Goldfish, Bluefish, Big Fish, No Fish The old man stands on the riverbank, staring into the shallow, fast-moving current. It's a warm autumn, warmer than he remembered. As a boy he spent every cold autumn morning standing on this very spot, rhythmically casting his line into the shallow water, hoping a large Chinook would take the fly. As he stares and remembers these beautiful memories, an immense sadness is brought to light. The river is now empty, depleted of fish, once abundant and wonderful. This old man had witnessed the steady decline of the once massive salmon population, which has now been depleted. Luckily for California, this story is fiction for now. California's salmon population isn't a topic that gets talked about much. Indeed, with such common problems as drought, global warming and the array of tensions constantly emerging in the Middle East, it is easy to overlook a single species of fish. But this fish is more than just a fish: it is an extraordinary biological example of an organism that traverses ecosystems and overcomes great adversity, all to ensure the survival of its species. It has been said that "many years ago you could cross a river without getting your feet wet", due to the large populations of salmon that made the journey back to the spawning beds each year. This journey to reproduction was quite difficult before humans came along and transformed the land to suit our selfish needs and we have only made the salmon's experience worse. The situation became so bad that in 2008 and 2009 the salmon fishing season was completely cancelled. This continued decline begs the question: Is California doing everything it can to save this anadromous species? Before... halfway through the document... he wrote "Chinook Salmon". Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission. The Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission. 16 December 1996. Web. 21 July 21 2014. Gonzales, Richard. "Truckin': Salomon Takes a Long, Strange Trip." Editorial. The salt. National Public Radio. March 26, 2014. Web. July 22, 2014. Johnson, David. Telephone interview. July 19, 2014. Obegi, Doug, et al. “How Water Management in the Bay-Delta Threatens the Future of California Salmon Fisheries.” Fish out of water. National Resources Defense Council. July 2008. Web. July 22, 2014. "Pacific Salmon: California's King of Fish." Printed document file format. California Department of Fish and Wildlife. California Department of Fish and Wildlife. ND Web. July 21, 2014. “The Sacramento San Joaquin Delta Crisis: The Decline of the Delta.” Water 4 Fish. Acqua4Fish. ND Web. 23 July 2014