California Steelhead:

California Steelhead:
Management, Monitoring
and Recovery Efforts
Jonathan Nelson
Steelhead Restoration
& Management Program
Oncorhynchus mykiss irideus
California Steelhead
Distinct Population Segments
(DPS)
Klamath
Mountains
Province
 Klamath Mountains Province
Status: Not warranted (2001)
 Northern California
Status: Threatened (2000)
 Central California Coast
Status: Threatened (1997)
Northern
California
Central
Valley
Central
California
Coast
 Central Valley
Status: Threatened (1998)
South-Central
California Coast
 South-Central California Coast
Status: Threatened (1997)
 Southern California
Status: Endangered (1997)
Southern
California
California Steelhead Recovery and Management Resources
RECOVERY AND MANAGEMENT PLANS
 Steelhead Restoration and Management Plan for California (CDFG 1996)
 Currently being updated and revised
 Southern California Steelhead Recovery Plan (NMFS 2012)
 South-Central California Coast Steelhead Recovery Plan (NMFS 2013)
 Central Valley California multi-species Salmonid Recovery Plan
(Steelhead, Winter and Spring Chinook) (NMFS)
 Public Draft 2009, Final Draft anticipated 2014
 Multi-species Recovery Plan for Steelhead and Chinook (NMFS)
 Central California Coast and Northern California DPS/ESUs
 Co-Manager Draft anticipated 2014
 California Hatchery Review Statewide Report – (California HSRG 2012)
 Independent scientific review of anadromous hatchery management/protocols
California Steelhead
Monitoring Plans:
California Coast

California Coastal Salmonid
population Monitoring: Strategy,
Design, and Methods.

(CDFG Fish Bulletin 180, 2011)
California Central Valley:

A Comprehensive Monitoring Plan
for Steelhead in the California
Central Valley


(CDFG 2010)
Implementation Plan for the Central
Valley Steelhead Monitoring Plan

(CDFW 2014)
Monitoring Techniques:







Life Cycle Monitoring Stations
VAKI and Video Stations
Weirs and Fish Traps
REDD Surveys
Snorkel Surveys
Acoustic Telemetry
DIDSON Stations
California Steelhead Report Card Data
Annual Statewide Catch of O. mykiss (> 16”) 2000-2011
Wild and Hatchery
30000
Return of Card Required by Law
25000
Wild
Hatchery
20000
15000
10000
5000
0
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
Wild O. mykiss:
Release and Harvest
2008
5
3
3
25000
20000
Release
Harvest
5
6
5
8
5
4
3
2
0
25000
2011
% Harvest
28
22
25
20000
Release
15000
15000
10000
2010
Hatchery O. mykiss:
Release and Harvest
% Harvest
30000
2009
10000
5000
5000
0
0
Harvest
21
24
23
23
22
20
24
28
26
Klamath Mountains Province DPS
Klamath Mountains Province
Status: Not warranted (2001)
DPS includes:
 Winter Steelhead (ocean maturing)
 Stock appears to be stable
 Fall Steelhead (stream maturing)
 Stock is stable
 Linked to timing of hatchery run
 Summer Steelhead (steam maturing)
 Stock is uncertain
 May warrant future protection
 “Half-Pounder” runs
 Unique to Northern Coastal range
 Defined as sub-adults that have
spent 2-4 months in estuary or
nearshore before returning to the
river to overwinter
 Dam Removals on Klamath
 4 dams and over 600 stream miles
 Anticipated removal 2020
 Restorations efforts in this DPS
are key to ensure preventive
declines in future populations
Trinity River Fall Steelhead run-size Estimates 2002-2012
(above Willow Creek weir, Wild and Hatchery)
50,000
Wild
45,000
Hatchery
40,000
35,000
30,000
25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000
5,000
0
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
Northern California DPS
Northern California
Status: Threatened (2000)
DPS includes:
 Winter Steelhead
 Stocks stable to declining
 Summer Steelhead (Eel River)
 Stock is uncertain
 May warrant future protection
 “Half-Pounder” runs
 Limited stream locations
Primary Threats:
 Poor forest practices
 Poor land use practices
 Non-native predators
 Sacramento Pikeminnow
 High water temperatures
Log Jams
Landslides
Eel River Wild Winter Steelhead Counts 2000-2014
Van Arsdale Fisheries Station
1000
2013-14 - Mid-season count
900
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14
 Average counts in 1940’s ~ 4000 annually
 Sacramento Pikeminnow introduced in 1978/79
Middle Fork Eel River Summer Steelhead Abundance 1970-2013
1800
Summer Steelhead – 2011 Survey
1601
1600
1524
1490
1522
1550
1422
1400
1298
1200
1149
1191
1148
1052 1054
1000
1000
997
865
792
800
771
711727
654
666
657
622
516
502
449
377
731
701
691
600
400
513527
451
0
721
626
534
422418
306
200
837
817
523
396
872
Central California Coast DPS
Central California Coast
Status: Threatened (1997)
DPS includes:
 Winter Steelhead
 Stocks continue to decline
Primary Threats:





Habitat blockages
Habitat degradation
Urbanization
Dewatering from irrigation
Lagoon breaching
 Russian River
 1960’s ~ 65,000 annually
 1990’s < 5000 annually
 ~ 500 licensed/permitted dams on
tributaries
 Restoration Projects Include:





Estuary enhancements
Invasive plant removal
Predator removal
Riparian enhancement
Barrier removals
Central California Coast
San Lorenzo River, Santa Cruz
Migratory Challenges
Alameda Creek – South Bay, San Francisco
Proposed Fish
Ladder - 2015
Pescadero Lagoon
 1980 ~ 20,000 SH
 2008 < 1000 SH
Central Valley California DPS
Central Valley
Shasta Dam - 1945
Status: Threatened (1998)
DPS includes:
Whiskeytown Dam - 1963
 Winter Steelhead
Oroville Dam - 1965
 Stocks stable to declining
 Summer Steelhead (?)
 Presence suspected, unverified
 Resident form O. mykiss
 Many CV streams provide year round
cold, food rich habitats that favor a
resident life history
 Run size estimates in Central Valley
 Early 1900’s - 1 to 2 million SH
 By 1960, ~ 40,000
 2014 – Estimates unavailable
Folsom Dam - 1955
Englebright Dam - 1941
 Sacramento River and Tributaries
 Consistent low wild run sizes
 San Joaquin River and Tributaries
 Wild run size unknown
 Estimated very low to declining
 Large hatchery SH influence in CV
 ~ 1 million smolts produced annually
Friant Dam - 1942
~ 80% of historical habitat unavailable
Red Bluff Diversion Dam, Upper Sacramento River
16000
15000
14000
13000
12000
11000
10000
9000
8000
7000
Gates at Red Bluff Diversion Dam
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
 As of 2009, accurate SH estimates are not available
 SH counts ceased since gates are now raised through migration period
 No evidence that low trend has changed
Primary Threats:
 Dams
 Habitat blockages and loss
 Habitat degradation
 Water Management
 Diversions and dewatering
 Poor water quality
 Predation
 (Striped Bass/Pikeminnow)
 Migration paths in Delta
The Delta
South-Central California DPS
Big Sur River
South-Central California Coast
Status: Threatened (1997)
DPS includes:
 Winter Steelhead
 Stocks continue to decline
Primary Threats:







Habitat blockages
Habitat degradation
Dewatering from irrigation
Lagoon breaching
High water temperatures
Predation (Striped Bass/Pikeminnow)
Invasive plant species
 Restoration Projects Include:






Estuary enhancements
Invasive plant removal
Predator removal
Gravel augmentation
Riparian enhancement
Barrier removals
Carmel River Winter Steelhead Counts 1993-2013
San Clemente Dam Fish Ladder and Los Padres Dam Fish Trap
1000
San Clemente Dam
900
Los Padres Dam
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
San Clemente Dam
 Removal logistics initiated - 2013
 ~ 8 River Miles to Los Padres Dam
Los Padres Dam
 Adults trap and hauled above dam
 Proposed juvenile/kelt fish collector
Southern California DPS
Southern California
Santa Ynez River, Bradbury dam
Status: Endangered (1997)
Historic Runs ~ 20,000
DPS includes:
1953
 Winter Steelhead
 Stocks continue to decline
Primary Threats:









Habitat blockages
Habitat degradation
Dewatering from irrigation
Drought
Urbanization
Channelization
High water temperatures
Non-native fish
Invasive plant species (Arundo)
 Restoration Projects Include:






Barrier removals
Stream channel enhancement
Invasive plant removal
Riparian enhancement
Water user agreements
Land acquisitions
Current Runs < 200
Mission Creek, Santa Barbara – 2008
Redd
Ventura River
Matilija Dam
1946
1948
 ~ 50% historic spawning habitat upstream
 Scheduled for Removal in 2020
Robles Diversion Dam
1958
Historic Estimates = 4000 to 6000
March 2010
Current Estimates < 100 annually
Fish ladder built 2005
California Steelhead - Hot Topics
 Implementation of monitoring and recovery plans
 Reintroduction above long standing barriers
 Angling regulations – harvest of hatchery fish
 Anadromous and resident form management
 Conservation hatcheries
 Drought related fish rescue
SUMMARY
 Steelhead stocks in California appear to be stable to declining
 Need to implement identified recovery actions
 Need implementation of monitoring programs & data collection
 Need consistent water supply and unimpeded passage
 Need to continue to address & alleviate threats
 Need baseline funding for population restoration and assessment
Jonathan Nelson
Steelhead Restoration & Management Program
California Department of Fish and Wildlife
830 S Street
Sacramento, California 95811
Phone: (916) 445-4506
Fax: (916) 327-8854
Email: jonathan.nelson@wildlife.ca.gov