January 10, 2000

MEETING SUMMARY (DRAFT)

Savannah Harbor Expansion Project

SEG Striped Bass Committee

Minutes of December 3, 1999 meeting

PREPARED BY: Tom Meronek

Actions Needed

1. Develop an Assessment of Research and Management Needs for Savannah River Striped Bass document as a guide for SEG members in understanding how future research might complement past and ongoing research and management. In addition, the document could serve as a guide for the striped bass restoration process.

1. Striped Bass Committee meeting was held at the Corps of Engineers (COE) office in Savannah from 9:00 AM to12:30 PM on Friday, December 3, 1999. The meeting was in conjunction with a meeting of the COE Section 1135 Back River Restoration Project Team.

2. The first topic discussed was computer modeling by ATM. Bo Ellis gave an update and suggested the report on the Phase I Scope of Work should be completed within one to two months. The Phase I Scope of Work was jointly developed by the COE 1135 Back River Restoration Project Team and the Striped Bass Committee.

3. Some members of the COE 1135 project team gave reports. Ted Will and Tom Reinert gave a report on the status of their work under funding from the COE 1135 project. The work includes 1) a striped bass fecundity/maturation study, 2) egg sampling, and 3) preliminary research on egg net calibration using gellum ball egg surrogates. This report was important for the Striped Bass Committee to hear because future research proposed to SEG will be a continuation of similar work. Next, Terry Stratton, Project Manager of the COE Section 1135 Back River Restoration Project, updated the group on funding status of the COE 1135 project. The COE 1135 project team has a need to conserve some funds for additional modeling work by ATM to evaluate Back River restoration alternatives, and funds must be conserved to pay for engineering planning and design. The remaining funds should cover expenses associated with identification of the physical aspects of restoration. However, of concern is the need for further biological studies, which will be outlined in an Assessment of Research and Management Needs for Savannah River Striped Bass.

4. The group revisited the idea of aligning the COE 1135 project feasibility study deadline with that of GPA’s harbor deepening Tier II project evaluation deadline. The COE 1135 project deadline is presently May 2001, and GPA’s is sometime in 2002. It was noted that the intent of a COE Section 1135 Project was not to be a long process, other COE project options are better suited for that purpose. Previously, a letter was written by GPA’s representative Morgan Rees containing a formal request from the Striped Bass Committee asking the COE to extend the deadline for completion of the COE 1135 project feasibility study. The extension would align the COE 1135 project feasibility study deadline with that of GPA’s harbor deepening Tier II evaluation deadline and possibly allow for greater funding. The letter has not been sent because members of the COE 1135 project team have not determined the full advantage of extending the deadline at this time, but will revisit the issue pending the results of the Phase I Scope of Work. Members of the COE 1135 project team agreed that they will be better able to determine the need for further modeling after receiving the ATM report. Upon receiving the report the COE 1135 project team will determine whether additional modeling can be completed by ATM upon request by August 2000, or if it would be best completed with the updated ATM model (1999 data) when it is available. One point to consider is that the COE 1135 project team originally intended to use the new model, when it became available, to complete all the model runs necessary for determining Back River restoration alternatives. However, the new ATM model may not be available for use until after the completion date set for the COE 1135 project feasibility study.

5. The schedule of completion for ATM’s updated model was given by Bo Ellis as follows:

The new model may not be available to run any Back River restoration alternatives until August 2001. That is, assuming that some mitigation type alternatives could not be run with the GPA matrix of model runs, Bo Ellis could not give a definite answer on the specification of model runs during that time frame (January2001-June2001) as they remain undetermined. It should be noted that many of the Back River restoration model runs will be requested as possible mitigation model runs and therefore be recommended by the Striped Bass Committee. An extensive matrix of model runs was outlined in the original proposal for research submitted to SEG in March 1999, but that proposal was later modified into the Phase I Scope of Work.

6. The Striped Bass Committee discussed the need for research during the approaching 2000 striped bass spawning season. That research should focus on continuing research started by UGA’s Fish and Wildlife Coop Unit, specifically 1) egg sampling and net calibration studies, which will broaden our knowledge on the use of the Front River by spawning striped bass; and 2) ultrasonic / fecundity studies, which when combined with other research and continuing GADNR work will allow an estimate of the spawning capability of the Savannah River striped bass population. A research proposal was formally written by UGA’s Fish and Wildlife Coop Unit for approval by the COE 1135 project team, however, the Striped Bass Committee will work towards determining its applicability to the deepening project and eligibility for funding by GPA. This is a time sensitive issue because funding transfers need to be underway by the middle of January for research to begin on time.