Volume 2010/11, Issue 7
| January 12, 2011 |
|
Delta Independent Science Board Workshop on Delta Stressors:
Jan. 12-13
Salmon Escapement Project Work Team Meeting:
Jan. 18
VAMP Biology Team Meeting:
Jan. 19
|
|
Photo by FISHBIO.
|
|
Key Highlights
December 13, 2010 - January 2, 2011
Calaveras River Juvenile Migration Monitoring continued during the reporting period, and a total of 290 O. mykiss were captured at Shelton Road (RM 28).
Tuolumne River Juvenile Migration Monitoring continued during the reporting period, and a total of 207 Chinook salmon fry were captured at Waterford (RM 30).
Mokelumne River Juvenile Migration Monitoring at Vino Farms (RM 54) began on December 15, and a total of two (2) Chinook salmon fry and one (1) juvenile O. mykiss were captured through January 2.
Stanislaus River Weir Monitoring continued during the reporting period, and as of January 2, 1,379 fall-run Chinook salmon have been counted during the 2010-2011 season.
Merced River. No Chinook salmon were spawned at the Merced River Fish Facility during the reporting period, and the season total remains at 42.
San Joaquin Basin Escapement Surveys. Annual carcass surveys conducted by California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) were performed on only the Stanislaus River during the week of December 20. Surveys have not been conducted on Tuolumne River since the week of November 29 and the Merced River since the week of December 13.
Mokelumne River Woodbridge Dam Fish Ladder Monitoring. As of January 2, a total of 7,082 Chinook passed upstream of the dam during the 2010-2011 season.
San Joaquin River Conditions. San Joaquin River flows at Vernalis increased from 4,032 cfs to 14,400 cfs. Water temperatures in the San Joaquin River generally decreased, ranging from 54.6�F to 48.0�F at Vernalis and from 55.3�F to 48.6�F at Mossdale. Average daily dissolved oxygen (DO) in the San Joaquin River fluctuated between 8.5 mg/L and 9.4 mg/L at Mossdale, and between 8.8 mg/L and 9.5 mg/L at Rough 'n Ready.
Delta Exports.Combined total exports (state and federal pumps) fluctuated during the reporting period ranging from 9,834 cfs to 12,724 cfs.
|
|
2010/11 Calaveras River Juvenile Migration Monitoring
 | |
Figure 1. Processing Calaveras River rotary screw trap.
|
The Calaveras River rotary screw trap at Shelton Road (RM 28) was operated eight days between December 13 and January 2. A total of 290 O. mykiss were captured during the reporting period, with daily catches ranging between two (2) and 118 individuals (Figure 1). Of the O. mykiss captured, 175 were measured, and all were Age 1+ (100-299 mm) rated as silvery parr (n=172) or smolt (n=3). Average forklengths and weights of measured O. mykiss are provided in Table 1.
No Chinook salmon were captured during this reporting period.
Daily average combined flows from New Hogan Dam (NHG) and Cosgrove Creek (COS) fluctuated between 21 cfs and 339 cfs, at Bellota (MRS) flows fluctuated between 4 cfs and 1,433 cfs (Figure 2). Instantaneous temperature recorded at the trap ranged from 47.8�F to 54.3�F, and turbidity ranged from 0.81 NTU to 9.18 NTU.
Table 1. Biosampling data for O. mykiss captured at Shelton Road between December 13, 2010,
and January 2, 2011. Parentheses indicate range.
Figure 2. Daily O. mykiss catch at Shelton Road, and Calaveras River flow recorded by New Hogan Dam (NHG) and Cosgrove Creek (COS) combined, and flow recorded at Bellota (MRS), between November 1, 2010, and January 2, 2011.
|
2010/11 Tuolumne River Juvenile Migration Monitoring | |
Figure 3. Sac-fry captured in the Tuolumne River rotary screw trap at Waterford.
|
The Tuolumne River rotary screw trap at Waterford (RM 30) operated continuously during the reporting period. A total of 207 juvenile Chinook salmon fry were captured during this time. Daily catch ranged between zero and twenty-eight Chinook (Figure 4). Average forklengths and weights of all Chinook salmon are provided in Table 2. Most of the fry were buttoned up, although a few sac-fry have been observed (Figure 3).
No O. mykiss were captured during this reporting period.
Daily average flow at La Grange (LGN) increased from 1,890 cfs to 5,340 cfs. Instantaneous temperature taken at the trap ranged from 48.9�F to 54.3�F, and turbidity ranged from 1.08 NTU to 5.38 NTU.
Table 2. Biosampling data for juvenile Chinook salmon captured and measured at Waterford between December 13, 2010, and January 2, 2011. Parentheses indicate range.
Figure 4. Daily juvenile Chinook salmon catch at Waterford and Tuolumne River flow recorded by La Grange (LGN) and Modesto (MOD), 2009.
|
2010/11 Mokelumne River Juvenile Migration Monitoring
The Mokelumne River rotary screw trap at Vino Farms (RM 54) was installed and intermittent monitoring began on December 15. Thus far, two (2) juvenile Chinook salmon have been captured.
Average daily flow from Camanche Reservoir (CMN) generally increased from 1,131 cfs to 2,992 cfs (Figure 5). Instantaneous temperature ranged between 52.2�F and 54.9�F, and instantaneous turbidity ranged between 2.87 NTU and 5.17 NTU.
One (1) O. mykiss has been captured (12/28/10) this season at Vino Farms and was measured at 219 mm. 
