Volume 2009/10, Issue 4
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December 4, 2009 | |
Dec 10: TRTAC Meeting
Dec. 14: VAMP Biology Technical Team Meeting
Jan. 19-21: DWR/HTI Hydroacoustic workshop
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Underwater photo by FISHBIO.
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Key Highlights
2009/10 Calaveras River Juvenile Migration Monitoring was initiated during the reporting period and a total of nine O. mykiss have been captured.
2009 Stanislaus River Weir Monitoring continued during the reporting period. A total of 334 Chinook salmon were detected as they passed upstream of the Stanislaus River Weir increasing the season total to 1,135.
2009 Tuolumne River Weir Monitoring continued during the reporting period. A total of 67 Chinook salmon were detected as they passed upstream of the Tuolumne River Weir increasing the season total to 174.
2009 San Joaquin Basin Escapement Surveys. Annual carcass surveys conducted by CDFG continued during the reporting period.
Mokelumne River Fish Ladder Monitoring. ended on November 10 when the dam was lowered and therefore video monitoring discontinued. A total of 1,591 Chinook salmon were detected as they passed through the Woodbridge Dam fish ladder this season. Final estimates will be obtailed through carcass surveys.
San Joaquin River Conditions. San Joaquin River flows at Vernalis remained relatively constant ranging between 1,278 cfs and 1,320 cfs. Water temperatures in the San Joaquin River decreased from 56.3�F to 51.1�F and average daily dissolved oxygen (DO) fluctuated between 7.9 mg/L and 8.3 mg/L.
Delta Exports. Combined total exports (state and federal pumps) generally decreased during the reporting period between 4,526 cfs and 3,061 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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2009/10 Calaveras River Juvenile Migration Monitoring
The 2009/10 Calaveras juvenile migration monitoring season began November 9. The Calaveras River rotary screw trap at Shelton Road (RM 28) sampled eleven days between November 9 and November 22. A total of nine O. mykiss (Table 1) were captured during the reporting period with daily catches ranging between zero and four individuals (Figure 1). All nine O. mykiss that were captured were Age 1+ (100-299 mm) and were rated as parr (n=1) and silvery parr (n=8). Average forklengths and weights of O. mykiss are provided in Table 1.
No Chinook salmon were captured during this reporting period.
Instantaneous temperatures recorded at the trap ranged from 48�F to 55�F, and turbidity ranged from 0.42 NTU to 0.65 NTU. Daily average flow fluctuated between 25 cfs and 69 cfs at New Hogan Dam (NHG) and 0 cfs to 8.6 cfs at Bellota (MRS). No flow was recorded at Cosgrove Creek (COS).
Table 1. Biosampling data for O. mykiss captured at Shelton Road between November 9 and November 22, 2009. Parentheses indicate range.
Figure 1. Daily O. mykiss catch at Shelton Road and Calaveras River flow recorded by New Hogan Dam (NHG) and Cosgrove Creek (COS) combined, between November 9 and November 22, 2009. |
2009 Stanislaus River Weir Monitoring
 Between November 9 and November 22 a total of 334 fall-run Chinook salmon were detected as they passed upstream of the Stanislaus River Weir increasing the season total to 1,135. Daily passage ranged between five and 45 Chinook salmon. Total year to date passage of Chinook salmon this year has surpassed the overall total of 923 Chinook salmon in 2008 (Table 2 and Figure 2).
One 480 mm adult (300 mm) O. mykiss was detected passing the weir during the reporting period increasing the net upstream count to five O. mykiss this season.
Table 2. Annual Fall-run Chinook passage at the Stanislaus River Weir prior to November 22, 2003-2009.
Figure 2. Cumulative Chinook salmon upstream passage recorded at the Stanislaus River Weir, 2003 to 2009.
Daily average flow in the Stanislaus River at Goodwin Dam (GDW; RM 58) remained constant around the base flow of 250 cfs (Figure 3). Flows at Ripon (RIP; RM 15) ranged between 288 cfs and 303 cfs (Figure 3). Note: flows downstream of Goodwin Dam may be higher than dam releases due to irrigation returns and other factors.
Instantaneous water temperatures measured at the weir ranged between 48.5˚F and 55.4˚F and daily average water temperatures at Ripon (RPN; RM 15) ranged between 51.2˚F and 55.4˚ (Figure 4). Instantaneous turbidity ranged between 0.05 NTU and 0.93 NTU (Figure 5). Instantaneous dissolved oxygen ranged between 9.25 mg/L and 11.83 mg/L and daily average dissolved oxygen at Ripon (RPN; RM 15) ranged between 10.5 mg/L and 12.0 mg/L (Figure 6).
Figure 3. 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), 2009.
Figure 4. Daily upstream Chinook passage recorded at the Stanislaus River Weir in relation to instantaneous turbidity recorded at the weir, 2009.
Figure 5. 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), 2009.
Figure 6. 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), 2009.
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2009 Tuolumne River Weir Monitoring
 Between November 9 and November 20 a total of 67 Chinook salmon were detected as they passed upstream of the Tuolumne River Weir increasing the season total to 174. Daily passage ranged between zero and 16 Chinook. On November 20, three weir panels were removed as directed by the California Department of Fish and Game due to concerns about salmon spawning activity downstream of the weir. A temporary video monitoring system was set up to attempt to monitor the nine-foot gap in the weir (Figure 7). Daily passage counts will be delayed due to the time required to process video footage, therefore no data is available for November 21 and 22. A portion of the November 20 total count is from the review of the videos from the temporary video monitoring system. CDFG will re-evaluate the weir at a later date for panel reinstallation.
