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ITEM:
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INFORMATIONAL ITEMS/STAFF
REPORTS
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28.
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CARMEL RIVER
FISHERY REPORT
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Meeting Date:
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June 18, 2007
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Budgeted:
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N/A
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From:
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David A. Berger,
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Program/
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N/A
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General Manager
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Line Item No.:
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Prepared By:
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Beverly Chaney
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Cost Estimate:
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N/A
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General Counsel
Approval: N/A
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Committee Recommendation: N/A
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CEQA Compliance: N/A
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AQUATIC HABITAT AND FLOW
CONDITIONS: During May 2007, Carmel River
streamflow conditions were poor to fair for juvenile steelhead rearing with
continuous, but low flow down to the California American Water (CAW) Cypress
Well site (River Mile 5.4) and isolated pools to just above the USGS “Near
Carmel” gaging station (RM 3.2). During May, the mean daily streamflow
recorded at the District’s Carmel
River at Sleepy Hollow
Weir gaging station averaged 10.4 cubic feet per second (cfs) and ranged from
6.7 to 15.0 cfs. For additional flow information, see http://www.mpwmd.dst.ca.us/wrd/riverflows/2007/2007.htm. There were 0.06 inches of rainfall
recorded at San Clemente Dam in May by CAW, compared to the long-term May
average of 0.45 inches at this site. The
rainfall total for Water Year 2007 to date (October – May) is 11.37 inches, 54%
of the long-term average of 21.18 inches through May.
CARMEL RIVER LAGOON: During
May, the lagoon’s water surface elevation (WSE) dropped approximately 3.5 feet
from 9.5 feet to 6.0 feet (see chart below).
The outlet channel closed off on April 9, 2007, due to low river inflow
and wave action moving the beach sand into the channel. In early May, staff and volunteers from
California Department of Parks and Recreation (CDPR), the National Marine
Fisheries Service (NMFS), California State University at Monterey Bay (CSUMB),
and the Carmel River Steelhead Association (CRSA) seined parts of the lagoon
and captured 74 steelhead kelts (spawned-out adults) and released them to the
ocean.
WSE at the Carmel River
Lagoon, May 2007
ADULT STEELHEAD COUNTS AT SAN CLEMENTE DAM: The
automated fish counter was installed in December 2006. The first upstream migrating fish for the
2006-2007 season was counted on February 12, 2007 (see graph below). As of April 2, 2007, 222 fish had been
counted. Due to the low WSE in San
Clemente Reservoir and low flow in the fish ladder, the District’s fish counter
was removed in early April to allow fish to move through the ladder without
impediment. All upstream migrating fish
are being digitally video taped for planned future analysis.
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MONTH
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NUMBER OF ADULTS
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DEC 2006
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0
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JAN 2007
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0
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FEB 2007
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63
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MAR 2007
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157
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APR 2007
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2
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JUVENILE STEELHEAD RESCUES: Staff began its annual summer juvenile
steelhead rescues on May 7, 2007. As of
May 31, 2007, approximately 5,503 steelhead have been rescued from the lower
six miles of the Carmel
River between the Highway
1 Bridge and the All Saints Episcopal Day School. Most of the fish
rescued are "young-of-the-year" (YOY) steelhead fry that were born
this year and are about 1-inch long. Most of these rescued steelhead were
transported to the District's Sleepy Hollow Steelhead Rearing Facility
(Facility) in the Upper
Carmel Valley
for rearing. However, of this total, 828
steelhead were released in Garland
Park or near Garzas Creek
in the upper river, before the Facility came on-line for the year.
Smolt Trap – On April 17,
fisheries and river maintenance staff installed a weir and box trap below the Narrows (RM 9.0) to catch downstream migrating steelhead
smolts, kelts, and juveniles. Without
the trap, it is likely that all these fish would have needed to be rescued from
the lower river, as it dried up. By
trapping these fish, the smolts and kelts could be safely transported to the
ocean and the juveniles (including fry) could be moved farther upstream to
reaches that would remain wetted all summer.
The trap was removed on May 31, 2007, as declining flows had reduced the
number of migrating juvenile fish to less than 30 fish per day, with no smolts
observed for the last four days. A total
of 4,284 fish were trapped and transported, including 4,013 YOY fry and age 1+
juveniles, 264 smolts, and seven kelts.
SLEEPY HOLLOW STEELHEAD REARING FACILITY: The first rescued fish were brought to
the Facility on May 14, 2007. As of May
31, 2007, 4,419 fish (4,292 YOY fry and 127 age 1+ juveniles) are being held in
seven tanks and troughs. Most of the YOY
fish are quite small and represent a unique rearing challenge at the
Facility. So far, 58 fish have been lost
during their initial quarantine periods and 97 fish have died during rearing,
for a total mortality rate to date at the Facility of 3.4%
U:\staff\word\boardpacket\2007\2007boardpackets\20070618\InfoItems\28\item28.doc