show in an aerated live well.

Meeting them there was CDFW veterinarian and fish pathologist Keven Kwak, who tested and treated the aquarium’s water to make sure it was safe for what would be the fish’s short, but celebrated stay in Sacramento.

CDFW Photos. Top Photo: CDFW biologists stand ready with nets in hand to scoop up temporarily stunned fish for the ISE’s bass fishing demonstration tank in Sacramento. Biologists look for the biggest and best specimens to showcase the Delta fishery. While the biologists are targeting largemouth bass primarily, the electric current brings up carp, catfish, suckers, striped bass and all manner of sunfish. Within a minute or two, the stunned fish come to and swim off.

Media Contact:
Peter Tira, CDFW Communications, (916) 322-8908

As California deer hunters head to the fields, forests and mountains this summer and fall, their experiences will provide wildlife biologists with key data on the health of the state’s deer herds. Wildlife biologists are already seeing the benefits of a 2015 regulation change requiring all deer tag holders to report how they did – successful or not – along with how many days they actually spent hunting, even if they never made it out at all. A record 84 percent of deer tag holders submitted harvest reports for 2016.

“We’re getting more accurate and precise numbers for harvest than we’ve ever had before, which is critical for calculating the tag quota for the next year and conserving our deer populations for the future,” said Stuart Itoga, a senior environmental scientist with CDFW and the state’s deer program coordinator.

Until recently, accurate deer harvest data had proved elusive. Prior to 2015, only successful California deer hunters had to report their take and only about 30 percent of those actually complied. CDFW supplemented the harvest data with numbers collected from game processing facilities, an inefficient process that still left an incomplete picture.

“It’s Wildlife Management 101,” Itoga said. “You have to know what your population is, what’s coming in and what’s going out. We needed to have better numbers.”

Following the mandatory reporting requirement in 2015, submittal rates for deer tag harvest reports jumped to 50 percent. In 2016, a $21.60 non-reporting penalty took effect, which applies to the purchase of future tags, and boosted reporting to the all-time high.

Mandatory deer tag reporting data is just one of a number of new tools that has CDFW deer biologists excited about their ability to better assess California’s deer herds. An innovative DNA study of deer feces promises to give biologists new information about the size and characteristics of the state’s deer population.

CDFW has also greatly expanded the use of deer tracking collars, thanks to improved technology. Since 2016, CDFW has affixed the relatively lightweight, remotely programmable, GPS tracking devices on 350 deer to learn more about their preferred habitat, in-state and out-of-state migration routes and sources of mortality other than hunting. Advanced camera technology also promises to improve the data collected from CDFW’s aerial and ground-based population surveys. A new computer model is being developed to incorporate all of these new data sources into more sophisticated, accurate and precise deer population estimates.

“It’s really an exciting time to be doing this type of work,” Itoga said. “We’ve always used the best available science, but with technology moving at the pace it’s moving now, we have tools available to us now that we didn’t have even five years ago.”

Management changes can happen more quickly as a result. For the upcoming 2017 deer hunting seasons, for example, deer tag quotas were cut in half in three highly desirable, Eastern Sierra X Zones – X9a, X9b and X12 – as a result of new data and field work that showed that migratory deer in these areas suffered from the long, intense winter.

“Winter survival was poor,” Itoga said. “Our hope is that if we reduce the harvest this year, the populations will have a chance to rebound and increase next year.”

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has completed its annual waterfowl breeding population survey.

Mallards, gadwall and cinnamon teal comprised 54 percent of the ducks observed, down 30 percent from last year. The number of mallards decreased from 263,774 to 198,392 (a decrease of 25 percent) and total ducks decreased from 417,791 to 396,529 (a decrease of five percent).

The most notable decrease occurred in the Sacramento Valley area, where mallards were estimated at a record low of 31,000 (73 percent below the long-term average).

Given the abundant precipitation, one might expect the numbers to be higher. In some parts of the state, it did indeed increase available habitat (uplands and ponds). But in many areas, last winter’s heavy rains largely resulted in deep, fast-flowing water, which is not ideal for dabbling ducks. Other reasons for low duck observations could include winter flooding of nesting habitat that normally remains dry, the late-season flooding of the rice fields in the Sacramento Valley and the conversion of rice fields and pastures to tree crops.

CDFW biologists and warden pilots have conducted this annual survey using fixed-wing aircraft since 1948. This year’s survey was conducted from April 3 through May 4 in the Central Valley, and May 9-10 in northeastern California. The population estimates are for the surveyed areas only, which include the majority of the suitable duck nesting habitat in the state. Surveyed areas include wetland and agricultural areas in northeastern California, throughout the Central Valley, the Suisun Marsh and some coastal valleys.

The full Breeding Population Survey Report can be found at www.wildlife.ca.gov/conservation/birds/waterfowl.

The majority of California’s wintering duck population originates from breeding areas surveyed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in Alaska and Canada. Those survey results should be available in early August. CDFW survey information, along with similar data from other Pacific Flyway states, is used by the USFWS and the Pacific Flyway Council when setting hunting regulations for the Pacific Flyway states, including California.

Deer population estimates are an important element of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (CDFW) management decisions regarding the species – including setting quotas for deer-hunting seasons, acquiring land and identifying habitat improvement projects. Historically, CDFW has relied upon helicopter surveys to obtain these population estimates, but such surveys can be problematic. While they are effective in open and largely flat areas, they are less so in tree-laden areas where deer are hidden from sight. They can also be extremely expensive.

Now, thanks to emerging DNA technology, scientists are exploring a less invasive, cost-effective alternative: Analysis of what the deer leave behind.

The use of DNA is not new, of course – CDFW has used hair or tissue samples to extract DNA and identify individual animals for years. But scientists are finding that the painstaking collection and analysis of deer droppings is particularly useful because it allows them to gather the necessary information without physically touching (or stressing) the animals. And that, one might say, is the “bottom line.”

Fecal DNA analysis is being used by wildlife biologists in the North Central Region as part of a six-year region-wide study of mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) that will provide population estimates in areas where data has previously been lacking. CDFW scientists, in cooperation with UC Davis, will use the deer pellets to take a genetic “fingerprint” designed to help estimate deer populations.

Starting in 2016, a crew began setting transects for pellet collection in the standardized sampling locations (known to hunters as deer zones X6a/b, X7a/b and X8) which are located in Lassen, Plumas, Sierra, Nevada, Placer and Alpine counties. After starting points were randomly selected, habitat information and pictures were collected along with fresh pellets. After the pellets were removed from the area in an initial sweep, scientists revisited the transect once a week for three more weeks to collect new samples. Between July and September of 2016, biologists visited 43 different transects in the summer range and collected and analyzed 458 fresh pellet samples. Staff also captured 20 does and seven bucks and fit them with satellite collars that produced data that helped identify summer home ranges.

CDFW will also use DNA to identify individual deer to help gather buck/doe/fawn ratios. Biologists will then combine the DNA data with home range data from collared deer to calculate the estimated number of deer in the population. This year staff have already completed another 36 plots and collared 18 more deer. Another series of pellet collections is scheduled next year, with a goal of continuing until all 17 counties in the region have been sampled.

Although several DNA projects are occurring across the state, this project is the largest landscape-level study for deer in California. The study is funded through CDFW’s Big Game Account, a dedicated account that provides research and management funds for game species. The University of California will conduct the laboratory work and statistical analysis.