If it's dry, how can there be species? Maybe he plans to hydrate them back to life.
Instant fish. - Just add water.
I've been bass and trout fishing that river since I was a kid and it's not dry, but it doesn't have a continuous flow especially for the migratory fish that we have heard used to come through back in the day. The rivers north of us that do still sustain those runs are "dry" some of the year to sustain the farms but then water is released during the migration time for the fish. Maybe a timed flow pattern combined with a fish ladder at Milleton dam and we'd get salmon run and water for the farms, etc. As long as the farms get enough water, it sure would be fun to catch a 20 lb steelhead in the San Joaquin!