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Volume 2013/14, Issue 9
| January 21, 2014 |
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Salmonid Restoration Conference
March 19-22
Cal-Neva AFS Conference
March 27-29
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Key Highlights
December 30, 2013 - January 12, 2014
Calaveras River Juvenile Migration Monitoring continued at Shelton Road (RM 28) and a total of 6 O. mykiss were captured, increasing the season total to 81.
Stanislaus River Juvenile Migration Monitoring at Oakdale (RM 40) began on January 2, and a total of 1,821 Chinook salmon were captured.
Tuolumne River Juvenile Migration Monitoring at Waterford (RM 30) began on January 2, and a total of 4 Chinook salmon were captured. Intermittent sampling at Grayson (RM 5) began on January 2. No Chinook salmon were captured.
Mokelumne River Juvenile Migration Monitoring continued at Vino Farms (RM 54) and a total of 896 Chinook salmon were captured, increasing the season total to 908. Monitoring at Golf (RM 38) began on January 7 and one Chinook salmon was captured.
Stanislaus River Weir Monitoring continued and 5,443 Chinook salmon have passed upstream through the weir this year.
Tuolumne River Weir Monitoring continued and 3,715 Chinook salmon have passed upstream through the weir this year.
Mokelumne River Woodbridge Dam Fish Ladder Monitoring continued and 12,265 Chinook salmon passed upstream of the dam this year.
San Joaquin Basin Escapement Surveys conducted by California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) were completed during the week of January 6.
San Joaquin River Conditions. San Joaquin River flow at Vernalis decreased from 990 cfs to 781 cfs. Daily average water temperature in the San Joaquin River ranged from 46.8�F to 50.7�F at Vernalis, and from 47.7�F to 51.3�F at Mossdale. Daily average dissolved oxygen (DO) in the San Joaquin River ranged from 11.0 mg/L to 11.8 mg/L at Mossdale, and from 10.9 mg/L to 11.7 mg/L in the deep-water ship channel (measured at Rough 'n Ready Island).
Delta Exports. Combined total exports (state and federal pumps) fluctuated during the reporting period, ranging from 1,217 cfs to 2,684 cfs.
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2013/14 Calaveras River Juvenile Migration Monitoring
The Calaveras River rotary screw trap at Shelton Road (RM 28) operated nine days between December 30 and January 12 and a total of 6 O. mykiss were captured,  increasing the season total to 81. Daily catches ranged from 0 to 2 individuals (Figure 1), and most O. mykiss captured were Age 1+ (100-299 mm) and were rated as silvery parr, but one adult O. mykiss was also captured. Average forklengths and weights of O. mykiss are provided in Table 1.
No Chinook salmon were captured and the season total remains at 11.
Instantaneous temperature recorded at the trap ranged from 44.4�F to 47.2�F, and turbidity ranged from 0.76 NTU to 2.07 NTU. During the reporting period, daily average combined flow from New Hogan Dam (NHG) and Cosgrove Creek (COS) was stable between 26 cfs and 28 cfs, and at Bellota (MRS) flow ranged from 5 cfs and 15 cfs (Figure 1).
Table 1. Biosampling data for O. mykiss captured at Shelton Road between December 30 and January 12, 2014. Parenthesis indicates 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 and flow recorded at Bellota (MRS), in 2013.
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2014 Stanislaus River Juvenile Migration Monitoring
Stanislaus River rotary screw trap monitoring at Oakdale (RM 40) began on January 2 and the trap operated continuously through the end of the reporting period. A total of 1,821 Chinook salmon were captured during the reporting period. Average forklengths and weights of all Chinook salmon are provided in Table 2. Most of the fish measured were fry (n = 540), but six Chinook salmon smolts were also captured.
Table 2. Biosampling data for Chinook salmon captured and measured at Waterford between January 2 and January 12, 2014. Parenthesis indicates range.
One O. mykiss was captured during the reporting period.
Instantaneous temperature taken at the trap ranged from 46.1�F to 48.0�F, and turbidity ranged from 0.69 NTU to 2.69 NTU. Daily average flow at Goodwin Dam (GDW) ranged from 200 cfs to 209 cfs, and flow ranged from 228 cfs to 242 cfs at
Two trap efficiency evaluations were conducted during the reporting period with naturally spawned juvenile Chinook salmon marked caudal fin green (CFG). Preliminary estimates of capture efficiency are provided in Table 3.
Table 3. Trap efficiency tests conducted at Oakdale between January 2 and January 12, 2014.
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), in 2013.