Daily average flow in the Tuolumne River at La Grange (LGN; RM 51.8) was relatively stable ranging from 238 cfs to 257 cfs. Flow at Modesto (MOD; RM 17) ranged between 259 cfs and 309 cfs (Figure 8). Note: flows at Modesto may be higher than La Grange due to accretion and Dry Creek inflow.
Instantaneous water temperatures measured at the weir ranged between 54.0˚F and 60.6˚F and daily average water temperatures at Modesto (MOD; RM 17) ranged between 57.0˚F and 50.9˚F (Figure 9). Instantaneous turbidity ranged between 0.27 NTU and 1.58 NTU (Figure 10), and instantaneous dissolved oxygen ranged between 9.37 mg/L and 13.5 mg/L (Figure 11).
Figure 7. The Tuolumne River weir.
Figure 8. Daily upstream Chinook passage recorded at the Tuolumne River Weir in relation to daily average flows (cfs) recorded in the Tuolumne River at La Grange (LGN) and Modesto (MOD) and in the San Joaquin River at Maze Rd. Bridge (MRB) and Vernalis (VNS), 2009.
Figure 9. Daily upstream Chinook passage recorded at the Tuolumne River Weir in relation to instantaneous water temperature recorded at the weir and daily average water temperature recorded in the Tuolumne River at Modesto (MOD) and in the San Joaquin River at Maze Rd. Bridge (MRB), Vernalis (VER), Mossdale (MSD) and Rough & Ready (RRI), 2009.
Figure 10. Daily upstream Chinook passage recorded at the Tuolumne River Weir in relation to instantaneous turbidity recorded at the weir, 2009.
Figure 11. Daily upstream Chinook passage recorded at the Tuolumne River Weir in relation to instantaneous dissolved oxygen recorded at the weir and daily average dissolved oxygen recorded in the San Joaquin River at Mossdale (MSD) and Rough & Ready (RRI), 2009.
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2009 San Joaquin Basin Escapement Surveys
Annual carcass surveys conducted by CDFG continued during the reporting period. Similar to 2008, numbers are low on all tributaries with live counts of 151 Chinook on the Stanislaus, 33 on the Tuolumne, and 76 on the Merced Rivers during the week of November 16. During the same week redd counts of 167 Chinook on the Stanislaus, 36 on the Tuolumne, and 52 on the Merced Rivers were recorded.
Five female salmon were spawned at the Merced River Fish Facility (MRFF) during the week of November 16 for a total of 19. |
Mokelumne River Fish Ladder Monitoring
Fall-run Chinook salmon returning to the Mokelumne are counted annually by East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) as they ascend the fish ladder at Woodbridge Dam. As of November 10, the Woodbridge Dam on the Mokelumne River has been lowered therefore ending video monitoring for the season. The final total for the season using video monitoring is 1,591. Estimates for the remainder of the season will be obtained through carcass surveys.
Daily average flow in the Mokelumne River at Camanche Dam (CMN) remained stable between 329 cfs and 337 cfs.
Figure 12. Daily upstream Chinook passage recorded at the Woodbridge Dam fish ladder in relation to daily average flows (cfs) recorded in the Mokelumne River at Camanche Reservoir (CMN), 2009.
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During the reporting period, flows in the San Joaquin River at Vernalis remained relatively stable ranging between 1,278 cfs and 1,320 cfs between November 9 and November 22 (Figure 13). Water temperatures in the San Joaquin River decreased during the reporting period from 56.3�F to 51.1�F at Vernalis; between 57.4�F and 51.6�F at Mossdale; and between 59.7�F and 55.9�F at Rough 'n Ready Island (Figure 14). Average daily dissolved oxygen (DO) in the San Joaquin River fluctuated between 8.3 mg/L and 7.9 mg/L in the deep water ship channel (measured at Rough 'n Ready Island) and fluctuated between 9.5 mg/L and 9.9 mg/L at Mossdale (Figure 15).
Figure 13. San Joaquin River flow at Vernalis, November 1, 2008 through November 22, 2009.
Figure 14. San Joaquin River daily average water temperature at Vernalis, Mossdale, and Rough 'n Ready, November 1, 2008 through November 22, 2009.
Figure 15. San Joaquin daily average dissolved oxygen at Mossdale and Rough 'n Ready, November 1, 2008 through November 22, 2009. |
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Delta Exports
Combined total exports (state and federal pumps) generally decreased during the reporting period ranging between 4,526 cfs and 3,061 cfs. Mean daily pumping at the Harvey O. Banks Pumping Plant (state pumps) ranged between 880 cfs and 1,210 cfs. Mean daily pumping at the C.W. Jones Pumping Plant (federal pumps previously known as Tracy Pumping Plant) generally decreased from 3,446 cfs to 1,982 cfs during the reporting period (Figure 16).
Figure 16. Daily exports at the C.W. Jones Pumping Plant (federal) and Harvey O. Banks Pumping Plant (state), November 1, 2008 through November 22, 2009.
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