Steelhead Floundering

Carmel River steelhead numbers are drastically down this year.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

It’s been a rough year for threatened Carmel River steelhead. Only 116 adults were counted at the Los Padres and San Clemente dams in the 2008-09 migration season, compared to 570 returns last year.

“The hypothesis for why all runs of salmon are down this year is suppressed ocean conditions,” says Kevan Urquhart, senior fisheries biologist with the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District.

Carmel River Steelhead Association, however, blames California American Water’s illegal diversions from the Carmel River.

On June 25, CRSA and Sierra Club filed a challenge to Cal Am in federal court, alleging that even the company’s fish-rescue programs can’t save steelhead from the declining flows. According to the plaintiffs, Cal Am diverts almost three times as much water from the river than federal agencies allow.

Urquhart agrees that pumping from the river has dramatically cut steelhead numbers from historic levels, but says that doesn’t explain year-to-year fluxes over the past 14 years. “If anything, changes in water practices should be making things better,” he says.

CRSA continues to seek volunteers for juvenile steelhead rescues in the Carmel River, Wednesdays and weekends. “Every fish that I rescue is a very important maintenance of the genetics of that run,” says CRSA’s Frank Emerson. “We’re getting down to the bare minimum.”

To volunteer, contact Emerson at 277-0544.