Abstract
A total of 65 finfish species was surveyed in western Cape Cod Bay near or at Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station from 1970–1981. Bottom trawl and gill net catches from 1970–1976 yielded a total of 60,575 fish representing 12 orders, consisting of 29 families and 50 species. Five additional species were captured by beach seining begun in 1981. Numerically dominant demersal fishes trawled, and percent catch were: winter flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus), 46.7%; Ocean pout (Macrozoarces americanus), 12.4%; yellowtail flounder (Limanda ferruginea), 12.2%; longhorn Sculpin (Myoxocephalus octodecemspinosus), 8.6%; windowpane (Scophthalmus aquosus), 5.8%; and skates (Raja Spp.), 5.7%. Four species: pollock (Pollachius virens), 39.0%; Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus harengus), T7.8%; CUnner (Tautogolabrus adspersus), T3.0%; and alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus), 11.0%, were dominant in gill net catches. The Atlantic silverside (Menidia menidia) comprised 94.4% of the total beach seine catch in 1981, with the one-year total for this species equalling about half of the combined trawl and gill net totals for all species for 7 years of sampling in the Plymouth area.
A total of 25,339 fishes of 56 species was im**ed during 10,629 sampling hours on the intake travelling screens at Boston Edison Company’s Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station from January 1973 through December 1980. Ten of these species appeared only in im**ement collections. Numerically dominant species im**ed and their percent of total catch from 1976–1980 were: Atlantic herring, 49.1%; rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax), 16.8%; Atlantic silverside, 11.5%; alewife, 10.5%; and cunner, 3.0%. Im**ement patterns usually reflected seasonality and were similar, in many cases, to those observed at other power plants in the New England coastal region.
Trawl and gill net catch provided bases for assessing abundance trends and annual changes for many of the dominant demersal and pelagic species. Abundance levels did not appear to be measurably affected by power plant operation but were apparently influenced by natural stock fluctuations.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature Cited
Anderson, C. O., Jr., D. J. Brown, B. A. Ketschke, and E. M. Sawin. 1974. Progress Report — Numbers 10, 11, and 12. Investigations of the effects of electrical power generation on marine resources in Salem Harbor. Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, Boston, Massachusetts.
Anderson, C. O., Jr., D. J. Brown, B. A. Ketschke, and E. M. Elliott. 1975. Semi— Annual Report, Number 1A. Investigations of the effects of electrical power generation on marine resources in Salem Harbor. Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, Boston, Massachusetts.
Anderson, C. O., Jr., D. J. Brown, B. A. Ketschke, E. M. Elliott, and P. L. Rule. 1975. The effects of the addition of a fourth generating unit at the Salem Harbor Electric Station on the marine ecosystem of Salem Harbor. Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, Boston, Massachusetts. 47 pp.
Armstrong, N. E., E. F. Gloyna, and B. J. Copeland. 1968. Ecological aspects of stream pollution, p. 83–95. In E. F. Gloyna and W. W. Eckenfelder (ed.): Advances in Water Quality Improvement. University of Texas Press, Austin, Texas.
Bechtel Corporation. 1968. Salt water use and waterfront development for Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station. Pilgrim Station Report Number 600. Boston Edison Company, Boston, Massachusetts.
Bechtel, T. J. and B. J. Copeland. 1970. Fish species diversity indices as indicators of pollution in Galveston Bay, Texas. Contributions in Marine Science 15:103–132.
Bigelow, H. B. and W. C. Schroeder. 1953. Fishes of the Gulf of Maine. United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Fishery Bulletin 53:1–577.
Boreman, J. 1977. Impacts of power plant intake velocities on fish. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Topical Brief. 10 pp.
Brown, B. E., J. A. Brennan, M. D. Grosslein, E. G. Heyerdahl, and R. C. Hennemuth. 1976. The effect of fishing on the marine finfish biomass in the North West Atlantic from the Gulf of Maine to Cape Hatteras. International Commission for the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries. Research Bulletin (12):49–68.
Central Maine Power Company. 1974–1977. Inhouse reports. Environmental Studies Department. Augusta, Maine.
Chesmore, A. P., D. J. Brown, and J. C. Kinch. 1972. Progress Report — Numbers 1–4. Investigations of the effects of electrical power generation on marine resources in Salem Harbor. Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, Boston, Massachusetts.
Chesmore, A. P., D. J. Brown, and B. A. Ketschke. 1973. Progress Report — Numbers 5 and 6. Investigations of the effects of electrical power generation on marine resources in Salem Harbor. Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, Boston, Massachusetts.
Chesmore, A. P., D. J. Brown, B. A. Ketschke and E. M. Sawin. 1973–1974. Progress Report — Numbers 7–9. Investigations of the effects of electrical power generation on marine resources in Salem Harbor. Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, Boston, Massachusetts.
