Sediment Quality in Puget Sound Year 3 - Southern Puget Sound

As a component of a three-year cooperative effort of the Washington State Department of Ecology and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, surficial sediment samples from 100 locations in southern Puget Sound were collected in 1999 to determine their relative quality based on measures of toxicity, chemical contamination, and benthic infaunal assemblage structure. The survey encompassed an area of approximately 858 km2, ranging from East and Colvos Passages south to Oakland Bay, and including Hood Canal. Toxic responses were most severe in some of the industrialized waterways of Tacoma’s Commencement Bay. Other industrialized harbors in which sediments induced toxic responses on smaller scales included the Port of Olympia, Oakland Bay at Shelton, Gig Harbor, Port Ludlow, and Port Gamble. Based on the methods selected for this survey, the spatial extent of toxicity for the southern Puget Sound survey area was 0% of the total survey area for amphipod survival, 5.7% for urchin fertilization, 0.2% for microbial bioluminescence, and 5- 38% with the cytochrome P450 HRGS assay. Measurements of trace metals, PAHs, PCBs, chlorinated pesticides, other organic chemicals, and other characteristics of the sediments, indicated that 20 of the 100 samples collected had one or more chemical concentrations that exceeded applicable, effects-based sediment guidelines and/or Washington State standards. Chemical contamination was highest in eight samples collected in or near the industrialized waterways of Commencement Bay. Samples from the Thea Foss and Middle Waterways were primarily contaminated with a mixture of PAHs and trace metals, whereas those from Hylebos Waterway were contaminated with chlorinated organic hydrocarbons. The remaining 12 samples with elevated chemical concentrations primarily had high levels of other chemicals, including bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, benzoic acid, benzyl alcohol, and phenol. The characteristics of benthic infaunal assemblages in south Puget Sound differed considerably among locations and habitat types throughout the study area. In general, many of the small embayments and inlets throughout the study area had infaunal assemblages with relatively low total abundance, taxa richness, evenness, and dominance values, although total abundance values were very high in some cases, typically due to high abundance of one organism such as the polychaete Aphelochaeta sp. N1. The majority of the samples collected from passages, outer embayments, and larger bodies of water tended to have infaunal assemblages with higher total abundance, taxa richness, evenness, and dominance values. Two samples collected in the Port of Olympia near a superfund cleanup site had no living organisms in them. A weight-of-evidence approach used to simultaneously examine all three “sediment quality triad” parameters, identified 11 stations (representing 4.4 km2, 0.5% of the total study area) with sediment toxicity, chemical contamination, and altered benthos (i.e., degraded sediment quality), 36 stations (493.5 km2, 57.5% total study area) with no toxicity or chemical contamination (i.e., high sediment quality), 35 stations (274.1 km2, 32.0% total study area) with one impaired sediment triad parameter (i.e., intermediate/high sediment quality), and 18 stations (85.7km2, 10.0% total study area) with two impaired sediment parameters (i.e., intermediate/degraded quality sediments). Generally, upon comparison, the number of stations with degraded sediments based upon the sediment quality triad of data was slightly greater in the central Puget Sound than in the northern and southern Puget Sound study areas, with the percent of the total study area degraded in each region decreasing from central to north to south (2.8, 1.3 and 0.5%, respectively). Overall, the sediments collected in Puget Sound during the combined 1997-1999 surveys were among the least contaminated relative to other marine bays and estuaries studied by NOAA using equivalent methods. (PDF contains 351 pages)

SAIL Panama Canal Zone Project 2008 : Biological Survey of Panama (1910-1912)

During the 18th Annual 2008 SAIL meeting at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama, a suggestion was made for the need to digitize and make available through the Aquatic Commons some of the early documents related to the U.S. biological survey of Panama from 1910 to 1912. With SAIL’s endeavor, a new digital project was born and this presentation describes its process, beginning to final product. The main source consulted for determining copyright clear publications was: Heckadon-Moreno. 2004. Naturalists on the Isthmus of Panama: A hundred years of natural history on the biological bridge of the Americas. 1st English ed. Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Republic of Panama. (Document contains 26 slides)

Bibliography of the SAIL Panama Canal Zone Project 2008 : a selected bibliography.

