A Fisheries Survey of the Savannah River

by

Dennis N. Schmitt

and

Jon H. Hornsby

Georgia Department of Natural Resources Game and Fish Division Atlanta, Georgia

September 1985

This study was funded through the Federal Aid in Fish Restoration Act under Dingell-Johnson Project F-30, Georgia. FINAL REPORT

State: Georgia Project Number: F-30-12

Project Title: Coastal Region Fisheries Investigations

Study Number: VI

Study Title: A Fisheries Survey of the Savannah River

Period Covered: 1 July 1980 to 30 June 1985

Study Objectives: To describe the physical characteristics, fish

populations and fishery of the Savannah River.

ABSTRACT

This survey of the Savannah River represents the first comprehensive fishery assessment of this large, diversified resource serving the needs of many industrial, commercial and recreational users in Georgia and South Carolina. Results represent 146 hours of electrofishing, three rotenone samples and three consecutive years of sport fishery creel data from 300 km of river and estuary downstream of the New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam, near Augusta, Georgia. Freshwater fishing pressure per unit area was six times greater than that of the estuary, with anglers fishing oxbows 2:1 over mainstream habitats.

Quantitative and qualitative samples indicated that more species occupied river oxbows which supported over four times more biomass than mainstream habitats. Freshwater fishing pressure dropped 20% and catch rate 60% during two years of low water levels caused by the 1981-82 drought. An American shad (Alosa sapidissima) sport fishery developed during this study at the New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam where effort and harvest increased from insignificant levels in 1980 to 13% of the total effort and 33% of the total weight harvested in freshwater in

1982. INTRODUCTION

The Savannah River Basin covers 27,394 km2 of Georgia, South

Carolina and North Carolina (USCOE 1981). The river forms near

Hartwell, Georgia at the confluence of the Seneca and Tugaloo Rivers, and flows southeasterly for 476 km before emptying into the Atlantic

Ocean near Savannah, Georgia (Figure 1). Three multiple-purpose reservoirs are located on the Savannah River: Hartwell, Russell, and

Clarks Hill. The newest reservoir, Russell, is situated between

Hartwell and Clarks Hill and completes a three-part chain of lakes covering nearly 193 km of the Savannah River (USCOE 1981). The major purposes of these dams as specified in the Flood Control Acts of 1944,

1950 & 1966 are flood control and hydroelectric generation, but they also provide recreational and area redevelopment benefits.

The Savannah River Basin encompasses three physiographic regions: the Blue Ridge Province, Piedmont Province and Coastal Plain Province.

The river basin is predominantly forested and rises to an elevation of

1,676 meters at the headwaters of the Tallulah River. Land use development in the mountainous upper basin has been limited to

recreation and timber production. Agricultural activity along the middle reach of the Savannah River in the general area of the Fall Line has only been moderate. The Coastal Plain area is low-lying and generally poorly drained. This relatively undeveloped region is characterized by bottomland hardwoods, southern pine forests, and cypress-tupelo swamp communities. A salt-marsh delta with a network of

tidal creeks predominates in the lower 45 kilometers of the river.

Major metropolitan areas in the basin are centered around the cities of

Augusta and Savannah on the Georgia side of the river. A more detailed

2 USDOE- Savannah L-- River Plant

50 0 5o I . . . . I I Kilometers

Savannah Electric Power Company It Steam Plants N

ATLANTIC OCEAN

Figure 1: Savannah River drainage basin.

3 description of the natural and cultural resources of the Savannah River

Basin is found in the Georgia Environmental Corridor Study (GADNR 1976).

The many diversified uses of the Savannah River has made it an invaluable natural resource to public and private concerns in both

Georgia and South Carolina. Dam projects of the U. S. Army Corps of

Engineers on the Savannah River serve not only as a source of hydroelectric power (1.6 billion kWh in FY80) and flood control, but yearly attract millions of visitors (18.7 million in 1980) (USCOE 1981).

The Savannah River serves as a municipal and industrial water supply for many users in Georgia and South Carolina. Municipal water users include

the Beaufort-Jasper County Water Authority, South Carolina, and the

Savannah Industrial and Domestic Water Works. Industrial usage downstream of Augusta includes cooling water for three commercial steam electric generating plants, one commercial nuclear power plant (Plant

Vogtle nearing completion in Burke County, Georgia), and three U. S.

Department of Energy nuclear reactors at the Savannah River Plant near

Aiken, South Carolina (Figure 1). A fourth government nuclear reactor

(L-Reactor) at the Savannah River Plant was scheduled to start-up in the

summer of 1985.

The River and Harbor Act of 1950 authorized a Corps of Engineers

project for the Savannah River to construct a navigational channel 2.7

meters deep and 27.4 meters wide from the port of Savannah to Augusta, a

distance of approximately 291 kilometers. This project was completed in

1965 and serves water terminals located at Augusta, Sylvania, and

Savannah. A deepwater ocean port is maintained to river km 34 which

serves docking facilities at Savannah and Port Wentworth. A tide gate

across the Back River in the river delta adjacent to the city of

4 Savannah was completed by the Corps of Engineers in 1977. This structure

increases ebb tide flows in the Front River, flushing and trapping sediments that might otherwise have to be dredged. Future river projects include a hydropower generating facility at the New Savannah

Bluff Lock and Dam, an upstream expansion of the deepwater port

facilities at Savannah, and increasing the navigational channel depth

between Savannah and Augusta from 9 to 13 feet. A major paper recycling plant is under construction in Effingham County at river km 68..

The lack of large reservoirs in the Coastal Plain of Georgia and

South Carolina makes the lower Savannah River one of the few major

freshwater resources available to anglers. Despite the recreational

value of the river, this study represents the first comprehensive survey

of the fishery resources downstream of Augusta, Georgia. Concurrent

river research was conducted by Environmental & Chemical Sciences, Inc.

under contract to E. I. duPont de Nemours & Co., Savannah River

Laboratory, Aiken, South Carolina. Their investigations have focused on

the density and distribution of ichthyoplankton at designated locations

along the lower Savannah River between the New Savannah Bluff Lock and

Dam (river km 301) and the zone of tidal influence near Port Wentworth,

Georgia (river km 48). In addition, their studies have investigated

aspects of spawning activity, periphyton production, meroplankton

communities, macroinvertebrate populations, and fish entrainment and

impingement at the U. S. Department of Energy-Savannah River Plant

(Paller et al. 1984).

Previous fishery research on the Savannah River has focused

primarily on anadromous species. Smith (1970) reviewed the life history

of striped bass (Morone saxitilis) in the coastal rivers of Georgia

5 which included the Savannah River. Based on his collection of developing eggs, he determined that tidally influenced estuarine areas of coastal rivers were the prIncipal striped bass spawning grounds.

Dudley et al. (1977) studied the movement of adult striped bass in the

Savannah River and found that some post-spawned adults moved upstream

into freshwater habitats. Their data strongly suggested that a portion of the Savannah River striped bass population lived their entire lives

in the river. The Savannah River has also been noted as one of the major brood stock sources for the striped bass artificial propagation

program of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (McBay 1968, Rees

1978). Other anadromous species of importance in the Savannah River

include American shad, hickory shad (Alosa mediocris), Atlantic sturgeon

(Acipenser oxyrhynchus) and shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum).

Of the five anadromous species discussed, only the striped bass and

shortnose sturgeon are protected by law from commercial harvest.

Commercial gill nets used to capture shad and Atlantic sturgeon will,

however, incidentally capture striped bass and shortnose sturgeon.

Other species that are commercially fished include channel catfish

(Ictalurus punctatus) and American eels (Anguilla rostrata).

Dahlberg and Scott (1971) list 106 freshwater species indigenous to

the Savannah River basin including taxonomic and distributional

information based on numerous ichthyological references and personal

collections. The staff of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences,

under contract to the Savannah River Laboratory, conducted 16 major

surveys between 1951 and 1976, collecting and cataloging the fish fauna

of the Savannah River. During this 25 year period, they compiled a

faunal list of 69 fish species collected from the river near the

6 Savannah River Plant (McFarlane et al. 1978). Other fish collections have been made by the Georgia Power Company and the Savannah Electric

I tIId I'own I I:3ri nI) YInI I roine I II ntr w tI t re clti i rew:r' iit o4 f or AI v'harge pek rm 1.1t authorization.

Other concurrent research in the lower Savannah River has included an electrophoretic examination of adult Morone spp. to determine the extent of natural F 1 hybrid backcrossing (Avise and Van Den Avyle 1983), and a recently completed study evaluating the relative importance of the lower Savannah River as a striped bass spawning area. The second study is a follow-up on research by Dudley and Black (1979) investigating striped bass egg and larval movement in the Savannah River estuary resulting from tide gate operation. These studies were contracted to the Georgia Cooperative Fishery Research Unit, Athens, Georgia, by the

Georgia Department of Natural Resources and the U. S. Army Corps of

Engineers.

Subsequent to the initiation of this study in 1979, a great demand for information on the Savannah River fishery resource arose. No reliable data were available for the assessment of impacts of planned developments on the river by commercial and government users (i.e.

Georgia Power Company, Savannah River Laboratory, Georgia Department of

Transportation). Except for annual striped bass brood fish collections, the extent of sampling on the river by the Department of Natural

Resources had been limited to annual fish samplings for contaminant analysis. No other quantitative or qualitative Savannah River fishery data were available to develop management recommendations in addressing user conflicts that might endanger the resource.

7 DESCRTPTION OF THE STUDY AREA

risr pcort i o l 1.1ir, S vannnh Rtver dl ciirinad In t hli report. 4,xLend9 downstream from the New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam near Augusta to the mouth of the river near Fort Pulaski on the Atlantic Ocean coastline.

This free-flowing section of the Savannah River is approximately 301 km long and varies from 40 to 902 meters in width (Figure 2). This study covered a total surface area of 6,658 hectares (Table 1). Salinity in the lower estuarine reach of the river limited the area available to electrofishing to the 4,826 hectares upstream of river km 17.7.

The river upstream of the Savannah Harbor has an average channel depth of about 2.0 meters with pools as deep as 9.1 meters. Water velocities are variable and dependent upon adjacent watershed runoff and upstream releases of water from Clarks Hill Dam.

The study area lies entirely within the Upper and Lower Coastal

Plain Provinces. The adjacent river watershed in the study area drains

7,948 km2 of Georgia and South Carolina. Savannah River mean water discharge levels are highly variable from year to year and even within years. Mean river discharge measured near Clyo, Georgia, over 49 years

of records was 337 m3 Is (Figure 1). The lowest daily minimum discharge

recorded at the Clyo station was 55 m 3/s (27 Sep 1931) and the maximum was 7,646 m 3/s (6 Oct 1929). Mean flows during 1981 and 1982 were markedly lower than the historical mean (Figure 3). The 1981 calendar year mean discharge (197 m3 Is) was the lowest since 1955 (193 m3 Is)

(USGS 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984).

The sinuous nature of the Savannah River has been altered by natural and man-made cuts resulting in both flowing and non-flowing oxbows. Main channel length of the river from the New Savannah Bluff

8 Augusta

Now Savannah Bklf Lack & Gon,

SOUTH CAROLINA

\ US 301

I GEORGI'A-

1N

KILOMETERS =C:: 0 10 20 30 40 50

Figure 2. Savannah River fisheries survey study area with approximate freshwater creel census boundaries.

9 Table 1. Savannah River fisheries survey study areas by method and habitat type as determined from U. S. Dept. of Commerce navigational charts and U. S. Geological Survey quadrangle maps.

Study Method/Area River Kilometer Habitat Type Hectares

ELECTROFISHING

Estuarine 17.7 - 40.2 Brackish marsh 1,515

Transition zone 40.2 - 62.8 Mainstream 264 Oxbows & Creeks 253 Total 51T

Freshwater 62.8 - 301.2 Mainstream 2,179 Oxbows & Creeks 615 Total

Combined areas 17.7 - 301.2 Brackish marsh 1,515 Mainstream 2,443 Oxbows & Creeks 868

Grand Total 4,826

SPORT FISHERY CREEL

Roving/Estuarine 4.8 - 34.6 Brackish marsh 3,024

Access/Freshwater I 34.6 - 121.0 Mai nstream/Oxbow 1,476

Access/Freshwater II 121.0 - 301.2 Mainstream/Oxbow 2,158

Combined areas 4.8 - 301.2 Brackish marsh 3,024 Mainstream/Oxbow 3,634

Grand Total 6,658

10 1000 Year means (90%C.I.) • 49-year mean (90%C.I.) g00 -- Monthly means

800

700

600 A

4 00 I-. I-.

3 004

200

i00

ON D 1 f f A M I A S A 0 0 N 0 Ir M A M I A S 0 N 0I F A A a I A S 1983 1980 1981 19132

Figure 3. Mean discharge levels with 90% confidence intervals for the Savannah River at Clyo from July 1980 through September 1983 (from USGS 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984). Lock and Dam to the city of Savannah is 279 km compared to a straight

line distance of 163 km. The sinuosity of the original channel was decreased during the 1950's and 60's by Corps navigational dredging activities that cut the main channel length in the study area by 13%.

The environmental corridor of the Savannah River basin below

Augusta is characterized by loblolly-shortleaf pine throughout the Upper

Coastal Plain. This merges into longleaf-slash pine as the corridor

nears the Lower Coastal Plain. Longleaf-slash pine dominates the Lower

Coastal Plain-except in river swamps and bottomland areas where hardwood

vegetation such as black gum (Nyssa sylvatica), tupelo gum

(N. aquatica), cypress (Taxodium distichum), white ash (Fraxinus

americana), red maple (Acer rubrum), live oak (Quercus virginiana), and

laurel oak (0. laurifolia) are found (USCOE 1974). Typical streambank

vegetation consists:of pioneer grasses and willows (Salix spp.) on sand

bars along inside river bends. Outside river bends have typically steep

banks with mature pine-hardwood forests. Trees on the outside river

bends eventually collapse into the channel as the banks erode. Downed

trees accumulate other passing river debris and provide much of the

cover and fish food organism substrate found in the mainstream. Sandy

river bottoms in shallow water areas of the mainstream support only

limited rooted aquatic macrophytes. Alligatorweed (Alternanthera

philoxeroides) has become established in various areas of the lower

Savannah River and has caused navigation problems in at least one

tributary (i.e. Ebenezer Creek).

Most Savannah River oxbows in the study area have resulted from

man-made cuts to facilitate commercial navigation.. Flow in many of

these oxbows was reduced or completely cut-off by dredge spoil

12 deposition at their upstream ends. Decreased water velocities and stagnation have Increased the fertility of oxbow waters through the deposition and accumulation of organic matter. A limited number of cypress-tupelo river swamps are accessible from the main channel habitat. These river swamps are the natural result of river oxbow

succession. Examples found in the study area include Kennedy Lake (km

92), Camel Lake (km 103), and Miller Lake (km 161). Similar habitats can also be found along Ebenezer Creek (km 72) and Brier Creek (km 157),

two major tributaries which are located in Georgia (Figure 2).

The Savannah River estuarine marsh habitat extends from river km 45

downstream to the Atlantic Ocean. Cordgrass (Spartina sp.) and rush

(Juncus sp.) predominate in this large, open region of interconnecting

tidal creeks and rivers. Tidal influence extends upstream to

approximately river km 63 in the vicinity of the Savannah Electric and

Power Company-Effingham Plant (Figure 2). Salt water is normally not

detectable above river km 40.

The climate of the Savannah River corridor between Savannah and

Augusta can best be characterized as warm-temperate to sub-tropical

having long, humid summers and short, mild winters. This region

experiences an average annual rainfall of 116 cm and an average annual

temperature of 18.6 0 C. The frost-free growing season ranges from 220 to

280 days with first freeze around November 12th and last freeze on March

16th (GADNR 1976, SCDHEC 1975).

The Department of Natural Resources, Environmental Protection

Division, has monitored the water quality of the Savannah River

downstream from the New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam since 1968. Two

major areas of water quality degradation exist within the study area,

13 downstream of Augusta and in the Savannah harbor. Water quality classification of the Savannah River around Augusta is degraded from drinking water above to fishing below. Major sources of wastewaters downstream from the New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam are the city of

Augusta municipal waste facility on Butler Creek, Fort Gordon's discharge into Spirit Creek, and treated effluent from the oxidation pond of the Continental Can paper mill just downstream from Spirit

Creek. River water quality is upgraded to drinking water standards 110 kilometers downstream at U. S. Highway 301 bridge in Screven County and remains so until it reaches estuarine waters.

River water quality at the city of Savannah is again degraded by a large variety and volume of wastewaters from municipal and industrial sources. Use classification of the river at this point is reduced to navigation. Surface water samples taken near Fort Jackson, which is downstream from most wastewater sources in the Savannah metropolitan area, have shown significant increases in ammonia nitrogen, 5-day BOD, alkalinity, and chlorides from 1974 to 1983. However, dissolved oxygen

levels have improved and fecal coliform densities have decreased

significantly during this same period (GADNR 1975, 1984). Presently,

the Georgia Environmental Protection Division is studying the possible upgrading of the Savannah River at the city of Savannah to a fishing

classification.

METHODS

Quantitative Sampling

Quantitative estimates of standing crop, species composition and

size class distribution from freshwater portions of the Savannah River were obtained by state-funded rotenone samples collected from two

14 flowing oxbows and one static water oxbow between 22 September 1982 and

12 October 1983. Stream rotenone sampling procedures used were described by Johnson and Pasch (1975) and modified by Holder and Crochet

(1984). Savannah River main channel flow (mean flow > 200 m3 /s) and depth exceeded the capabilities of the available sampling equipment.

Therefore, flowing oxbows, resulting from navigational improvements by the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, were selected as best representing the main channel habitat of the Savannah River.

Flowing oxbow rotenone sites were located at river km 66 and km 151

(Figure 4). The downstream sample area was 1.25 ha with a flow of 13.7 -3 -3 m Is ,and the upstream site 2.7 ha with a flow of 8.1 m Is. A 9.5 mm bar mesh'block net was placed at the lower end of each sample area. Ten subsample nets of'one square-meter each were randomly placed in the stream cross section behind the block net to collect fish passing

through it. Estimated fish loss was used to adjust the total standing crop estimate.

Noxfish (a 5% emulsible liquid rotenone formulation) was applied in

both flowing oxbow samples at 0.75 mg/l for the first 30 minutes and at

1.0 mg/l for the following 30 minutes. Rotenone was detoxified

immediately below the subsample nets with potassium permanganate (KMnO 4 )

at a rate of 7.0 and 8.0 mg/l in the upstream and downstream samples,

respectively. The required concentration of potassium permanganate was

determined by a KMnO4 demand test conducted just prior to rotenone

application (Holder and Crochet 1984).

The static water oxbow sample area was 0.4 ha and located at river

km 137 (Figure 4). The sample area was enclosed by a 9.5 mm bar mesh

block net and treated with 2 mg/l rotenone. Potassium permanganate was

15 Quantitative Sampling Flowing oxbow 0 Static oxbow A Qualitative Sampling Mainstream 0 N1 Oxbow A Estuarine E

New

I-.

4-

I

k/

NIL MTERII 0 510 is

Figure 4. Approximate locations of quantitative and qualitative fish sampling sites on the Savannah River from August 1981 through October 1983. used outside the block net to detoxify rotenone drifting out of the sample area and later, to detoxify the site at the completion of the first day fish collection. The block net was removed after the third day of fish collection.

Fish were collected from oxbow sample areas with dip nets as they surfaced during rotenone release and later removed from the block net and subsample nets following potassium permanganate neutralization of the kill area. Fish were transported on ice to the Richmond Hill Fish

Hatchery where they were sorted and processed.

All rotenone samples were sorted by species into 2 cm size classes, and each size class was bulk weighed. Species not readily identified were sent to ichthyologists of the Museum of Natural History at the

University of Georgia for positive identification. Number and weight data were tabulated using a metric modification of Surber (1959).

