Estimates of entrainment mortality for striped bass and other fish species inhabiting the Hudson River estuary
Estimates of entrainment mortality for striped bass and other fish species inhabiting the Hudson River estuary
Abstract
An empirically derived age-, time-, and space-variant equation was used to estimateentrainment mortality at power plants for seven fish species inhabiting the Hudson River estuary.Entrainment mortality is expressed as a conditional rate, which is the fractional reduction in yearclassstrength due to entrainment if other sources of mortality are density-independent.Estimates of the conditional entrainment mortality, based on historical and projected oncethroughcooling operation of five power plants, were 11-22% for striped bass, 11-17% for whiteperch, 5-7% for Atlantic tomcod, 14-21% for American shad, 4-11% for river herring (alewife andblueback herring combined), and 35-79% for bay anchovy. Closed-cycle cooling (natural-draftcooling towers) at three of the power plants (Indian Point, Bowline Point, and Roseton) wouldreduce entrainment mortality of striped bass by 50-80%, of white perch by 75-80%, of Atlantictomcod by 75-70%, of American shad by 80%, or river herring by 30-90%, and of bay anchovy by45-80%. The life stages most vulnerable to entrainment mortality were post-yolk-sac larva andentrainable-size juvenile.
Type
article
article
article
Date
1998
Publisher
American Fisheries Society