ML20083Q088

Ack Receipt of W/Facility Temp Data.Forwards Comments & Account of Jan 1973 Fish Kill,Estimates of Number of Dead Fish & Rept of Fish Survey

ML20083Q088
Person / Time
Site:	Oyster Creek
Issue date:	01/19/1973
From:	Reintjes J COMMERCE, DEPT. OF, NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE
To:	Stohr J US ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION (AEC)
Shared Package
ML20083Q056	List: ML20083Q066 ML20083Q070 ML20083Q088
References
NUDOCS 8302230101
Download: ML20083Q088 (1)

Text

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J \ U,S. DEPARTMEN i O .'\ _e: G,/ -

mati n i oceanic NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE COMMERCE t-o ah ri ad-i i te ti=n Atlantic Estuarine Fisheries Center Beaufort, North Carolina 28516

' January 19, 1973

' , -v Mr. J. P. Stohr, Sr. _ ' , ]7 Environmental Protection and ,

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Special Programs Section d _ O c -

U.S. Atomic Energy Commission Directorate of Regulatory Operations r' (L"

Region I i 970 Broad Street l

Newark, NJ 07102 i

Dear Mr. Stohr:

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I received your letter of January 16 with the Oyster Creek

' temperature data attached. I have forwarded a copy to Mr.

Paul E. Hamer, Director, N.J. Nacote Creek Research Station, Absecon. .

Attached are comments and a narrative account of the Oyster

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Creek menhaden kill of January ,1973, with estimates of the l number of dead menhaden. Also attached is a copy of Dr.

Wurtz' rep ort of the fish survey of December 27-29, 1972.

Sincerely, e

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bt M T John W. Reintjes Fishery Biolosit Attachments As Stated 8302230101 730520 s PDR ADOCK 05000219 P PDR

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V Aj 88/1 Comments Relative to the Oyster Creek Menhaden Kill, January 1973, with Estimates of the Number of Dead Fish.

Dr. Charles B. Wurtz, biological consultant, assisted by Roy E.

Younger, is conducting a monthly inventory of fish in the vicinity of Oyster Creek Generating Station. Their December survey was underway December 27-29. At noon on December 28, they met Tom McClusky, plant manager, and he mentioned the planned shut-down. Wurtz advised him to put the dilution pump in operation and come down slowly to minimize gradient shock. Apparently the Station tripped out at 6 a.m. on December 29, so that the planned shut-down was pre-empted. On December 29, the last day of the routine survey, 205 menhaden ranging from 4 to 15 inches (mean 8.6 in) were taken by gillnet in Oyster Creek. They saw several dead juveniles and some adults in apparent distress. Oyster Creek temperatures decreased from 59-60 F to 44-45 F following the plant shutdown at 6:00 a.m. December 29.

Dr. Wurtz learned of the fish kill on January 8 and conducted an on site inspection on January 9. Ice on the Creek and the finger lagoons prevented trawl or gillnet collecting. No dead fish were seen in the main channel area. Dead fish were easily visible through the ice on the lagoons. They estimated 900 dead menhaden in 20,000 square feet.

If this were extrapolated for the 4 lagoons with 400,000 square feet, it would give an estimated total of 18,000 dead menhaden. They reported relatively few gulls as compared to the flocks present during the kill of January 1972. The only other fish noticed were 20 Br.y anchovies frozen in the ice.

Paul E. Hamer, Director N.J. Division of Fish, Game and Shellfish, Nacote Creek Research Station, Absecon, learned about the shut-down and fish kill on January 8. He sent a crew to Oyster Creek.on January 9.

The Creek was covered with ice and flocks of gulls were trying to get at the dead fish. They reported menhaden accounted for about 99 percent of the dead fish and they ranged from juveniles to adults, 4 to 14 inches in length. Nearly all of the dead menhaden were in the finger lagoons. They estimated the number of dead fish in the surface ice and cut a hole in the ice and used a bottom grab to sample the bottom. They estimated a total fish kill of 1,200,000 fish. Approximately 23,000 in the surface ice and the remainder on the bottom. Nearly all of the dead fish were Atlantic menhaden.

