ITEM:		INFORMATIONAL ITEMS/STAFF REPORTS
38.	CARMEL RIVER FISHERY REPORT FOR MAY 2018
Meeting Date:			June 18, 2018	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: This action does not constitute a project as defined by the California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines Section 15378.

AQUATIC HABITAT AND FLOW CONDITIONS:  Cool and damp May weather worked to keep river flows above the long-term daily median in the lower river, maintaining excellent rearing conditions and fair migration conditions for juvenile steelhead.

Mean daily streamflow at the Sleepy Hollow Weir dropped from 50 to 28 cfs (monthly mean 36.7 cfs) resulting in 2,260 acre-feet (AF) of runoff, while mean daily streamflow at the Highway 1 gage dropped from 52 to 23 cfs (monthly mean 33.3 cfs), resulting in 2,050 AF of runoff.

There were 0.10 inches of rainfall in May as recorded at Cal-Am’s San Clemente gauge. The rainfall total for WY 2018 (which started on October 1, 2017) is 13.52 inches, or 65% of the long-term year-to-date average of 20.93 inches. 

CARMEL RIVER LAGOON:  Aside from one major closure mid-month, the lagoon mouth opened and closed with the tides as the water surface level ranged from 3.5 to 11.3 feet above mean-sea-level (see graph below).

Water quality depth-profiles were conducted at five sites on May 11 while the lagoon was closed and filling with a river inflow of 74 cfs and seawater over-wash. Salinity increased with depth (0.5-28 ppt), temperature was variable with location (upper south arm was warmest) ranging from (57-67 degrees F), and dissolved oxygen (DO) levels were fairly consistent at (7-10 mg/l) resulting in “fair to good” steelhead rearing conditions.

LIFE CYCLE MONITORING:

Los Padres Dam Adult Counts - Cal-Am maintains a fish ladder and trap at the Los Padres Dam (LPD) site. All adult steelhead and resident trout captured in the trap are trucked to the reservoir and released. As of May 31, 28 sea-run adult steelhead (20 came in April) and nine resident adult trout have been captured and moved above the dam. The downstream smolt bypass facility was activated on February 8, 2018.

Rescues – Staff conducted fish rescues in four tributaries in May, collecting a total of 253 juvenile fish that were released into the Carmel River.

Tagging – Rescued fish larger than 65 mm are now being tagged with Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tags. District staff is currently operating four PIT tag arrays on the Carmel River in a partnership between the District and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). Data is being collected for future analysis and reporting.

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