THE EFFECT of SEWAGE EFFLUENT on ROCKY REEF FISH in NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA. Adam Kingsley Smith a Thesis for the Degree of D
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THE EFFECT OF SEWAGE EFFLUENT ON ROCKY REEF FISH IN NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA. Adam Kingsley Smith A thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, University of New South Wales, 1998. U N S W 2 1 SEP 201)0 LIBRARY TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i ABSTRACT ii LIST OF TABLES iv LIST OF FIGURES xi CHAPTER 1. GENERAL INTRODUCTION 1 SEWAGE OUTFALLS IN NSW 1 TEMPERATE ROCKY REEF FISH IN NSW 3 THE IMPACTS OF SEWAGE POLLUTION ON FISH 5 OUTLINE OF RESEARCH 6 PUBLICATION OF RESULTS 7 REFERENCES 8 CHAPTER 2. IMPACTS OF SEWAGE POLLUTION ON AQUATIC HABITATS, FISH AND FISHERIES - A REVIEW 17 ABSTRACT 17 INTRODUCTION 18 OVERVIEW OF LARGE-SCALE IMPACTS OF SEWAGE POLLUTION 20 IMPACTS OF SEWAGE DISPOSAL ON AQUATIC HABITATS 20 Physico-chemical impacts on water 21 Soft sediment biota and habitats 22 2 Rock and coral habitats 23 Vegetated biota and habitats 23 IMPACTS OF SEWAGE DISPOSAL ON FISH 25 Mortality of fish 26 Physiological effects on fish 27 Effects on fish communities 28 IMPACTS OF SEWAGE DISPOSAL ON FISHERIES 29 Commercial and recreational fisheries 29 Aquaculture 32 CASE STUDY- SEWAGE OUTFALLS IN NSW, AUSTRALIA 33 Description 33 Monitoring 33 Detection of effects 34 Reporting 34 Management of the environmental health 34 RESEARCH ISSUES 35 Recommended research to detect impacts of sewage pollution 37 Aquatic habitats 37 Fish 37 Fisheries 37 MANAGEMENT ISSUES 38 CONCLUSIONS 40 REFERENCES 41 3 CHAPTER 3. A BASELINE SURVEY OF FISH AND MACROBENTHIC ASSEMBLAGES AT TWO SEWAGE OUTFALLS IN THE ILLAWARRA COASTAL ZONE 56 ABSTRACT 56 INTRODUCTION 57 Ecology of fish and macrobenthos from rocky reefs 57 Impacts of sewage on fish and macrobenthos 59 METHODS 60 Site descriptions 60 Bellambi study 61 Port Kembla study 61 Survey methodology 61 Analysis of fish 63 Analysis of macrobethos 64 RESULTS 64 Fish assemblages in the Bellambi study 64 Fish assemblages in the Port Kembla study 64 Macrobenthic assemblages in the Bellambi study 65 Macrobenthic assemblages in the Port Kembla study 66 DISCUSSION 66 REFERENCES 69 4 CHAPTER 4. A BEYOND BACI SURVEY OF THE IMPACT OF SEWAGE ON FISH ASSEMBLAGES AND A SEA URCHIN IN THE HUNTER COASTAL ZONE. 75 ABSTRACT 75 INTRODUCTION 76 MATERIALS AND METHODS 77 Fish surveys 77 Multivariate analyses 78 Univariate analyses 78 RESULTS 79 Multivariate analyses of fish communities • 79 Univariate analyses of fish communities 80 DISCUSSION 81 Comparison with other studies 82 Management implications 83 CONCLUSIONS 85 REFERENCES 86 CHAPTER 5. EFFECTS OF THE SHUTDOWN OF A NEARSHORE SEWAGE OUTFALL IN SYDNEY ON ASSEMBLAGES OF TEMPERATE REEF FISHES 92 ABSTRACT 92 INTRODUCTION 92 5 METHODS 95 Study designs 95 Fish surveys . 95 Statistical analyses 96 RESULTS 97 Abundance and richness of fish 97 Multivariate analyses of fish assemblages 97 Univariate analyses of fish assemblages and species 98 DISCUSSION 99 Differences between outfall and control locations 99 Comparison to other studies 100 Future research and fisheries management 102 REFERENCES 103 CHAPTER 6. IMPACTS OF SEWAGE EFFLUENT DISCHARGE ON ABUNDANCE AND BIOMASS OF FISH ASSEMBLAGES 110 ABSTRACT 110 INTRODUCTION 111 MATERIALS AND METHODS 112 Fish surveys 112 Estimation of average weight of species 113 Multivariate analyses of fish assemblages 114 RESULTS 114 Abundance of fish 114 Biomass of fish 116 DISCUSSION 117 6 Abundance verses biomass measures 117 Indicators of sewage pollution 117 Comparison with other studies 119 Research implications 120 Management implications 121 REFERENCES 121 CHAPTER 7. CONDITION OF TWO SPECIES OF RESIDENT REEF FISH EXPOSED TO SEWAGE EFFLUENT DISCHARGE 128 ABSTRACT 128 INTRODUCTION 128 MATERIALS AND METHODS 130 Species, collection and measurements of fish 130 Statistical analyses 131 RESULTS 132 Fish characteristics 132 Condition index 132 Organ indices 133 Long-term trends 133 DISCUSSION 134 Morphometric indices in detecting sewage pollution effects 134 Organ indices in detecting sewage pollution effects 135 Research and management implications 136 REFERENCES 138 7 CHAPTER 8. EFFECTS OF SEWAGE EFFLUENT DISCHARGE ON THE ABUNDANCE, CONDITION AND MORTALITY OF HULAFISH, Trachinops taeniatus (PLESIOPIDAE). 144 ABSTRACT 144 INTRODUCTION 144 METHODS 146 Abundance of T. taeniatus 146 Condition of T. taeniatus 147 Mortality of T. taeniatus 147 RESULTS 148 Abundance of T. taeniatus 148 Condition of T. taeniatus 149 Mortality of T. taeniatus 149 DISCUSSION 150 Abundance of fish impacted by sewage 150 Condition of fish impacted by sewage 150 Mortality of fish impacted by sewage 151 Future research and management 152 REFERENCES 153 CHAPTER 9. GENERAL CONCLUSIONS 158 SURVEYS OF THE ABUNDANCE OF FISH ASSEMBLAGES 159 CONDITION OF THREE SPECIES OF FISH 161 EXPERIMENTAL MANIPULATION OF ONE SPECIES OF FISH 162 8 A MODEL OF THE IMPACTS OF SEWAGE ON TEMPERATE REEF FISH 163 FUTURE RESEARCH AND MANAGEMENT 165 REFERENCES 168 APPENDICES 172 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Dr Iain Suthers, my supervisor, encouraged me to upgrade from a MSc to a PhD and to focus on