ITEM:		INFORMATIONAL ITEMS/STAFF REPORTS
26.	CARMEL RIVER FISHERY REPORT FOR AUGUST 2009
Meeting Date:			September 21, 2009	Budgeted:	N/A
From:			Darby Fuerst,	Program/	N/A
			General Manager	Line Item No.:
Prepared By:			Cory Hamilton	Cost Estimate:	N/A
General Counsel Review: N/A
Committee Recommendation: N/A
CEQA Compliance: N/A

AQUATIC HABITAT AND FLOW CONDITIONS: During August 2009, Carmel River streamflow conditions for fish migration in the lower river were inadequate for both adults and smolts with no flow to the lagoon. The current river front is just downstream of the California American Water’s (CAW’s) Begonia Well, at River Mile 7.7. Juvenile fish rearing was adequate above the Scarlett Narrows at River Mile 9.6, but becomes increasingly adverse downstream as flows continued to decline.

During August 2009, the mean daily streamflow recorded at the District’s Carmel River at Sleepy Hollow Weir gaging station at River Mile 17.6 averaged 8.4 cubic feet per second (cfs) and ranged from 7.6 to 11 cfs. During August 2009, no measurable rainfall was recorded at CAW’s San Clemente Dam (SCD). The rainfall total for Water Year 2009 through August is 18.08 inches, which is 85% of the long-term average of 21.4 inches for the water year to date.

CARMEL RIVER LAGOON: During August 2009, the lagoon’s water surface elevation (WSE) ranged from approximately 4.57 to 3.57 feet above mean sea level (see 1^st graph below). Water quality in the lagoon was considered stressful for steelhead rearing with water temperatures ranging from 66 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the vertical water column.

FISH RESCUE: On June 22, 2009, staff began steelhead rescues, starting at the Highway 1 Bridge and working up to CAW’s Begonia well by the end of August. A total of 13,313 fish were rescued, 12,508 young-of-year, 696 yearlings and 109 mortalities. Staff brought 12,773 fish to the Sleepy Hollow Steelhead Rearing Facility, 138 were released into the Lagoon and 293 were released at the Sleepy Hollow Ford.

SLEEPY HOLLOW STEELHEAD REARING FACILITY: All fish brought into the facility go through a quarantine process, after which they are recounted and stocked into the rearing channel. During this process, there are some numerical differences between the number of fish that is brought in for quarantine and the number of fish that is stocked into the channel. These differences represent fish that are consumed by other fish during transport and while in the quarantine tank or numerical counting errors in the field during rescue. As of August 31, 2009, staff has stocked a total of 12,400 fish into the rearing channel, 11,353 young-of-year, 602 yearlings and 445 mortalities. The survival rate in the rearing channel through the end of August was 96.4%. There are also 329 fish being held in the quarantine tanks, for a total of 12,284 fish at the facility.

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