Tim McKay flew over the Klamath in a helicopter on September 25th and counted 10,500 dead fish before he just gave up.

He began counting near Mill Creek on the Trinity River.

Before reaching Weitchpec along HWY 96 inside the Yurok Reservation he had counted 50 deceased coho and steelhead.

At Johnsons, CA--just beyond Weitchpec--the number dramatically increased to 2,100.

By the time the helicopter reached the boat ramp at the estuary near the Pacific Ocean the number was 10,500!

The estimate is now 30,000.

According to Tim: "the carnage is unreal and it's even more unreal to see people standing in the midst of all of it fly fishing...i would think that the smell would lay them low...there were places where the rotting bodies were piled up and we were hovering overhead and we could certainly smell it."

Excellent ocean conditions and high freshwater runoff in Klamath River tributaries during 1997, 1998 and 1999 have resulted in a large return of salmon to the Klamath where environmental conditions are hostile enough to result in this tragic fish mortality.

Similarly, a resort owner and fishing guide from Klamath dumped two buckets of dead fish in the Del Norte County courthouse because the board of supervisors did not immediately demand a declaration of disaster and emergency.

Some dead fish began to appear in the Klamath and Trinity rivers in mid-August, when the government system of dams and canals let 30% more water go to Klamath irrigators than to the river.

The farmers, who produce uneconomic potato and other crops on land in and near upper basin wildlife refuges, claim a superior right to the river water.

This claim has been buttressed by the Bush administration through the federal Bureau of Reclamation—over the protests of Indians, fishing communities and environmentalists who insist the system is out of balance and plainly illegal.

Last year, authorities stood by when farmers illegally opened floodgates to grab more water. The White House gave its tacit support, even dispatching cabinet members to witness a bucket brigade diverting Klamath water for agriculture.

Warnings Ignored

This year, the government’s own scientists warned repeatedly that shifting water from fish to farms would be a nightmare for the downstream fishery.

Tribal biologists concurred, but “they played Russian roulette with our fish, and our fish lost,” said scientist Troy Fletcher of the Yurok tribe.

By mid-September, tens of thousands of fall chinook were heaving onto riverbanks and littering pools and eddies as far as Mill Creek on the Trinity.

Though the majority were chinook, at least 100 imperiled coho succumbed. Federal, state and tribal biologists were heartbroken to see one of the larger fall runs decimated.

Lesser numbers of steelhead, green sturgeon and threatened suckerfish also were found.

NEC Airborne

The NEC instigated an overflight in late September, resulting in a count of at least 10,000 dead salmon—and a host of film and photos that were distributed nationwide. In addition, it urged Governor Gray Davis to declare the lower Klamath and mainstem Trinity a disaster area.

The NEC and a handful of other groups also went ahead with a long-planned complaint charging the Bureau of Reclamation with failure to provide enough water for the coho. An angry Thompson, who represents the lower river in Congress, signed on as a new plaintiff.

The bureau, while still not admitting that fish need more water, finally in late September sent out a “pulse” of water to the pulseless fish.

This failed to satisfy the California Department of Fish & Game, which insisted the river needs more water in a sustained way—especially in the absence of anticipated fall rains.

The state agency was closely monitoring water quality throughout the basin, fearing that the bureau will release poor quality water that would exacerbate the die-off.

Too Damn Hot

The unofficial diagnosis seems to indicate "gill rot"; a bacterial infection of the gills that will kill fish by adulterating their gill tissue along with an associated fungus.

The condition cuts blood supply to the gill tissue (the lungs of the fish) and the affected areas die and slough out leaving gaping sockets in the gill arches. The conditions typically result from high organic pollution loads, high Nitrate levels, high water temperatures and reduced oxygen levels.

Although the fish were primarily dying from a combination of naturally occurring parasites and diseases, biologists say these organisms usually are held in check by low water temperature. Salmonids are cold water fish and begin to stress when water temperatures go above 68 degrees.

During the low flow period, temperatures in the estuary where large numbers of fish were stranded fluctuated between 70 and 80 degrees.

Farmers actually attempted to spin the story by saying the problem was too many fish, and patted themselves on the back by claiming the brief flow increase resulted “because of conservation efforts made by project farmers this summer.”

The tally of dead fish was put at 12,000, but that does not reflect those that sank beyond sight in the river depths, washed out to sea or were eaten by scavengers.

Summing up the tragedy, Yurok tribal chair Sue Masten said: “We begged them for more water, starting in the spring. They would not consult with us. They ignored us. And now people are feeling helpless and outraged. It’s just a sickening feeling.”