the biology of potentially stressed species of fish. His enthusiasm and ideas for additional spatial and temporal replicates and for cajoling me to take study leave from a busy job were instrumental in the completion of this thesis. I would also like to acknowledge my co-supervisor Marcus Lincoln Smith, Director of the Ecology Lab Pty Ltd, he employed me to survey fish adjacent to sewage outfalls and provided the opportunity to use this information to commence my degree. Marcus while extremely busy with his own thesis and business, has provided invaluable discussion and friendship. I would like to thank my present employer, NSW Fisheries, for granting study leave and providing me with a range of support such as library searches, permits for collecting fish and travel to conferences. I am particularly grateful to Carolyn Bland and Kathy Bown, the librarians at NSW Fisheries. The Sydney Water Board gave permission for me to use the data I collected on fish in the Sydney and lllawarra regions. The Seaworld Research and Development Corporation (Brisbane) provided financial assistance for research on the hulafish. Pat Tully designed the title page and painted the fish illustrations. Several of my chapters have been written as scientific papers and I would like to acknowledge my co authors: Danny Roberts and Penelope Ajani (Environment Protection Authority - Chapter 4), Marcus Lincoln Smith (The Ecology Lab Pty Ltd - Chapter 5), and Iain Suthers (University of NSW - Chapter 8). A number of people provided comments on draft chapters (papers), Dr David Pollard, is particularly thanked for his meticulous attention to detail. I would also like to thank Dr Tony Miskiewicz (Sydney Water), Dr Michael Kingsford (Sydney University), Dr Rodney James (NSW Fisheries), Duncan Leadbitter (Ocean Watch) and Dr Peter Scanes and Martin Krogh (Environment Protection Authority). A large number of people assisted with field and laboratory work and I would particularly like to thank Marcus Lincoln Smith, Phillip Hawes, Danny Roberts, Penelope Ajani, Ed Castro, Mitch Carpenter and Richard Piola. I would like to thank my father and mother, David and Bernadette, for developing my lifetime appreciation of the ocean and its fish and facilitating my search for knowledge. Finally, I would like to thank my wife, Elizabeth Lynch, for her encouragement, love and support. ABSTRACT Over one hundred scientific papers and reports related to the impacts of sewage on aquatic habitats, fish and fisheries are published each year, yet they are often descriptive, specific to an area or issue or suffer from poor experimental design. Research and management of sewage in NSW waters has been extensive but short-term on very large outfalls and limited on the smaller outfalls. Relocation of some shoreline outfalls in Sydney to deepwater appears to have resolved many public concerns, but there is ongoing community dissatisfaction with management of sewage. Underwater visual surveys of rocky reef fish were conducted at ocean sewage outfalls and multiple control locations within the lllawarra, Hunter and Sydney regions on the central coast of New South Wales. In the lllawarra region, fish and macrobenthos at controls and two outfalls were surveyed four times over one year. A lack of data from prior to commissioning of the outfalls prevented a rigorous test of the effects of the outfalls. In the Hunter region, however, a Before/After/Control/Impact (Beyond BAC1) experimental design could be used, providing an optimal design to detect the effects of sewage pollution contrasted against natural spatial and temporal variability in fish and a sea urchin. Both the lllawarra and Hunter studies indicated that sewage has significant impacts on assemblages and populations of rocky reef fish and selected macrobenthos. Generally there were greater abundances of Cheilodactylus fuscus (Cheilodactylidae), smaller abundances of Trachinops taeniatus (Plesiopidae), Hypoplectrodes mccullochi (Serranidae) and the sea urchin Centrostephanus rodgersii at outfalls compared to control locations. A survey of the status of fish populations following the shutdown of a large sewage outfall also indicated that fish assemblages had been significantly different at the outfall compared to cotltrol locations. It also provided information on “recovery” over a 13 month period. For example, large numbers of Acanthopagrus australis (Sparidae) were observed at the outfalls but declined after about 10 weeks. iii Total biomass of fish was estimated from data at the three regions and showed that sewage outfalls generally contained less fish but a greater biomass than the controls. This pattern was attributed to a greater proportion of large species such as Achoerodus viridis (Labridae), Acanthopagrus australis and Cheilodactylus fuscus at the outfalls, and a greater proportion of small fish such as Trachurus novaezelandiae (Carangidae) and Trachinops taeniatus at the controls. Cheilodactylus fuscus, Parma microlepis (Pomacentridae) and Trachinops taeniatus, were consistently more or less abundant adjacent to outfalls compared to controls. These species were collected from outfall and control locations in the Sydney region to investigate impacts on fish condition that could be attributed to sewage pollution.