Square-meter net subsamples from flowing oxbows were processed in a similar manner and expanded to estimate fish loss through the block net.

Fish loss estimates were added to sampling results to obtain total standing crop estimates.

Fin-clipped fish were released in all sample areas immediately before rotenone application to provide an estimate on the completeness of kill. This information was used in adjusting the total standing crop estimate for the static oxbow sample only.

Qualitative Sampling

Qualitative sampling was conducted to determine fish species composition and distribution using a Smith-Root Type IX electrofishing booster with pulsed direct current (DC). A 5 kw generator was initially used to produce the electrical current but was later replaced by a

17 7.5 kw generator to increase the booster's efficiency, particularly in the estuary. Compared to the standard Smith-Root Type VI booster, the

Type IX unit has a low voltage/high amperage output to increase direct current electrofishing capability in highly conductive waters.

The electrofishing sampling design was established from preliminary electrofishing of the major habitat types: an estuarine or brackish water section (river km 17.7 to 40.2), a transition zone of tidally-influenced freshwater (river km 40.2 to 62.8), and a non-tidal freshwater section (river km 62.8 to 301.2) (Table 1). Thirty-eight permanent electrofishing stations were established by the fall of 1981 and consisted of ten estuarine, six transition, and 22 freshwater stations (Figure 4). A minimum of 28 stations were to be sampled quarterly. Generally, the same 28 stations (flive estuarine and 23 freshwater) were sampled each time. Five of the freshwater stations

(two mainstream and three river oxbows/creeks) were located in the transition zone. The remaining 18 freshwater stations (ten mainstream and eight river oxbows/creeks) were located above the zone of tidal influence.

All electrofishing was conducted during daylight hours, with effort concentrated on the various habitats within the designated sample areas.

Estuarine samples were taken as near to low tide as possible to increase electrofishing efficiency and reduce sample variability. Sampling effort was set at one hour per station using 60 Hz pulsed DC current.

Regular sampling of the established electrofishing stations was conducted between August 1981 and October 1983. Individual lengths and weights of all game fish, including catfish and bullheads, were recorded. All other species were grouped by family, counted and bulk

18 weighed. Specimens of questionable identity and of taxonomic interest were preserved and sent to ichthyologists at the University of Georgia and Aubura UnIversity where species identifications were confirmed by

Dr. D. C. Scott and Dr. J. S. Ramsey, respectively. Catch per unit effort (CPUE) in numbers/hour and kilograms/hour by species were calculated for each sample period and combined by habitat type for comparative purposes.

Sport Fishing Creel Survey

Angler use of and harvest from the Savannah River downstream of the

New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam was evaluated by two concurrent creel surveys. A non-uniform probability access creel survey was conducted on the freshwater portion of the river extending downstream from the lock and dam (river km 301) to the U. S. Highway 17.1bridge (river km 35). A roving creel survey was conducted on the estuarine portion of the river from the U. S. Highway 17 bridge downstream to river km 5 near the mouth of the Savannah River.

The freshwater portion was subdivided into upper and lower sections and surveyed by separate creel clerks (Figure 2). The lower freshwater section extended upstream from the U. S. Highway 17 bridge to the

Effingham-Screven County line at river km 121. The upper freshwater section extended upstream from the Effingham-Screven County line to the

New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam.

The estuarine roving creel survey was also divided into two sections (Figure 5). The upper portion extended downstream from the

U. S. Highway 17 bridge to the Alternate U. S. 17 bridge on the Front

River and the Corps of Engineers' tide gate on the Back River. The lower portion extended from these points downstream to the mouth of the

19 i I 0 I 2 3 4 5 kilometers

0

Atlantic Ocean

Roving Creel Areas

Upper

A Lower

Figure 5. Savannah River roving creel census areas from December 1979 through December 1982. North Channel and Fort Pulaski Bridge on the South Channel. Separate estimates were obtained for each of the two freshwater sections and the estuary.

Creel survey sampling ran continuously from December 29, 1979 to

December 24, 1982, and closely represented the calendar years 1980,

1981, and 1982. Creel survey periods were two weeks in length with 10 samples per period in the upper freshwater section. Samples per period for the lower freshwater section and the estuarine roving section were limited to five each. The lower sample frequency noted 'for the lower freshwater and estuarine sections resulted from dividing the time of one creel clerk between two survey areas. Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day were treated as weekend days. Each sample day was divided

into equal AM and PM periods extending from sunrise to midday and midday

to sunset, respectively. Separate probabilities were assigned to AM and

PM periods with no differences recognized between weekends, holidays, and weekdays.

Seventeen access points were sampled in the upper freshwater

section and seven in the lower freshwater section. Probabilities were assigned to access points based on angler usage (the higher the usage,

the higher the probability). Creel probabilities were reviewed and adjusted as necessary every 6 months to reflect observed fishing activity.

Completed angler trip interviews were conducted at access points by creel clerks, who recorded pertinent information on prepared forms

(Figure 6). Anglers crossing the access point, but not interviewed, were also recorded.

21 SAVANNAHRIVER CREEL SURVEY (FRESIIWATER1 SPORT HOOK & LINE (ACCESS INTERVIEW SHEET) 60 Lower Optional I.D. 61 Upper ___ 2_ Access point 1 2 11 12 13

Type of G1 Boat Date (moa.,day, yr.) fishing 02 Bank, dock, bridge 14 15 16 17 18 19

Interview number 20 21 22 Period Number in party NP_ Kind of 01 Weekend or holiday day 02 Weekday Time fishing HR_ 7(party hours) MIN Sample Number 9 10

Species fished for (check one or none) Number caught Kilograms caught Striped bass SBF SBN SBK Hybrid striped bass HSF HSN HSK Bream (Fished For Only) BRF Bluegill BGF BGN BGK Redbreast sunfish RBF RBN RBK Warmouth WMF WMN WMK Redear sunfish (shellcracker) REF REN REK Spotted sunfish SPF SPN SPK Largemouth bass LMF LMN LMK Crappie CIF CIN CIK Yellow perch YPF YPN YPK Catfish (Fished For Only) CAF Channel catfish CCF CCN CCK White catfish WCF WCN WCK Bullheads BI.F BLN BLK Shad SHF SHN SHK Chain pickerel CPF CPN CPK Others (Freshwater species) OFF OFN OFK

Others (Saltwater species) OGF OGN OGK

______1.~.______METHOD (check one) BAIT (check one) AREA FISHED (check one) ORIGIN (check one) Casting MCS Artificial BA_ Mainstream AFM Ga. (less than than 50 miles) OF Trolling MTR Natural BN_ Oxbow AFO__ Pole & Line Ga. (over 50 MPL Creek, lake, miles) OG_ or tributary AFC S.C. (less than 50 miles) OH_ S.C. (over 50 miles) 01 Other OJ_

Figure 6. Savannah River freshwater creel interview sheet, 29 December 1979 through 24 December 1982.

22 Separate probabilities were assigned to the lower access and roving survey areas to divide the sampling effort of the lower Savannah River creel clerk. Probabilities varied from 0.5 to 0.3 for the roving section and from 0.5 to 0.7 for the lower access section during the

3-year creel period. Probabilities were also assigned to AM/PM periods

(roving creel), areas (upper and lower roving areas), and weekday/weekend days based on observed usage. The clerk's direction of travel was randomly selected as a 50:50 probability. Weekend sampling days of the lower river clerk wereý split between the roving and lower access surveys with the first weekend day being matched to one of the areas by random selection.

The roving clerk started from-the same point in the river and traveled in the direction scheduled, counting and interviewing anglers as he encountered them. A high-speed instantaneous count was also performed in the upper roving creel area, but the time required to complete the first round in the lower area precluded a similar

instantaneous count. The roving clerk recorded information like that obtained in access point interviews, except that "interview location" was substituted for "habitat fished" and instantaneous counts and their associated times were recorded when performed (Figure 7).

All data obtained in the creel surveys were punched onto cards by the Computer Services Section of the Department of Administrative

Services, Atlanta, Georgia. Proofed data cards were sent to North

Carolina State University to be processed by the Southeastern

Cooperative Game and Fish Statistics Project. Expanded estimates of pressure and harvest were received as computer print-outs.

23 SAVANNAH RIVER CREEL SURVEY (SALTWATER) SPORT HOOK & LINE (ROVING INTERVIEW SHEET)

Optional I.D. 5 9 Sample Number 1 2 001 Lower Type of 01 Boat Area 002 Upper fishing 02 Bank, dock, bridge 11 12 13 Date (month, day. yr.) / / Period 14 -15 16 17 18 19 Interview number Kind of 01 Weekend or holiday 20 21 22 day 02 Weekday Number in party NP

Time fishing HR_ (party hours) MIN .Species fished for (check one or none) Number caught Kilograms caught

Striped bass SBF SBN SBK

Hybrid striped bass HSF HSN HSK

Sea trout SEF SEN 1SEK

Flounder FRF FRN FRK

Silver perch (yellowtail) SIF SIN SIK

Channel bass (red drum) CBF CBN CBK

Croaker/spot CSF CSN CSK

White catfish WCF WCN WCK Black drum BDF BON BDK

Others OTF OTN OTK

1 4- &

4- 4- METHOD (check one) BAIT (check one) INT. LOCATION (check one) ORIGIN (check one) Casting MCS__ Artificial BA Tide gate AFT Ga. (less than 50 miles) OF_ Trolling MTR_ Natural BN Trestle AFL Ga. (over 50 Pole & line MPL_ Other sections miles) OG_ of Back River AFB S.C. (less than Middle River AFD 50 miles) OH_ Fields Cut AFF S.C. (over 50 Waterway (other miles) O0 than Fields cut) AFW Other OJ_ North Channel/ Front River AFN Pulaski Bridge AFP Other sections of South Channel AFS St. Augustine Cr. AFA

Figure 7. Savannah River estuarine creel survey interview sheet, 29 December 19.79 through 24 December 1982.

24 Recreational Activity Survey

Savannah River creel clerks also recorded non-fishing recreational activities observed in addition to creel data. Data collected between

December 1980 and December 1982 that pertained to non-fishing activities only were computer-expanded by personnel from the Savannah River

Laboratory, Aiken, South Carolina (Hutto and Turcotte 1983). Data expansions were based on access point and time of day probabilities used in the expansion of this study's fishery creel data. Estimates, expressed as trips/year, were obtained for each of three categories; boating, swimming, and shoreline activities. These estimates were modified using factors derived from a 1980 national outdoor recreational survey (USDI-USDC 1982). Final estimates were expressed as trips/year, persons/year, and person-hours/year for various sections of the river.

RESULTS

Quantitative Sampling

Sixty-two fish species were identified in the three rotenone samples conducted in flowing and static-water Savannah River oxbows in conjunction with this study (Table 2). Flowing oxbows had 56 species and the static water oxbow had 40 species. The three rotenone sample sites had 25 species in common. Some species were found exclusively in oxbow habitats. These included the taillight shiner (Notropis maculatus), Savannah darter (Etheostoma fricksium), and sawcheek darter

(E. serriferum) from the flowing oxbow samples, and the brown bullhead

(Ictalurus nebulosus), Everglades pygmy sunfish (Ellassoma evergladei), banded pygmy sunfish (E. zonatum), blackbanded sunfish (Enneacanthus chaetodon), and white crappie (Pomoxis annularis) from the static water oxbow sample.

25 Table 2. Fish species sampled from oxbow, mainstream and estuarine habitats of the Savannah River, 24 August 1981 through 03 October 1983.

2 Rotenonel ElectrofishinQ Flowing Static Species Oxbow Oxbow Oxbow Mainstream Estuary

Spotted gar (Le isosteus oculatus) X X x X Longnose gar Lepisosteus e X X X x x Florida gar (Lepisosteus platyrhincus). X X x X X Bowfin (Amia calva) 3 X X x Ladyfish--Tops saurus) ,#4 x 3 Tarpon (Me aao- satlanticus) 3 x American eelAnguilla rostrata) X X X x Blueback herring osa aestivais)3, X X X x X Hickory shad (AlosT iocris)•,• 3 X X X American shad (Alosa sapidissima) X X X X Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus)4 X Gizzard shad (Dorosoma cepedian X X X X Threadfin shad (Dorosoma petenense)! X X X Bay anchovy (Anchoa mitchilli),T X Redfin pickere- (Esox americanus)4 X X Chain pickerel (Es-ox-nier)4 X X X x Common carp (Cyp-rnus car io), X X X x Eastern silvery minnow H gbognathusregius)3.4 X X X Rosyface chub (Hybopsis rubrifronsj)- 3 Bluehead chub (Nocomisleptoceph-alus) ,4 Golden shiner (Natemigonus crysoleucas)3,4 X X X x Ironcolor shiner (Notropis chalybaeus) X Dusky shiner (Notropis cumingsae)., X X X X Pugnose minnow Notropis emiliae)3.' 3 Spottail shiner Notro-•i hudsonius) .4 X X Bannerfin shiner (Notrois leedsi)-3,4 X X Yellowfin shiner (Notropis lutipinnis)4 Taillight shiner ( is maculatus)3.4 X X Whitefin shiner (Notropis niveus)S, 4 X X X X Coastal shiner (Notro-ispetersoni)3,. X X X Quillback (Carpio rinus)3- X X Highfin carpsucker (C ioes velifer) 3 X Cheek chubsucker (Erimyz oblongu-) 3 Lake chubsucker (Erimyzon sucet-t Northern hogsuckerH- ente-ium-nigricans)4 X X X Spotted sucker (Minytrema melanops) ,. X X Silver redhorse (Moxostoma anisurum)4 X X Smallfin redhorse (Moxostoma roaustum)3 X X X x Snail bullhead (Ictalurus brunneu-sT3-4 x X X X x X White catfish (Ictalurus catus)- 3 X X X X Yellow bullhead (Ictalurus natalis) Brown bullhead (Ictalurus nieSlus) 3 X X X Flat bullhead (Ictalurus platycepha]us) ., x X Channel catfish (Ictalurus puc)aus • Xx X X X X (Noturus -nusj)a Tadpole madtom 3 X Speckled madtom TNoturusep-tanthus) ,4 X X X X Swampfish (Chologaster cornuta) 3 X X X re oderus sayannus) .,4 Pirate perc Ap 3 X Atlantic needlefish (Strongylura marina) .' X x X Sheepshead minnow (Cyprinodon varlet s)4 X X X Golden topminnow (Fundulus chrysotus)J (Fundulus heteroclitus)q X Mumnichog 3 X Lined topminnow-(Fuwndulus lineolatus) X X Mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis)J, . 3 X Brook silverside-(Labide-sth-es-sicculus) .' X Rough silverside (Membras martinica)l 3 X Inland silverside (Meni-da bery11ina) X

26 Table 2. (cont'd)

2 Rotenone 1 Electrofishing Flowing Static Species Oxbow Oxbow Oxbow Mainstream Estuary Brook stickleback (Culaea inconstans) 4 X Striped bass (Morone -saxatiis)7 X X X X Striped bass (gsorone saxatilis) x White bass (Morone chrysops) hybrid 3 X X X X Flier (Centrar-cusmacropterus) 4 X X X Everglades pygmy sunfish (El assoma evergladei) X Okefenokee pygmy sunfish (Elassoma okefenokee) X Banded pygmy sunfish (Elassomazonatum) 4 X Blackbanded sunfish (Enneaanthusci-aetodon) X Bluespotted sunfish (Enneacanthus 91oriosus) 3 X X Banded sunfish (Enneacanthus obesus) 3 ,4 X Redbreast sunfish (Lepomis auritus-3,) X X X X X Green. sunfish (Le--=is ---- ne-lus-) X Pumpkinseed (Lepomis Cbbosus)J-" X X X X Warmouth (Lepomis ul9 ]3W x x x x Bluegill (Lepomis macr-ocirus) 3 ,' X X X X X Dollar sunfisL •epomismarginatus) 3 ,4 X X X X Redear sunfish (Lepomis microaophus) X X X X X Spotted sunfish (Loiss punctatus), X X X X Red-eye bass (Micropterus coosae)* X Smalimouth bass (Micropterus-d-oTomieui) 3 X Largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides)" X X X X X White crappie (Pomoxis annularis) X X Black crappie (Pomoxis iigromaculatus) 4 X X X X X 3 Savannah darter Et-hestoma fricksium) X . 3 Tessellated darter (Etheostoma olmstedi) ,4 X X Sawcheek darter (Etheostoma serriferum) 3 X Yellow perch (Perca flavescens) X X X X Blackbanded dat-t-er-(Percina nirofasciata), X X Bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix)l X Crevalle jack (Caranx hippos) 3' 4 X Horse-eye jack (Caranx latus)4 X Leatherjacket (oiT- itpe--es--saurus)3 X Gray snapper (Lutjanus griseus) 4 X Irish pompano TDla terus auratus) 3 ,4 X X Striped mojarra Diapterus pl•mieri) 3 X Spotfin mojarra (Eucinostomus arge j)4 X X X Silver jenny (Eucinostomus gula)3 X Sheepshead (Archosars probatocephalus) X Pinfish (Lagodon rhambaides) . X Spotted seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus)V X Spot (Leiostomus xanthurus)4 X Red drum (Sciaenop oce7latus) X Mountain mulTTeft(gono5stomus monticola) 3 X Striped mullet (M cehal us) X X X X X White mullet (Mug ur X Freshwater goby obTio-n-ellus shufeldti) 3 . 4 X X X Southern flounder (Paraichthys lethostigma) 3. 4 X X X X X Hogchoker (Trinectes .maculatus)J, X X X X

'Represents species collected in three separate freshwater rotenone samples (flowing oxbow samples at river km 66.3 and river km 150.8; static water oxbow sample at river km 137.4). 2 Represents species identified in DC-electrofishing samples collected from river km 17.7 to river km 301.2 during the period from August 1981 to October 1983. 3Species identification verified by Dr. Donald C. Scott, University of Georgia. Athens, Ga. 4 Species identification verified by Dr. John S. Ramsey, Auburn University, Auburn. Al..

27 The standing crop estimates of the flowing river oxbows had an

area-weighted mean of 2,360 fish/ha which weighed 121 kg (Table 3).

Subsample net estimates, which represented block-net loss, accounted for

33% of the number and 6% of the weight in total standing crop estimates

(Table 4). Fingerlings and intermediates represented 97% of the total

estimated number lost through the block-net.

The principal species by number sampled from the flowing oxbows

were redbreast sunfish (Lepomis auritus) (12%), snail/flat bullhead

(Ictalurus brunneus/I. platycephalus) (6%), channel catfish (4%), and

spotted sucker (Minytrema melanops) (4%) (Table 5). Unidentified

cyprinids were grouped as minnows and represented 54% of the total

number. Principal species by weight in flowing oxbow samples were

,spotted sucker (21%), common carp (Cyprinus carpio) (15%), silver

redhorse (Moxostoma anisurum) (15%), and channel catfish (8%). Game

fish represented 27% of the population by number and 30% by weight. The

most abundant game fish species by weight were channel catfish,

redbreast sunfish, largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), and redear

sunfish (Lepomis microlophus). The most abundant non-game species by

weight were spotted sucker, common carp, silver redhorse, and gizzard

shad (Dorosoma cepedianum).

Fish of various sizes and species were fin-clipped and released

into flowing oxbow sample sites just prior to rotenone release to

estimate completeness of kill. Recaptures of marked fish were 382 of

733 (52%) at the downstream site and 63 of 130 (48%) at the upstream

site for an overall recapture rate of 50%. Individual recovery rates

ranged from 25% for bowfin (Amia calva) to 81% for spotted sucker

28 Table 3. Rotenone standing crop estimates from flowing and static water oxbows on the Savannah River between 22 September 1982 and 14 October 1983.

