ITEM:		INFORMATIONAL ITEMS/STAFF REPORTS
37.	CARMEL RIVER FISHERY REPORT FOR MAY 2019
Meeting Date:			June 17, 2019	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:  One of the wettest Mays in recent history kept the river flows high and provided excellent conditions for migrating steelhead and newly hatched steelhead fry throughout the watershed. See the USGS Robles Del Rio graph below for the January to June river flows (note the logarithmic scale).

May’s mean daily streamflow at the Sleepy Hollow Weir ranged from 75 to 122 cfs (monthly mean 92 cfs) resulting in 5,650 acre-feet (AF) of runoff. Mean daily streamflow at the Highway 1 gage ranged from 84 to 127 cfs (monthly mean 101 cfs) resulting in 6,200 acre-feet (AF) of runoff.

There were 2.01 inches of rainfall in May as recorded at the San Clemente gauge. The rainfall total for WY 2019 (which started on October 1, 2018) is 30.93 inches, or 147% of the long-term year-to-date average of 20.98 inches. 

LOS PADRES DAM ADULT COUNTS:  Cal-Am maintains a fish ladder and trap at the Los Padres Dam site. All adult steelhead captured in the trap are trucked to the reservoir and released. Most fish are now being tagged by NMFS staff before being released into Los Padres Reservoir.

The first sea-run adult steelhead arrived at the trap on January 16, 2019 and as of May 31, 126 adults (39 males/87 females) have been captured and translocated above the dam. This is the forth greatest number of returning adults to LPD since 2003 (and the highest since 2012). The trap was shut down for the season on May 13^th due to a large landslide into the reservoir that effected the trap’s water source.

STEELHEAD REDD SURVEYS: Fisheries staff completed redd (nests) surveys in the Carmel River mainstem and portions of some tributaries in May. High flows between January and late April during this “Extremely Wet” water-year precluded walking the river earlier in the season. Additionally, the high peak flows likely smoothed out early redds making them difficult to identify in May, so the reported redd counts are undoubtedly an underestimate of the true number.

Regardless, the number of observed redds in 2019 (121) was more than double that of 2018 (52), and continues an upward trend since the severe 2012-2015 drought (see chart below).

The number of Pacific Lamprey (a species of special concern) redds is more variable, but has increased dramatically in the past 10 years, and with the removal of San Clemente dam in 2015, lamprey are able to access many additional miles of stream for the first time since the 1920’s.

Total Estimated Number of Returning Adult Steelhead - Adding the number of adults counted at LPD (126) and using an estimate of two adults per redd (2 x 121 = 242), we estimate that the 2019 sea-run adult steelhead count was at least 368 fish (likely higher due to early season spawning).

TRIBUTARIES FISH RESCUES: Staff began fish rescues in three lower tributaries in early May. As of May 31, 2019 a total of 1,255 fish have been rescued, including: 1,246 young-of-the-year (YOY), two age 1+ fish, and seven mortalities. Mid-May rains brought flows back up in the tributaries so no additional rescues were needed until June.

CARMEL RIVER LAGOON:  The lagoon mouth opened for the season on January 6, 2019. In May, the lagoon’s water surface elevation (WSE) ranged from approximately 3.9 to 11.5 feet due to changes in tidal and wave action and three brief closings (North American Vertical Datum of 1988; NAVD 88) (see graph below).

Water quality depth-profiles were conducted at five sites on May 24, 2019 while the lagoon mouth was open, the water surface elevation was ~4.5 feet, and river inflow was 112 cfs. Steelhead rearing and migration conditions were generally “good”. Throughout the lagoon, salinity was low (0.5 - 15 ppt), dissolved oxygen (DO) levels were typically around 10 mg/l but ranged from 6 - 13 mg/l in the north and south arms. Water temperatures remained steady, ranging from 59 - 65 degrees F.  Water quality conditions in the main body of the lagoon remained excellent overall with the fresh river water running through it. 

U:\staff\Boardpacket\2019\20190617\InfoItems\37\Item-37.docx