ITEM:		INFORMATIONAL ITEMS/STAFF REPORTS
22.	CARMEL RIVER FISHERY REPORT FOR JUNE 2017
Meeting Date:			July 17, 2017	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:  Unseasonably high river flows continued in June keeping conditions in the Carmel River good to excellent for young-of-the-year rearing.

Mean daily streamflow at the Sleepy Hollow Weir ranged from 38 to 76 cfs (monthly mean 54.1 cfs) resulting in 3,220 acre-feet (AF) of runoff. Mean daily streamflow at Highway 1 gage ranged from 31 to 75 cfs (monthly mean 53.9 cfs), resulting in 3,210 AF of runoff.

There were 0.03 inches of rainfall in June as recorded at Cal-Am’s San Clemente gauge. The rainfall total for WY 2017 (which started on October 1, 2016) is 32.22 inches, or 154% of the long-term year-to-date average of 20.94 inches. 

CARMEL RIVER LAGOON:  During June the water surface elevation (WSE) fluctuated with the tides and a brief closure late in the month, ranging from approximately 3.5 – 10.8 feet above mean-sea-level (see graph below).  

Water-quality profiles were conducted at five lagoon sites on June 22 when the mouth was closed and the WSE was 7.5 feet. Conditions for steelhead varied with depth but were generally “fair” with salinity ranging from (0.6-27 ppt), and moderate dissolved oxygen (DO) levels (5-12 mg/l) and water temperatures (55-66) degrees Fahrenheit).  

LOS PADRES DAM ADULT COUNTS:  Cal-Am began their adult steelhead trap and truck operations at LPD on December 19, 2016.  The first ocean-run adult steelhead since 2013 were trapped and transported above the dam on February 2, 2017.  By the end of June, a total of seven ocean-run steelhead and 54 resident fish (<16”, non-ocean run) had been trapped and transported.

SUMMER STEELHEAD RESCUES:  Staff continued conducting rescues in the tributaries (Potrero, Robinson Canyon, Hitchcock, and Cachagua Creeks) as they dried back.  All fish were released into the Carmel River at the tributary’s confluence. By the end of June, a total of 3,393 fish have been rescued (3,363 YOY, 13 1+ year olds, and 17 morts).

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