The Karuk Tribe, along with commercial and recreational fishermen, are calling on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to place restrictions on recreational suction-dredge gold mining on the Klamath River as the state reels from the worst salmon season closure in history.

The groups are hoping that Schwarzenegger will agree to a provision added by the Legislature to the 2008 Budget Bill that would establish a temporary moratorium on suction dredge mining in areas that represent the most important habitat for salmon and trout while the Department of Fish and Game revises its regulations in compliance with a 2006 court order.

“In April, the state and federal government took unprecedented emergency actions to completely close California’s coast to recreational and commercial salmon fishing, something that is causing severe economic harm to businesses and communities,” said Brian Stranko, chief executive officer of California Trout. “This is why it is inappropriate and unacceptable for state government to allow recreational suction-dredge mining operations to continue to harm fish, particularly endangered species like coho salmon.”

Suction dredges are powered by gas or diesel engines that are mounted on floating pontoons in the river that are used to suction up the gravel and sand from the bottom of the river that passes through a sluice box where heavier gold particles can settle into a series of riffles. The rest of the gravel and potentially toxic sediment is simply dumped back into the river, according to the groups, and depending on size, location and density of these machines can turn a clear running mountain stream or river segment into a murky watercourse unfit for swimming.

“Dredging disturbs spawning gravels and kills salmon eggs and immature lamprey that reside in the gravel for up to seven years before maturing,” according to Toz Soto, lead fisheries biologist for the Karuk Tribe.

Soto also raised concerns that residual mercury left over from 1800s gold-smelting operations on the bottom of the river may be reintroduced from dredging and can potentially be a toxic hazard for fish and people.