Objectives: determine the principal components of the fish communities in J. Strom Thurmond (JST) and Richard B. Russell (RBR) Reservoirs; identify spatial and temporal (seasonal and annual) trends in fish abundance; determine if the tailwater area below RBR dam is unique; quantify the numbers, sizes and species of fish that are entrained during pumpback operations; and quantify mortality rates of fishes entrained during pumpback operations.

The Richard B. Russell dam is a pumped-storage project on the Savannah River, Georgia - South Carolina. The project is unique in that a downstream reservoir, JST, extends to the base of the Russell dam. The configuration of the reservoirs and the presence of cool-water habitat below RBR dam prompted early concern that fish entrainment could be high during pumpback operation of Russell dam. Currently, there is no pumped storage operation of RBR dam, and future operation is under scrutiny by Georgia and South Carolina. In 1996, an estimated total of 3.8 million fish were entrained during seven months (3,129 unit hours) of simulated pumpback operation.

The Georgia Unit has been involved in the Richard B. Russell Fish Entrainment Study since 1986. Unit personnel are members of, and provide technical guidance to, the coordination group that directs all sampling activities. To accomplish the objectives above, Unit personnel have conducted: monthly gill-netting and electrofishing; cove rotenone sampling; draft tube examinations; radio telemetry studies with hybrid bass, striped bass, and sauger; full-recovery netting during experimental pumped storage operations; and tow-netting for zooplankton and ichthyoplankton.

Related Graduate Work:
Bennett-Wilde, S. “Advective regulation of zooplankton assemblages in a reservoir series on the Savannah River, SC/GA.?amp;nbsp; Ph.D. 1998.

Betsill, R.K. “Spatial and temporal heterogeneity of reservoir zooplankton abundance and effects on growth and survival of larval threadfin shad?Ph.D. 1996.

Earle, J.D. “Influences of Richard B. Russell Dam discharges on the distribution of sauger Stizostedion canadense in the downstream tailwater. M.S. 1992.

Higginbothm, D.L. “Diel variation of feeding by larval fishes in Strom Thurmond Reservoir? M.S. 1991.

Related Publications:
Betsill, R.K. and M.J. Van den Avyle. 1994. Spatial heterogeneity of reservoir zooplankton: a matter of timing? Hydrobiol. 277:63-70.

Betsill R.K. and M.J. Van den Avyle. 1997. Effect of temperature and zooplankton abundance on growth and survival of larval threadfin shad. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 126:999-1011.

Welch, T.J., M.J. Van den Avyle, R.K. Betsill, and E.M. Driebe. 1993. Precision and relative accuracy of striped bass age estimates from otoliths, scales, and anal fin rays and spines. N. Am. J. Fish. Manage. 13:616-620.

?RBR and JST reservoirs support an abundant and diverse fish assemblage and valuable multi-species fishery
?Entrainment is primarily comprised of threadfin shad (90.9%), blueback herring (6.4%) and white perch (1.3%)
?Survival of entrained fish was higher during cooler months
?Fish abundance in the tailrace of RBR was greatest in March ?May, although threadfin shad were highly abundant in the tailrace March - September
?During the study period, black crappie and white perch appeared to increase in numbers while walleye and sauger virtually disappeared by 1991. These changes in population size were not directly related to pumpback operation