Standing Flowing Oxbow Static Oxbow Crop River River Weighted a Rive r Category Km 66 Km 151 Mean SEa Km 137 SEb

No./ha 2,670.50 2,217.10 2,360.34 195.98 13,861.60 1,894.91

Kg/ha 87.39 136.39 120.91 21.18 846.25 114.98

Hectares 1.247 2.70 0.4047

aE n EW44(y,- yW)2 from Yates, F. 1981. Sampling Methods for Censuses aSE = and Surveys. 4th Ed., MacMillan Publishing Co., N.Y. (n-l) (Ew,)2 pp. 188-9. bStandard error (SE) based on expansion of data by mark-recapture methods (61% recapture rate). Table 4. Average estimated block net fish loss from two Savannah River flowing oxbow rotenone samples, 22 September 1982 and 21 September 1983. T (trace) denotes a rate less than 0.005 kg/ha.

Fingerling Intermediate Harvestable Total Species No./ha Kg/ha No./ha Kg/ha No./ha Kg/ha No./ha Kg/ha

Predatory Game Fish Largemouth bass 0.9 0.01 0.9 0.36 1.8 0.37

Non-Predatory Game Fish American shad 4.1 0.01 4.1 0.01 Redbreast sunfish 55.5 0.06 15.3 0.18 11.5 0.54 82.3 0.78 Warmouth 5.6 T 5.6 0.05 11.2 0.05 Bluegill 2.8 T 5.8 0.04 0.9 0.07 9.5 0.11 Redear sunfish 0.9 0.23 0.9 0.23 Spotted sunfish 0.9 T 0.9 0.01 1.8 0.01 Non-Predatory Food Fish American eel 6.5 0.05 1.9 0.03 8.4 0.08 Blueback herring 17.8 0.02 17.8 0.02 Spotted sucker 1.9 0.01 2.8 0.63 3.7 -1.99 8.4 2.63 Silver redhorse 0.9 1.01 0.9 1.01 Snail/flat bullhead 48.9 0.14 8.6 0.16 57.5 0.30 Striped mullet 0.9 0.42 0.9 0.42

Predatory Food Fish White catfish 17.8 0.02 0.9 0.37 18.7 0.39 Channel catfish 22.6 0.05 0.9 0.10 23.5 0.15

Forage Fish Minnows 484.9 0.40 8.9 0.06 493.8 0.46 Madtoms 6.5 0.01 0.9 0.01 7.4 0.02 Pirate perch 2.8 T 0.9 0.01 3.7 0.01 Mosquitofish 1.9 T 1.9 T Silversides 0.9 T 0.9 T Pygmy sunfish 2.8 T 2.8 T Darters 10.5 0.02 10.5 0.02 Hogchoker 18.7 0.03 18.7 0.03 Total loss through net 710.6 0.83 54.4 1.17 22.4 5.10 787.4 7.10

Percent of mean standing cropa 30.0 0.7 2.3 1.0 0.9 4.2 33.2 5.9

aBased on mean standing crop estimates of 2,360.3 fish/ha and 120.91 kg/ha.

30 Table 5. Standing crop weighted means of fish population numbers and kilograms per hectare for two flowing water oxbows (1.247 haa and 2.7 hab)- of the Savannah River. T (trace) denotes an insignificant value.

Fingerling Intermediate Harvestable Total Weight Species No. Kq % Wt No. Kg % Wt No.ý Kg p% %_Wt No. Kg % Wt Populationof

Predatory Game Fish Redfin pickerel 1.5 0.02 66.7 0.3 0.01 33.3 1.8 0.03 0.4 T Chain pickerel 1.0 0.01 1.4 2.8 0.10 14.1 2.0 0.60 84.5 5.8 0.71 9.4 0.6 Striped bass 1.3 0.01 7.1 0.3 0.01 7.1 0.5 0.12 85.8 2.1 0.14 1.9 0.1 Striped x white bass 0.3 0.03 100.0 0.3 0.03 0.4 T Largemouth bass 7.1 0.05 1.2 6.8 0.51 12.1 8.9 3.67 86.7 22.8 4.23 56.2 3.6 Black crappie 2.5 0.10 7.2 3.4 1.23 92.8 10.9 1.38 18.4 1.1 Yellow perch 0.5 T T 4.8 0.64 100.0 5.3 0.64 8.5 0.5 Southern flounder 0.3 0.03 8.3 0.5 0.33 91.7 0.8 0.36 4.8 0.3

Total 11.4 0.09 1.2 13.0 0.76 10.1 25.4 6.67 88.7 49.8 7.52 6.2

C Non-Predatory Game Fish Hickory shad 3.3 0.01 50.0 0.3 0.01 50.0 3.6 0.02 0.2 T American shad 19.7 0.07 77.8 1.8 0.02 22.2 21.5 0.09 0.8 0.1 Redbreast sunfish 89.9 0.20 3.6 103.7 1.13 20.4 91.9 4.20 76.0 285.5 5.53 50.0 4.7 Pumpkinseed 0.8 T T 8.1 0.12 70.6 1.8 0.05 29.4 10.7 0.17 1.5 0.1 Warmouth 4.5 T T 16.0 0.33 57.9 4.8 0.24 42.1 25.3 0.57 5.1 0.5 Bluegill 5.8 0.02 1.1 38.5 0.40 21.6 24.6 1.43 77.3 68.9 1.85 16.7 1.5 Dollar sunfish 0.3 T T 1.5 0.01 100.0 1.8 0.01 0.1 T Redear sunfish 3.3 0.04 1.6 19.0 2.43 98.4 22.3 2.47 22.3 2.0 Spotted sunfish 5.8 0.02 5.6 11.9 0.15 41.7 4.3 0.19 52.7 22,0 0.36 3.3 0.3

Total 130.1 0.32 2.9 185.1 2.21 20.0 146.4 8.54 77.1 461.6 11.07 9.2 Non-Predatory Food Fish American eel 5.6 0.06 10.0 3.3 0.02 3.3 1.5 0.52 86.7 10.4 0.60 0.8 0.5 Blueback herring 17.5 0.03 100.0 17.5 0.03 T T Common carp 3.8 18.58 100.0 3.8 18.58 26.0 15.4 Carpsucker spp. 0.3 T T 1.0 0.24 53.3 0.3 0.21 46.7 1.6 0.45 0.6 0.4 Spotted sucker 26.9 0.14 0.5 14.0 1.59 6.1 44.1 24.22 93.4 85.0 25.95 36.5 21.4 Silver redhorse 3.0 0.03 0.2 9.1 1.29 7.1 25.6 16.78 92.7 37.7 18.10 25.4 15.0 Snail/flat bullhead 97.6 0.30 8.9 22.8 0.54 16.1 22.3 2.52 75.0 142.7 3.36 4.7 2.8 Striped mullet 2.0 0.28 6.6 9.1 3.98 93.4 11.1 4.26 6.0 3.5

Total 150.9 0.56 0.8 52.2 3.96 5.6 106.7 66.81 93.6 . 309.8 71.33 59.0 Table 5. (cont'd)

Fingerling Intermediate Harvestable Total Weight F l ns of Species No. Kg % Wt No. Kg % Wt No. Kg % Wt No. Kg % Wt Population

Predatory Food Fish Spotted gar 0.5 0.29 100.0 0.5 0.29 1.3 0.2 Longnose gar 2.6 0.70 100.0 2.6 0.70 3.2 0.6 Bowfin 4.0 5.66 100.0 4.0 5.66 26.0 4.7 White catfish 21.8 0.03 0.5 1.3 0.14 2.5 11.7 5.47 97.0 34.8 5.64 25.9 4.7 Channel catfish 40.3 0.12 1.3 34.7 1.92 20.3 18.3 7.43 78.4 93.3 9.47 43.5 7.8 Needlefish 1.0 0.02 100.0 - 1.0 0.02 0.1 T

Total 62.1 0.15 0.7 39.6 2.78 12.8 34A5 18.85 86.5 136.2 21.78 18.0

Forage Fish Gizzard shad 0.5 0.02 0.3 23.0 6.28 99.7 23.5 6.30 68.6 5.3 Threadfin shad 0.5 T 100.0 0.5 T T T Golden shiner 4.5 0.19 100.0 4.5 0.19 2.1 0.2 Wo Minnow spp. 1,138.1 1.40 56.7 148.0 1.07 43.3 1,286.1 2.47 26.9 2.0 N) Madtom spp. 9.9 0.02 66.7 2.1 0.01 33.3 12.0 0.03 0.3 T Pirate perch 10.1 0.02 50.0 3.5 0.02 50.0 13.6 0.04 0.4 T Killifish 0.8 T 100.0 0.8 T T T Mosquitofish 2.5 0.01 100.0 2.5 0.01 0.1 T Silverside 2.1 0.01 100.0 2.1 0.01 0.1 T Pygmy sunfish sp. 1.8 T 100.0 1.8 T T T Bluespotted sunfish 0.5 T 100.0 0.5 T T T Darter spp. 19.8 0.03 100.0 19.8 0.03 0.3 T Hogchoker 34.9 0.11 100.0 34.9 0.11 1.2 0.1

Total 1,208.8 1.57 17.1 162.8 1.13 12.3 31.0 6.49 70.6 1,402.6 9.19 7.6

GRAND TOTAL 1,563.3 2.69 2.2 452.7 10.84 9.0 344.0 107.36 88.8 2,360.0 120.89

ak~t # 4 at river km 66 sampled September 22, 1982. b~ut # 13 at river km 151 sampled September21I, 1983. (recovery of any species having only one marked specimen was not considered).

The adjusted standing crop estimates of the static water oxbow were

13,862 fish/ha which weighed 846 kg (Table 6). Actual numbers of fish collected from the sample area over 3 days were expanded by a Petersen estimator based on a 61% recapture rate of fish marked and released into the sample area just prior to rotenone release (Ricker 1975).

Individual species recovery rates ranged from 20% to 100%.

The principal species by number sampled from the static water oxbow were bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) (13%), redbreast sunfish (8%), black crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus) (6%), and gizzard shad (6%).

Unidentified cyprinids represented 33% of the total number. Principal species by weight were bowfuin (23%), gizzard shad (18%), spotted sucker

(16%), common carp (13%), and black crappie (7%). Game fish represented

41% of the population by number and 22% by weight. The most abundant game fish by weight were black crappie, largemouth bass, and bluegill.

Channel catfish were not found in the static water oxbow sample. The most abundant non-game species were bowfin, gizzard shad, spotted sucker, and common carp.

Qualitative Sampling

Of the 100 fish species collected in 146 hours of electrofishing,

68 were taken in oxbows, 64 in the mainstream and 52 in the estuary

(Table 2). Twenty-nine of these species were represented in all three habitats and 43 species were found in only one habitat. Of the species found in only one habitat, 11 were identified from the mainstream, 13 from oxbows and 19 from the estuary.

33 Table 6. Standing crop estimates of fish population numbers and kilograms per hectarea in a static water oxbow (Cut #9) of the Savannah River, October 12-14, 1983. T (trace) denotes an insignificant value.

Fingerling Intermediate Harvestable Total Weight Percent of Species No. Kg % Wt No. Kg % Wt No. Kg % Wt No. Kg % Wt Population

Predatory Game Fish Chain pickerel 28.0 1.19 8.0 32.0 13.73 92.0 60.0 14.92 13.1 1.8 Largemouth bass 64.0 0.90 2.3 32.0 1.34 3.5 32.0 36.36 94.2 128.0 38.60 33.8 4.6 White crappie 4.0 1.00 100.0 4.0 1.00 0.9 0.1 Black crappie 256.2 1.28 2.2 304.2 11.11 18.9 272.2 46.41 78.9 832.6 58.80 51.4 6.9 Southern flounder 4.0 0.97 100.0 4.0 0.97 0.8 0.1

TOTAL 320.2 2.18 1.9 - 364.2 13.64 11.9 344.2 98.47 86.2 1,028.6 114.29 13.5

Non-Predatory Game Fish Hickory shad 16.0 0.14 100.0 16.0 0.14 0.2 T American shad 16.0 0.11 44.0 20.0 0.14 56.0 36.0 0.25 0.4 T Flier 4.0 0.01 0.6 12.0 1.55 99.4 16.0 1.56 2.3 0.2 Redbreast sunfish 944.7 1.04 15.9 108.1 0.97 14.8 92.1 4.52 69.3 1,144.9 6.53 9.5 0.8 Pumpkinseed 4.0. 0.01 0.3 56.0 0.80 22.5 80.1 2.75 77.2 140.1 3.56 5.2 0.4 4S.. Warmouth 448.3 0.57 7.0 120. 1 0.90 11.1 80.1 6.63 81.9 648.5 8.10 11.7 1.0 Bluegill 856.6 1.71 6.3 536.4 4.58 16.9 404.3 20.84 76.3 1,797.3 27.13 39.3 3.2 Dollar sunfish 52.0 0.15 60.0 8.0 0.10 40.0 60.0 0.25 0.4 T Redear sunfish 288.2 0.57 3.5 124.1 1.59 9.7 184.1 14.19 86.8 596.4 16.35 23.7 1.9 Spotted sunfish 16.0 0.03 42.9 4.0 0.04 57.1. 20.0 0.07 0.1 T Yellow perch 36.0 0.23 4.6 76.1 0.64 12.8 40.0 4.13 82.6 152.1 5.00 7.2 0.6

TOTAL 2,665.8 4.43 6.4 1,068.8 9.90 14.4 892.7 54.61 79.2 4,627.3 68.94 8.1

Non-Predatory Food Fish American eel 92.1 0.29 10.4 20.0 1.18 42.4 .8.0 1.31 47.2 120.1 2.78 0.9 0.3 Blueback herring 668.5 1.72 100.0 668.5 1.72 0.6 0.2 Common Carp 20.0 111.08 100.0 20.0 111.08 37.3 13.1 Carpsucker 4.0 2.46 100.0 4.0 2.46 0.8 0.3 Spotted sucker 508.4 3.49 2.5 88.1 6.46 4.7 196.1 128.38 92.8 792.6 138.33 46.4 16.4 Silver redhorse 4.0 4.00 100.0 4.0 4.00 1.4 0.5 Snail/Flat bullhead 12.0 0.04 0.9 12.0 0.20 4.4 4.0 4.33 94.7 28.0 4.57 1.5 0.5 Brown bullhead 24.0 7.90 100.0 24.0 7.90 2.7 0.9 Striped mullet 44.0 5.21 20.7 48.0 19.91 79.3 92.0 25.12 8.4 3.0

TOTAL 1,281.0 5.54 1.9 164.1 13.05 4.4 308.1 279.37 93.7 1,753.2 297.96 35.2 Table 6. (cont'd)

Fingerling Intermediate Harvestable Total Weight Percent of Species No. Kg9 Wt No. Kg % Wt No. Kg % Wt No. Kg % Wt Population

Predatory Food Fish Bowfin 4.0 0.62 191.82 99.7 124.1 192.44 91.4 22.8 0.3 120.1 7.2 1.8 Longnose gar 52.0 10.86 71.5 8.0 4.32 28.5 60.0 15.18 1.4 0.3 White catfish 4.0 0.40 13.8 8.0 2.50 86.2 12.0 2.90 24.9 TOTAL 60.0 11.88 5.6 136.1 198.64 94.4 196.1 210.52 Forage Fish 96.9 17.8 Gizzard shad 44.0 0.21 0.1 180.1 1.99 1.3 564.4 147.56 98.6 788.5 149.76 4.0 0.06 20.0 8.0 0.24 80.0 12.0 0.30 0.2 T Golden shiner 0.5 4,595.4 3.79 100.0 4,595.4 3.79 2.5 Minnow spp. T T Mad torn 4.0 0.02 100.0 4.0 0.02 48.0 0.08 100.0 48.0 0.08 T T Pirite perch T 100.0 36.0 0.06 T Ki IIi fish 36.0 0.06 T Topminnow 4.0 T 100.0 4.0 T T 0.10 364.3 0.10 0.1 T Mosquitofish 364.3 100.0 T Silverside 336.2 0.26 100.0 4.0 T 340.2 0.26 0.2 100.0 8.0 0.01 T T Everglades pygmy sunfish 8.0 0.01 T 8.0 100.0 8.0 0.01 T Banded pygmy sunfish 0.01 T T 4.0 T 12.0 0.02 100.0 16.0 0.02 Black-banded sunfish T T 12.0 0.01 100.0 12.0 0.01 Darter spp. 0.1 T Hogchoker 20.0 0.12 100.0 20.0 0.12 18.3 TOTAL 5,099.7 4.33 2.8 580.3 2.41 1.6 576.4 147.80 95.6 6,256.4 154.54

GRAND TOTAL 9,366.7 16.48 1.9 2,237.4 50.88 6.0 2,257.5 778.89 92.1 13,861.6 846.25 a Sampled area = 0.4 hectare The most frequently collected fish in the mainstream was the

redbreast sunfish. Spotted sucker and largemouth bass were also

collected in at least 90% of the mainstream samples. Spotted sucker,

bluegill and gizzard shad were collected in 85% or better of the oxbow

samples. Striped mullet (Mugil cephalus) was by far the most frequently

collected species in the estuary followed by largemouth bass and bowfin which were all collected in at least 80% of the samples.

One species of special interest, the mountain mullet (Agonostomus

monticola), was recorded for the first time in the Savannah River on

October 26, 1982 when seven juveniles, were taken in a mainstream sample

at river km 300. Previously, this species had only been, reported from

mountainous freshwater streams of eastern Mexico. and the West Indies

(Jordan and Everman 1896). Verification of identificationwas made by

Dr. D. C. Scott of the University of Georgia. On this same date, 78

kilometers downstream from this site, a single mountain mullet was also

collected in an electrofishing sample by personnel of Environmental and

Chemical Sciences, Inc. (Allen Minton, personal communication).

Verification of that specimen was made by Dr. F. Snelson of the

University of Central Florida.

The most abundant fishes by number in the mainstream were minnows

(38%), redbreast sunfish (15%), striped mullet (8%), and spotted sucker

(5%) (Tables A-i and A-2, appendix). The most abundant by weight were

bowfin (27%), spotted sucker (21%), striped mullet (15%), and common

carp (10%) . Game fish (including catfish) represented 30% of the

number and 14% of the species weight collected in the mainstream area.

The most abundant fishes by number in the oxbow habitat were

bluegill (13%), minnows (12%), redbreast sunfish (10%), and spotted

36 sucker (9%) (Tables A-i and A-2). The most abundant by weight were common carp (26%), bowfin (26%), spotted sucker (17%), and striped mullet (9%). Game fish (including catfish) represented 42% of the number and 11% of the weight of species collected in oxbow habitats.

The most abundant species collected in the estuary by number were striped mullet (41%), largemouth bass (7%), and bowfin (7%) (Table A-3, appendix). The most abundant species by weight were common carp (35%), striped mullet (20%), and bowfin (17%). Game fish (including catfish) represented 33% of the number and 23% of the weight of species collected in the estuarine area. Most estuarine samples were taken at low tide and CPUE represents a greater abundance of freshwater species than would be present at other tide stages when salinities are higher.

The mean number-'and weight CPUE for the three major habitats were

91 fish/h in the estuary weighing 49.5 kg, 148 fish/h in the mainstream weighing 26 kg, and 185 fish/h in the oxbows weighing 50.5 kg. General differences in the mean catch per unit effort (CPUE) between habitats demonstrated that the estuary had the lowest fish abundance followed by mainstream and oxbows (Tables A-i and A-3). However, fish sampled in the estuary were larger and produced a mean weight CPUE nearly equal to that produced in oxbows, where over twice as many fish were collected

(Tables A-2 and A-3).

CPUE differences by habitat were compared using the standard t-test for two population means (p=O.10) (Snedecor and Cochran 1967). The estuary mean number CPUE was significantly different from those for both the mainstream and oxbows. This indicates that fish abundance in both the oxbow and mainstream habitats was greater than that in the estuary.

