| Volume 2008/09, Issue 5 |
December 24, 2008 | |
Jan. 7-8: Delta Protection Commision Public Workshop - Land Use and Resource Management Plan
Mar. 12: TRTAC
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Key Highlights
2008/09 Calaveras River Juvenile Migration Monitoring. A total of five O. mykiss were captured during the reporting period, increasing the season total to 35.
2008 Stanislaus River Weir Monitoring. A total of 11 Chinook were recorded at the Stanislaus River weir between December 1 and December 21, increasing the season total to 884. In comparison, total passage through December 17 in previous years ranged from a low of 403 Chinook in 2007 to a high of 4,785 Chinook in 2003.
One 456 mm O. mykiss with a clipped adipose fin (ad-clip, indicates hatchery origin) was observed passing upstream of the weir during the reporting period (December 19).
Tributary Carcass Surveys. Three more female Chinook were spawned at the Merced River Hatchery, increasing the season total to 10, accounting for 65,000 eggs.
San Joaquin River Conditions. During the reporting period, flows in the San Joaquin River at Vernalis fluctuated between 1,123 cfs and 1,230 cfs.
Delta Exports.
Combined total exports (state and federal pumps) fluctuated during the reporting period ranging between 2,150 cfs and 3,325 cfs.
We encourage subscribers to contribute any relevant information for future issues of the newsletter (e.g., additional monitoring studies, announcements of upcoming meetings and events, etc). If you would like to contribute, please contact Chrissy Sonke.
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2008/09 Calaveras River Juvenile Migration Monitoring
 The Calaveras River rotary screw trap at Shelton Road (RM 28) sampled four days between December 1 and December 21.
A total of five O. mykiss (Table 1) were captured during the reporting period, increasing the season total to 35. One O. mykiss was captured during each of the first three sample days and two were captured on the fourth sample day (Figure 2). A total of four Age 1+ (101-299 mm) and one adult (=300 mm) O. mykiss were captured. Average forklengths and weights of O. mykiss are provided in Table 1. The O. mykiss captured and measured were rated as parr (n=1) and silvery parr (n=3).
Figure 1. Shelton Rd. rotary screw trap operating under low flow conditions.
No Chinook were captured during this reporting period.
Instantaneous temperatures taken at the trap ranged from 43�F to 46�F, and turbidity ranged from 0.2 NTU to 0.6 NTU. Daily average flow fluctuated between 22 cfs and 29 cfs at New Hogan Dam (NHG) and 0 cfs to 7 cfs at Bellota (MRS). No flow was recorded at Cosgrove (COS).
 Table 1. Biosampling data for O. mykiss captured at Shelton Road between December 1 and December 21, 2008. Parentheses indicate range.
Figure 2. Daily O. mykiss catch at Shelton Road and Calaveras River flow recorded by combined New Hogan Dam and Cosgrove Creek (NHG+ COS), between December 1 and December 21, 2008.
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2008 Stanislaus River Weir Monitoring
Between December 1 and December 21, a total of 11 Chinook were recorded passing upstream of the weir, increasing the season total to 884. In comparison, total passage through December 21 in previous years ranged from a low of 403 Chinook in 2007 to a high of 4,785 Chinook in 2003 (Figure 3). During this sampling period, daily upstream passage ranged between zero and three Chinook. There were no Chinook observed with clipped adipose fins (ad-clipped), the season total of ad-clipped fish remains at 36 (4.1% of passage to date). During the reporting period, total length (estimated by the Vaki Riverwatcher) of Chinook passing upstream ranged from 591 mm to 1,038 mm with 19.0% of the Chinook passing upstream of the weir for the season to date ranging between 750-759 mm (Figure 4).
One 456 mm O. mykiss with a clipped adipose fin (ad-clip, indicates hatchery origin) was observed passing upstream of the weir during the reporting period (December 19).
Two 24 hour trapping events were conducted during the sampling period (December 3-4 and December 17-18; respectively), during which no fish were trapped.
Cumulative passage
Figure 3. Cumulative Chinook salmon upstream passage recorded at the Stanislaus River Weir, 2003 to 2008.
Figure 4. Length frequency of Chinook salmon recorded passing upstream of the Stanislaus River Weir, 2008.
Releases from Goodwin Dam (GDW; RM 58.4) ranged between 250 cfs and 275 cfs and flow at Ripon (RIP; RM 15) ranged between 283 cfs and 297 cfs (Figure 5). Instantaneous water temperatures at the weir ranged between 46.4�F and 55.2�F, while daily average water temperatures at Ripon (RPN; RM 15) ranged between 46.2�F and 57.2�F (Figure 6).