During the 18th Annual 2008 SAIL meeting at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama, Vielka Chang-Yau, librarian, mentioned the need to digitize and make available through the Aquatic Commons some of the early documents related to the U.S. biological survey of Panama from 1910 to 1912. With the assistance of SAIL, a regional marine librarian’s group, a digital project developed and this select bibliography represents the sources used for the project. It will assist researchers and librarians in finding online open access documents written during the construction of the Panama Canal, specifically between 1910-1912. As the project progressed, other items covering the region and its biological diversity were discovered and included. The project team expects that the coverage will continue to expand over time. (PDF contains 9 pages)

Chesapeake and Delaware Canal Affects Environmental: presented at American Society of Civil Engineers National Water Resources Engineering Meeting, Phoenix, Arizona, 14 January 1971

The Chesapeake and Delaware Canal is a man-made waterway connecting the upper Chesapeake Bay with the Delaware Bay. It started in 1829 as a private barge canal with locks, two at the Delaware end, and one at the Chesapeake end. For the most part, natural tidal and non-tidal waterways were connected by short dredged sections to form the original canal. In 1927, the C and D Canal was converted to a sea-level canal, with a controlling depth of 14 feet, and a width of 150 feet. In 1938 the canal was deepened to 27 feet, with a channel width of 250 feet. Channel side slopes were dredged at 2.5:1, thus making the total width of the waterway at least 385 feet in those segments representing new cuts or having shore spoil area dykes rising above sea level. In 1954 Congress authorized a further enlargement of the Canal to a depth of 35 feet and a channel width of 450 feet. (pdf contains 27 pages)

Influence de la réouverture du canal de Bassam sur la pêcherie de crabes de Vitré II en Lagune Ebrié (Côte d'Ivoire)

This work is the result of one year of investigation from May 1987 to June 1988 among fishermen of Vitré II village located in the eastern region of the Ebrié lagoon.

The fisheries of the Leeds / Liverpool Canal

Over a number of years complaints have been made by various angling associations within the area of the Lancashire and Mersey and Weaver River Authorities about the unsatisfactory state of the fisheries in the Leeds/Liverpool Canal. Following upon discussions with the associations the Lancashire River Authority agreed to carry out an investigation into the fish species and their populations. The survey has extended over two years and it is hoped that the following information will be of value to all concerned. The canal is 127 miles in length when measured from the River Aire at Leeds to the docks at Liverpool. The survey was confined to two sections: i) That part of the canal which passes through the area of the Lancashire River Authority; and ii) 10 miles of that section which runs through the area of the Mersey and Weaver River Authority. The fish were sampled by electro-fishing, a 100 yard section of canal being sampled at each one mile interval. Water samples for chemical analysis were taken immediately prior to the commencement of fishing operations. The analyses were intended to demonstrate the quality of the water in which the fish were living at the time of the survey. Regular samples of the fauna and flora present in the canal were taken and examined in the fisheries laboratory of the Authority.

Report on eight weeks at the Fisheries Department of the Lancashire River Authority [including a Leeds / Liverpool Canal survey]

This report looks at the interests of the Fisheries Department for the Lancashire River Board, focusing on the Liverpool and Leeds Canal Survey. It looks at finding parasites in fish from an electrofishing survey (roach and perch). This was to contribute towards the main survey with a possible view to suggesting whether or not the parasites were one reason for the poor fish population. Methods of finding parasites are given, and results of what parasites that were found in the fish are discussed.

