CESAS-PD-E 31 January 2000

SUBJECT:     Savannah Harbor Expansion Project;

1. The meeting was held at the Corps of Engineers office in Savannah from 1:30 to 3:30 on Friday, January 21, 2000. Individuals who could not attend in person were able to participate through a teleconference capability.

2. The meeting was called primary to discuss two study proposals that had been submitted to the Committee for consideration. The first proposal was prepared by the UGA Fish & Wildlife Coop Unit at the request of the Committee. This need for this type of work was discussed at the previous Committee meeting. The second proposal was submitted by Dr. Mark Collins as a result of additional thoughts he had since the previous Committee meeting concerning fishery information needs in the Savannah estuary.

3. We began by discussing the proposal prepared by the UGA Fish & Wildlife Coop Unit titled "Temporal and Spatial Distribution of Estuarine-Dependent Species in the Savannah River Estuary". This is the evaluation discussed by the Committee to document the fishery habitat value of Estuarine Emergent Wetlands. The Committee had previously agreed that a reference site should be included in the work, but this was not included in the SOW. The Committee’s discussions are summarized as follows: (1)Inclusion of a reference site would probably not be useful for impact analysis purposes. (2)Inclusion of a reference could be useful for identification of cumulative impacts. (3)An evaluation of cumulative impacts would be complicated by the numerous physical and chemical differences between rivers. The group concluded that a reference site would not be needed to accomplish the study’s goals of documenting the fishery habitat value of Estuarine Emergent Wetlands.

4. The committee then reviewed why the work described in the UGA SOW was needed. The NMFS stated that the work would provide information to address project impacts on Essential Fish Habitat. It would document the relative distribution (seasonally and spatially) of fish species and document the linkage between fish species and habitat types and features. The study would also provide information that would be helpful when evaluating mitigation options. The USFWS stated that the work would describe the relative values of different wetland habitats to estuarine fisheries. The group mentioned that the study would be useful in evaluating the fishery effects of project-induced changes in salinity and river flows. Ted Will (UGA Coop Unit) agreed to include these study outputs in the SOW.

5. The committee then discussed whether the proposed 1-year investigation could answer the study questions or whether a multi-year effort would be needed. A 1-year study would provide a picture of the intra-year variation of fish assemblages. It would identify key habitat areas for specific groups of fish species. However, it would miss the effects of alternate river flow conditions that are expected to alter the physical conditions that are important to determining the physical location in the estuary that a species chooses to reside in at a point in time. Fish communities reside at different locations in the estuary in response to changes in river flows. The largest differences are likely to occur in brackish waters, which is the region most likely to be changed by a channel deepening project. A multi-year study – which includes an alternate river flow regime – would document fishery responses to varying flows that are typical of this estuary. The group concluded that a 2-year study would be needed to adequately document the use of the estuary by the various fishery communities. It would help it the impact assessment identify spatial shifts in the fishery communities that are expected as a result of various river flows. Some modification to the SOW would be likely in the second year to optimize the value of the data to be collected. The group also concluded that additional years of this study may be needed as post-construction monitoring to ensure that fishery responses to the modified conditions do not exceed what is predicted.

6. The Committee discussed the proposal prepared by Dr. Mark Collins (SCDNR-MRD) titled "Spawning Aggregations of Recreationally Important Sciaenid Species in Savannah Harbor". John Pafford stated that Scianeids spawn offshore, inshore and in inlets. These species use deep-water habitats to spawn and are known to use the channel at Kings Bay. Salinity around 20 ppt are needed to buoy the eggs, which are spawned in mid-water, possibly on incoming tides. Larvae and young subsequently move to lower salinity waters. Spawning locations vary by river discharge and temperature. Fishermen have reported that these species spawn in the Savannah River inlet. The group noted that the study would confirm the presence of spawning aggregations in this estuary. Potential project impacts to the spawning include alterations of salinity or velocities at a site. The Committee decided the SOW needed to include the following features to be performed at the spawning aggregation sites, once sites are identified: (1)water quality sampling, (2)velocity measurements (top to bottom), (3)sediment grabs (with grain size analyses), and (4)egg tows to confirm that spawning is occurring. The chairman would relay the need for these additional features to Dr. Collins for inclusion in the SOW.

7. I then gave a report on the status of EPA’s research concerning the dissolved oxygen requirements of juvenile shortnose sturgeon. EPA conducted this research at their Gulf Breeze laboratory last summer. I had spoken with Larry Goodman who oversaw this research. He stated that they had conducted research to confirm what SCDNR had previously identified, that the sensitivity of this species to low D.O. levels decrease with increasing age. The SCDNR was performed using 100-day old fish. EPA was only able to secure 150-day old fish. In phase 1, EPA ran its tests at the same temperature as SCDNR had, and found similar results. In phase 2, EPA increased the temperature to 26 degrees and found that the fish’s sensitivity was the same as SCDNR had found. EPA plans to continue its research next summer (phase 3). It hopes to use younger fish and study them at higher water temperatures. Gulf Breeze uses water of 4 ppt salinity. They expect to produce a report on their entire project in March 2001.

8. This concluded the group’s discussions. The chairman will redistribute the revised SOWs when he receives them from the authors. Once the Committee approves the scopes, the chairman will present them to the SEG with a recommendation for approval. Hopefully the presentation can be made at the February 1 SEG meeting.

William Bailey

Chairman