ITEM: INFORMATIONAL ITEMS/STAFF REPORTS

23. CARMEL RIVER FISHERY REPORT

Meeting Date: February 19, 2004 Budgeted: N/A

Program/Line Item No.: Aquatic

Staff Contact: Dave Dettman/ Resources Fisheries, 2.4

Beverly Chaney Cost Estimate: N/A

General Counsel Approval: N/A

Committee Recommendation: N/A

CEQA Compliance: N/A

AQUATIC HABITAT AND FLOW CONDITIONS: During most of January 2004, Carmel River streamflow conditions were generally good for smolt out-migration and adult in-migration, and good for fish rearing. Large storms in late December and early January opened the lagoon mouth allowing adult steelhead to move upstream. Lack of rain late in the month reduced stream flow in the lower valley substantially. In January, mean daily streamflow recorded at the District’s Carmel River Sleepy Hollow Weir gaging station averaged 72.6 cubic feet per second (cfs) and ranged from 29 to 341 cfs.

In January 2004, 2.44 inches of rainfall were recorded by Cal-Am at San Clemente Dam (SCD). The long-term January average at this site is 4.40 inches. For Water Year 2004 through the end of January, the total rainfall is 10.46 inches, or 94% of average.

The Carmel River Lagoon was first breached by the Monterey County Public Works Department December 30, 2003 and several times in January 2004 after the sand bar at the mouth built up and blocked river outflow.

Carmel Lagoon Water Level January 2004

ADULT STEELHEAD COUNTS AT SAN CLEMENTE DAM: The District’s automatic adult fish counter at the San Clemente Dam Ladder was installed in early January. As of February 5, 2004, 33 counts had been recorded. A digital surveillance camera is being installed that will be used to calibrate the counter, assess the condition of the fish and possibly the sex of each individual.

SLEEPY HOLLOW STEELHEAD REARING FACILITY: The Facility was shut down for the winter in late December after the last of the young-of-year fish in the rearing channel and the larger juveniles from Tank 3 were released. By September 5, 2003, staff had stocked 28,327 fish at the Facility, or approximately one-half of the total number rescued from the lower river. Between late October and December 31, 2003, a total of 12,737 fish were released from the Facility back into the river. All were in excellent physical condition, and many had grown quite large. The overall survival rate of fish held at the Facility in 2003 is approximately 44%. This is a very favorable result when compared to the survival of wild fish in the lower Carmel River and shows that the combination of the cooling tower, quarantine protocol, feeding regime, and nature-like habitat in the rearing channel is successful in rearing wild-caught juvenile steelhead. Final results are shown below for fish held in the four quarantine tanks (QT-2,3,4,5), the larger fish in the 22’ diameter Tank 3 (T-3), and the young-of-the-year (YOY) fish in the rearing channel (RC).

SHSRF Fish Summary July 18 - December 31, 2003.
Tank #	# Fish Added	# Morts	Unaccounted For	Total Released	% Survival	Notes
QT-2	660	450	0	210	31.8	med size transf. from T-4
QT-3	470	327	0	143	30.4	med size
QT-4	821	224	349	248	30.2	CRSA seined fish.
QT-5	332	86	67	179	53.9	CRSA seined and shocked.
T-3	295	88	1	206	69.8	large 1+ year olds
R C	25,751	5,997	8,003	11,751	45.6	YOY
Totals	28,329	7,172	8,420	12,737	43.6
Unaccounted for fish were either eaten by other fish, morts not found, or the number of
added fish was over estimated at the beginning.

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