Science activity

Description

The Fish Facilities Monitoring program provides database management and quality assurance to the State and Federal fish facilities, which protect and divert fish away from the water project pumping plants. The State Water Project (SWP), operated by the California Department of Water Resources (DWR), and the Central Valley Project (CVP), operated by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, export water out of the San Francisco Bay Delta for urban and agricultural use in California. When water is exported, fish become entrained into the diversions. Since 1957, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) has salvaged fish at the Tracy Fish Collection Facility (TFCF). CDFW's Fish Facilities Unit, in cooperation with DWR, began salvaging fish at the Skinner Delta Fish Protective Facility (SDFPF) in 1968. The salvaged fish are released at several sites in the western Delta. Salvage of fish at both facilities is conducted 24 hours a day, seven days a week at regular intervals. Sampling of entrained fish at the SDFPF and TFCF is the source for CDFW's daily salvage and loss estimates for the monitoring of incidental take of listed fish species.

Project Need

Fulfills mandates in the 2024 Biological Opinion and the 2024 Incidental Take Permits for Long Term Operation of the State Water Project.

Project Objectives

• Provides technical advice and expertise on evaluating fish salvage.
• Updates the Skinner Fish Facility Operations Manual annually.
• Determines entrainment of fish toward the water projects.
• Monitors and reports on the number of fish and of which species are salvaged at the fish facilities.
• Reports and distributes listed species salvage for Chinook Salmon, steelhead, Longfin Smelt, Delta Smelt, and Green Sturgeon.
• Manages daily data for distribution.
• Implements special studies on entrainment, salvage, and loss.
• Calculates Chinook and Steelhead Salmon loss from the facilities using salvage data.
• Ensures that fish facility staff are trained in fish identification by providing training and training materials.