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2014 Tuolumne River Juvenile Migration Monitoring
Tuolumne River rotary screw trap monitoring at Waterford (RM 30) began on January 2 and the trap operated continuously through the end of the reporting period. A total of 4 Chinook salmon were captured during the reporting period. Average forklengths and weights of all Chinook salmon are provided in Table 4. Two of the fish measured were fry, but a parr and smolt were also measured.
Table 4. Biosampling data for Chinook salmon captured and measured at Waterford between January 2 and January 12, 2014. Parentheses indicate range.
 No O. mykiss were captured during the reporting period. Instantaneous temperature taken at the trap ranged from 46.2�F to 48.0�F, and turbidity ranged from 1.42 NTU to 6.22 NTU. Daily average flow at La Grange (LGN) was stable between 170 cfs and 178 cfs (Figure 3). No trap efficiency experiments were conducted during the reporting period.
 Figure 3. Daily Chinook salmon catch at Waterford and Tuolumne River flow recorded at La Grange (LGN) between January 1, and January 12, 2014.
 Tuolumne River rotary screw trap monitoring at Grayson (RM 5) began January 2 and the traps sampled three consecutive days. The traps were raised due to heavy amounts of water hyacinth. Historically few juvenile Chinook salmon migrate during early January, particularly in drier years. No Chinook salmon were captured during the three days of sampling.
Instantaneous temperature taken at the trap ranged from 46.4�F to 50.0�F, and turbidity ranged from 0.76 NTU to 1.69 NTU. Daily average flow at Modesto (MOD) was stable during the reporting period, ranging from 199 cfs to 205 cfs.
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2013/14 Mokelumne River Juvenile Migration Monitoring
Mokelumne River rotary screw trap monitoring at Vino Farms (RM 54) continued intermittently during the reporting period. A total of 896 juvenile Chinook salmon were captured, increasing the season total to 908.
Average daily flow from Camanche Reservoir (CMN) ranged from 255 cfs to 276 cfs (Figure 4). Instantaneous temperature ranged from 48.7�F to 50.0�F, and instantaneous turbidity ranged from 1.21 NTU to 1.75 NTU.
Figure 4. Daily juvenile Chinook catches at Vino Farms and Mokelumne River flow recorded at Camanche Reservoir (CMN), between December 1, 2013, and January 12, 2014.
Mokelumne River rotary screw trap monitoring at Golf (RM 38) began on January 7 and continued intermittently during the reporting period. One juvenile Chinook salmon was captured (Figure 5).
Instantaneous temperature ranged from 48.6�F to 49.1�F, and instantaneous turbidity ranged from 1.47 NTU to 2.61 NTU.
Figure 5. Daily juvenile Chinook catches at Golf and Mokelumne River flow recorded at Camanche Reservoir (CMN), between January 1, and January 12, 2014.
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2013 Stanislaus River Weir Adult Migration Monitoring
A total of 9 Chinook salmon were detected passing upstream of the Stanislaus River Weir (RM 31) between December 30 and January 12, increasing the season total to 5,443. Daily passage ranged from 0 to 2 Chinook salmon (Figure 6). Year-to-date passage in 2013 is lower than during the same period in 2012 when 7,134 Chinook salmon were counted through December 29 (Table 5), but is still greater than year-to-date passage in all other years.
One O. mykiss was detected passing upstream during the reporting period, increasing the season total to twenty-three. Six of the O. mykiss observed this season were positively identified as adipose fin clipped.
Instantaneous water temperature measured at the weir ranged from 45.5˚F to 48.5˚F, and daily average water temperature at Ripon (RPN; RM 15) ranged from 46.5˚F to 49.5˚F (Figure 7). Instantaneous turbidity ranged from 1.05 NTU to 2.29 NTU (Figure 8). Instantaneous dissolved oxygen at the weir ranged from 9.80 mg/L to 12.84 mg/L, and daily average dissolved oxygen at Ripon (RPN; RM 15) ranged from 11.18 mg/L to 11.78 mg/L (Figure 9).
Daily average flows in the Stanislaus River at Goodwin Dam (GDW; RM 58) ranged from 200 cfs to 209 cfs. Flows at Ripon (RIP; RM 15) ranged from 228 cfs to 242 cfs. Note: flows downstream of Goodwin Dam may differ from dam releases due to irrigation, precipitation, and other factors. Table 5. Annual fall-run Chinook passage at the Stanislaus River weir, 2003-2013.
Figure 6. Daily upstream 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), 2013.
Figure 7. 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) in 2013.
Figure 8. Daily upstream Chinook passage at the Stanislaus River weir in relation to instantaneous turbidity recorded at the weir in 2013.
Figure 9. Daily upstream 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 2013.