The mainstream mean weight CPUE was significantly different from those

37 for both the oxbows and estuary. In each case, the indication is that the mainstream supported a smaller fish biomass than either the oxbows or the estuary. Oxbow and estuary mean weight CPUE's were not significantly different.

Annual mean CPUE by number for all species combined increased for all habitats in 1982 when compared to 1981 data. The differencenoted may have been caused, at least partially, by the increased efficiency of the Type IX booster when the 7.5 kw generator was substituted halfway

through the 1982 sampling year. Mean number CPUE in 1983 decreased, but

still remained above 1981 figures for all habitats. Annual mean weight

CPUE in the three major habitats increased annually between 1981 and

1983. Mean weight CPUE increase was greatest in oxbows which may have been a reflection of• progressively higher water levels observed over the

three consecutive sampling years (Figure 3). Higher water levels provided more spawning habitat for fish and cover for young-of-year fish which, consequently, increased the forage base of piscivores.

Mean number CPUE of selected species found in mainstream, oxbow,

and estuarine habitats indicated certain habitat preferences (t-test;

p=O.lO) (Table 7). Results demonstrated that oxbow habitats were

preferred by all principal species except redbreast sunfish and striped mullet. Redbreast sunfish were significantly more abundant in the river

mainstream while striped mullet preferred the estuarine habitats. An

equal preference for oxbow and estuarine habitats was shown by the

longnose gar (Lepisosteus osseus). Although striped mullet preferred

the estuary, no difference in abundance was found between oxbow and mainstream habitats. Of the species demonstrating a preference for

38 Table 7. Relative abundance of the principal species from three major habitats of the Savannah River as indicated by electrofishing catch per unit effort from 24 August 1981 to 3 October 1983.

Mainstream Oxbow Estuary

(n= 6 5 a) (n= 60a) (n=2 9 a) Species Group No./h SEb No./h SEb No./h SEb

Predatory game fish Chain pickerel 0.46 0.14 2.66 0.57 0.03 0.03 Largemouth bass 5.10 0.82 7.41 1.21 6.12 1.86

Non-predatory game fish Redbreast sunfish 19.76 3.18 16.33 2.96 1.97 1.05 Bluegill 3.48 0.60 19.89 4.04 1.06 0.41 Redear sunfish 1.76 0.36 7.33 1.56 0.66 0.35

Non-predatory food fish American eel 3.34 0.67 4.99 1.67 2.01 0.96 Spotted sucker 6.68 1.10 15.23 2.59 0.46 0.36 Striped mullet 13.24 2.47 13.24 3.28 41.25 9.97

Predatory food fish Longnose gar 0.68 0.15 1.45 0.43 1.41 0.48 Bowfin 3.75 0.56 7.17 1.25 5.74 1.78

Forage fish Gizzard shad 2.11 0.70 14.02 3.26 1.01 0.35

aNumber of electrofishing samples.

bSE = Approximate standard error.

39 oxbow habitats, gizzard shad, chain pickerel (Esox niger), bluegill, and redear sunfish were most notable.

Sport Fishery Creel

Average annual estimates of angler effort, harvest, and catch rate were compared for all three sections of the Savannah River sport fishery creel between December 1979 and December 1982 (Table 8). The freshwater section averaged 64,882 trips annually, which represented 286,215 hours or 4.4 hours/trip. No estimate of trips was available for the estuarine section because of the roving design (incompleted trip interviews).

Average angler hours in the estuary was 60,964 hours, annually. The total annual average for all sections was 347,179 hours. The estuary represented 45% of the total surface area creeled, but only 18% of the total effort was expended there (20.2 h/ha in the estuary versus 78.8 h/ha in freshwater)(Table A-4, appendix). Total fishing pressure over the entire survey area averaged 52.2 h/ha.

The total annual average fish harvest from the combined creel was

344,320 fish weighing 82,007 kg for an average weight of 0.24 kg

(Table 8). Eighty-nine percent of the total annual harvest was taken in

the freshwater section with a catch rate of 1.07 fish/h in contrast to

the estuary at 0.63 fish/h. The combined area-weighted catch rate was

0.85 fish/h. The average annual kilograms of fish harvested from the

freshwater section was 83% of the total harvest over all sections.

The principal species harvested by number in the freshwater fishery were redbreast sunfish (27%), bluegill (24%), bullheads (8%), crappie

(8%), and warmouth (Lepomis gulosus) (7%) (Table 9). Principal species harvested by weight were redbreast sunfish (16%), bluegill (14%),

American shad (11%), largemouth bass (8%), and crappie (7%). The

40 Table 8. Combined annual estimates of pressure, harvest, and catch rate for the freshwater and estuarine sections of the Savannah River creel survey from 29 December 1979 to 24 December 1982.

Section of Fishing Trips Angler Hours Fishing Pressure Fish Harvest Catch Rate River Hectares Number SEa Number SEa Trips/ha Hours/ha Number SEa Kg SE No./h Kg/h

Estuary 3,024 NE NE 60,964 5,263 NE .20.2 38,542 4,705 13,737 1,832 0.63 0.23

Freshwater 1 1,476 24,726 2,118 117,445 11,943 16.8 79.6 ý102,125 14,501 22,737 2,925 0.87 0.19 11 2,158 40,156 2,905 168,770 14,416 18.6 78.2 -203,653 29,160 45,533 5,908 1.21 0.27 Freshwater Combined 3,634 64,882 3,595 286,215 18,720 17.9 78.8 -305,778 32,567 68,270 6,593 1.07 0.24 All Sections b b b Combined 6,658 NE NE 347,179 19,446 NE 52.2 344,320 32,905 82,007 6,842 0.85 0.23 a Approximate standard error. lbArea-weighted mean. Table 9. Savannah River creel survey three year average estimates of harvest, average weight, catch rate, and area harvest rate by species for the freshwater section downstream from New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam, 29 December 1979 through 24 December 1982.

Number Weight.(Kg) Av.. weight Catch Rateb Harvest Per Hectarec Percent a Percent Kg/h No./ha Kg/ha Species Total SEa Total Total SEa Total (Kg) No./h Striped bass 633 248 0.2 2,663 1,638 3.9 4.21 0.002 0.009 0.17 0.73 Striped x white bass 843 199 0.3 1,414 538 2.1 1.68 0.003 0.005 0.23 0.39 Bluegill 73,624 15,312 24.1 9,298 2,098 13.6 0.13 0.257 0.032 20.26 2.56 Redbreast sunfish 83,277 12,305 27.2 11,088 1,951 16.2 0.13 0.291 0.039 22.92 3.05 Warmouth 22,191 3,556 7.3 3,286 571 4.8 0.15 0.078 0.011 6.11 0.90 Redear sunfish 13,534 3,492 4.4 2,645 721 3.9 0.20 0.047 0.009 3.72 0.73 Spotted sunfish 3,221 801 1.1 288 69 0.4 0.09 0.011 0.001 0.89 0.08 Largemouth bass 9,825 1,135 3.2 5,680 719 8.3 0.58 0.034 0.020 2.70 1.56 Crappie spp. 24,467 3,280 8.0 4,942 639 7.2 0.20 0.085 0.017 6.73 1.36 Yellow perch 9,188 2,152 3.0 1,309 314 1.9 0.14 0.032 0.005 2.53 0.36 Channel catfish 12,804 1,680 4.2 4,143 1,139 6.1 0.32 0.045 0.014 3.52 1.14 White catfish 6,327 963 2.1 2,086 541 3.1 0.33 0.022 0.007 1.74 0.57 Bullqead spp. 25,067 3,325 8.2 3,754 493 5.5 0.15 0.088 0.013 6.90 1.03 Shadu 5,253 1,690 1.7 7,480 2,506 11.0 1.42 0.018 0.026 1.45 2.06 Chain pickerel 2,880 557 0.9 1,239 162 1.8 0.43 0.010 0.004 0.79 0.34 Others 12,644 2,643 4.1 6,955 1,100 10.2 0.55 0.044 0.024 3.48 1.91

Total 305,778 21,286 100.0 68,270 4,733 100.0 0.22 1.067 0.236 84.14 18.77 aApproximate standard error. bRates based on estimated average effort of 286,215 hours (Freshwater I: 117,445.Hours + Freshwater I1: 168,770 Hours).

CRates based on area of 3,634 hectares (Freshwater 1: 1,476 hectares, Freshwater II: 2,158 hectares). dShad harvest was from the Freshwater Section I only. "others" category made up only 4% of the number and 10% of the total weight in the Freshwater section. Striped mul let (39%), American eel

(20%), bowfin (19%), and flier (Centrarchus macropterus) (11%) represented 89% of the "others" category by number in freshwater (Table

A-5, appendix).

The principal species harvested by number in the estuarine section were croaker/spot (Micropogon undulatus/Leiostomus xanthurus) (23%), white catfish (Ictalurus catus) (18%), silver perch (Bairdiella chrysura) (10%), and spotted seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus) (9%)

(Table 10). Weights harvested were represented principally by white catfish (16%), red drum (Sciaenops ocellata) (11%), striped bass (10%), and.spotted seatrout (9%). The "others" category made up 29% of the total number and 39% of the total. weight harvested from the estuary..

Black drum (Pogonias cromis) were included in the "others" category in

1980 and 1981, but were recorded as a separate species in 1982 due to their abundance in the creel. Black drum individually represented 4% of the total number and 22% of the total weight harvested from estuarine waters in 1982. Hardhead catfish (Arius felis) (31%), bluefish

(Pomatomus saltatrix) (20%), and channel catfish (15%) were the major species by number in the estuarine "others" category (Table A-5).

Striped bass had the largest average weight (4.21 kg) in the freshwater section (Table 9), but their average weight in the estuarine creel (1.34 kg) was second in size to the black drum (2.12 kg) (Table

10). The striped bass x white bass (Morone chrysops) hybrid average weight was also higher in the freshwater creel (1.68 kg) than in the estuarine creel (0.96 kg). Freshwater average weights of sunfish ranged

43 Table 10. Savannah River creel survey three year average estimates of harvest, average weight, catch rate, and area harvest rate by species for the estuarine section, 29 December 1979 to 24 December 1982.

Number Weight (Kg) Av. Weight Catch Rateb Harvest Per Hectarec Percent Percent Species Total SEa Total Total SEa Total (Kg) No./h Kg/h No./ha Kg/ha Striped bass 1,139 270 2.9 1,528 319 9.5 1.34 0.02 0.03 0.38 0.51 Striped x white bass 353 81 0.9 340 86 2.1 0.96 0.01 0.01 0.12 0.11 Spotted seatrout 3,586 637 9.0 1,502 239 9.3 0.42 0.06 0.02 1.19 0.50 Red drum 2,144 506 5.4 1,701 353 10.5 0.79 0.04 0.03 0.71 0.56 Croaker/spot 9,266 1,873 23.3 1,336 329 8.3 0.14 0.15 0.02 3.06 0.44 Silver perch 3,916 1,129 9.9 377 98 2.3 0.10 0.06 0.01 1.29 0.12 Flounder 886 173 2.2 468 123 2.9 0.53 0.01 0.01 0.29 0.15 White catfi;h 6,967 1,304 17.6 2,641 549 16.4 0.38 0.11 0.04 2.30 0.87 Black Drumu 1,694 424 -- 3,598 2,807 -- 2.12 0.03 0.06. 0.56 1.19 Others 9,722 2,034 28.8 2,646 557 38.7 0.27 0.16 0.04 3.21 0.88 Total 39,673 3,402 100.0 16,137 2,986 100.0 0.41 0.65 0.27 13.11 5.33 aApproxlmate standard error. bRates based on estimated average effort of 60,964 hours.

CRates based on area of 3,024 hectares. dBlack drum harvest represents last year of creel only. Percentages included in 'Others' category. Catch rates based on 1982 estimated angler effort of 58,704 hours. from 0.09 to 0.20 kg, largemouth bass 0.58 kg, crappie 0.20 kg, channel catfish 0.32 kg, and American shad 1.42 kg.

The per hectare angler harvest for all species combined from the

freshwater sectLon exceeded the estuarine catch by six times the number

and three times the weight (Tables 9 and 10). Individual species ranged

from 23 fish/ha for redbreast sunfish to less than one fish/ha (0.12)

for the striped bass x white bass hybrid.

Boat fishing effort and harvest declined sharply during the creel

period in contrast to bank fishing which slumped in 1981, but recovered

somewhat during 1982 (Table 11). However, overall boat fishing effort

was twice that of bank fishing with nearly 5 times the harvest. Catch

rates of boat anglers indicated an-overall two-fold advantage (1.19

fish/h and 0.28 kg/h) over bank anglers (0.55 fish/h and 0.15 kg/h).

In the estuarine area, bank fishing harvest numbers were 33% higher

than for boat fishing over the 3 years combined, but fish caught by boat

anglers were larger (Table 12). White catfish, croaker/spot, and

spotted seatrout made up the bulk of fish (59%) caught by estuarine boat

anglers. Estuarine bank anglers were most successful in catching

croaker/spot, silver perch, and white catfish (51%), but also caught a

larger variety of "other" species (33%). Separate estuarine and

freshwater tables with yearly breakdowns of boat and bank fishing

harvests by species are included in the appendix.

Total freshwater harvests indicated a reverse situation from that

observed in the estuarine creel (Table 12). Boat anglers harvested

seven times more fish and five times more weight than bank anglers.

Examination of the individual species groups showed that the average

weight of boat harvested fish was greater than or equal to bank caught

45 Table 11. Annua-l boat and bank fishing estimates of angler effort, harvest and catch rate of the combined Savannah River estuarine and freshwater creels for the period from 29 December 1979 to 24 December 1982.

Fishing Tripsa Angler Hours Fish Harvest Catch Rate Method Year No. SEb No. SEb No. - SEb Kg SEb No./h Kg/h

Boat 1980 56,817 7,174 305,972 45,356 516,270 92,896 101,671 16,891 1.69 0.33

1981 36,374 3,277 221,625 19,610 186,417 21,593 50,168 5,898 0.84 0.23

1982 35,699 3,526 194,394 16,660 154,827 14,269 47,869 7,912 0.80 0.25

Average 42,963 2,880 240,664 17,382 285,838 32,145 66,570 6,520 1.19 0.28

S Bank 1980 21,138 3,300 117,726 14,330 90,291 16,651 19,220 3,488 0.77 0.16

1981 18,358 1,935 86,697 7,374 32,460 4,393 12,064 2,475 0.37 0.14

1982 26,264 5,198 118,669 18,891 53,780 10,160 16,008 3,700 0.45 0.13

Average 21,920 2,151 107,697 8,277 58,844 6,665 15,764 1,885 0.55 0.15

aTrip estimates represent the freshwater creel area only. bApproximate standard error. Table 12. Average annual estimates of harvest by species creeled from boat and bank fishing in the estuarine and freshwater creel sectionsa of the Savannah River, 29 December 1979 through 24 December 1982.

Survey Numbers Kilograms Area Species Boat % Bank % Boat % Bank ESTUARINE Striped bass 961 5.9 256 1;2 1,326 15.8 308 5.5 Striped x white bass 226 1.4 127 0.6 215 2.6 125 2.2 Spotted seatrout 2,262 14.0 1,394 6.5 944 11.2 593 10.5 Red drum 1,261 7.8 934 4.3 1,167 13.9 572 10.2 Silver perch 822 5.1 3,110 14.4 125 1.5 253 4.5 Croaker/spot 3,081 19.0 4,993 23.2 481 5.7 855 15.2 Flounder 405 2.5 481 2.2 178 2.1 290 5.2 White catfish 4,239 26.2 2,821 13.1 1,739 20.7 958 17.0 Black drum 275 1.7 290 1.4 1,079 12.9 120 2.1 Others 2,650 16.4 7,126 33.1 1,137 13.6 1,554 27.6

Total 16,182 100.0 21,532 100.0 8,391 100.0 5,628 100.0

4-.1 FRESHWATER Striped bass 503 0.2 115 0.3 2,238 3.9 419 4.0 Striped x white bass 473 0.2 370 1.0 588 1.0 825 7.8 Bluegill 69,721 26.0 3,903 10.2 8,980 15.6 318 3.0 Redbreast sunfish 76,438 28.5 6,839 17.8 10,172 17.7 652 6.2 Warmouth 16,997 6.3 5,194 13.5 2,520 4.4 766 7.3 Redear sunfish 13,295 5.0 240 0.6 2,608 4.5 73 0.7 Spotted sunfish 2,827 1.1 391 1.0 265 0.5 23 0.2 Largemouth bass 9,016 3.4 809 2.1 4,911 8.6 770 7.3 Crappie spp. 24,228 9.0 239 0.6 4,887 8.5 55 0.5 Yellow perch 3,087 1.1 6,100 15.9 469 0.8 841 8.0 Channel catfish 11,959 4.5 846 2.2 4,041 7.0 102 1.0 White catfish 5,675 2.1 652 1.7 2,013 3.5 73 0.7 Bullhead spp. 18,385 6.9 6,912 18.0 3,105 5.4 649 6.2 American shad 2,567 1.0 2,687 7.0 3,932 6.9 3,548 33.7 Chain pickerel 2,173 0.8 901 2.4 992 1.7 247 2.4 Others 10,471 3.9 2,173 5.7 5,765 10.0 1,161 11.0

Total 267,815 100.0 38,371 100.0 57,486 100.0 10,522 100.0

aFreshwater section from U.S. Highway 17 bridge at Port Wentworth upstream to New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam near Augusta, Ga. averages 75% of the time. The freshwater boat harvest was principally represented (54%) by two species, redbreast sunfish and bluegill. The freshwater bank harvest was more evenly distributed (75%) between five species groups: bullheads, redbreast sunfish, yellow perch (Perca flavescens), warmouth, and bluegill. Bank anglers harvested more yellow perch and American shad than boat anglers in freshwater.

Most (65%) angler time in the estuarine area was spent fishing for striped bass and spotted seatrout (Table 13). Design changes in the

1982 estuarine creel included the addition of black drum and the removal of American shad. Individual percentages for these two species were not computed, but rather were combined with the "others" category. Howeve:r, black drum and red drum fishing in 1982 accounted for 21% of the fished-for effort in the estuarine area.

The majority of fished-for effort in the freshwater area of

Savannah River (61%) was directed toward largemouth bass, centrarchid sunfish (bream), and crappie (Table 13). The average total fished-for effort in freshwater was nearly five times that in the estuary. This is significant if one recalls that these two sections of the fishery are nearly equal in area (Table 1). American shad effort increased dramatically in freshwater from 1980 to 1982. This seasonal fishery

(1-2 months) was concentrated in a very small portion of the up-river area near the New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam. Despite their limited availability, American shad averaged nearly 8% of the average total effort in freshwater over the 3 years of creel and 13% of the total effort in 1982 alone.

Data representing boat and bank fished-for effort and success was collected only in the freshwater section of the river. Boat fishing was

48 Table 13. Est4imated fished-for effort in the estuarine (roving survey) and freshwater (access survey) sections of the Savannah River from 29 December 1979 to 24 December 1982. T = trace value.