The effect of water quality on coarse fish productivity and movement in the Lower River Irwell and Upper Manchester Ship Canal a watercourse recovering from historical pollution

This is the Effect of water quality on coarse fish productivity and movement in the Lower River Irwell and Upper Manchester Ship Canal: a watercourse recovering from historical pollution report produced by the Environment Agency in 2003. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of water quality upon coarse fish population dynamics in a lowland, urban watercourse. All of the research carried was undertaken in the lower River Irwell and upper Manchester Ship Canal, between February 1998 and December 2001. Of particular interest was the natural sustainability of the urban fishery given recent concern raised in the angling community over an apparent decline in coarse fish populations in lowland rivers. The research described in this report has concentrated upon the role of water quality in determining coarse fish population dynamics, and in particular: The impact of water quality upon fish growth and productivity; The impact of poor water quality and low dissolved oxygen concentrations upon fish distribution and movement; The impact of water quality upon the sexual development of fish.

Rochdale Canal cSAC

This is the report on Habitats Directive, the Review of Consents Stage 1 and 2 by the Environment Agency of the Rochdale Canal cSAC. The Habitats Directive has the main aim to promote the maintenance of biodiversity by defining a common framework for the conservation of wild plants and animals and habitats of community interest. The Directive establishes a European ecological network known as "Natura 2000". The network comprises Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) and Special Protection Areas (SPA). In the section on Stage 1 or Screening Process of the Habitat Directive, it is identified the likely impacts upon the Rochdale Canal of a project, plan or activities, either alone or in combination with other projects, plans or activities, and considers whether these impacts are likely to be significant. In the section on Stage 2 or Appropiate Assessment of the Habitat Directive, it is considered the impact on the integrity of the Rochdale Canal of the projects, plans or activities, either alone or in combination with other projects, plans or activities, with respect to the site’s structure and function and its conservation objectives. Additionally, where these are adverse impacts, an assessment of the potential mitigation of those impacts. The criteria used in this report to identify relevant projects, plans or activities and their impacts are water quality discharge consents, waste management licences, abstraction licences, Integration Pollution Control (IPC) and Integrated Pollution Prevention Control (IPPC) permits. Proformas, hydrogeological and GIS maps are included in the review.

Transfering Pike to Lancaster Canal March 1950

Two fishermen and a boy transfering pike with a cylindrical keep net to Lancaster Canal, North West England, UK. This photo is part of a Photo Album that includes pictures from 1935 to 1954.

Transfering pike to Lancaster Canal, March 1950

Two fishermen transfering pike using metal containers to the Lancaster Canal, North West of England, UK. This photo is part of a Photo Album that includes pictures from 1935 to 1954.

The Kendal, Lancaster and Preston canal fishery

This is the Kendal, Lancaster and Preston canal fishery produced by Lancashire River Authority in 1970. The Kendal-Lancaster-Preston canal commenced at Stainton in Westmorland and terminated on the outskirts of Preston. Fishing in the canal with rod and line was controlled by the Northern Anglers’ Association. In the early 60’s anglers, had complained about, the extremely low numbers of fish that had been caught in the canal and various opinions had been expressed concerning the alleged shortages o f fish. Since 1967, in an endeavour to meet the fish re-stocking demands of the Association, 50,000 freshwater fish of different species had been introduced by the Lancashire River Authority, but catches had not increased. In 1969 was agreed by the Northern Anglers’ Association to carry out a study of the fish populations throughout the whole length of the canal and the chemical quality of the water analysed. This report is not produced as a scientific dissertation, but rather as a means of imparting to members of the Northern Anglers’ Association the fish potential available to them in their endeavours to catch fish.

Lista comentada de la ictiofauna del Canal Beagle, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. Iconografía.

A ciento veintidós años de las primeras menciones realizadas por Perugia en 1891 sobre peces del Canal Beagle, editamos la presente iconografía que incluye alrededor de treinta especies de las mencionadas por López et al., en 1996. Este trabajo, desarrollado en el CADIC dentro del proyecto Biología de los recursos ictícos del Canal de Beagle financiado por el CONICET, junto al publicado por Lloris y Rucabado (1991), proveyeron elementos de base para tener una visión más profunda del componente ictiofaunistíco de la región. En la presente publicación se destaca la magnífica obra del maestro Miguel Barbagallo, quién vuelca su capacidad y espíritu en estas láminas, las que además de su valor artístico son un aporte más a la consolidación del conocimiento de los recursos naturales de nuestro país.