To explain the large estimated number of dead menhaden on the bottom, he mentioned that most of the dead menhaden were found on the bottom during their survey of Oyster Creek after the January 1972 kill.

Menhaden have a relatively small swim bladder and usually do not surface when they are killed.

Mr. Hamer believes they could be very helpful in the proper evalua-tion of fish kills if they were notified in advance of planned shutdowns or as soon as possible when the is an emergency shutdown.

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2 Paul Hamer mentioned another fish kill, primarily of menhaden, that also occurred during the week of January 8. It took place in a small cove near Harvey Cedars at the lower end of Barnegat Bay. As this -

is about 12 miles south of Oyster' Creek, on the other side of Barnegat Bay, and south of Barnegat Inlet it is quite unlikely the dead fish came from the Oyster Creek area.

I called the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Center, Sandy Hook and talked to John Mahoney, a fishery biologist that has been. involved with fish-kill studies. He had not been involved with the Oyster

~ Creek menhaden kill but obtained the following information from Mrs. Pawlikowski, Secretary to the Director. No one from MACFC went to Oyster Creek the week of January 8 but several phone calls'were made.

Persons called were Ed Sherratt, Regional Director of Public Information, Jersey Central Power and Light Asbury Park; Herbert Fishberg, Newark Star Ledger; and Mr. Mallie, Briarwood Yacht Basin, Oyster Creek. They all 5-8.confirmed that a fish kill had occurred during the weekend of January .

Mr. M.allie estimated that 6 menhaden per square yard were frozen into the surface ice along the bulkheads of the finger lagoons and 1 menhaden per square yard over the remaining area. He reported menhaden 8 .to 10 inches long but added that smaller fish may have been present but would be much harder to see in the ice.

each Assuming 1,000 ft. longMr. Mallie's estimated pertained to the 4 finger lagoons, and 100 f t. wide, with 6 menhaden in each square yard along the bulkheads areas. The estimated total and 1 menhaden per square yard in the remaining I

is approximately 58,000 menhaden. .

{ Estimates of dead menhaden in the surface ice roughed from 18,000 to 58,000. There was only one estimate of 1,200,000 for the total number of dead menhaden for both surface and on the bottom by biologists of N..J. Nacote Creek Research Station.

John W. Reintjes January 19, 1973 Fishery Biologist ,

Atlantic Estuarine Fisheries Center Beaufort, North Carolina-i f

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a nure GPU SERVICE CORPC.os/ TION

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,, ,,,, ,,,,, ,, c ..,as Puche uuni.e: coroevai 200 Cherry Hal Road Parsippany, New Jersey 07054/201-539-6111 January 11, 1973 1

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O Mr. John W. Reintjes Fishery Biologist Atlantic Estuarine Fisheries Center Beaufort, North Carolina 28516

Dear Mr. Reintjes:

Attached for your information is a copy of the report by Dr. C. B.' Wurtz for his field investigation work on Deccaber 27-29, 1972.

Yours very truly,

\ 0.< LW llugh'J. 11111ams IIJW/ah ,

Attachment, Report k

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r-- u . ,g CHARLES B. WUR h D, Comulting Biologist $d .'S e.;,,,,,e w y. : ,

. PHILAOCLPHI A. P *, f 29 29 J/t WA 4 January 1972 Hr. H. J. Williams

• GPU Service Corporation 260 Cherry Hill Road -

Parsippany, New Jersey 07054

Dear Mr. Williams:

This letter is the fifth progress report on the menhaden Investigations being done in the interests of the Oyster Creek Plant. The fleid work for this report was done December 27-29, '

1972.

During this field period we added another type of fish collecting gear to our procedures; gill nets. Therefore, we are now using three fishing techniques. These are: 1) an otter trawl (referred to in earlier progress reports as a bottom trawl or

'! standard" trawl), which fishes on the bottom, 2) a~ modified beam trawl towed between two boats which fishes at the surface, and, 3) monofilament gill nets. The latter, not previously de-scribed, consist of four 100-foot lengths of net six feet deep.