Fished-For Effort (Angler Hours) Percent of Species 1980 1981 1982 Average SEa Total

Striped bass 3,759 9,140 7,021 6,640 1,175 32.0 Striped x white bass hybrid 67 24 0 30 25 0.2 Sea trout 5.314 8,706 6,267 6,762 1,091 32.5 Red drum 2,191 1.439 2,030 1,887 559 9.1 SCroaker/spot 87 1,389 385 620 264 3.0 Flounder 307 1,378 85 590 213 2.8 White catfish 360 2,500 1,523 1,461 464 7.0 American shadb 0 537 -- 269 280 --- Black drumc .... 2,003 2,003 1,888 --- Other speciesd .549 903' 115 522 184 13.4

Total 12,634 26,016 19,429 20,783 2,625 100.0

Striped bass 1,052. 4,291 8,388. 4,577 1,447 4.7 Striped x white bass hybrid . 0 624. 12,263 .4,296 1,959 4.4 Breame 18,323 18,717 35.347 24,129 .3,626 24.9 Bluegill 0 .. . 989'. 1,883 957 380 1.0 Redbreast sunfish 7,634- 10,738 6,850 8,407 1,599 8.7 Warmouth 211 0 0 70 73 0.1 U Redear sunfish 100 427 757 428 191 0.4 < Largemouth bass 22,853 27,324 24,808 24,995 4,435 25.7 Crappie spp. 4,607 20,174 6,431 10,404 1,922 10.7 w. Yellow perch 860 1,463 1,399 1,241 471 1.3 " Catfishe 3,246 5,703 11,368 6,772 1.023 7.0 Channel catfish 31 75 0 35 22 T White catfish 0 1.331 0 444 402 0.5 Bullheads spp 958 143 0 367 158 0.4 American shad6 144 5,705 16,963 7,604 2,551 7.8 Chain pickerel 0 1,443 63 502 406 0.5 Others 0 5,151 440 1,864 1,004 1.9

Total 60,019 104,298 126,960 97,092 7,418 100.0 aApproximate standard error. bAmerican shad were not recorded separately in the estuarine and lower freshwater sections of the river in 1982. CBlack drum fished-for effort for 1982 only. dpercent column includes American shad and black drum fished-for effort over all years. e General category indicated by anglers. Bream includes all sunfish. Catfish includes all Ictalurids.

49 the most common method of fishing (85%) in the freshwater section of the

Savannah River (Table 14). Both boat and bank angling effort increased over the 3 years surveyed. Overall, boat fishermen spent 70% of their time fishing for bream, largemouth bass, and crappie. Bank fishermen spent an equal percentage of time fishing for striped bass x White bass hybrid, American shad, bream, and striped bass. Boat fishermen had annual success rates ranging from 0.0 fish/h (striped bass in 1980) to

5.0 fish/h (bullheads in 1981). Bank fishermen had annual success rates ranging from 0.0 fish/h (bream, largemouth bass, and bullheads in 1980) to 1.76 fish/h (yellow perch [n 1980). Highest average annual success rates of boat fishermen were recorded for bullheads, white catfish, catfish (in general), and bream (2.26 to 1.19 fish/h). Bank fishermen were most successful when fishing for yellow perch, redbreast sunfish, bream, and American shad (annuai average success rates from 1.28 to 0.66 fish/h). The highest average annual success rate by weight (0.91 kg/h) was experienced by shad anglers fishing from river banks.

The typical angler fishing the Savannah River estuary was a local

Georgia resident (97%) who still-fished with natural bait (87%) on pole and line (86%) in the area of the Back River tide gate (29%) (Table 15).

The typical Savannah River freshwater fisherman was also a local Georgia resident (68%) who still-fished with natural bait (81%) on pole and line

(80%) in mainstream habitat (62%). South Carolina anglers represented

26% of the freshwater anglers and less than 1% of the estuarine anglers.

Sport and Commercial Trotline Fishery

Supplemental trotline data were collected at access points in conjunction with the sport fishery creel. Only 61 interviews were conducted during the 3 years of creel census. The limited amount and

50 Table 14. Annual boat and bank fished-for effort and success for the freshwater sections of the Savannah River, 29 December 1979 through 24 December 1982. T (trace) denotes an insignificant value.

Boat Fished-For Bank Fished-For Effort Success Effort Success Angler Angler Year Species Hours No./h Kg/h Hours %" No./h Kg/h

1980 Striped bass 1,052 1.5 0.00 0.00 Bream a 26,139 38.2 1.58 0.23 129 9.5 0.00 0.00 Redbreast sunfish 7,634 11.2 1.25 0.15 Warmouth 211 0.3 0.00 0.00 Redear sunfish 100 0.2 0.50 0.11 Largemouth bass 22,696 33.1 0.14 0.10 157 11.6 0.00 0.00 Crappie 4,607 6.7 0.98 0.24 Yellow perch 88 0.1 0.88 0.15 772 57.0 1.76 0.28 Catfish0 4,110 6.0 2.33 0.26 126 9.3 0.17 0.01 Channel catfish 362 0.5 0.00 0.00 Bullheads 1,356 2.0 1.97 0.17 170 12.6 0.00 0.00 American shad 144 0.2 0.00 0.00

Total 68,499 100.0 1,354 100.0

1981 Striped bass 3,957 4.4 0.04 0.07 334 2.3 0.15 0.54 Hybrid bass 331 0.4 0.55 0.83 292 2.0 0.10 0.05 Bream a 17,403 19.4 1.07 0.19 1,314 8.9 0.94 0.15 Bluegill 989 1.1 0.66 0.07 Redbreast sunfish 10,738 12.0 0.43 0.07 Redear sunfish 427 0.5 1.91 0.26 0.10 Largemouth bass 25,422 28.4 0.18 0.12 1,902 12.9 0.19 T 3 Crappie 19,440 21.7 0.67 0.14 734 5.0 0.01 Yellow perch 1,463 9.9 1.41 0.16 Catfishu 4,262 4.8 1.04 0.28 1,441 9.8 0.22 0.04 Channel catfish 75 0.1 0.50 0.11 White catfish 1,143 1.3 0.67 0.44 188 1.3 0.00 0.00 Bullheads 143 0.2 5.00 0.48 American shad 499 0.5 0.51 0.87 5,206 35.3 0.51 0.70 Chain pickerel 318 0.3 0.09 0.15 1,125 7.6 0.00 0.00 Others 4,413 4.9 0.33 0.09 738 5.0 0.01 0.03

Total ". 89,560 100.0 14,737 100.0 Table 14. (cont'd)

Boat Fished-For Bank Fished-For Effort Success Effort Success Angler Angler Year Species Hours % No./h Kg/h Hours % No./h Kg/h

1982 Striped bass 3,904 4.0 T 0.03 4.484 15.0 0.01 0.03 Hybrid bass 620 0.7 0.55 0.74 11,643 39.0 0.05 0.16 Bream a 30,941 31.8 0.93 0.10 4,405 14.8 0.61 0.04 Bluegill 1,882 1.9 0.64 0.06 Redbreast sunfish 6,535. 6.7 0.43 0.09 314 1.0 0.71 0.05 Redear sunfish 757 0.8 0.48 0.05 Largemouth bass 24,649 25.4 0.11 0.06 159 0.5 0.08 0.20 Crappie 6,343 6.5 1.04 0.20 88 0.3 0.00 0.00 Yellow perch '1,399 4.7 0.8B 0.13 Catfishu 8,663 8.9 1,35 0.33 2,705 9.1 0.42 0.05 American shad 12,849 13.2 0.52 0.81 4,114 13.8 0.86 1.18 Chain pickerel : 63 0.2 0.73 0.36 Others 41 0.1 7.04 3.11 477 1.6 0.81 0.32

Total 97.184 100.0 . 29,851 100.0

(3T1 Annual Striped bass 2,971 3.5 0.02 0.04 1,606 10.5 0.02 0.07 Average Hybrid bass 317 0.4 0.55 0.77 3,978 26.0 0.05- 0.15 Bream a 24,828 29.2 1.19 0.16 1,949 12.7 0.67 0.07 Bluegill 957 1.1 0.64 0.07 Redbreast sunfish 8,302 9.8 0.68 0.10 105 0.7 0.74 0.05 Warmouth 70 0.1 0.00. 0.00 Redear sunfish 428 0.5 0.96 0.12 Largemouth bass 24,256 28.5 0.14 0.09 739 4.8 0.17 0.1? Crappie 10,130 11.9 0.80 0.17 274 1.8 0.01 T Yellow perch 29 T 0.89 0.15 1,211 7.9 1.28 0.18 Catfish 5,678 6.7 1.49 0.30 1.424 9.3 0.35 0.05 Channel catfish 146 0.2 0.09 0.02 White catfish 381 0.4 1.74 0.44 63 0.4 0.00 0.00 Bullheads 500 0.6 2.26 . 0.20 57 0.4 0.00 0.00 American shad 4,497 5.3 0.52 . 0.81 3,107 20.3 0.66 0.91 Chain pickerel 106 0.1 0.09 .. 0.15 396 2.6 0.04 0.02 Others 1.485 1.7 0.39 0.11 405 2.6 0.33 0.14

Total 85.081 100.0 15,314 100.0

OGeneral category indicated by anglers. Success reflects the catch of any and all of the follow- ing species by these anglers: bluegill, redbreast sunfish, warmouth, redear sunfish, and spotted sunfish. bGeneral category indicated by anglers. Success reflects the catch of any and all of the follow- ing species by these anglers: channel catfish, white catfish, and bullheads. Table 15. Angler distribution and methodology of the Savannah River sport fishery creel from 29 December 1979 to 24 December 1982.

Percent of fishermen Category 1980 1981 1982 Average ESTUARY (Roving Survey) Method Casting 7.2 10.0 10.5 9.1 Trolling 2.1 7.2 4.7 4.6 Pole and linea 90.7 82.8 84.8 86.3 Bait Artificial 9.8 18.6 15.6 14.5 Natural 90.2 81.4 84.4 85.5 Interview location Back River Corps of Engineers tide gate 30.0 25.0 32.8 29.1 Seaboard Coastline RR trestle 9.1 8.9 5.3 7.9 Other sections 5.8 16.5 16.3 12.7 Middle River/New Cut 2.7 9.8 10.9 7.6 Front River/North Channel 21.4 19.5 12.9 18.1 South Channel Ft. Pulaski Bridge 9.4 0.8 1.2 4.0 Other sections 4.3 0.6 2.6 2.6 St. Augustine Creek 1.3 1.2 .0.0 0.8 Intercoastal Waterway Fields Cut 0.6 0.0 0.1 0.2 Other sections 15.4 17.7 17.9 17.0 Fisherman origin b Georgia j 80.4 km 94.1 97.4 100.0 97.0 Georgia > 80.4 km 3.3 1.9 0.0 1.8 South Carolina s 80.4 km 1.3 0.7 0.0 0.7 South Carolina > 80.4 km 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.1 Other 1.1 0.0 0.0 0.4

FRESHWATER (Access Survey) Method Casting 11.4 21.2 23.8 18.1 Trolling 0.6 0.9 3.4 1.6 Pole and linea 88.0 77.9 72.8 B0.3 Bait Artificial 12.3 21.2 26.8 19.5 Natural 87.7 78.8 73.2 80.5 Location fished Mainstream 54.8 62.0 69.2 61.5 Creeks, lakes & oxbows 45.2 38.0 30.8 38.5 Fisherman origin Georgia s 80.4 km 62.5 69.5 72.3 67.6 Georgia > 80.4 km 5.4 8.4 6.1 6.5 South Carolina s 80.4 km 31.4 22.0 21.4 25.5 South Carolina > 80.4 km 0.4 0.0 0.2 0.2 Other 0.3 0.1 0.0 0.2 aAny sport fishing other than trolling or casting. bEquivalent to 50 miles (80.4 km).

53 marginal quality of data was judged unsuitable for expansion.

'hierefore, tbe dat• #iht.al.nedwan Rlimmnr[zed nccordlln to frequentiy of occurrence (Table 16).

The Savannah River trotline fishery was concentrated in the lower freshwater creel section (69%) (Figure 2). Commercial fishermen formed half of this group. Trotlines, as opposed to bush lines, were the preferred gear used (59%), particularly by commercial fishermen (81%).

In contrast, 56% of the recreational fishermen utilized single-hooked bush lines. Natural bait was used by almost all fishermen (98%). Live minnows, cut shad, and cut eel were the most commonly used natural baits. Other baits used included catawba worms, shrimp, shrimp heads, and Camay soap.

Ictalurids were the targeted group of most trotline fishermen.

White catfish (34%), channel catfish (31%), and bullheads (12%) were the fishes most often kept by fishermen. These three groups had average weights of 0.75 kg, 0.78 kg, and 0.30 kg, respectively.

Recreational Activity Survey

Non-fishing recreational use of the Savannah River from the New

Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam to Port Wentworth was estimated by Hutto and

Turcotte (1983) (Table 17). Estimates of person-hours/year were obtained by calculating trips/year and applying average trip data (10.54

trips/person and 3.7 hours/trip) reported for recreational users in the

Southeast (USDI-USDC 1982). The annual average estimates of all non-fishing recreational users in this portion of the Savannah River during 1980-1982 were reported as 482,303 person-hours from 130,352

54 Table 16. Summary of unexpanded trotline/bush line fishing data comparing commercial and recreational fisheries on the Savannah River, 29 December 1979 to 24 December 1982.

Survey Number of Interviews Category Percent 1980 1981 1982 Total of Comm. Rec. Comm. Rec. Comm. Rec. Comm. Rec. Total

Area fished a Upper river 2 6 1 2 3 5 6 13 31.1 Lower river 7 12 10 2 4 7 21 21 68.9

Vn V" Mean number of hooks 182 31 125 41 129 34 143 33

Method Trotline 7 7 10 2 4 6 21 15 59.0 Bush line 2 11 1 2 3 6 6 19 41.0

Bait type Natural 9 18 10 4 7 12 26 34 98.4 Artificial 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1.6

Origin Georgia < 50 miles 4 15 11 3 5 8 20 26 76.7 Georgia > 50 miles 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1.7 S. Carolina < 50 miles 4 3 0 0 2 4 6 7 21.6

aUpper and lower areas correspond to freshwater creel survey areas (Figure 2). Table 17. Recreational survey of non-fishing activities on the freshwater portion of the Savannah River from New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam to Port Wentworth (compiled from Hutto and Turcotte, 1983).

Person-hours Recreational Creel Trips per year- People per year per year Category Sectiona No. SE No. SE No. SE

Boater Upper 52,859 12,761 5,015 1,211 195,578 47,216 Lower 44,357 7,438 4,208 706 164,121 27,521

Swimmers Upper 1,020 741 97 70 3,774 2,742 Lower 545 320 52 30 2,017 1,184 Shoreline Upper 19,616 4,999 1,861 474 72,579 18,496 Activities Lower 11,955 2,454 1,134 233 44,234 9,080

Total Both 130,352 15,806 12,367 1,500 482,303 58,483 aUpper and lower refer to upper and lower freshwater creel sections used in the current study. trips by 12,367 people. Annual person-hour estimates for the upper portion of this section of the Savannah River reflected 29% more recreational use in comparison to the lower section.

DISCUSSION

The Savannah River, like other large Coastal Plain rivers in

Georgia, supports an abundant, diversified fish community, but has a low to moderately utilized fishery. A total of 105 species were identified from freshwater and estuarine samples. Dahlberg and Scott (1971) list

106 freshwater species from the Savannah River, 73 of which were identified in this study. One species, the mountain mullet, was taken in an electrofishing sample near the New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam and represented the first collection of this species in the Savannah River drainage.

The mean standing crop estimates for mainstream and oxbow habitats

in the Savannah River were determined, respectively, from flowing and static-water oxbow rotenone samples. The Savannah River mainstream standing crop of 121 kg/ha was lower than that observed in the Altamaha

(Hottell et al. 1983), Little Satilla (Ruebsamen and Holder 1976),

Ogeechee (Primmer 1975), Satilla (Michaels et al. 1981, Holder and

Ruebsamen 1976), and lower (below Lake Worth) Flint Rivers (Pasch 1976)

(Table 18). Rivers with lower mainstream standing crops than the

Savannah included the Ocmulgee (Coomer and Holder 1980a) and upper

(between Lakes Blackshear and Worth) Flint (Pasch 1974). The oxbow

standing crop estimate for the Savannah River was lower than, but within

the general range of, standing crops reported for the Altamaha and

Ocmulgee Rivers. Area-weighting of the combined mainstream/oxbow

standing crop means for the Savannah River produced an estimate that

57 Table 18. Comparison of standing crop and percent game fish by weight from rotenone samples on seven coastal plain streams.

Mainstream Oxbow Area Standing Crop Standing Crop Weighted Mean Game Mean Game Mean Citation River (kg/ha) Fish (%) (kg/ha) Fish (%) (kg/ha)

Hottell et al., 1983 Altamaha 385.66 ý22.1 539.59 24.0 395.68

Ruebsamen and Holder, 19 7 6 a Little Satilla 274.10 44.3

Primmer, 1975 Ogeechee 255.50 . .39,0

Michaels et al., 1981 Satilla 202.98 37.6 oo Pasch, 1976 Flint (lower) 177.50 17.8 Holder and Ruebsamen, 1976 Satilla 173.58b ý47.4

Present study Savannah 120.89 23.2 526.01 21.8 227.10

Coomer and Holder, 1980a Ocmulgee. 89.14 :29.0 579.26 14.8 118.55

Pasch, 1974 Flint (upper) 61.36 ý23.6

aThe authors include standing crop data from Sandow, 1974a.

bArea-weighted mean of upper and lower sections. Includes standing crop data from Sandow 1973 and 1974c. surpassed mainstream estimates reported for the lower Flint and Satilla

Rivers.

The percentage of game fish, including channel catfish, in the mainstream Savannah River rotenone samples was lower than that found in other rivers, except the lower Flint and Altamaha Rivers. The percent of game fish in the Savannah River oxbow standing crop estimate was lower than the mainstream percentage, but represented a greater biomass of game fish because of the overall magnitude of the oxbow standing crop estimate. The percent of game fish in the Savannah River oxbow sample more closely matched that observed in Altamaha River oxbows. Common carp, spotted sucker, and silver redhorse represented 52% of the biomass in mainstream samples. A similar and more extreme situation existed in the oxbow sample where bowfin, gizzard shad, spotted sucker, and common carp represented 70% of the biomass sampled.

Differences in fish species composition and abundance in mainstream and oxbow areas of the Savannah River were noted in both rotenone and electrofishing samples. The small number of rotenone samples (two mainstream and one oxbow) conducted on the Savannah River precluded any statistical comparison of standing crop means. General mainstream/oxbow differences in number and weight showed similar trends in both electrofishing CPUE and rotenone standing crop results. The mainstream was less productive than oxbows in both numbers and weight. However, statistical comparison of electrofishing CPUE only supported the weight difference between mainstream and oxbows as being statistically significant.

Results indicated certain species habitat preferences. Redbreast sunfish, channel catfish, snail bullheads, and flat bullheads appeared

59 to be most attracted to flowing water habitats. This was strongly indicated in rotenone samples, but bottom-dwelling ictalurids were not as significant in the electrofishing samples. The significance of bottom-dwelling fishes in electrofishing samples and their differences in abundance between habitats may have been more a function of water depth and conductivity than species preference.

Many more species demonstrated a preference for oxbow habitat conditions. Among the more common species, bluegill, spotted sucker, redear sunfish, gizzard shad, and chain pickerel indicated strong preferences for oxbow habitat in the Savannah River. Black crappie were also significantly represented in the static-water oxbow sample and appear to prefer these lacustrine river areas.

Coomer and Holder (1980a) and Hottell et al. (1983) found that oxbows supported a higher standing crop of fish and were the preferred area sought by anglers. Fish standing crop in Savannah River oxbows was similarly high and received nearly two times more fishing pressure per hectare than mainstream areas. This was considerably less than the reported eight-fold difference observed between oxbow and mainstream fishing pressure in the Altamaha River. Nevertheless, the contribution of Savannah River oxbow habitat to the overall river fishery is significant. Oxbows represent 24% of the freshwater area of the

Savannah River, but draw 38% of the angling effort expended in freshwater. Future development of the Savannah River should include consideration for the protection of oxbow habitat from alteration or destruction often associated with main channel dredge spoil deposition.