Clark, J. and W. Brownell. 1973. Electric power plants in the coastal zone: Environmental issues. Americal Littoral Society Special Publication Number 7. Highlands, New Jersey.
Clark, S. H. and B. E. Brown. 1977. Changes in biomass of finfishes and squids from the Gulf of Maine to Cape Hatteras, 1963–74, as determined from research vessel survey data. Fishery Bulletin 75(1):1–21.
Collings, W. S., C. Sheehan, S. Hughes, and J. Buckley. 1981. Biological investigations relative to the effects of a second electrical generating unit upon some of the marine resources of northern Buzzards Bay and the Cape Cod Canal. Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries. 423 pp.
Conover, D. O. and M. R. Ross. 1982. Patterns in seasonal abundance, growth, and biomass of the Atlantic silverside, Menidia menidia, in a New England estuary. Estuaries 5 (4): 275–286.
Cooper-Sheehan, C., B. Doyle, R. Lawton, P. Brady, and M. Borgatti. 1981. Progress report on studies to evaluate possible effects of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station on the marine environment, January-June, 1981. In: Marine Ecology Studies Related to Operation of Pilgrim Station. Semi-Annual Report Number 18. Boston Edison Company. Boston, Massachusetts.
Curley, J. R., R. P. Lawton, D. K. Whittaker, and J. M. Hickey. 1972. A study of the marine resources of Well fleet Harbor. Monograph Series Number 12. Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries. 37 pp.
Dahlberg, M. D. and E. P. Odum. 1970. Annual cycles of species occurrence, abundance, and diversity in Georgia estuarine fish populations. The American Midland Naturalist 83(2):382–392.
deSylva, D. P. 1969. Theoretical considerations of the effects of heated effluents on marine fishes. In Biological Aspects of Thermal Pollution, P. A. Krenkel and F. L. Parker (eds). Proc. National Symposium on Thermal Pollution. Portland, Oregon, June 1968. Vanderbilt Univ. Press. pp. 229–243.
Doret, S. C., D. R. F. Harleman, A. T. Ippen, and B. R. Pearce. 1973. Characteristics of condenser water discharge on the sea surface. R.M. Parsons Laboratory. Dept. of Civil Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, Massachusetts. 156 pp.
Downs, D. I. and K. R. Meddock. 1974. Design of fish conserving intake system. Journal of the Power Division. ASCE 100 (P02):191–205.
Edwards, R. L. 1968. Fishing resources of the North Atlantic area: the future of the fishing industry of the United States. University of Washington Publication in Fisheries, Number 4:52–60.
E G Consultantsand and G Environmental. 1976. Forecasting power plant effects on the coastal zone. Waltham, Massachusetts. 187 pp.
Fairbanks, R. B., W. S. Collings, and W. T. Sides. 1971. An assessment of the effects of electrical power generation upon marine resources in the Cape Cod Canal. Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries. 48 pp.
Fairbanks, R. B. and R. P. Lawton. 1977. Occurrence of large striped mullet, Mugil cephalus, in Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts. Chesapeake Science 18:309–310.
GEOMET Technologies, Inc. 1981. Preoperational aquatic ecology study, Shoreham Nuclear Power Station, Unit 1. Broadhollow Road, Melville, New York.
Green, R. H. 1979. Sampling design and statistical methods for environmental biologists. John Wiley and Sons, Toronto, Canada.
Greenstein, D. 1978. Abundance and distribution of demersal fish in the vicinity of Cousins Island, Casco Bay, Maine. Environmental Studies Department, Central Maine Power Company, Augusta, Maine.
Grimes, C. B. 1975. Entrapment of fishes on intake water screens at a steam electric generation station. Chesapeake Science 16 (3):172–177.
Haedrich, R. L. and S. O. Haedrich. 1974. A seasonal survey of the fishes in the Mystic River, a polluted estuary in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. Estuarine and Coastal Marine Science 2:59–73.
Haedrich, R. L. 1975. Diversity and overlap as measures of environmental quality. Water Research 9:945–952.
Harima, H. and P. R. Mundy. 1974. Diversity indices applied to the fish biofacies of a small stream. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 103(3): 457–461.
Högman, W. J. 1973. The relative efficiency of nylon gill nets after transition from cotton nets in a multispecies fishery. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 102:778–785.
Howe, A. B. 1975. Fishery resource assessment: winter flounder and other species. Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, Boston, Massachusetts.
Howe, A. B. and B. T. Estrella. 1977. Fishery resource assessment: winter flounder and other species. Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, Boston, Massachusetts.
Howe, A. B., F. J. Germano Jr., D. Jiminez, and B. T. Estrella. 1981. Coastwide Fishery Resource Assessment. Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, Boston, Massachusetts.
