Despite three straight non-drought winters (2016-2018) the Delta smelt spawning run shows no sign of recovery based on the Kodiak Trawl Survey (Figure 1). The February 2018 survey brought a record low catch of only 4 adults (compared to 125-287 from 2011-2013). The March index was “1”. As in my last post, the prognosis for Delta smelt remains grim. The next check is the spring 20-mm Smelt Survey index to determine if this years spawning run production of juvenile smelt continues the pattern of four years of near record lows (Figure 2).
![](http://calsport.org/fisheriesblog/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Figure-1-Kodiak-Trawl-Survey-catch-of-Delta-smelt-in-winter-2002-2018-1024x758.png)
Figure 1. Kodiak Trawl Survey catch of Delta smelt in winter 2002-2018. Source: CDFW survey data.
![](http://calsport.org/fisheriesblog/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Figure-2-CDFW-20-mm-Survey-Delta-smelt-index-1995-2017-1024x743.png)
Figure 2. CDFW 20-mm Survey Delta smelt index 1995-2017. Source: https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=147044