The nets each have a different mesh size (square measurement),

increasing in quarter-inch increments from 3/4 inch to 1 1/2 inch, Collections this time did not produce any of the blue crabs which were common in the fall. The results from our five stations, Identified in the first progress report, are tabulated below.

- FISH COLLECTED WITH OTTER TRAWL December 27-28, 1972 Stations 1 2 3 4 5 Total Bay anchovy 2 2 4 Fourspine stickleback 52 Winter flounder 52 1 i FISH COLLECTED UlTH BEAM TRAWL Decc.r.be r 27-23, 1972 Stations 1 2 3 4 5 Total-Twospine stickleback Fourspine s:tckleback 3 3 1 1 Atlantic silversides 56 94 36 6 24 216 Atlantic menhaden 2 2

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- CHARLES B, WURT O Ph D., Consulting Biologist FISH COLLECTED IN GILL NETS December 29, 1972

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Vhite perch 1 3 5 Total

,2 2 Spot 3 .

3 Atlantic menhaden 205 205 did not capture any fish at Stations 3 and 5.The gill nets were below.Water temperatures recorded at the time of sampling are presented Time is expressed on a 24-hour basis.

FIELD TEMPERATURES (*F) -

Station Date Time Measurements I 27 Dec 1540 2

Sur. face 59, Bottom 61 27 Dec 1640 Surface 56, . Bottom 60 3 28 Occ 0905 Surface 44, Bottom 44 4 28 Dec 1010 Surface 44, 5 27 Dec Bottom 45 1025 - Surface 43, Bottom 44 1* 29 Occ* 1624* Surface 45, Bottom 44

• PlonL went down at 0600.

A total above.

as presented of 205 manhaden At were taken in the gill nets at Station 1 the time of capture (beginning at 0900 on December respects. 29th) these fish were alive and appeared healthy in all four inches to 15 ir.ch:sThe size-range of these net-caught menhaden varied from also seen.)

in total lengtn. (Straller menhaden were We were much surprised to find this size range , and par-presentThe av ticularly surprised to find adult fish present.

that in January 1972 the size of You will recall Creek was estim ted to approxicate four tothe menhaden killed in Oyster length with little five inches in total devia tica frcm this estimate. Ccttainly no large menhaden ' tere seen by me or my assistant and no reports of- ,

larger specimens have come to my attention. .

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The data pecaented by Reintjes' (p.

indicate th n a pooulation of renhade.vicrvce ccclimatid at10) in his Fins!

15'C (59'F) ' rill suff?r Jccted to 7*C (44.6'F).

EO percent xortality in 82.8 hours when sub- '

anprox in. i te th: c rr < ailing Thesein temperature conditions closcly Dec.::aber 29th; ap ;ce Cre x at Station 1 on date. the plant having been taken down at o600 on that

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CHARLES 1 WUl;Qh,D,, Considling Biologist

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At the moment we have no knowledge of the effect of the above temperature changes on menhaden larger than the larvae (ca. one inch). However, at the time of our gill netting operation at Station I we found three dead menhaden on the -

bottom of the canal that were two to three inches in length. '

In addition, about six large (est. 12 Inches) menhdden were observed :,wim iin erratically at the surface of the canal.

Apparently these fish,had lost locomotive control, which apparently is one of the symptoms of chilling to stress tempe ra tu rcs .

As of 1100 the morning of January 3rd there was no report of dead fish in the Oyster Creek Canal and no complaints.

However, no one from the Plant had gone to the canal to speci-fically investigate this possibility.

I am forwarding this report at this time because I feel that continuing check should be kept on the Oyster Creak cas-charge canal through the down period and for a day or to af ter start-up. My invoice, which is not yet prepared, will follow.

If you have any questions I would be happy to respond to them.

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s Sincerely yours, -

'!k(> Ihkt Charles B. Wurtz e

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