Estuarine fish community characteristics were assessed by qualitative methods only. Estuarine electrofishing CPUE indicated a

60 significantly lower abundance of fish in comparison to mainstream and oxbow habitats. This may be a result of the decreased efficiency of electrofishing equipment in brackish water conditions. Estuarine communities are generally characterized as being more productive than either the sea on one side or the freshwater drainage on the other

(Odum 1971). However, if one considers biomass as the more significant factor, the estuarine weight CPUE was equivalent to the oxbow CPUE and was significantly greater (p= 0.10) than that of the mainstream.

The species composition of the estuarine habitat was unlike that of either the mainstream or oxbow. Numerically, the striped mullet was by far the most abundant species sampled in the estuarine habitat followed by largemouth bass'and bowfin. Biomass in the estuary was dominated by common carp, bowfin, and spotted sucker. Comparatively, game fish were poorly represented in the estuarinelhabitat.

Two species of sturgeon are known to inhabit the Savannah River, the Atlantic sturgeon and shortnose sturgeon. Concern regarding the extinction of the shortnose sturgeon has resulted in its being listed as a federally endangered species. Neither species was encountered during routine sampling associated with this study. However, recent information regarding the collection and identification of larval fish of both species has been released in an annual report on the Savannah

River Aquatic Ecology Program (1982-83) prepared by Environmental and

Chemical Sciences, Inc. (Paller et al. 1984). ECS personnel reported collecting fifteen larval sturgeon in 1982 and thirteen in 1983, the majority being collected between river km 242 and km 253. Eight of the

28 larval sturgeon collected were tentatively identified as shortnose sturgeon by Darrell E. Snyder of the Larval Fish Laboratory at Colorado

61 State University. A recent decline in the commercial landings of

Atlantic sturgeon along the Georgia-South Carolina coast has caused

concern among state and federal biologists over the future viability of

this commercial fishery.

Although the Savannah River is a regulated-flow stream, decreased

river water levels were recorded during the 1981-82 drought years which

apparently had a detrimental effect on the fishery (Figure 8). River

levels were the lowest they had been since 1955. Fishing pressure and

catch rates dropped significantly in 1981 and only recovered slightly in

the lower river area during 1982 (Table A-4). Fishing pressure in

freshwater during the last two creel years decreased just over 20% and

the catch rate (no./h) declined nearly 60%. These percentages suggest

that harvest estimates for the Savannah River in Table 19 are lower than

what normally occurs.,

The relative contribution of six selected species to the Savannah

River freshwater creel were compared with results from eight other

Coastal Plain rivers (Table 20). Redbreast sunfish and bluegill harvest

weights contributed 16% and 14% to the Savannah River creel,

respectively. Other than bluegill, the contribution of each species

listed was less than the average for that species in all rivers

combined. This would suggest that the sport fishery on the Savannah

River was more diverse than what has been observed on other south

Georgia rivers, since the remaining percentage would be divided between

species not listed. The combined weight percentage of these six species

in the Savannah River creel totaled only 57% of the total creel compared

to between 72% and 88% in the other studies. Only the Suwannee River

had a lower combined percentage for the species listed. Even -if one

62 239,900 11S.2Afl I

so it Fishing pressure (hours) t-3 Catch (number) s River discharge (cf s) near Clyo,Ga.-

70

60

so

20 '4 . K• 40 "

U,. E"

20

10N

D J r M A M J J A S 0 k 0 J F M A J J A S O N D J F W A M J A S U V 1980 1981 L982 Figure 8. Comparison of fishing pressure and catch to Savannah River discharge levels near Clyo from December 1979 through December 1982. Table 19. Comparison of angler effort, harvest and catch rate from 13 othe r general creel surveys on eight Coastal Plain streams.

Average Preto weigt Cach Rte standing crop Survey Angler Harvest/ha weight Catch Rate Percent of Citation River years hours/ha No. Kg (kg) No./h Kg/h harvested

Ruebsamen and Holder. 1976a Little Satilla 3 51.2 43.8 8.6 .20 .86 .17 3.1 Holder and Ruebsamen, 1976 Satilla 2 71.1 50.7 11.9 .23 .71 .17 6 . 9 b Hornsby and Hall, 1981c Ogeechee 5 78.1 66.0 17.5 .26 .84 .22 6.8 Present studyd Savannah 3 78.8 84.1 18.8 .22 1.07 .24 8.3 14.2b Sandow, 1974b Satilla 2 86.3 131.9 24.7 .19 1.53 .29 Hottell et al., 1983 Altamaha 3 87.6. 121.8 52.5 .18 1.39 .25 12.1 9.2e Holder and Germann, 1979 Satilla 3 175.1 75.7 18.6 .24 .43 .11 Swanson and Holder, 1974 Suwannee 4 206.5 398.7 157.9f .27f 1.93 .53f NA Pasch, 19769 Flint 3 235.8 252.4 42.1 .17 1.07 .18 23.7 Coomer and Holder, 1980a Ocmulgee 2 282.3 482.7 92.0 .19 1.71 .33 '8.2 Holder and Germann, 1977 Suwannee 3 331.6 651.4 179.6 .28 1.96 .54 53.4 Average 153.1 214.5 56.7 .22 1.23 .28 21.6 dSupplemented by data from Sandow, 1974a. bBased on area-weighted mean standing crop from Holder and Ruebsamen, 1976. from Holder and Hall, cFreshwater creel only; supplemented by creel data (1973-74) 1975 and standing crop data from Prinmmer, 1975. dFreshwater creel only. eBased on mean standing crop reported in Michaels et al., 1981. fAverage of two years since weight information was not collected in the first and third creel years (1969 & 1971).

glncludes recalculated creel data from McSwain and Pasch. 1973 and Pasch and McSwain, 1974. Table 20. Comparison of contribution of six selected species to the fishery creel of eight Coastal Plain streams.

Redbreast Largemouth Channel sunfish Bluegill Black crappie bass catfish Bullhead sp. Survey % wt Av % wt Av % wt Av % wt Av % wt Av % wt Av length of wt of wt of wt of wt of wt of wt Citation River .(yrs.) creel (kg) creel (kg) creel (kg) creel (kg) creel (kg) creel (kg)

Hottell et al., 1983 Altamaha 3 12.1 .10 10.8 .15 21.0 .21 6.5 .56 13.0 .15 11.5 .22 Pasch, 1976a Flint 4 18.7 .12 22.7 .10 NA NA 4.7 1.03 21.6 .29 4.0 .12

Ruebsamen and Holder, 1 9 7 6 b Little Satilla 3 37.5 .18 4.4 .17 2.9 .17 12.0 .40 5.3 .21 15.9 .21 Coomer and Holder, 1980a Ocmulgee 2 21.2 .11 16.3 .12 18.3 .20 17.1 .99 4.3 .30 4.4 .40 Coomer and Holder, 1980b Ocmulgee 1 23.2 .10 14.8 .13 14.8 .19 3.7 .69 11.5 .14 8.0 .33

Hornsby and Hall, 1 9 8 1c Ogeechee 5 18.5 .18 12.5 .17 MA NA 37.6 .64 4.8 .25 13.0 .19 Holder and Germann, 1979 Satilla 3 22.6 .17 7.9 .14 7.3 .24 15.8 .59 16.0 .30 9.7 .41 U7 Holder and Ruebsamen, 19 7 6 d Satilla 2 14.3 .20 15.5 .19 4.0 .26 11.1 .89 10.5 .27 32.7 .27 Sandow, 1974b Satilla 2 18.3 .14 14.0 .15 1.7 .24 4.0 .46 14.6 .23 20.0 .18 Present studye Savannah 3 15.9 .13 13.7 .13 7.3 .20 8.4 .58 6.1 .32 5.5 .15 Holder and Germann, 1977 Suwannee 3 1.3 .33 2.2 .26 NA NA 4.0 .99 10.1 .67 36.1 .18 Swanson and Holder, 1974 Suwannee 4f 2.5 .28 1.4 .26 NA NA 7.0 .75 0.9 .62 20.2 .16 Arithmetic mean' 17.2 .17 11.4 .16 9.7 .21 11.0 .71 9.9 .31 15.1 .24

aIncludes recalculated creel data from McSwain and Pasch, 1973 and Pasch and McSwain, 1974. bsupplemented with creel data (1972-73) from Sandow, 1974a.

CFreshwater creel only; supplemented by creel data (1973-74) from Holder and Hall, 1975.

dWeighted average of upper and lower sections.

eFreshwater creel only.

fAverage of two years since weight information was not collected in the first and third creel years (1969 & 1971). considers that 15 species were creeled on the Savannah River compared to an average of 10 species creeled in the other studies, the weight percentage of the "others" category on the Savannah River (10%) was greater than in any other survey listed. The average weights of all

species listed for the Savannah River, except channel catfish, were below the mean for all rivers combined. The lower average weights observed for most species may be a reflection of overall river productivity or a function of species diversity, but is more likely

related to the low-flow, drought conditions experienced during the study

period.

A sport shad fishery appeared to develop at the New Savannah Bluff

Lock and Dam between 1980 and 1982. Each spring, American shad migrate

upstream in the Savannah River for spawning purposes and congregate

below the lock and dam near Augusta, Georgia. The lock and dam was

completed in 1937 and it is likely that shad have been congregating

there since that time, but little was known about the fishery. Shad

harvest estimates in this report were based exclusively from data

collected at this point in the river. Shad harvest rose from 433 fish

in 1980 to 11,205 fish in 1982 (Table A-7). The average weight of shad

creeled was 1.42 kg for a total harvest weight exceeding 33% of the

entire freshwater creel in 1982. Fished-for effort by anglers also rose

from 144 hours in 1980 to 16,963 hours in 1982 (Table 13). The 1982

estimate equaled 13% of the total angler effort expended in all

freshwater habitat in that year. Future monitoring and management of

the river fishery for this valuable anadromous species will be

necessary.

66 In recent years, concern regarding the overharvest of certain species in the Ocmulgee River has been expressed (Coomer and Holder

1980a, 1980b). With this in mind, we compared rotenone standing crop estimates to creel harvest estimates of the freshwater species surveyed in the Savannah River (Table 21). In making this comparison, we assume that species listed are year-round residents of the river and that each methodology adequately samples the same river habitats. These assumptions were apparently not valid for striped bass, striped bass x white bass hybrids, and American shad as indicated by their unrealistic percentages (i.e. more fish creeled than exist in the river). Striped bass and American shad are anadromous species and spend only a portion of the year in upstream areas of the Savannah River., most of which is confined to the main channel.: Dudley et al., (1977).reported that striped bass adults move upstream in late spring after spawning in the upper Savannah River estuary and return to the estuary the next year around February to spawn again. Smith (1970) reported that striped bass fingerlings inhabited Georgia coastal river estuaries and later as juveniles moved between the lower river areas and the estuaries. In either situation, it is not likely that striped bass or adult American shad frequented the oxbow habitats sampled in the Savannah River.

Therefore, the estimates of harvestable biomass available for American shad and striped bass in Table 21 would be underestimates of the true standing crops of these species in the river during at least some portion of the year. Little is known about the riverine habits of the striped bass x white bass hybrids, but it is suspected that they have retained some parental behavior patterns and do not frequent oxbow habitats.

67 Table 21. Comparison of per hectare creel harvest estimates for species caught in the Savannah River and their harvestable standing crop estimates determined from rotenone sampling.

Kilograms per hectarea Harvestable % harvestable standing Creel standing crop Species cropb harvestc harvested . d Striped bass 0 0 9 0. 7 4 d 822. 2 d

Striped x white bass hybrid 0.0 2d 0. 3 9 d 1,950.0d

Bluegill 4.44 2.56 57.7

Redbreast sunfish 3.84 3.05 79.4 N~armouth ; • < • • 1.25 0.90 72.0

Redear sunfish 4.10 0.73 17.8

Spotted sunfish 0.14 ýT I 0.08 57.1

Largemouth bass 8.62 1.56 18.1

Crappie spp. 8.64 1.36 15.7 Yellow perch 1.14 0.36 31.6

Channel catfish 5.50 1.14 20.7

White catfish 4.45 0.57 12.8

Bullhead spp. 3.20 1.03 32.2

Shad spp. NAd 2.06 d NAd

Chain pickerel 2.67 0.34 12.7

Total 47.99 13.68 28.5 aFreshwater portion of the river only. bAdjusted standing crop estimates weighted by study site surface areas for mainstream and oxbow habitats (Table 1). CFreshwater creel only. dNot included in compilation of totals.

68 A viable striped bass/striped bass x white bass hybrid fishery exists in the Savannah River and its estuary. Hybrids are found in this fishery as a result of their escapement from Clarks Hill Reservoir upstream. Despite relatively low harvest rates, these two species are often sought by anglers fishing near the New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam and in the river estuary. Their lack in numbers is compensated by the high quality angling experience they provide and their relatively large size (Tables 9 and 10). There is concern regarding potential impacts on striped bass spawning success in the lower river due to habitat alteration in traditional spawning areas resulting from current and proposed development of Savannah's deepwater port facilities.

The remaining species listed in Table 21 had harvest rates ranging from 13% to 79%. The highest harvest rates were observed for redbreast sunfish (79%) and warmouth (72%). Low to moderate rates were recorded for chain pickerel (13%), white catfish (13%), crappie (16%), largemouth bass (18%), and channel catfish (21%). The total percent of harvestable fish creeled and listed in this table (excluding striped bass, striped bass x white bass hybrids, and American shad) was 29%, slightly lower than the 35% reported for the Altamaha River (Hottell et al. 1983).

Overharvest of game species in the Savannah River fishery was not evidenced by these percentages and is not considered a problem.

However, a note of caution should be observed in the interpretation of these percentages. Harvestable standing crop estimates were based on three rotenone samples which, due to circumstances beyond our control, were derived only from river oxbow habitats (flowing and static). The respective percentages reported should, at best, be considered relative measures of exploitation.

69 A traditional complaint of sport anglers on the Savannah River has been the supposition that channel catfish are being overharvested by

South Carolina commercial basket fishermen. Supplemental data on commercial activity collected by creel clerks at access points on both sides of the river did not indicate any large numbers of commercial fishermen or harvests. Channel catfish length-frequency distributions from two Savannah River flowing oxbow rotenone samples showed no unusual declines in adult channel catfish populations (Figure 9). In fact, channel catfish length-frequencies were not noticeably different from those reported for Altamaha River samples, where a traditionally strong catfish fishery exists (Holder and Coomer 1984). The total harvested weight percentage of channel catfish in the Savannah River creel was 40% lower than the mean percentage for Coastal Plain streams-(Table 20).

However, this percentage is not an absolute measure of exploitation, but rather a reflection of the relative diversity of the entire fishery.

Based on available data, there appears to be no overharvest of channel catfish on the Savannah River at this time.

The relatively low fishing pressure on the Savannah River prompted us to look at the river for possible causes. Limited river access can impact the angler utilization of a fishery resource. Public and private boat ramps downstream of the New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam on both the

Georgia and South Carolina sides of the Savannah River were inventoried to assess any possible access needs. Boat ramps within the study area averaged one every 12 km. The statewide planning goal of one boat ramp every 24 km was not met in only one instance. If one considers only those boat ramps on the Georgia side, the 24 km goal was not met in five areas of the river. These areas occurred principally in Effingham and

70 Subsample net expanslon1

20- n =148

E

z 10,

10 20 3'0 40 50 Length (cm)

Subsample 50- net expansion

n = 204 (1982) 40-

E 30. z2

20

10

Length (cm)

Figure 9. Channel catfish length-frequency histograms from flowing oxbow rotenone samples at Savannah River km 66 in 1982 and km 151 in 1983.

71 Screven counties. Some ramps were privately-owned and some were not paved. Boating access does appear to be a minor problem in the utilLzation of the Savannah River fishery.

Assuming that river access is not a significant factor limiting fishing effort on the Savannah River, some other elements must be involved. The most obvious reason might simply be demographics. Major population centers are located on the river at either end of the study area, but in between it passes principally through rural counties.

Clarks Hill Reservoir near Augusta and the coastal estuary near Savannah may also tend to draw away would-be river fishermen coming from these metropolitan centers.

This survey has established, for the first time, a baseline description of the fish community and sport fishery of the Savannah

River downstream of Augusta, Georgia. The information in this report will be useful to fishery managers, resource planners, and administrators in the public and private sectors in planning future developments on the river and in protecting the fisheries from adverse environmental impacts.

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Encourage increased utilization of.the Savannah River

fishery through the creation and distribution of public

information and presentations to sportsmen clubs and civic

organizations.

2. Investigate and acquire additional boating access sites

and improve existing public ramps.

3. Develop an annual fish monitoring program in the Savannah

River for management purposes, to follow changes in

72 species abundance, growth, and condition of the major

sport and commercial fishes.

4. Initiate an American shad sport fishery creel at the New

Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam to better assess the

proportions and dynamics of this expanding fishery.

5. Initiate investigations into the life history, abundance,

and commercial harvest of Atlantic sturgeon and channel

catfish in the Savannah River.

6. Monitor and prevent riverine habitat alteration and

destruction from additional channel development and dredge,.

spoil deposition in productive oxbow and salt marsh

h•abitats, which serve as a nursery and/or refuge to many

Savannah River fishes.,......

LITERATURE CITED

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reproduction of white bass x striped bass hybrids in the Savannah

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24pp.

Coomer, C. E., Jr. and D. R. Holder. 1980a. A fisheries survey of the

Ocmulgee River. Ga. Dept. of Nat. Res., Game and Fish Div., Final

Rept., Fed. Aid Proj. F-29. 58pp.

Coomer, C. E., Jr. and D. R. Holder. 1980b. Largemouth bass

exploitation in the Ocmulgee River. Ga. Dept. of Nat. Res., Game

and Fish Div., Final Rept., Fed. Aid Proj. F-29. 56pp.

Dahlberg, M. D. and D. C. Scott. 1971. The freshwater fishes of

Georgia. Bull. Ga. Acad. Sci. 29:1-64.

73 Dudley, R. G. 1978. Effects of hypolimnial oxygen injection on biota

downstream from Clark Hill Dam. Preliminary report to the U. S.

Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District. Sch. of For. Res.,

Univ. of Ga., Athens, GA. 98pp.

Dudley, R. G. and K. N. Black. 1979. Effect of the Savannah River tide

gate on striped bass eggs and larvae. Final report, U. S. Army

Corps of Engineers, Contract DACW21-78-C-0073. 46pp + app.

Dudley, R. G., A. W. Mullis, and J. W. Terrell. 1977. Movements of

adult striped bass (Morone saxatilis) in the Savannah River,

Georgia. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 106(4):314-22.

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investigation of the Savannah River basin in Georgia. Envir. Prot.

Div., Atlanta, GA. 194pp.

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Atlanta, GA. 376pp.

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(consultants), Atlanta, GA. 363pp.

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monitoring data for Georgia streams 1983. Envir. Prot. Div.,

Atlanta, GA. 308pp.

Holder, D. R. and C. E. Coomer, Jr. 1984. Selected aspects of the life

history of six major sport fishes of the Altamaha River. Ga. Dept.

of Nat. Res., Game and Fish Div., Final Rept., Fed. Aid Proj. F-29.

5 8 pp.

74 Holder, D. R. and D. W. Crochet. 1984. Fish toxicants in C. F. Bryan,

ed., Warmwater streams techniques manual:fishes, Warmwater Streams

Comm., So. Div., Am. Fish. Soc., pp.1-1 to 1-29.

Holder, D. R. and J. F. Germann. 1977. Continued evaluation of the

effects of bowfin, Amia calva, removal on the Suwannee River

fishery. Ga. Dept. of Nat. Res., Game and Fish Div., Final Rept.,

Fed. Aid Proj. F-29. 76pp.

Holder, D. R. and J. F. Germann. 1979. A sport fishery survey of the

Satilla River. Ga. Dept. of Nat. Res., Game and Fish Div., Final

Rept., Fed. Aid Proj. F-29. 22pp.