Howe, A. B. and F. J. Germano. 1982. Fisheries and environmental baselines relative to dredge spoil disposal, Cape Cod Bay, 1981. Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries. 19 pp.
Iwanowicz, H. R., R. D. Anderson, and B. A. Ketschke. 1974. A study of the marine resources in Plymouth, Kingston, and Duxbury Bay. Monograph Series Number 17. Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries. 37 pp.
Jeffries, H. P. and W. C. Johnson. 1974. Seasonal distributions of bottom fishes in the Narragansett Bay area: seven-year variations in the abundance of winter flounder (pseudopleuronectes americanus). Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada 31:1057–1066.
Jerome, W. C., Jr., A. P. Chesmore, and C. O. Anderson Jr. 1969. A study of the marine resources of the Annisquam River-Gloucester Harbor coastal system. Monograph Series Number 3. Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, Boston, Massachusetts. 62 pp.
Jester, D. B. 1977. Effects of color, mesh size, fishing in seasonal concentrations, and baiting on catch rates of fishes in gill nets. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 106(1):43–56.
Katz, M. and A. R. Gaufin. 1952. The effects of sewage pollution on the fish population of a midwestern stream. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 82:156–165.
Kerr, S. R. 1976. Ecological analysis and the fry paradigm. Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada 3:329–332.
Lawton, R. P., P. Brady, C. Sheehan, M. Borgatti, J. Egan, H. Davis, and B. Doyle. 1981. Progress report on studies to evaluate possible effects of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station on the marine environment. Project Report Number 30. In Marine Ecology Studies Related to Operation of Pilgrim Station. Semi-Annual Report Number 17. Boston Edison Company, Boston, Massachusetts.
Leim, A. H. and W. B. Scott. 1966. Fishes of the Atlantic coast of Canada. Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada, Bulletin 155: 485 pp.
Lloyd, M. and R. J. Ghelardi. 1964. A table for calculating the equitability component of species diversity. Journal of American Ecology 33:217–225.
MacArthur, R. H. 1955. Fluctuations of animal populations, and a measure of community stability. Ecology 36:533–536.
Maine Yankee Atomic Power Company. 1978. Im**ement Studies. In Final Report on Environmental Surveillance and Studies at the Maine Yankee Nuclear Generating Station (1969–1977). Section 3: 40 pp.
Margalef, D. R. 1958. Information theory in ecology. Yearbook of the Society for General Systems Research 3:36–71.
Margalef, D. R. 1968. Perspectives in ecological theory. University of Chicago Press, Chicago. 111 pp.
Marine Research, Inc. 1977. Summary — Brayton Point Investigations. 1970–1976. Falmouth, Massachusetts.
Marine Research, Inc. 1980. Brayton Point Generating Station, Mount Hope Bay, Somerset, Massachusetts. Section 316 (b) Demonstration. 285 pp.
McErlean, A. J., S. G. O’Connor, J. A. Mihursky, and C. I. Gibson. 1973. Abundance, diversity and seasonal patterns of estuarine fish populations. Estuarine and Coastal Marine Science 1:19–36.
Merriman, D. and H. E. Warfel. 1948. Studies on the marine resources of southern New England, VII. Analysis of fish populations. Bulletin of the Bingham Oceanographic Collection 11(4): 131–164.
Mironova, N. J. 1961. Biology of the Barents Sea saithe, pollachius virens (L.). Int. Reve. ges. Hydrobiol. 46(3):447–459.
Moyle, J. B. and R. Lound. 1960. Confidence limits associated with means and medians of a series of net catches. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 89:53–58.
National Marine Fisheries Service. 1976. Current fisheries statistics Number 7179, Massachusetts landings, December, 1976. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
New England Regional Fisheries Management Council. 1977. Environmental impact statement/fishing management plan for groundfish. 150 pp.
Nie, N. H., C. H. Hull, G. J. Jenkins, K. Stienbrenner, and D. H. Bunt. 1975. Statistical package for the social sciences. 2nd. ed. McGraw-Hill Book Company. New York. 675 pp.
Normandeau Associates, Inc. 1974. Finfish ecology investigations at the Hampton-Seabrook estuary, New Hampshire and adjoining coastal waters, 1973–1974. Technical Report V-3. 211 pp.
Northeast Utilities Service Company. 1980. Annual report. Ecological and hydrographic studies, Millstone Nuclear Power Station.
Olla, B. L., A. J. Bejda, and A. D. Martin. 1975. Activity, movements, and feeding behavior of the cunner, Tautogolabrus adspersus, and comparison of food habits with young tautog, Tautoga onitis, off Long Island, New York. Fishery Bulletin 73(4):895–900.
