Saldanha Bay and Langebaan Lagoon
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State of the Bay 2006: Saldanha Bay and Langebaan Lagoon Technical Report Prepared by: L. Atkinson, K. Hutchings, B. Clark, J. Turpie, N. Steffani, T. Robinson & A. Duffell-Canham Prepared for: Saldanha Bay Water Quality Trust August 2006 Photograph by: Lyndon Metcalf Anchor Environmental Consultants CC STATE OF THE BAY 2006: SALDANHA BAY AND LANGEBAAN LAGOON TECHNICAL REPORT Prepared by: L. Atkinson, K. Hutchings, B. Clark, J. Turpie, N. Steffani, T. Robinson & A. Duffell-Canham AUGUST 2006 Prepared for: Copies of this report are available from: Anchor Environmental Consultants CC PO Box 34035, Rhodes Gift 7707 Tel/Fax: ++27-21-6853400 E-mail: [email protected] http://www.uct.ac.za/depts/zoology/anchor TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY...........................................................................................................................................5 1 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................................10 2 STRUCTURE OF THIS REPORT..................................................................................................................13 3 BACKGROUND TO ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING ..............................................................................14 3.1 MECHANISMS FOR MONITORING CONTAMINANTS AND THEIR EFFECTS ON THE ENVIRONMENT........................14 4 RANKING SYSTEM.......................................................................................................................................17 5 WATER QUALITY .........................................................................................................................................19 5.1 WATER TEMPERATURE ............................................................................................................................19 5.2 SALINITY ................................................................................................................................................21 5.3 DISSOLVED OXYGEN................................................................................................................................23 5.4 CURRENTS AND WAVES ...........................................................................................................................25 5.5 MICROBIOLOGICAL MONITORING...............................................................................................................27 5.6 HEAVY METAL CONTAMINANTS ................................................................................................................31 5.7 SUMMARY OF WATER QUALITY IN SALDANHA BAY AND LANGEBAAN LAGOON..............................................33 6 SEDIMENTS ..................................................................................................................................................34 6.1 SEDIMENT PARTICLE SIZE (MUD – SAND – GRAVEL)..................................................................................34 6.2 PARTICULATE ORGANIC CARBON (POC) AND NITROGEN (PON)................................................................36 6.3 TRACE METALS .......................................................................................................................................40 6.4 HYDROCARBONS.....................................................................................................................................41 6.5 SUMMARY OF SEDIMENT HEALTH STATUS OF SALDANHA BAY .....................................................................46 7 BENTHIC MACROFAUNA ............................................................................................................................47 8 INTERTIDAL INVERTEBRATES (ROCKY SHORES)..................................................................................55 8.1 HISTORICAL STUDIES...............................................................................................................................55 8.2 BASELINE STUDY CONDUCTED IN 2005.....................................................................................................60 8.2.1 Findings of the Baseline Survey 2005 .............................................................................................63 9 FISH COMMUNITY COMPOSITION AND ABUNDANCE ............................................................................65 9.1 SEINE NET SURVEYS................................................................................................................................65 9.2 GILL NET SAMPLING.................................................................................................................................71 9.3 ROTENONE SAMPLING OF CRYPTIC FISHES................................................................................................71 9.4 OVERALL STATUS OF FISH IN SALDANHA BAY AND LANGEBAAN LAGOON.....................................................72 10 BIRDS .......................................................................................................................................................74 10.1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................................74 10.2 BIRDS OF SALDANHA BAY AND THE ISLANDS .............................................................................................74 10.2.1 National importance of Saldanha Bay and the islands for birds..................................................74 10.2.2 Ecology and status of the principle bird groups ..........................................................................75 10.3 BIRDS OF LANGEBAAN LAGOON ...............................................................................................................81 10.3.1 National importance of Langebaan Lagoon for birds ..................................................................81 10.3.2 The main groups of birds and their use of habitats and food......................................................82 10.3.3 Interannual variability in bird numbers ........................................................................................84 10.4 OVERALL STATUS OF BIRDS IN SALDANHA BAY AND LANGEBAAN LAGOON...................................................85 11 MANAGEMENT AND MONITORING RECOMMENDATIONS.................................................................86 11.1 WATER QUALITY .....................................................................................................................................86 11.1.1 Temperature, Salinity and Dissolved Oxygen.............................................................................86 11.1.2 Chlorophyll a and Nutrients.........................................................................................................86 11.1.3 Currents and waves ....................................................................................................................86 11.1.4 Microbiological monitoring (Faecal coliform)...............................................................................86 11.2 SEDIMENTS ............................................................................................................................................87 11.2.1 Particle size, Particulate Organic Carbon and Trace metals.......................................................87 11.2.2 Hydrocarbons..............................................................................................................................87 11.3 BENTHIC MACROFAUNA ...........................................................................................................................87 11.4 ROCKY INTERTIDAL .................................................................................................................................87 11.5 FISH.......................................................................................................................................................87 11.6 BIRDS ....................................................................................................................................................88 12 REFERENCES..........................................................................................................................................90 APPENDIX I: Percentage cover of intertidal species at eight study sites in Saldanha Bay region APPENDIX II: Detailed descriptions of rocky intertidal fauna and flora occurring at eight sampling stations in Saldanha Bay, 2005 and statistical analyses. APPENDIX III: Number and mass of fish caught in seine net hauls in Saldanha Bay and Langebaan Lagoon, October 2005. Anchor Environmental Consultants CC EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Regular, long-term environmental monitoring is essential to identify and to act pro-actively in minimising negative human impacts on the environment (e.g. pollution), and in so doing maintain the beneficial value of an area for all users. This is particularly pertinent to an area such as Saldanha Bay –Langebaan Lagoon, which serves as a major industrial node and port while at the same time supporting important tourism and fishing industries. The development of the Saldanha Bay port has significantly altered the physical structure and hydrodynamics of the Bay, whilst all developments within the area (industrial, residential, tourism etc) has the potential to negatively impact on ecosystem health. Various methods are available to monitor the health of the environment, including measuring of physical