Populations of the threatened Delta smelt have plummeted to the lowest in history. The three-inch fish is often the focus of California’s water wars. Every fall and spring, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife conducts trawls to determine populations of the threatened Delta Smelt. This year the department hasn’t netted more than seven fish in each trawl.

“Delta smelt have suffered significantly because of the drought and the extended period of low inflow and outflow from the Delta,” says Carl Wilcox with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.