Holder, D. R. and C. S. Hall. 1975. Evaluation of stocking fingerling

striped bass. Ga. Dept. of Nat. Res., Game and Fish Div., Final

Rept., Fed. Aid Proj. AFS-9. 47pp.

Holder, D. R. and R.. Ruebsamen. 1976. A comparison of the fisheries of

the upper and lower Satilla River. Ga. Dept. of Nat. Res., Game

and Fish Div., Final Rept., Fed. Aid Proj. F-29. 68pp.

Hornsby, J. H. and C. S. Hall. 1981. Impact of supplemental stocking

of striped bass fingerlings in the Ogeechee River. Ga. Dept. of

Nat. Res., Game and Fish Div., Final Rept., Fed. Aid Proj. AFS-11.

62pp.

Hottell, H. E., D. R. Holder, and C. E. Coomer, Jr. 1983. A fisheries

survey of the Altamaha River. Ga. Dept. of Nat. Res., Game and

Fish Div., Final Rept., Fed. Aid Proj. F-29. 68pp.

Hutto, G. A. and M-D. S. Turcotte. 1983. Recreational use survey of

the Savannah River. Memo: DSPT-83-622, Rev. 1, Tech. Div., Say.

River Lab., Aiken, S.C. 23pp.

75 Johnson, T. L.. and R. W. Pasch. 1975. Improved rotenone sampling

equipment for streams. Proc. 29th Ann. Conf. S. E. Assoc. Game and

Fish Comm., pp. 46-56.

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America. Bull. Nat. Mus. 47, Pt. 1:1-1240.

McFarlane, R. W., R. F. Frietsche and R. D. Miracle. 1978. Impingement

and entrainment of fishes at the Savannah River Plant: an NPDES

316b demonstration. DP-1494, E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Say.

River Lab., Aiken, S.C. 68pp.

McSwain, L. E. and R. W. Pasch. 1973. Stream creel census - warmwater

(Flint River). Ga. Dept. of Nat. Res., Game and Fish Div., Ann.

Prog. Rept., Fed. Aid Proj. F-21-5, Study XV, Job 3. 21pp.

Michaels, R., J. F. Germann and D. R. Holder. 1981. Age group and size

class composition, survival and exploitation rate of redbreast

sunfish in the Satilla River. Ga. Dept. of Nat. Res., Game and

Fish Div., Final Rept., Fed. Aid Proj. F-29. 41pp.

Odum, E. P. 1971. Fundamentals of Ecology. 3rd ed., W. B. Saunders

Co., Philadelphia, London and Toronto. 574pp.

Paller, M., J. O'Hara, V. Osteen, W. Specht and H. Kania. 1984. Annual

report on the Savannah River Aquatic Ecology Program, September

1982-August, Vol. I., (ESC-SR-8). Envir. & Chem. Sci., Inc.,

Aiken, S.C. 238pp+app.

Pasch, R. W. 1974. Population studies-streams (Flint River). Ga.

Dept. of Nat. Res., Game and Fish Div., Final Rept., Fed. Aid Proj.

F-21-5, Study XVI, Job 2, Vol. VIII, pp. 33-40.

76 Pasch, R. W. 1976. Survey of the lower Flint River fishery and aquatic

community. Ga. Dept. of Nat. Res., Game and Fish Div., Final

Rept., Fed. Aid Proj. F-28. 54 pp.

Pasch, R. W. and L. E. McSwain. 1974. Stream creel census-warmwater

(Flint River). Ga. Dept. of Nat. Res., Game and Fish Div., Final

Rept., Fed. Aid Proj. F-21-5, Study XV, Job 3, Vol. VII, pp.

96-116.

Primmer, K. W. 1975. The occurrence and abundance of fishes in the

Ogeechee River with a comparison of sampling methods. M. S.

Thesis, Univ. of Ga., Athens. 60pp.

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water retention dam on the Little Satilla River. Ga. Dept. of Nat.

Res., Game and Fish Div., Final Rept., Fed. Aid Proj. F-29. 37pp.

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Proj. F-21-3, Study XVI, Job 2.

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study of the effects of a low flow retention dam on the Little

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Rept., Fed. Aid Proj. F-21-5, Study VI, Job 3, Vol. IV, pp. 1-27.

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Proj. F-21-5, Study XVI, Job 2, Vol. VIII, pp. 17-32.

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(circa 1975). Savannah River basin water quality management plan.

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ColumbLa, S.C. 164pp.

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1 3 4 pp.

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The Iowa State Univ. Press, Ames, IA. 593pp.

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population data from reservoirs. Proc. 13th Ann. Conf. S. E.

Assoc. Game and Fish Comm., pp. 313-325.

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(Suwannee River). Ga. Dept. of Nat. Res., Game and Fish Div.,

Final Rept., Fed. Aid Proj. F-21-5, Study XV, Job 3, Vol. VII, pp.

31-53.

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inventory of the Savannah River basin. Say. Dist., Savannah, GA.

244pp.

USCOE (U. S. Army Corps of Engineers). 1981. Water resources

development in Georgia. So. Atl. Div. 120pp.

USDI and USDC (U. S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife

Service and U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census).

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wildlife-associated recreation. U. S. Gov't Print. Off., Wash.,

D. C. 156pp.

78 USGS (U. S. Geological Survey). 1981. Water resources data Georgia -

water year 1980. Data rept. GA-80-1, Water Res. Div., Doraville,

GA. 4 55pp.

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water year 1981. Data rept. GA-81-1, Water Res. Div., Doraville,

GA. 446 pp.

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GA. 390pp.

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water year 1983.. Data rept. GA-83-1, Water Res. Div., Doraville,

'GA.-' 365pp.

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Kittrell. 1964. Report on pollution of interstate waters of the

mouth of the Savannah River, Georgia-South Carolina. U. S. Dept.

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40pp+app.

79 APPENDIX

80 APPENDIX

List of tables

Table A-I. Electrofishing annual. meati number CPUE for all species from

freshwater mainstream and oxbow habitats of the Savannah River.

Table A-2. Electofishing annual mean weight CPUE for all species from

freshwater mainstream and oxbow habitats of the Savannah River.

Table A-3. Electrofishing annual mean number and weight CPUE for all

species from the Savannah River estuary.

Table A-4. Annual angler pressure, harvest, and catch rate for

estuarine and freshwater sections of the Savannah River.

Table, A-S, Annual boat and bank effort and success for the freshwater

section of the Savannah River.

Table A-6. !Annual boat and bank harvest by species in thelestaurine

section of_ýthe Savannah River. .

Table A-7.. Annual boat and bank harvest by species in the freshwater

section of the Savannah River.

81 Table A-I. Annual mean number catch per unit effort (CPUE) for all species collected from Savannah River freshwater mainstream and oxbow habitats by electrofishing between 24 August 1981 and 03 October 1983.

CPUE (no./h)

Mainstream (2443 ha) Oxbow (868 ha) Area-weighted d Per'ent Species 1981a 19 8 2 b 19 8 3c Av 19.1a 1 98 2b 19 83c Av average (3311 ha) of total Predatory Game Fish Redfin pickerel 0.22 0.27 0.09 0.19 0.04 0.46 0.09 0.20 0.19 0.12 Chain pickerel 0.41 0.63 0.45' 0.50 1.16 3.55 5.55 3.42 1.26 0.80 Striped bass 0.04 0.04 0.71 0.27 0.05 0 0.10 0.05 0.21 0.13 Striped x white bass 0.09 0.09 0.36 0.18 0 0.12 0 0.04 0.14 0.09 Smallmouth bass 0.04 0.09 0 0.04 0 0 0 0 0.03 0.02 Largemouth bass 4.70 5.97 6.04 5.57 7.23 9.84 7.57 8.21 6.26 3.96 White crappie 0 0 0 a 0 0.04 0.18 0.07 0.02 0.01 Black crappie 0.91 0.77 0.71 0.80 0.52 1.24 0.73 0.83 0.90 0.51 Southern flounder 0.17 0 0 0.06 0 0.19 0 0.06 0.06 0.04

TOTAL 6.58 7.86 8.36 7.60 9.00 15.44 14.22 12.88 8.97 5.68

Non-Predatory Game Fish Hickory shad 0.09 0 0.11 0.07 0.14 0.06 0 0.07 0.07 0.04 American shad 0.87 2.84 2.82 2.17 0.78 0.71 0.09 0.52 1.74 1.10 00 Flier 0.43 0.04 0.32 0.22 0.14 M\ 0.09 0.19 0.08 0.25 0.62 Redbreast sunfish 13.45 29.22 22.28 21.65 16.00 25.78 13.85 18.54 20.84 13.20 Green sunfish 0 0 0.18 0.06 0 0 0 0 0.04 0.02 Pumpkinseed 0 0 0.27 0.09 0 0.41 4.16 1.52 0.47 0.30 Warmouth 0.36 0.31 0.54 0.40 1.16 2.44 4.51 2.70 1.01 0.64 Bluegill 2.07 4.42 5.55 4.01 9.44 33.43 26.40 23.09 9.02 5.71 Dollar sunfish 0.18 0.27 1.34 0.59 0.63 6.91 3.12 3.55 1.37 0.87 Redear sunfish 2.63 2.20 1.62 2.15 7.21 9.62 6.40 7.74 3.62 2.29 Spotted sunfish 1.28 3.61 2.19 2.36 0.60 1.86 0.54 1.00 2.00 1.27 Yellow perch 1.33 1.23 1.69 1.42 3.12 5.09 6.43 4.88 2.33 1.47

TOTAL 22.69 44.14 38.68 35.17 39.16 86.56 66.12 63.94 42.73 27.05

Non-Predatory Food Fish American eel 3.56 3.55 4.61 3.91 5.96 7.07 4.04 5.69 4.37 2.77 Blueback herring 0.19 0.52 0.52 0.41 0.32 3.21 0.96 1.50 0.70 0.44 Common carp 0.45 0.62 0.54 0.53 2.58 2.44 2.44 2.49 1.05 0.66 Quillback 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.09 0.03 0.01 0.01 Highfin carpsucker 0.04 0.14 0.18 0.12 0 0 0 0 0.09 0.06 Creek chubsucker 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.09 0.03 0.01 0.01 Lake chubsucker 0 0 0 0 0 0.15 0 0.05 0.01 0.01 Northern hogsucker 0.23 0.54 0.09 0.29 0 0 0 0 0.21 0.13 Spotted sucker 7.84 6.24 7.96 7.35 15.91 18.64 16.51 17.02 9.88 6.26 Silver redhorse 1.06 2.27 1.12 1.48 1.28 0.93 0.10 0.77 1.30 0.82 Snail/flat bullhead 1.20 3.94 1.86 2.33 0 0.04 0.09 0.04 1.73 1.09 Yellow bullhead 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.09 0.03 0.01 0.01 Brown bullhead 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.09 0.03 0.01 0,01 Striped mullet 12.87 9.77 14.37 12.34 11.98 11.18 16.50 13.22 12.57 7.96

TOTAL 27.44 27.59 31.25 28.76 38.03 43.66 41.00 40.89 31.95 20.24 Table A-i. (cont'd)

CPUE (no./h) Mainstream (2443 ha) Oxbow (868 ha) Area-weighted d Percent

Species9a 1982 19 8 3 c Av 1981 1 98 2b 158 3c Av average (3311 ha) of total Predatory Food Fish Spotted/Florida gar 0.21 0.12 0.23 0.19 1.70 1.90 1.54 1.72 0.59 0.37 Longnose gar 0.46 1.10 0.77 0.77 1.38 1.63 2.95 1.98 1.09 0.60 Bowfin 3.76 3.70 3.70 3.72 7.28 7.83 9.10 8.07 4.86 3.08 White catfish 0.22 0.26 0.86 0.45 0.37 0.27 1.10 0.58 0.48 0.30 Channel catfish 0.43 0.61 1.18 0.74 0.19 0.69 1.01 0.63 0.71 0.45 Atlantic needlefish 0 0 0.18 0.06 0 0 0.28 0.09 0.07 0.04

TOTAL 5.08 5.79 5.92 5.93 10.92 12.32 15.98 13.07 7.80 4.93

Forage Fish Gizzard shad 2.20 2.27 0.98 1.81 12.86 18.80 9.98 13.88 4.98 3.15 Threadfin shad 0 0 0.09 0.03 0 1.45 10.00 3.82 1.02 .0.65 Golden shiner 0.07 0.07 0.05 0.07 0.32 1.18 0.99 0.83 0.27 0.17 Other minnows 49.81 76.11 43.17 56.36 18.36 38.71 9.51 22.20 47.41 30.02 0oWa tladtom spp. 0.04 20.58 0.23 6.95 0 8.05 0 2.63 5.83 3.69 Swampfish 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.09 0.03 0.01 0.01 Pirate perch 0.09 0.54 2.41 1.01 0 0.52 0.38 0.30 0.82 0.52 Topminnow spp. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.26 0.09 0.02 0.01 Killifish spp. 0.04 0 0 .0.01 0 0.83 0.53 0.45 0.13 0.08 Mosquitofish 0.15 0.45 0 0.20 0 3.48 3.54 2.34 0.76 0.48 Silversides spp. 1.59 2.55 1.84 1.99 5.27 7.88 4.98 6.04 3.06 1.94 Banded sunfish 0.07 0 0 0.02 0 0 0 0 0.02 0.01 Bluespotted sunfish 0 0 0.09 0.03 0 0 0 0 0.02 0.01 Darter spp. 1.12 1.47 2.39 1.66 0 0.17 1.38 0.52 1.36 0.86 Irish pompano 0 0 0 0 0 0.09 0 0.03 0.01 0.01 Spotfin mojarra 0 0.05 0 0.02 0.24 0.18 0 0.14 0.05 0.03 Mountain mullet 0 0.36 0 0.12 0 0 0 0 0.09 0.06 Goby/blenny 0 0 0 0 0 0.09 0 0.03 0.01 0.01 Hogchoker 0.20 0.48 1.34 0.67 0.71 0.23 0.40 0.44 0.61 0.39

TOTAL 55.38 104.93 52.59 70.96 37.76 81.66 42.04 53.82 66.48 42.10

TOTAL ALL SPECIES 117.17 190.31 137.80 148.42 134.87 239.64 179.36 184.62 157.93 100.00

aRepresents two sampling intervals 24 Aug 81 - 2 Oct 81 and 5 Nov 81 - 8 Jan 82.

bRepresents two sampling intervals 24 Jun 82 - 20 Jul 82 and 2 Oct 82 - 6 Dec 82.

CRepresents one sampling interval 18 Aug 83 - 3 Oct 83.

dRepresents freshwater river area from river km 40.2 upstream to the New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam (river km 301.2). Table A-2. Annual mean weight catch per unit effort (CPUE) for all species collected from Savannah River freshwater mainstream and oxbow habitats by electrofishing between 24 August 1981 and 03 October 1983 T (trace) denotes an insignificant value.

CPUE (kg/h) Mainstream (2,443 ha) Oxbow (868 ha) Area-weighted e1 average Percent of total Species 1981a 1 98 2 b 1983c AV 1981 19 8 2 b 1983 Av (3,311 ha)d Predatory Game Fish Redfin pickerel T T T T T 0.01 0.01 0.01 T T Chain pickerel 0.08 0.08 0.06 0.07 0.33 0.69 1.03 0.69 0.23 0.71 Striped bass 0.01 0.01 0.29 0.11 0.01 0 0.01 0.01 0.08 0.25 Striped x white bass T 0.02 0.20 0.07 0 0.03 0 0.01 0.06 0.18 Smallmouth bass 0.01 0.01 0 0.01 0 0 0 0 T T Largemouth bass 1.25 1.37 0.94 1.19 1.97 2.12 1.47 1.85 1.36 4.19 White crappie 0 0 0 0 0 T 0.01 0.01 T T Black crappie 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.08 0.11 0.15 0.11 0.10 0.31 Southern flounder 0.06 0 0 0.02 0 T 0 T 0.01 0.03

TOTAL 1.51 1.59 1.59 1.57 2.39 2.96 2.68 2.69 1.84 5.67

Non-Predatory Game Fish Hickory shad T 0 T T T T 0 T T T American shad T 0.05 0.01 0.02 T 0.01 T T 0.02 0.06 Flier 0.03 T 0.01 0.01 T 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.03 Redbreast sunfish .0.42 0.93 0.80 0.72 0.29 0.63 0.46 0.46 0.65 2.00 Green sunfish 0 0 T T 0 0 0 0 T T Pumpkinseed 0 0 T T 0 0.01 0.09 0.03 0.01 0.03 Warmouth 0.01 0.01 0.02 0.01 0.03 0.08 0.26 0.12 0.04 0.12 Bluegill 0.05 0.14 0.25 0.15 0.47 1.00 1,37 0.95 0.36 1.11 Dollar sunfish T T 0.01 T T 0.05 0.03 0.03 0.01 0.03 Redear sunfish 0.34 0.27 0.21 0.27 0.31 0.67 0.64 0.54 0.34 1.05 Spotted sunfish 0.03 0.09 0.07 0.06 0.01 0.06 0.03 0.03 0.06 0.18 Yellow perch 0.05 0.06 0.11 0.07 0.08 0.22 0.31 0.20 0.11 0.34

TOTAL 0.93 1.55 1.49 1.31 1.19 2.74 3.20 2.37 1.61 4.95

Non-Predatory Food Fish American eel 0.45 0.62 0.78 0.62 1.39 1.48 1.19 1.36 0.81 2.50 Blueback herring T T T T T 0.01 T T T T Common carp 2.50 2.74 2.85 2.70 12.74 12.42 14.18 13.11 5.43 16.72 T Quillback 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.05 0.02 T Highfin carpsucker 0.03 0.07 0.11 0.07 0 0 0 0 0.05 0.15 Creek chubsucker 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.01 T T T Lake chubsucker 0 0 0 0 0 0.03 0 0.01 T T Northern hogsucker 0.02 0.04 0.01 0.02 0 0 0 0 0.02 0.06 Spotted sucker 5.27 4.65 6.60 5.51 7.27 9.14 9.09 8.50 6.29 19.37 Silver redhorse 0.78 1.86 0.95 1.20 0.87 0.71 0.09 0.55 1.03 3.17 Snail/flat bullhead 0.05 0.14 0.07 0.09 0 0.02 T 0.01 0.06 0.18 Yellow bullhead 0 0 0 0 0 0.01 0.01 0.01 T T Brown bullhead 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.06 0.02 T T Striped mullet 4.17 3.14 4.14 3.82 3.78 3.64 5.65 4.36 3.96 12.20

TOTAL 13.27 13.26 15.51 14.03 26.05 27.46 30.33 27.95 17.65 54.35 Table A-2. (cont'd)

CPUE (kq/h)

(2,443 ha) Oxbow (868 ha) Area-weighted Mainstream a a b ' caveraged =,- e nt a b 19 c Av a b 1983c Av (3,311 ha) Species 1 98 1 1 98 2 8 3 1 98 1 1 98 2 ": 'otal

Predatory Food Fish Spotted/Florida gar 0.12 0.03 0.25 0.14 0.59 1.03 0.53 0.72 0.29 ).89 Longnose gar 0.52 1.21 0.25 0.66 0.57 0.86 1.10 0.84 0.71 2.19 Bowfin 6.84 6.53 7.72 7.03 11.03 12.84 15.17 13.01 8.60 25.49 White catfish 0.13 0.15 0.13 0.14 0.21 0.04 0.34 0.20 0.15 3.46 Channel catfish 0.26 0.48 1.07 0.60 0.12 1.21 0.16 0.50 0.57 1.76 Atlantic needlefish 0 0 T T 0 0 T T T T

TOTAL 7.87 8.40 9.42 8.57 12.52 15.98 17.30 15.27 10.32 -1.79

Forage Fish Gizzard shad 0.55 0.76 0.21 0.51 2.41 2.13 1.81 2.12 0.93 2.87 Threadfin shad 0 0 T T 0 0.01 0.04 0.02 T T Golden shiner T T T T T 0.03 0.05 0.03 0.01 0.93 0.04 0.34 Cro Other minnows 0.10 0.21 0.10 0.14 0.04 0.06 0.05 0.11 Madtom spp. T T T T 0 T 0 T T T Swampfish 0 0 0 0 0 0 T T T T Pirate perch T T 0.01 T 0 T T T T T Topminnow spp. 0 0 0 0 0 0 T T T T Killifish spp. T 0 0 T 0 T T T T T Mosquitofish T T 0 T 0 T T T T T Silversides spp. T T T T T T T T T T Banded sunfish T 0 0 T 0 0 0 0 T T Bluespotted sunfish 0 0 T T 0 0 0 0 T T Darter spp. T 0.01 0.01 0.01 0 T T T T T Irish pompano 0 0 0 0 0 T 0 T T T Spotfin mojarra 0 T 0 T T T 0 T T T Mountain mullet 0 T 0 T 0 0 0 0 T T Goby/blenny 0 0 0 0 0 T 0 T T T Hogchoker T T 0.01 T T T T T T T

TOTAL 0.65 0.98 0.34 0.66 2.45 2.23 1.94 2.22 1.05 3.24

TOTAL ALL SPECIES 24.23 25.78 28.35 26.14 44.60 51.37 55.45 50.50 32.47 '10.00

- aRepresents two sampling intervals 24 Aug 81 2 Oct 81 and 5 Nov 81 - 8 Jan 82. bRepresents two sampling intervals 24 Jun 82 - 20 Jul 82 and 2 Oct 82 - 6 Dec 82. cRepresents one sampling interval 18 Aug 83 - 3 Oct 83. dRepresents freshwater river area from river km 40.2 upstream to the New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam (river km 301.2). Table A-3. Mean annual catch per unit effort for all species collected from the Savannah River estuarya by electrofishing, 24 August 1981 through 03 October 1983.

