Recent Finfish Studies in the Savannah Harbor

Mark Collins, Bill Post, Chris Walling, and Dan Russ
Marine Resources Research Institute, SC DNR, P.O. 12559, Charleston, SC 29422, 843/762-5008, fax 843/762-5110; collins@MRD.dnr.state.sc.us

The lower Savannah River has been severely perturbed for decades. Repeated dredging and channel deepening, and point/nonpoint source pollution have been identified as the primary disturbances. In order to determine the biological effects of planned deepening, information on the present community is required. A three-year study of adult shortnose sturgeon and the effectiveness of a previous sturgeon stock enhancement project is nearing conclusion. A study funded by the Georgia Ports Authority on the short-term movements and habitat utilization of juvenile shortnose sturgeon, in the lower Savannah River is currently in progress. Goals of this study are to establish baseline estimates of shortnose sturgeon abundance; abundance and age distribution of juveniles; the verification of recruitment; water quality conditions through monitoring changes in dissolved oxygen levels; and use of telemetry to determine behavior of adults and juveniles within potentially impacted areas. Concurrently, a faunal survey for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was conducted during the summer of 1999 in the lower Savannah River. This biological monitoring study will help determine composition and relative abundance of species utilizing the area. Thirty-nine species of five fish were collected with trawls and gillnets, including four recreationally important species.