Olsen, Y. H. and D. Merriman. 1946. The biology and economic importance of the ocean pout (Macrozoarces americanus). Bulletin of the Bingham Oceanographic Collection 9(4):1–184.
Oviatt, C. A. and S. W. Nixon. 1973. The demersal fish of Narragansett Bay: an analysis of community structure, distribution, and abundance. Estuarine and Coastal Marine Science: 361–378.
Pearcy, W. G. and S. W. Richards. 1963. Distribution and ecology of fishes of the Mystic River estuary, Connecticut. Ecology 43(2):248–259.
Pielou, E. C. 1966. The measurement of diversity in different types of biological collections. Journal of Theoretical Biology 13:131–144.
Pristas, P. J. and L. Trent. 1977. Comparisons of catches of fishes in gill nets in relation to webbing, time of day, and water depth in St. Andrew Bay, Florida. Fishery Bulletin 75(1):103–108.
Recksiek, C. W. and J. D. McCleave. 1973. Distribution of pelagic fishes in the Sheepscot River-Back River Estuary, Wiscasset, Maine. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 102:541–551.
Robins, C. R., R. M. Bailey, C. E. Bond, J. R. Brooker, E. A. Lachner, R. N. Lea, and W. B. Scott. 1980. A list of common and scientific names of fishes from the United States and Canada. 4th Edition. Special Publication Number 12, American Fisheries Society. 174 pp.
Rosenberg, R. 1973. Succession in benthic macrofauna in a Swedish fjord subsequent to the closure of a sulphite pulp mill. Oikos 24: 1–16.
Ruddiman, W. F., D. S. Tolderlund, and A. W. H. Be. 1970. Foraminiferal evidence of a modern warming of the North Atlantic Ocean. Deep Sea Research 17:141–155.
Scotton, L. N. and D. T. Anson. 1977. Protecting aquatic life at plant intakes. Power. January 1977:74–76.
Shannon, C. E. and W. Weaver. 1963. The mathematical theory of communication. University of Illinois Press. Urbana. 117 pp.
Smith, H. M. and R. A. Goffin. 1937. A fish new to Massachusetts Bay. Copeia 1937 (4):236.
Sokal, R. R. and F. J. Rohlf. 1969. Biometry: the principles and practice of statistics in biological research. W. H. Freeman and Company. 776 pp.
Steele, D. H. 1963. Pollock (pollachius virens L.) in the Bay of Fundy. Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada 20(5): 1267–1314.
Stone and Webster Engineering Corporation. 1981. Final Report — biological evaluation of a modified travelling screen at Mystic Station — Unit 7. 15 pp.
Stupka, R. A. and R. K. Sharma. 1977. Survey of fish im**ement at power plants in the United States. Vol. III. Estuarine and coastal waters. Argonne National Lab. Report No. ANL/ES-56. 310 pp.
Taylor, C. C. 1953. Nature of variability in trawl catches. United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Fisheries Bulletin 54:145–166.
Texas Instruments, Inc. 1975. Indian Point im**ement study report for the period, January 1, 1974 — December 31, 1974. Texas Instruments Ecological Services, Dallas, Texas.
Thomas, D. L. and G. J. Miller. 1977. Im**ement studies at the Oyster Creek Generating Station, Forked River, New Jersey, from Sept. to Dec. 1975. Pages 317–342. In L.D. Jensen, ed. Third National Workshop on Entrainment and Im**ement. Ecological Analysts. Melville, New York.
Trent, L. and P. J. Pristas. 1977. Selectivity of gill nets on estuarine and coastal fishes from St. Andrew Bay, Florida. Fishery Bulletin 75(1):185–198.
Tsai, C. 1968. Effects of chlorinated sewage effluents on fishes in upper Patuxent River, Maryland. Chesapeake Science 9(2):83–93.
Tyler, A. B. 1971. Periodic and resident components in communities of Atlantic fishes. Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada 28(7):935–946.
Whittaker, R. H. and C. W. Fairbanks. 1958. A study of plankton and copepod communities in the Columbia Basin, southeastern Washington. Ecology 39:46–65.
Wilhm, J. L. and T. C. Dorris. 1969. Biological parameter for water quality criteria. Bioscience 18:477–481.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1984 Springer-Verlag New York, Inc.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Lawton, R.P. et al. (1984). Fishes of Western Inshore Cape Cod Bay: Studies in the Vicinity of the Rocky Point Shoreline. In: Davis, J.D., Merriman, D. (eds) Observations on the Ecology and Biology of Western Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts. Lecture Notes on Coastal and Estuarine Studies, vol 11. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-6323-1_11
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-6323-1_11
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-0-387-96084-5
Online ISBN: 978-1-4684-6323-1
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive