ITEM:		INFORMATIONAL ITEM/STAFF REPORT
24.	CARMEL RIVER FISHERY REPORT FOR NOVEMBER 2020
Meeting Date:			December 14, 2020	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:  Carmel River flows held relatively steady in November, providing good rearing conditions for steelhead young-of-the-year (YOY) in the mid to upper watershed and improving conditions in the lower valley as the wetted front advanced downstream into the Rancho Canada reach.

November’s mean daily streamflow at the Sleepy Hollow Weir ranged from 8.7 to 11 cubic-feet-per-second (cfs) (monthly mean 9.9 cfs) resulting in 590 acre-feet (AF) of runoff. The Highway 1 gage remained dry.

There were 0.54 inches of rainfall in November as recorded at the San Clemente gauge. The rainfall total for WY 2021 (which started on October 1, 2020) is 0.54 inches, or 19% of the long-term year-to-date average of 2.85 inches. 

CARMEL RIVER LAGOON:  The lagoon mouth closed for the summer on June 16, 2020. During October, the lagoon water surface elevation (WSE) ranged from approximately 6.4 to 7.8 feet due to waves overtopping the beach berm (North American Vertical Datum of 1988; NAVD 88) (See graph below).

Water quality depth-profiles were conducted at five sites on November 19, 2020 while the lagoon mouth was closed, water surface elevation was 7.75 feet, and river inflow was 0 cfs. Steelhead rearing conditions were generally “good”, especially above two meters depth. Salinity ranged from 7 - 22 ppt, dissolved oxygen (DO) levels were variable ranging from 1.6 – 9.2 mg/l, and water temperatures continued to cool, ranging from 53 - 61 degrees F. 

SLEEPY HOLLOW STEELHEAD REARING FACILITY:  Due to the high risk of a mudslide or debris flow into the river or across the access road at the Facility as a result of this summer’s wildfire, District fisheries staff, in consultation with NMFS and CDFW staff, decided the safe and prudent course of action was to release all the fish held at the Facility slightly earlier than usual. Typically, we wait until the river has reconnected to the lagoon or ocean and let the benthic invertebrates get reestablished before the fish are returned to the river, but all agreed to be on the safe side this year.

Between November 3 – 13, 2020 all Sleepy Hollow fish were captured, PIT tagged, weighed and measured, then released back into the Carmel River. Smaller/young-of-the-year (YOY) fish were released between the Sleepy Hollow area and Robinson Canyon while larger/older fish were released further downstream.

The preliminary end of the season numbers were as follows:

Of the 5,119 fish stocked in the rearing channel, there were 1,716 known mortalities (mostly bacterial disease brought on by the warm river water) and 434 unaccounted for mortalities (likely predation). We released 2,969 fish, including 593 older/larger fish and 2,376 YOY. The overall survival for the season was 58.0% (the long-term facility survival rate (1996-2016) is 43%.

Carmel River Lagoon Plot:

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