Monterey County Steelhead Monitoring Project

The purpose of this project is the long-term monitoring of steelhead in the Big Sur Coast and Carmel Biogeographical Population Groups (BPG) using the Viable Salmonid Population (VSP) concept described in Fish Bulletin 180 and methods described in Fish Bulletin 182.



Project staff will continue to monitor adult steelhead abundance in the Big Sur River by using a fixed counting station. The fixed counting station on the Big Sur River will be a sonar camera.



Along with estimating adult steelhead returns using a sonar camera on the Big Sur River, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) staff will begin low-flow surveys (e-fishing and for pools >3ft snorkeling) to determine juvenile abundance and spatial distribution for the larger Big Sur Coast (BPG).

Steelhead populations along the Big Sur Coast range are part of the federally threatened South-Central California Distinct Population Segment. According to the National Marine Fisheries Service?s South-Central California Coast Steelhead Recovery Plan (Recovery Plan), steelhead populations have been negatively affected by anthropogenic activities including construction of barriers to fish migration, diversion of surface- and ground-water flows, and agricultural and urban development (NMFS 2013). In collaboration with NMFS, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is developing anadromous Salmonid population survey methodology to better understanding of population status and trends.



These watersheds once sustained large and healthy steelhead populations. The Recovery Plan describes that obtaining adult steelhead population data for these systems is a crucial component of adopting appropriate management strategies (NMFS 2013).