ITEM:		INFORMATIONAL ITEMS/STAFF REPORTS
30.	CARMEL RIVER FISHERY REPORT FOR APRIL 2019
Meeting Date:			May 20, 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:   April saw a return to more normal rain and flow conditions. Upstream migration conditions for adult steelhead remained excellent, as did downstream migration and rearing conditions for smolts and juvenile steelhead throughout the watershed. 

Mean daily streamflow at the Sleepy Hollow Weir ranged from 92 to 204 cfs (monthly mean 144 cfs) resulting in 8,550 acre-feet (AF) of runoff. Mean daily streamflow at the Highway 1 gage ranged from 105 to 251 cfs (monthly mean 166 cfs) resulting in 9,880 acre-feet (AF) of runoff.

There were 0.46 inches of rainfall in April as recorded at the San Clemente gauge. The rainfall total for WY 2019 (which started on October 1, 2018) is 28.92 inches, or 141% of the long-term year-to-date average of 20.54 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 April 30, 119 adults (37 males/82 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) and more fish continue to reach the ladder in early May.

STEELHEAD REDD SURVEYS: Mainstem redd (nests) surveys were started in April. Results will be reported in the June fisheries staff report.

TRIBUTARIES FISH RESCUES: Staff began watching the lower tributaries for dry-back. Rescue operations will occur as needed in the coming months.

CARMEL RIVER LAGOON:  The lagoon mouth opened for the season on January 6, 2019. In April the lagoon’s water surface elevation (WSE) ranged from approximately 4.2 to 10.0 feet, due primarily to changes in tidal and wave action (North American Vertical Datum of 1988; NAVD 88) (see graph below).

Water quality depth-profiles were conducted at five sites on April 25, 2019 while the lagoon mouth was open, the water surface elevation was ~4.5 feet, and river inflow was 128 cfs. Steelhead rearing and migration conditions were generally “good”. Throughout the lagoon, salinity was low down to 1 meter depth (<2 ppt), dissolved oxygen (DO) levels were variable at 5-9 mg/l, and water temperatures were on the rise, ranging from 59-66 degrees F. The “best” water quality conditions were found in the main body of the lagoon with the fresh river water running through it. 

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