 |
|
 |
| ||
|
Bulletin Board
Tune-up for the Bay
"Fish can croak from secondhand smoke." No, that's not a headline from the latest icthyological research into the effects of nicotine, it's a jingle from a new advertising campaign aimed at reducing pollution in the Bay. The "secondhand" smoke comes from cars, not cancer sticks, and the Bay Area Stormwater Management Agencies Association wants people to know that the gunk that spews from auto tailpipes eventually drifts down to the water. BASMAA's $300,000, eight week campaign in running on local radio stations, urging people to tune their cars up and keep them running cleanly. Then hopefully it'll be "Bye bye black stuff, hello cleaner Bay." Contact: Sharon Gosselin (510)670-6547
Breeding Delta Smelt
Scientists trying to create a supply of the super-sensitive Delta smelt for research found the effort initially difficult but technically feasible. To breed this threatened species, scientists had to mimic the conditions of its complex estuarine life cycle, in which adults live in brackish water and spawn in fresh water and where young go through a prolonged larval stage during which they return to brackish water and feed on microzooplankton. The project used two sites. Most broodstock were spawned and post-larvae reared to juveniles at the state water project fish facility, where the use of Delta water provides advantages of natural temperature fluctuation and a supply of natural zooplankton. Earlier developmental stages- egg incubation, hatching and rearing of larvae for 30 days- took place at U.C. Davis, aided by clean well-water and a temperature controlled recirculation system. Breeding began with the collection of immature smelt in the Delta in the fall, and the rearing of 498 brood fish at both sites in tanks over the winter. Natural spawning began in late March, and the success rate at the state fish facility was much higher than in trials- 27,000 eggs were obtained compared to 5,000 in 1995. In June, eggs from the remaining ripe females at both sites were collected ("stripped") and fertilized in vitro. In the end, 40,500 eggs were collected, yielding 18,000 developing embryos and 10,700 hatched larvae. Most of these were transferred to glass aquaria for rearing in a temperature controlled water bath in which 80% of the water was changed daily and salinity was maintained at 5 ppt. Larvae were fed rotifiers raised in monoculture on cultured algae. After 30 days, larvae were counted, measured and transferred to the state facility for further rearing. The mean survival rate from hatching to 30 days was 49%. Post larval smelt (age 30 days and length about 11 mm) are now being reared at the state facility in 120-liter flow-through circular tanks seeded with natural zooplankton and artemia naupli. In sum, the two most difficult challenges in Delta smelt culture remain the high sensitivity of mature adults to stress and the prolonged larval stage requiring live food. (Excerpted from Summer 1997 IEP Newsletter)
All's Not Fair at the Army Base
A proposal to hold an eight-month long world's fair at the decommissioned Oakland Army Base worries Port of Oakland officials. Backers say the base is ideal for their event, which they estimate will attract 23.5 million visitors in 2002. But the Port wants all 422 acres for new marine terminals. It also hopes to use dredge spoils to recreate wetlands in a Base inlet. The Port's John Glover recently told a city council committee that he as ":very serious concerns" about the Expo, and the inlet's availability could "make or break" the Port's upcoming project to dredge a 50-foot-deep channel to accommodate ever bigger ships. Community groups have also requested portions of the Base for their programs.
Building One Grand Plan on Another
CALFED need not reinvent every wheel, suggests a recent comparison between some of CALFED's water quality, water use, land use and research programs with the already approved and stakeholder vetted programs of the CCMP. The 26-page comparison between the CCMP (see cover) and CALFED's proposed programs was undertaken at the request of U.S. EPA Regional Director Felicia Marcus. EPA had been fielding requests from various interests demanding more of an interface between the still-evolving CALFED plans and the existing and hard-won CCMP, and it was time to get a better "handle" on their differences and similarities, according to EPA's Gail Louis. In the end, the comparison focused on four specific programs. "We zeroed in on areas we thought lacked detail and comprehensive planning, and suggested CALFED consider wholesale adoption of our actions," says CCMP Implementation Committee Chair Larry Kolb. Programs pertaining to fish, wetlands and wildlife were not compared due to the current evolving nature of CALFED's ecosystem restoration plan (see cover).
In terms of water quality, the comparison found that both the CCMP and CALFED recommend pollution prevention through source control, but means to accomplish the goal differ. The CCMP emphasizes regional, comprehensive planning for pollution prevention (i.e. a mass emissions strategy that develops waste load allocations) while CALFED targets selected pollutants and emphasizes improved discharge treatment. In terms of water use, both programs advocate water reclamation and recycling, support for BMPs for agricultural water management, and facilitation of voluntary water markets but the CCMP recommends improvements to the legal and regulatory framework and state groundwater management laws. In terms of land use, the CCMP suggests numerous changes to land use decisionmaking, and connects land use planning to watershed management and protection where CALFED does not. The comparison was shipped to CALFED this September in an effort "to focus our joint efforts on mutual goals," says Kolb. Contact: Marcia Brockbank (510)286-0780
[ ABAG HOME | SFEP HOME ]
Copyright © 2002, San Francisco Estuary Project