ITEM:		INFORMATIONAL ITEMS/STAFF REPORTS
21.	CARMEL RIVER FISHERY REPORT
Meeting Date:			August 18, 2008	Budgeted:	N/A
From:			Darby Fuerst,	Program/	N/A
			General Manager	Line Item No.:
Prepared By:			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 July 2008, Carmel River streamflow conditions were poor for all life stages of fish migration, and fair to poor for juvenile fish rearing. As of July 31, the river front had dried back to approximately river mile (RM) 6.8, above Schulte Road Bridge.

During July 2008, the mean daily streamflow recorded at the District’s Carmel River at Sleepy Hollow Weir gaging station averaged 7.8 cubic feet per second (cfs) and ranged from 5.4 to 11.0 cfs. During July 2008, 0.0 inches of rainfall were recorded at California American Water’s (CAW’s) San Clemente Dam. The long-term average rainfall for July at this location is 0.03 inches. The rainfall total for Water Year 2008 to date is 19.61 inches, which is 93% of the long-term average of 21.21 inches for the water year to date. Since February 2008, only 0.54 inches of rain have been recorded, making this the driest spring/summer since 1997.

CARMEL RIVER LAGOON: The lagoon closed naturally on April 29, 2008. To enhance steelhead rearing habitat in the lagoon over the summer, California State Parks crews fortified the sand berm with bulldozers on May 5, 2008, by pushing beach sand to raise the berm elevation and prevent future breaching. The lagoon filled over the next eight days, reaching a water surface elevation (WSE) of 8.5 feet above mean sea level before starting to slowly drop. During July 2008, the WSE gradually fell from approximately 4.8 feet to 3.7 feet above mean sea level the first half of the month, but has remained relatively constant the second half of the month.

JUVENILE STEELHEAD RESCUES: District staff began its annual summer juvenile steelhead rescues on May 14, 2008. As of July 31, 2008, approximately 69,308 steelhead have been rescued from the lower 6.8 miles of the Carmel River between the Highway 1 Bridge and CAW’s Manor Well.  Of this total, there were 68,975 "young-of-the-year" (YOY) steelhead that were born this year and are now about 2 - 4 inches long, 38 age 1+ juveniles, one smolt, one adult and 293 mortalities (0.42%). Approximately 48,023 steelhead have been transported to the District's Sleepy Hollow Steelhead Rearing Facility (Facility) in upper Carmel Valley, 11,277 were released back into the Carmel River, and 9,612 rescued fish were released into the Carmel River Lagoon.

SLEEPY HOLLOW STEELHEAD REARING FACILITY: The first rescued fish were brought to the Facility on May 14, 2008. As of July 31, 2008, approximately 47,657 fish have been placed in the Facility’s rearing channel and tanks. So far, 322 fish have been lost during their initial quarantine periods and 7,608 fish have died during rearing, for a total mortality rate of 17% to date at the Facility. The tally of fish received at the Facility is more than that shown being delivered in the rescue section, above, due to accounting errors in the two separate sets of records that will be reconciled after the end of the rescue season.

U:\staff\word\boardpacket\2008\2008boardpackets\20080818\InfoItems\21\item21.doc