Quentin E. Ross

Alewives Avoid High-Frequency Sound

Abstract We studied the response of the alewife Alosa pseudoharengus to high-frequency sound to develop an acoustic system for preventing fish from entering power plant intakes. Four groups of alewives were subjected to different frequencies of sounds ranging from 110 to 150 kHz at sound pressure levels (SPLs, given in decibels [dB] in reference to 1 μPa) ranging from 125 to 180 dB. Each group of 20 or 25 fish was tested in a cage that was suspended in a flooded rock quarry. During the day, alewives schooled and strongly avoided pulsed tones (500 ms pulses, 1,000 ms apart) of 110 and 125 kHz at or above 175 dB, a continuous tone of 125 kHz at 172 dB, and pulsed broadband sound between 117 and 133 kHz at or above 157 dB. Although alewives habituated to tones, they avoided pulsed broadband sound at 163 dB more consistently. In one test, alewives did not habituate to this sound after 150 min of repeated exposure, The more consistent response to the broadband sound was probably due to the range of frequencies...

Response of Alewives to High-Frequency Sound at a Power Plant Intake on Lake Ontario

Abstract From April through June 1991, we tested a full-scale deterrent system for excluding alewives Alosa pseudoharengus from the intake of the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant (JAF), near Oswego, New York. This electronic system produced high-frequency broadband sound (122–128 kHz) at a source level (in decibels [dB] in reference to 1 μPa) of 190 dB. When the system was on, the density of fish near the JAF intake decreased by as much as 96% and the number of alewives impinged on the intake screens at JAF decreased by as much as 87%. The system was effective during both day and night, and its range was greater than 80 m.

Range dynamics of Hudson River striped bass along the Atlantic coast

Abstract We analyzed the movements of Hudson River striped bass Morone saxatilis along the Atlantic coast from the results of a tagging program conducted in the Hudson River estuary between 1984 and 1988. Almost 30,000 striped bass were marked with internal anchor tags; most measured between 200 and 800 mm total length (TL). Interpretations of recoveries are conditional because the distribution and selectivity of fishing effort along the Atlantic coast are unknown. The proportion of total recaptures from outside the Hudson River increased significantly with fish length and by season from spring through autumn. The geographic range of recoveries extended from the Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia, to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina – a coastal range of about 1,500 km. Most fish recaptured in spring had traveled north and east; recoveries from south of the New York Bight were uncommon until autumn. Many recaptures came from tributaries; far northern recaptures, in particular, tended to occur in rivers or near river m...

Multiattribute utility analysis for addressing Section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act

Abstract We believe that the fundamental issues associated with implementing Section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act are whether or not it requires a balancing of objectives and if it does, how that balancing should be done. If balancing is required, we recommend the use of multiattribute utility analysis (MUA). MUA is a formal, analytic approach for evaluating and comparing options for decisions with multiple objectives. It differentiates the two types of judgments needed for public policy decisions: (1) value judgments, which indicate what people want to happen as the result of a decision and their willingness to make tradeoffs, and (2) scientific judgments, which indicate what scientists or other technical specialists think is likely to happen based on the option that is chosen. MUA provides an approach for deciding what is an ‘adverse environmental impact’ and what is ‘best technology available’ based on site-specific considerations that can be consistently applied to all cooling water intakes. To illustrate the first step of a collaborative MUA process, we present a preliminary hierarchy of objectives constructed during a 1-day meeting held with regulators, electric utilities, and environmental groups to address the renewal of SPDES permits for four power plants operating on the Hudson River.

Tag Retention by, and Tagging Mortality of, Hudson River Striped Bass

Abstract The retention of two external tags by striped bass Morone saxatilis was determined directly by holding fish in the Hudson River, New York, in 1984 for up to 24 h (absolute retention) and indirectly by examining fish released into the Hudson River and recaptured up to 2 years later (relative retention). The tags were: (1) an anchor tag, placed into the dorsal musculature, and (2) an internal anchor tag, inserted through an incision in the abdominal musculature. The absolute retention of these tag types, and of a dart tag inserted into the dorsal musculature, also was determined by holding striped bass in outdoor pools for up to 180 d. Retention of anchor tags and internal anchor tags was 100% for striped bass held 24 h in the Hudson River. Retention of internal anchor tags (98.0%) was significantly higher than that of anchor tags (42.0%) among fish at large in the Hudson River for 1 year; in the second year, only internal anchor tags were recovered. Striped bass in holding pools retained anchor ta...

