ITEM:		INFORMATIONAL ITEMS/STAFF REPORTS
18.	CARMEL RIVER FISHERY REPORT FOR JUNE 2014
Meeting Date:			July 21, 2014	Budgeted:	N/A
From:			David J. Stoldt,	Program/	N/A
			General Manager	Line Item No.:
Prepared By:			Beverly Chaney	Cost Estimate:	N/A
General Counsel Review: N/A
Committee Recommendation: N/A
CEQA Compliance: N/A

AQUATIC HABITAT AND FLOW CONDITIONS:  During June 2014, Carmel River streamflow at the MPWMD Highway 1 gage (HW 1) was 0 cubic-feet per second (cfs).   As of June 30, the wetted front remained near Robinson Canyon Road Bridge (River Mile, [RM], 8.46 with occasional isolated deep pools in some reaches down to the Quail Lodge area (RM 4.3). An additional mile of stream was dry or intermittent in the Carmel Valley Trail and Saddle Club reach (~RM 13.0).

Mean daily streamflow in June at the District’s Carmel River at Sleepy Hollow Weir gaging station ranged from 2.3 to 6.2 cfs, with a mean monthly flow of 3.45 cfs.  During June, 0.0 inches of rainfall were recorded at California American Water’s (CAW) San Clemente Dam (SCD).  The rainfall total for WY 2014 (which started on October 1, 2013) is 10.42 inches, or 49% of the long-term annual average (to date) of 21.09 inches.

CARMEL RIVER LAGOON:  In June 2014, the lagoon’s water-surface elevation (WSE) remained relatively stable between 3.2 - 3.5 feet above mean sea level (see graph below).  Surface inflow to the lagoon ceased on May 24, 2013. There was no river inflow to the lagoon and the mouth remained closed.

Water quality profiles were conducted in late June at five sites. Water temperatures were warm, ranging from 67 – 70 degrees F, dissolved oxygen (DO) levels were good at 8-12 mg/l, and salinity levels remained low at 0-3.5 ppt.

Striped bass continue to be an issue in the lagoon. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is conducting depletion fishing efforts.

LOWER RIVER STEELHEAD RESCUES:  Staff began steelhead smolt and juvenile rescues on March 3, 2014, the earliest rescue start since 1991. By the end of June, a total of 2,703 fish had been rescued, including: 873 smolts, 1,740 non-smolted juveniles, 85 young-of-year (YOY), and five adults. The YOY fish are progeny from non-sea run spawning adults – possibly even some of the largest fish released from the Sleepy Hollow Steelhead Rearing Facility last fall. The smolts and adults were acclimated to seawater then released into the ocean at Stewart’s Cove, near the Carmel River mouth. The juveniles and YOY were transported farther upstream and released.

MARK AND RECAPTURE/PIT TAG STUDY WITH NOAA FISHERIES: District fisheries staff has been working with NOAA Fisheries staff from the Santa Cruz Lab on a tagging study using steelhead the District rescued from the lower Carmel River and reared in their Sleepy Hollow Steelhead Rearing Facility (SHSRF) last year. Approximately 1,000 juvenile steelhead were transferred from the SHSRF to the NOAA lab in September 2013. They were then implanted with Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tags; a research and management tool for monitoring the movement of juvenile and adult fish. These fish were then released back into the Carmel River below San Clemente Dam in March 2014. The original intent of the study was to determine the timing of outmigration between different size classes of fish. However, the study had to be modified when the river failed to reach the lagoon this year. A mark and recapture project was conducted at the release sites over three weeks in June to determine how many of the tagged fish stayed at the release sites. In addition, District staff collected important tagging data on migrating fish during their trapping and rescue operations this spring and summer. NOAA staff will be analyzing the data and reporting the results this fall.

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