Instantaneous turbidity at the weir site ranged between 0.2 NTU and 1.0 NTU (Figure 7). Instantaneous dissolved oxygen at the weir ranged between 9.5 mg/L and 10.5 mg/L, while daily average dissolved oxygen at Ripon (RPN; RM 15) ranged between 9.7 mg/L and 11.3 mg/L (Figure 8).
Figure 5. Daily upstream Chinook passage recorded at the Stanislaus River Weir in relation to daily average flows (cfs) recorded in the Stanislaus River at Goodwin (GDW) and Ripon (RIP) and in the San Joaquin River at Vernalis (VNS), 2008. Note: flows downstream of Goodwin Dam may be higher than dam releases due to irrigation returns.
Figure 6. Daily upstream Chinook passage recorded at the Stanislaus River Weir in relation to instantaneous water temperature recorded at the weir and daily average water temperature recorded in the Stanislaus River at Ripon (RPN) and in the San Joaquin River at Vernalis (VER), Mossdale (MSD) and Rough & Ready (RRI), 2008.
Figure 7. Daily upstream Chinook passage recorded at the Stanislaus River Weir in relation to instantaneous turbidity recorded at the weir, 2008. Note: Instantaneous turbidity recorded at the weir on November 1 was 31 NTU.
Figure 8. Daily upstream Chinook passage recorded at the Stanislaus River Weir in relation to instantaneous dissolved oxygen recorded at the weir and daily average dissolved oxygen recorded in the Stanislaus River at Ripon (RPN) and in the San Joaquin River at Mossdale (MSD) and Rough & Ready (RRI), 2008.
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Tributary Carcass Surveys
The California Department of Fish and Game continued their annual adult fall-run Chinook carcass surveys throughout the reporting period on the Merced, Tuolumne, and Stanislaus Rivers. As of December 12, ten weekly surveys have been completed. Although numbers are extremely low on all tributaries, the largest number of live fish was observed on the Stanislaus River with a peak live count of 277 Chinook in week 5 (Nov. 3). Peak live counts on the Tuolumne and Merced Rivers were 200 (week 5) and 62 (week 7), respectively. A total of 13 female Chinook were spawned at Merced River Hatchery between November 3 and December 6, for a total of 65,000 eggs.
The largest number of redds was observed on the Stanislaus River with a peak redd count thus far of 226 (week 5). Peak redd counts on the Tuolumne and Merced Rivers were 163 (week 8) and 39 (week 7), respectively.
The total number of carcasses tagged through week ten was 73 in the Merced River, 93 in the Tuolumne River, and 108 in the Stanislaus River. The number of tagged fish with an adipose fin-clip, signifying a hatchery raised fish with a coded wire tag, was 13 (18%) in the Merced River, seven (8%) in the Tuolumne River, and five (5%) in the Stanislaus River. All adipose fin-clipped fish were submitted to CDFG for analysis to determine the hatchery of origin and release location.
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San Joaquin River Conditions
During the reporting period, flows in the San Joaquin River at Vernalis fluctuated between 1,123 cfs and 1,230 cfs (Figure 9). Average daily water temperatures in the San Joaquin River exhibited a decreasing trend ranging between 44.8�F and 54.8�F at Vernalis, between 43.3�F and 54.0�F at Mossdale; and between 58.5�F and 57.7�F at Rough 'n Ready Island (Figure 10). Average daily dissolved oxygen (DO) in the San Joaquin River ranged between 6.7 mg/L and 9.4 mg/L in the deep water ship channel (measured at Rough 'n Ready Island) and between 9.1 mg/L and 10.3 mg/L at Mossdale (Figure 11).
 Figure 9. San Joaquin River flow at Vernalis, 2007 to 2008.
 Figure 10. San Joaquin River daily average water temperature at Vernalis, Mossdale, and Rough 'n Ready, 2007 to 2008.
Figure 11. San Joaquin daily average dissolved oxygen at Mossdale and Rough 'n Ready, 2007 to 2008.
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Delta Exports
Mean daily pumping at the C.W. Jones Pumping Plant (federal pumps previously known as Tracy Pumping Plant) fluctuated during the reporting period ranging between 1,002 cfs and 1,893 cfs (Figure 12). Mean daily pumping at the Harvey O. Banks Pumping Plant (state pumps) fluctuated during the reporting period ranging between 944 cfs and 1,441 cfs. Combined total exports (state and federal pumps) ranged between 2,150 cfs and 3,325 cfs.
Figure 12. Daily exports at the C.W. Jones Pumping Plant (federal) and Harvey O. Banks Pumping Plant (state), 2007 to 2008.
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