ITEM:		INFORMATIONAL ITEMS/STAFF REPORTS
22.	CARMEL RIVER FISHERY REPORT FOR JULY 2017
Meeting Date:			August 21, 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: This action does not constitute a project as defined by the California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines Section 15378.
CEQA Compliance: N/A

AQUATIC HABITAT AND FLOW CONDITIONS:  Carmel River flows dropped considerably in July making conditions for juvenile steelhead migration fair to poor while keeping the rearing conditions good to fair for young-of-the-year.

Mean daily streamflow at the Sleepy Hollow Weir ranged from 38 to 21 cfs (monthly mean 27.8 cfs) resulting in 1,710 acre-feet (AF) of runoff. Mean daily streamflow at Highway 1 gage ranged from 31 to 13 cfs (monthly mean 19.5 cfs), resulting in 1,200 AF of runoff.

There were 0.00 inches of rainfall in July 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 20.96 inches. 

CARMEL RIVER LAGOON:  During July the water surface elevation (WSE) fluctuated with the tides then closed mid-month, ranging from approximately 3.4 - 9.3 feet above mean-sea-level (see graph below).  

Water-quality profiles were conducted at five lagoon sites on July 10 when the mouth was open and the WSE was 3.47 feet. Conditions for steelhead varied with depth but were generally “fair” with salinity ranging from (0.9 - 28 ppt), and moderate dissolved oxygen (DO) levels (8 - 13 mg/l) and water temperatures (55 - 68) degrees Fahrenheit).  

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 July, a total of 5,496 fish had been rescued (5,436 YOY, 32 1+ year olds, and 28 morts).

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