Catch per unit effort Percent of Total

1981b 1982c 1 9 8 3 d Average By By Species No./h Kg/h No./h Kg/h No./h Kg/h No./h Kg/h Number Weight

Predatory Game Fish Tarpon 0 0 0.09 0.01 0 0 0.04 T 0.04 T Chain pickerel 0.10 0.06 0 0 0 0 0.04 0.02 0.04 0.04 Striped bass 0.95 0.69 0.69 1.35 0.17 0.01 0.69 0.82 0.76 1.66 Hybrid striped x white 1.00 1.32 2.67 1.62 0.33 0.06 1.53 1.19 1.69 2.41 Largemouth bass 5.20 2.07 5.65 1.88 9.17 3.78 6.17 2.33 6.81 4.71 Black crappie 0.50 0.10 0.78 0.25 3.50 0.68 1.21 0.28 1.34 0.57 Bluefish 0 0 0.13 T 0 0 0.05 T 0.06 T Crevalle jack 1.00 0.07 0.47 0.02 1.17 0.05 0.82 0.04 0.91 0.08 Gray snapper 1.20 0.03 0.13 0.01 0 0 0.53 0.01 0.58 0.02 Spotted seatrout 1.43 1.44 0 0 0 0 0.57 0.58 0.63 1.17 Red drum 0.76 2.19 0.19 0.08 0.17 0.11 0.41 0.93 0.45 1.88 Southern flounder 2.18 0.10 2.66 0.16 2.33 0.07 2.40 0.12 2.65 0.24

0o TOTAL 14.32 8.07 13.46 5.38 16.84 4.76 14.46 6.32 15.96 12.78

Non-Predatory Game Fish Hickory shad 0.04 T 0.24 0.01 0.33 0.01 0.17 T 0.19 T American shad 0.12 T 0.53 T 0 0 0.26 T 0.29 T Redbreast sunfish 0.80 0.05 1.23 0.06 5.50 0.39 1.91 0.12 2.11 0.24 Bluegill 0.80 0.09 1.27 0.27 1.17 0.16 1.06 0.18 1.17 0.37 Redear sunfish 1.00 0.17 0.45 0.13 0.17 0.04 0.61 0.12 0.67 0.24 Sheepshead 0.30 0.05 0 0 0 0 0.12 0.02 0.13 0.04 Pinfish 0.18 0.01 0 0 0.17 0.01 0.10 T 0.11 T Spot 2.11 0.06 5.27 0.09 2.50 0.04 3.45 0.07 3.81 0.14 Sciaenidae 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

TOTAL 5.35 0.43 8.99 0.56 9.84 0.65 7.68 0.51 8.48 1.03

Non-Predatory Food Fish American eel 3.58 0.67 0.89 0.16 2.17 0,27 2.22 0.38 2.45 0.77 Blueback herring 0.35 T 0.09 T 0 0 0.17 T 0.19 T Common carp 4.23 15.78 4.63 19.03 4.33 17.12 4.41 17.35 4.87 35.10 Spotted sucker 0 0 0.11 0.09 0 0 0.04 0.04 0,04 0.08 Silver redhorse 0.10 0.17 0.25 0.32 0 0 0.14 0.20 0.15 0.41 Striped mullet 25.65 5.63 50.28 11.52 33.67 7.12 37.10 8.28 40.94 16.75

TOTAL 33.91 22.25 56.25 31.12 40.17 24.51 44.08 26.25 48.64 53.11 Table A-3. (cont 'd)

Catch per unit effort 19b 192c §3d Average Percent of Total 198 1 192 ABy By Species No./h Kg/h No./h Kg/h No./h Kg/h No./h Kg/h Number Weight

Predatory Food Fish Spotted/Florida gar 3.00 1.18 1.67 0.70 5.17 2.37 2.90 1.22 3.20 2.47 Longnose gar 1.20 0.33 1.12 0.32 3.17 0.90 1.56 0.44 1.72 0.89 Bowfin 6.00 9.06 4.26 7.52 9.50 15.06 6.00 9.64 6.62 19.50 Ladyfish 0.08 0.01 0.28 0.04 0 0 0.14 0.02 0.15 0.04 White catfish 4.00 1.01 1.99 0.35 2.50 1.45 2.90 0.83 3.20 1.68 Channel catfish 4.50 4.57 3.58 3.33 6.00 3.74 4.43 3.91. 4.89 7.91 Atlantic needlefish 0 0 0.15 T 0 0 0.06 T 0.07 T Leatherjacket 0.10 T 0 0 0 0 0.04 T 0.04 T

TOTAL 18.88 16.16 13.05 12.26 26.34 23.52 18.03 16.06 19.89 32.49

Forage Fish Atlantic menhaden 0.70 0.02 1.18 0.06 0 0 0.75 0.03 0.83 0.06 Gizzard shad 0.93 0.33 0.92 0.12 1.50 0.27 1.04 0.23 1.15 0.47 Threadfin shad 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0----. ... Minnows spp. 0.60 T 0.22 T 0 0 0.33 T 0.36 T Bay anchovy 0.80 T 0.55 T 0.17 T 0.57 T 0.63 T Golden shiner 0 0 0.26 0.02 0.33 0.02 0.17 0.01 0.19 0.02 Killifish spp. 0.30 T 0 0 0.17 T 0.15 T 0.17 T Silversides spp. 0.10 T 0.84 0.01 1.17 T 0.61 T 0.67 T Darter spp. 0.20 T 0 0 0 0 0.08 T 0.09 T Irish pompano 0.31 0.01 0.96 0.02 0.17 T 0.54 0.01 0.60 0.02 Spotfin mojarra 1.19 0.01 3.23 0.03 0 0 1.76 0.01 1.94 0.02 Silver jenny 0.10 T 0 0 0 0 0.04 T 0.04 T Goby/blenny 0.30 T 0.53 T 0 0 0.33 T 0.36 T

TOTAL 5.53 0.37 8.69 0.26 3.51 0.29 6.37 0.29 7.03 0.59

TOTAL ALL SPECIES 77.99 47.28 100.44 49.58 96.70 53.73 90.62 49.43 100.00 100.00 asample area from river km 17.7 to 40.2 (1,515 ha). Total estuarine area from river km 0 to 40.2 is 3,484 ha. bRepresents sampling periods 24 Aug 81 - 02 Oct 81 and 05 Nov 81 - 08 Jan 82,

CRepresents sampling periods 24 Jun 82 - 20 Jul 82 and 02 Oct 82 - 06 Dec 82. dRepresents sampling period 18 Aug 83 - 03 Oct 83. Table A-4. Yearly estimates of pressure, harvest, and catch rate from the estuarine and freshwater sections of the Savannah River, 29 December 1979 through 24 December 1982.

River Survey Fishing Trips Angler Hours Fishing Pressure Fish Harvest Catch Rate Section year No. SEa No. SEa Trips/hab Hours/hac No. SEa Kg SEa No./hc Kg/hc

Estuary 1980 NE NE 67,842 7,292 NE 26.6 55,194 9,198 16,236 1,911 0.81 0.24 (3.024 ha) 1981 NE NE 56,345 5,007 NE 18.6 23,386 4,708 10,159 1,998 0.41 0.18 1982 NE NE 58,704 13,078 NE 19.4 37,045 9,615 14,816 4,750 0.63 0.25

Average NE NE 60,964 5,263 NE 20.2 38,542 4,705 13,737 1,832 0.63 0.23

Freshwater Section 1 1980 31,807 5,103 145.720 30,074 16.2 74.2 197,237 40,587 34,106 7,300 1.35 0.23 (1,476 ha) 1981 22,495 2,550 110,719 15,000 15.2 75.0 61,429 12,223 19,491 3,960 0.55 0.18 1982 19,875 2,795 95,896 12,420 13.5 65.0 47,709 9,791 14,615 2,832 0.50 0.15

Average 24,726 2,118 117,445 11,943 16.8 79.6 102,125 14,501 22,737 2,925 0.87 0.19

Section 11 1980 46,144 6,027 206,590 36,004 21.4 95.8 353,045 84,838 69,575 15,460 1.71 0.34 (2,158 ha) 1981 32,236 2,824 141,257 13,915 14.9 65.4 134,061 17,920 32,577 4,666 0.95 0.23 1982 42,089 5,625 158,464 19,503 19.5 73.4 123,852 11,575 34,446 7,306 0.78 0.22

Average 40,156 2,905 168,770 14,416 18.6 78.2 203,653 29,160 45,533 5,908 1.21 0.27

Combined average 64,882 3,595 347,179 19,446 17.9 52.2 344,320 32,905 82,007 6,842 .85 0.23 for all years aApproximate standard error. bFreshwater section only; combined average for all years is a weighted mean. CCombined average for all years is a weighted mean. Table A-5. Unexpanded proportional list of "other" species recorded in the Savannah River creel survey, 29 December 1979 through 24 December 1982.

Estuary Freshwater Percent Percent Species By Numbera Species By Numbera Hardhead catfish 30.6 Striped mullet 39.2 Bluefish 19.7 American eel 20.2 Channel catfish 14.8 Bowfin 19.0 American eel 9.1 Flier 10.5 -Striped mullet 9.0 Sucker spp. 3.8 Black drum 3.8 Croaker 2.3 Sheepshead 2.9 Golden'shiner 0.9 Largemouth bass 2.6 Common carp 0.8 Stingray 1.3 Yellowtail 0.8 Crappie spp. 1.2 Spot 0.6 Gafftopsail catfish 0.9 Gar spp. 0.5 Toadfish spp. 0.9 Bluefish 0.3 Black sea bass 0.8 Redfin pickerel 0.2 Bluegill 0.6 Flounder c 0.2 Redbreast sunfish 0.4 Miscellaneous species 0.7 Miscellaneous species 1.4 100.0 100.0

.apercentages are based on unexpanded creel data. bEstuarine misc. species includes: Shark spp., Shortnose sturgeon, Atlantic sturgeon, Ladyfish, Bowfin, Blueback herring, Atlantic menhaden, Common carp, Crevalle jack, Pigfish, and Kingfish spp. cFreshwater misc. species includes: Tarpon, Chubsucker spp., White bass, Green sunfish, Pumpkinseed, Gray snapper, and Red drum.

89 Table A-6. Annual estimates of harvest by species creeled from boat and bank fishing in the estuarine sectiona of the Savannah River.

Calendar Numbers Kilograms Year Species Boat Bank % Boat % Bank

CY 80 Striped bass 966 4..5 637 2.0 1,087 13.7 861 9.4 Striped x white bass 222 1.0 279 0.9 192 2.4 330 3.6 Spotted seatrout 3,106 14.6 1,500 4.8 1,385 17.4 823 9.0 Red drum 2,046 9.6 1,940 6.2 1,442 18.1 1,277 14.0 Silver perch 1,381 6.5 4,913 15.7 174 2.2 335 3.7 Croaker/spot 5,323 24.9 4,645 14.8 573 7.2 878 9.6 Flounder 697 3.3 531 1.7 179 2.3 292 3.2 11hite catfish 4,668 21.9 5,226 16.6 1,973 24.8 2,052 22.4 American shad NE --- NE --- NE --- NE --- Others 2,920 13.7 11,707 37.3 943 11.9 2,291 25.1 Total 21,329 100.0 31,378 100.0 7,948 100.0 9,139 100.0 CY 81 Striped bass 1,163 8.2 75 0.8 2,114 27.6 52 2.1 Striped X white bass 154 1.1 6 0.1 158 2.1 4 0.2 Spotted seatrout 1,155 8.1 796 8.7 598 7.8 322 12.9 Red drum 605 4.3 610 6.6 846 11.0 265 10.6 Silver perch 980 6.9 855 9.3 111 1.4 68 2.7 Croaker/spot 2,254 15.9 2,793 30.3 410 5.4 389 15.6 Flounder 264 1.9 412 4.5 115 1.5 344 13.8 White catfish 5,296 37.3 1,758 19.1 2,309 30.1 445 17.9 American shad NE --- NE --- NE --- NE --- Others 2.314 16.3 1.899 20.6 1,005 13.1 603 24.2 Total 14,185 100.0 9,204 100.0 7,666 100.0 2,492 100.0 CY 82 Striped bass 753 5.8 55 0.2 777 8.1 12 0.2 Striped x white bass 303 2.3 95 0.4 294 3.1 40 0.8 Spotted seatrout 2,525 19.4 1,887 7.9 850 8.9 635 12.1 Red drum 1,132 8.7 251 1.0 1,213 12.7 174 3.3 Silver perch 105 0.8 3,562 14.8 89 0.9 357 6.8 Croaker/spot 1,667 12.8 7,542 31.4 459 4.8 1,299 24.7 Flounder 255 2.0 499 2.1 241 2.5 233 4.4 White catfish 2,754 21.1 1,478 6.2 936 9.8 378 7.2 Black drumb 824 6.3 870 3.6 3,237 33.9 360 6.9 Others 2,716 20.8 7,772 32.4 1,462 15.3 1,768 33.6 Total 13,034 100.0 24,011 100.0 '9,558 100.0 5,256 100.0

aportion of river downstream of U.S. Highway 17. bBlack drum was substituted for American shad in 1982. Black drum creeled in 1980 and 1981 were included in "others" category.

90 Table A-7. Annual estimates of harvest by species creeled from boat and bank fishing in the freshwater sectiona of the Savannah River.

Calendar Numbers Kilograms Year Species Boat % Bank % Boat % Bank

CY 80 Striped bass 1,057 0.2 89 0.1 6,131 6.5 129 1.3 Hybrid striped bass 253 T 143 0.2 250 0.3 223 2.2 Bluegill 155,471 31.8 5,196 8.5 20,115 21.5 426 4.2 Redbreast sunfish 144,839 29.6 6,468 10.5 21,099 22.5 882 8.7 Warmouth 43,387 8.9 15,041 24.5 6,334 6.8 2.184 21.7 Redear sunfish 24,745 5.0 532 0.9 5,084 5.4 174 1.7 Spotted sunfish 5,217 1.1 910 1.5 524 0.6 49 0.5 Largenmouth bass 11,823 2.4 1.828 3.0 6.759 7.2 804 8.0 Crappie spp. 33.574 6.9 611 1.0 7,122 7.6 149 1.5 Yellow perch 5,170 1.1 8,048 13.1 764 0.8 1,144 11.4 Channel catfish 18,011 3.7 976 1.6 5,735 6.1 81 0.8 White catfish 5,766 1.2 175 0.3 1,960 2.1 21 0.2 Bullhead spp. 24,022 4.9 15,322 24.9 4,236 4.5 1,322 13.1 American shad 84 ., T 349 0.6 165 0.2 465 4.6 Chain pickerel 4,217 0.9 2,206 3.6 1,960 2.1 402 4.0 Others 11,201 2.3 3,494 5.7. 5,460 5.8 1,618 16.0

Total 488,837 100.0 61,388 100.0 93,698 100.0 10,073 100.0

CY 81 Striped bass 297 0.2 177 0.8 455 1.1 851 8.9 Hybrid s~tiped bass 673 0.4 200 0.9 961 2.3 356 3.7 Bluegill 26,463 15.3 .2.718 11.7 3,546 8.3 250 2.6 Redbreast sunfish 46,869 27.1 6,033 25.9 5,828 13.7 601 6.3 Warmouth.. 3,575 2.1 376 1.6. 573 1.3 90 0.9 Redear sunfish 10,243 5.9 154 0.7 1,981 4.7 39 0.4 Spotted sunfish 1,342 0.8 103 0.4 97 0.2 5 0.1 Largemouth bass 8,621 5.0 518 2.2 5,127 12.1 277 2.9 Crappie spp. 22,053 12.8 39 0.2 4,534 10.7 8 0.1 Yellow perch 2,820 1.6 3,987 17.1 481 1.1 481 5.0 Channel catfish 6,850 4.0 739 3.2 3,769 8.9 81 0.8 White catfish 5,231 3.0 602 2.6 1,791 4.2 102 1.1 Bullhead spp. 18,603 10.8 2,585 11.1 3,143 7.4 422 4.4 American shad 582 0.3 3,540 15.2 802 1.9 4,982 52.1 Chain pickerel 1,897 1.1 399 1.7 740 1.7 306 3.2 Others 16,684 9.6 1,089 4.7 8,667 Z0.4 721 7.5

Total 172,803 100.0 23,259 100.0 42,495 100.0 9,572 100.0

CY 82 Striped bass 156 0.1 79 0.3 127 0.4 277 2.3 Hybrid striped bass 494 0.3 766 2.5 553 1.5 1,897 15.9 Bluegill 27,230 19.2 3,796 12.5 3,278 9.0 278 2.3 Redbreast sunfish 37,605 26.5 8,017 26.3 3,588 9.9 473 4.0 Warmouth 4,030 2.8 166 0.5 654 1.8 25 0.2 Redear sunfish 4,896 3.4 33 0.1 758 2.1 6 0.1 Spotted sunfish 1,923 1.4 159 0.5 174 0.5 16 0.1 Largemouth bass 6,604 4.7 81 0.3 2,846 7.9 1,229 10.3 Crappie spp. 17,056 12.0 66 0.2 3,005 8.3 8 0.1 Yellow perch 1,272 0.9 6,266 20.6 161 0.4 898 7.5 Channel catfish 11,017 7.8 822 2.7 2,620 7.2 144 1.2 White catfish 6,027 4.3 1,179 3.9 2,288 6.3 96 .8 Bullhead spp. 12,531 8.8 2,830 9.3 1,936 5.3 203 1.7 American shadb 7,034 5.0 4,171 13.7 10,830 29.9 5,197 43.6 Chain pickerel 405 0.3 97 0.3 275 O.B 33 0.3 Others 3,529 2.5 1,935 6.3 3,169 8.7 1,145 9.6

Total 141,809 100.0 30,463 100.0 36,262 100.0 11,925 100.0

aFrom Highway 17 bridge at Port Wentworth to the New Savannah Bluff Lock & Dam near Augusta, Ga. bOnly Section 61.

91