Nov 26, 2007 2:19 pm US/Pacific
Dead Fish In Delta Sparks Criminal Investigation
SACRAMENTO (AP) ―
State and federal officials are investigating the death of thousands of sport fish in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta after a federal agency drained the water from a protected island.
The die-off occurred after a levee repair near Prospect Island, a 1,200-acre plot administered by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation along Sacramento's Deep Water Ship Channel.
Planners apparently underestimated the number of fish on the other side of a levee that was repaired last month by a private contractor.
Bureau spokesman Jeff McCracken says the agency is now removing the fish carcasses and will try to save the remaining fish, many of which are striped bass.
Bob McDarif, who owns Cliff's Marina near Freeport, says he saw at least 10,000 dead fish in one section.
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