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2013 Tuolumne River Weir Adult Migration Monitoring
A total of 20 Chinook salmon were detected passing upstream of the Tuolumne River Weir (RM 24) between December 30 and January 12, increasing the season total to  3,715. Daily passage ranged from 0 to 5 Chinook salmon (Figure 10). Year-to-date passage is higher than any other year since monitoring began in 2009 (Table 6).
No O. mykiss have been detected at the Tuolumne River weir this season.
Daily average flow in the Tuolumne River ranged from 163 cfs to 167 cfs at La Grange (LGN; RM 50) and 199 cfs and 205 cfs at Modesto (MOD; RM 17). Note: flows downstream of La Grange may be higher than dam releases due to accretion and Dry Creek inflow.
Instantaneous water temperature measured at the weir ranged from 47.8˚F to 51.8˚F and daily average water temperature at Modesto (MOD; RM 17) ranged from 46.6˚F to 48.9˚F (Figure 11). Instantaneous turbidity ranged from 0.95 NTU to 2.17 NTU (Figure 12), and instantaneous dissolved oxygen ranged from 10.50 mg/L to 12.62 mg/L (Figure 13).
Table 6. Annual Fall-run Chinook salmon passage, 2009 - 2013.
Figure 10. Daily upstream Chinook passage 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 Road Bridge (MRB) and Vernalis (VNS) in 2013.
Figure 11. Daily upstream Chinook passage 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 Road Bridge (MRB), Vernalis (VER), Mossdale (MSD) and Rough & Ready (RRI) in 2013.
Figure 12. Daily upstream Chinook passage at the Tuolumne River Weir in relation to instantaneous turbidity recorded at the weir in 2013.
Figure 13. Daily upstream Chinook passage 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) in 2013.
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2013 Mokelumne River Fish Ladder Monitoring
Fall-run Chinook salmon returning to the Mokelumne River are counted annually by East Bay Municipal Utility District as they ascend the fish ladder at Woodbridge Dam. Video monitoring continued during the reporting period and 35 Chinook salmon were observed passing upstream of the dam between December 30 and January 8, increasing the season total to 12,265 (Figure 14). Daily passages ranged between 1 and 6 Chinook salmon. During the reporting period, daily average flow in the Mokelumne River ranged from 255 cfs to 276 cfs at Camanche Reservoir (CMN).
Figure 14. 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) in 2013.
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San Joaquin Basin Escapement Surveys
Carcass surveys conducted by CDFW ended during the week of January 6. Counts of live fish observed on the Stanislaus, Tuolumne and Merced rivers have been decreasing since the week of November 11. Live counts for the week of January 6 were 6, 18, and 2 Chinook salmon, respectively.
Redd counts have also been decreasing since the week of November 11. During the week of January 6, a total of 2 redds were observed on the Stanislaus River, 55 on the Tuolumne River, and 1 on the Merced River.
A total of 419 females have been spawned at the Merced River Fish Facility (MRFF) as of January 12. A total of 300 females were spawned in 2012.
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San Joaquin River Conditions
During the reporting period, flow in the San Joaquin River at Vernalis decreased from 990 cfs to 781 cfs (Figure 15). Water temperature in the San Joaquin River ranged from 46.8�F to 50.7�F at Vernalis, from 47.7�F to 51.3�F at Mossdale, and from 47.3�F to 48.2�F at Rough 'n Ready Island (Figure 16). Average daily dissolved oxygen (DO) in the San Joaquin River fluctuated between 10.9 mg/L and 11.7 mg/L in the deep-water ship channel (measured at Rough 'n Ready Island), and between 11.0 mg/L and 11.8 mg/L at Mossdale (Figure 17).
Figure 15. San Joaquin River flow at Vernalis from January 1, 2013, and January 12, 2014.
Figure 16. San Joaquin River daily average water temperature at Vernalis, Mossdale, and Rough 'n Ready from January 1, 2013, and January 12, 2014.
Figure 17. San Joaquin River daily average dissolved oxygen at Mossdale and Rough 'n Ready, from January 1, 2013, and January 12, 2014.
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Delta Exports
Mean daily pumping at the C.W. Jones Pumping Plant (federal pumps previously known as Tracy Pumping Plant) ranged from 794 cfs to 986 cfs (Figure 18). Mean daily pumping at the Harvey O. Banks Pumping Plant (state pumps) ranged from 418 cfs to 1,883 cfs. Combined total exports (state and federal pumps) during this period ranged from 1,217 cfs to 2,684 cfs.
Figure 18. Daily exports at the state and federal pumping stations from January 1, 2013, and January 12, 2014.
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