Figure 5. Daily juvenile Chinook catches at Vino Farms and Mokelumne River flow recorded at Camanche Reservior (CMN), between December 1, 2010, and January 2, 2011.
|
2010/11 Stanislaus River Weir Monitoring
As of January 2, the Vaki Riverwatcher has detected a total of 1,379 Chinook salmon as they passed upstream of the Stanislaus River weir (Figures 6). Daily passage during this sampling period ranged from zero (0) to six (6) Chinook. The number of Chinook passages observed continues to demonstrate that the Chinook population is on the rise, but is still far from surpassing the numbers observed during 2003-2006 (Table 3).
No O. mykiss have been observed so far this season.
Daily average flow in the Stanislaus River at Goodwin Dam (GDW; RM 58) fluctuated between 203 cfs and 1,505 cfs (Figure 7). Flow at Ripon (RIP; RM 15) fluctuated between 227 cfs and 1,321 cfs. Note: flows downstream of Goodwin Dam may differ from dam releases due to irrigation, precipitation and other factors.
Instantaneous water temperature measured at the weir ranged between 47.1˚F and 55.7˚F, and daily average water temperature at Ripon (RPN; RM 15) ranged between 49.8˚F and 59.1˚F (Figure 8). Instantaneous turbidity ranged between 1.06 NTU and 39.20 NTU (Figure 9). Instantaneous dissolved oxygen at the weir ranged between 9.69 mg/L and 12.60 mg/L, and daily average dissolved oxygen at Ripon (RPN; RM 15) ranged from 6.31 mg/L to 9.66 mg/L (Figure 10). Table 3. Annual adult fall-run Chinook passage at the Stanislaus River weir as of January 2, 2003-2010.
  Figure 6. Cumulative passage of adult fall-run Chinook salmon recorded at the Stanislaus River weir from 2003-2010.
Figure 7. Daily upstream adult Chinook passage 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) in 2010.
Figure 8. Daily upstream adult 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) in 2010.
Figure 9. Daily upstream adult Chinook passage at the Stanislaus River weir in relation to instantaneous turbidity recorded at the weir in 2010.
Figure 10. Daily upstream adult Chinook passage 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) in 2010.
|
|
Merced River Conditions
Escapement surveys on the Merced River ended during the week of December 13 due to increased flows. CDFG reported that no salmon were spawned at Merced River Fish Facility during the week of December 20, thus the season total remains at 42.
Flows in the Merced River at Cressy (CRS; RM 52) are not available December 13 and December 14, but increased from 356 cfs to 4,031 cfs during the remainder of the reporting period. Flow at Stevinson (MST; RM 5) also generally increased, ranging from 345 cfs to 4,119 cfs (Figure 11). Water temperatures in the Merced River ranged from 48.5�F to 53.9�F at Cressy, and from 48.0�F to 55.9�F at Stevinson (Figure 12).
Figure 11. Daily average flows (cfs) recorded in the Merced River at Cressy (CRS) and Stevinson (MST) in 2010.
Figure 12. Daily average water temperatures (�F) recorded in the Merced River at Cressy (CRS) and Stevinson (MST) in 2010.
|
|
San Joaquin Basin Escapement Surveys
Annual carcass surveys conducted by CDFG have not been performed on the Tuolumne River since the week of November 29 or the Merced River since the week of December 13. No redds were observed on the Stanislaus River because visibility was poor due to high flows during the week of December 20, but one (1) live fish was observed.
|
Mokelumne River Woodbridge Dam Fish Ladder Monitoring
Fall-run Chinook salmon returning to the Mokelumne River are counted annually by East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) as they ascend the fish ladder at Woodbridge Dam. As of January 2, a total of 7,082 Chinook have passed upstream of the dam this season (Figure 13).
Figure 13. Daily upstream adult 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) in 2010. Note: Data not available for fish observed before September 22.
|
|
San Joaquin Conditions
During the reporting period flow increased in the San Joaquin River at Vernalis, ranging from 4,032 cfs to 14,400 cfs (Figure 14). Water temperature in the San Joaquin River decreased from 54.6�F to 48.0�F at Vernalis, from 55.3�F to 48.6�F at Mossdale, and from 55.3�F to 48.9�F at Rough 'n Ready Island (Figure 15). Average daily dissolved oxygen (DO) in the San Joaquin River fluctuated from 8.8 mg/L to 9.5 mg/L in the deep water ship channel (measured at Rough 'n Ready Island), and between 8.5 mg/L and 9.4 mg/L at Mossdale (Figure 16).
Figure 14. San Joaquin River flows at Vernalis from January 1, 2010, through January 2, 2011.
Figure 15. San Joaquin River daily average water temperatures at Vernalis, Mossdale, and Rough 'n Ready from January 1, 2010, through January 2, 2011.
Figure 16. San Joaquin daily average dissolved oxygen at Mossdale and Rough 'n Ready, from January 1, 2010, through January 2, 2011.
|
|
Delta Exports
Mean daily pumping at the C.W. Jones Pumping Plant (federal pumps previously known as Tracy Pumping Plant) generally increased during the reporting period and fluctuated between 3,775 cfs and 4,153 cfs (Figure 17). Mean daily pumping at the Harvey O. Banks Pumping Plant (state pumps) ranged between 5,762 cfs and 8,571 cfs. Combined total exports (state and federal pumps) during this period ranged from 9,834 cfs to 12,724 cfs.
Figure 17. Daily exports at the state and federal pumping stations from January 1, 2010, through January 2, 2011.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