Use of Atlantic Tomcod and other Prey by Striped Bass in the Lower Hudson River Estuary during Winter

Abstract Striped bass Morone saxatilis and Atlantic tomcod Microgadus tomcod are common in the lower Hudson River estuary during winter. However, there is no information on the consumption of Atlantic tomcod or other prey by striped bass at that time in the lower Hudson River estuary. Striped bass are known to feed on Atlantic tomcod in the Hudson River during seasons other than winter. From 1986 through 1994, the stomach contents of 1,580 striped bass caught in the lower Hudson River estuary at water temperatures below 10°C were examined to determine the presence of fish and invertebrates. Of those, 47% contained food. No Atlantic tomcod were found in any of the striped bass stomachs despite the fact that 74% of the catches from the 5,826 tows we examined contained both Atlantic tomcod and striped bass and that the Atlantic tomcod appeared to be a suitable-size prey for the striped bass. The proportion of stomachs having invertebrates declined with increasing length of striped bass and the proportion of ...

Assessing Potential Effects of Entrainment and Impingement on Fish Stocks of the New York–New Jersey Harbor Estuary and Long Island Sound

Abstract We assessed the potential effects of entrainment and impingement at the Charles Poletti Power Project (hereafter, Poletti) on fish stocks of the New York–New Jersey (NY–NJ) Harbor Estuary and Long Island Sound by (1) estimating, for five fish stocks, the conditional mortality rate (CMR) for entrainment of eggs, larvae, and young-of-the-year (age-0) fish and the CMR for impingement of age-0 fish, and (2) for two of those stocks, using the CMR estimates to calculate the proportional reduction in biomass of spawners from an unfished stock under equilibrium conditions. Estimates of entrainment CMR for eggs and larvae were low and ranged from 0.02% for tautogs Tautoga onitis to 0.11% for Atlantic menhaden Brevoortia tyrannus, based on the spatial and temporal distribution of those life stages in the NY–NJ Harbor Estuary and Long Island Sound study area and the probabilities of entrainment generated by a particle tracking model, coupled with a three-dimensional estuarine circulation model that simulate...

Reducing Mortality of Striped Bass Captured in Seines and Trawls

Abstract Between 1984 and 1987, more than 30,000 striped bass Morone saxatilis were captured for tagging in the Hudson River, New York, with trawls and seines. Handling before tagging was the major source of mortality. Immediate mortality decreased from 16.1 to 1.2% for striped bass captured in seines and from 17.7 to 1.0% for striped bass captured in trawls when the handling procedure was modified. The modified procedure involved guiding the cod end into a partially submerged holding tank beside the capture vessel instead of lifting the cod end out of the water to transfer the catch to a holding tank aboard the capture vessel. A significant interaction between immediate mortality, water temperature, and fish length was observed before the handling procedure was modified but not afterward. When the unmodified handling procedure was used, immediate mortality increased with increasing fish length and water temperature. However, recapture rates within a year after release also increased with increasing water...

Evaluation of Minimum Size Limits for St. Lawrence River Northern Pike

Abstract Traditional fisheries management practices assume that increasing a minimum size limit will increase the sustained yield of larger fish by reducing the harvest of younger fish and increasing the recruitment into the older age groups. Simulation modeling of the northern pike (Esox lucius) population in the St. Lawrence River indicates that the yield of older fish actually declines under these conditions. In the absence of density-dependent compensation, the imposition of a 660-mm minimum size limit resulted in a greater decline in total population size than that predicted under a 508-mm limit over a 50-year period. A decrease in yield was caused by an increase in the harvest of older females and a subsequent decrease in egg production. To guard against possible population decline or shift in the age structure that reduces the stability and productivity of an existing fishery, it is suggested that reproductive potential be examined whenever minimum size limits are considered.

Effect of Radio-Tagging on Escape Reactions of Adult Blueback Herring to Ultrasound

Abstract Telemetry is a potential approach for assessing how effectively ultrasound steers blueback herring Alosa aestivalis away from undesirable locations. The objectives of this study were to determine (1) whether gastric implantation of radio tags prevented adult blueback herring from reacting to ultrasound and (2) if not, whether radio tag implantation diminished the fishs escape reactions. Eight groups, each consisting of four blueback herring in good condition, were exposed in a circular tank to a single pulse of broadband ultrasound eight times; each time was considered a trial. Radio tags were gastrically implanted in blueback herring from four of the groups. The four untagged groups were used to confirm that blueback herring would react to ultrasound in the tank, while the four tagged groups were used to determine whether tagging prevented a reaction. These reactions were confirmed by measuring the swimming speed immediately before and after a pulse of sound. Blueback herring in both the tagged...