As the smelt fares so fares the Delta.


It has been collected from estuarine waters with salinities up to 14 parts per thousand.

The following figures (45 through 49) are taken from the MAST report, and provide the basis for assessing management actions relevant to improvement of Delta Smelt status in the near-term (Interagency Ecological Program 2015). Upcoming interagency discussions will explore Delta Smelt culture and potential future use of cultured fish in field experiments (UC Davis 2017).
This academic program has been in progress for about 25 years. Because Delta smelt is a species unique to the San Francisco estuary, keeping it alive is partially a heritage issue. Three years ago, the Service, with the cooperation of other state and federal water agencies, began an early warning monitoring program which provided the Service, and state and federal water managers valuable near real-time information about the location of Delta smelt. Delta Smelt culture has produced insight into the species tolerance to temperature and salinity, swimming ability, and mating behaviors. It is nearly translucent, with a steely-blue sheen on the sides. When the smelt aren't doing well, the entire ecosystem suffers, as is the current situation. The delta smelt is a pelagic and euryhaline species. Figure 45. SF Bay-Delta Fish and Wildlife Office.

Living only in California, the delta smelt is a tiny, silvery blue fish that has been at the heart of a longtime war over the state's water. As the smelt fares so fares the Delta. The delta smelt is endemic to the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta in California, where it is distributed from the Suisun Bay upstream through the delta in Contra Costa, Sacramento, San Joaquin, and Solano Counties. Delta Smelt Performance, of these CMs, and Goal 2 is based on Tier 3, Habitat Attributes. The federally endangered delta smelt, a minnow on the brink of extinction, is at the heart of a bitter struggle over the use of California’s most important estuary, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The tiny delta smelt is one of the best indicators of environmental conditions in the San Francisco Bay-Delta, an ecologically important estuary that is a major hub for California's water system — and an ecosystem that is now rapidly unraveling. A: Delta smelt are considered an "indicator" species used to gauge the overall health of the Delta's aquatic environment.

DESCRIPTION: The delta smelt is a small fish, less than three inches in length for most adults.