For all their reclusive shyness, the Savannah River's endangered shortnose sturgeon have gotten a lot more attention than usual this year - and it hasn't all been good.
The fish are thought to swim up the Savannah each spring to spawn - and to do that, they need the water that flows downstream from Thurmond Lake.
The problem, which led several members of Congress to consider changing the Endangered Species Act, was that residents and politicians along the drought stricken lake wanted less water released downstream.
The Army Corps of Engineers agreed to help the residents, and in November reduced flows through the dam to critically low levels.
But after the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service weighed in that greater flows in the river were needed in February to accommodate the sturgeon, the fish became Public Enemy No. 1 to many residents upstate.
The story, however, has a happy ending for several reasons.
The corps opted to follow the opinions of the Fish & Wildlife Service and experts at the Nature Con servancy. Flows were increased in February, and the sturgeon actually showed up in March.
Or at least, one sturgeon did. Wildlife authorities had been studying the fish - and their spawning habits - by capturing egg-laden females near the coast and implanting tiny transmitters into their bellies.
This year, nine were tagged at the river's juncture with the Atlantic Ocean. On March 5, one of them showed up near the boat ramp in Jackson, S.C., about 20 miles downstream from New Savannah Bluff Lock & Dam.
A few days later, electronic surveillance equipment showed she had made it to the base of the dam - where she stayed for six days and presumably spawned, said Jason Moak, senior research scientist with the Southeastern Natural Sciences Academy.
"She was confirmed to be full of eggs when the transmitter was planted, so we believe she did spawn," he said.
The 3-foot-long fish weighed about 16 pounds - about average for the species.
Did other sturgeon arrive in Augusta as well? Scientists believe there are about 2,000 of the endangered fish remaining in the Savannah River, so it is likely others may have made the journey as well, Moak said.
Egg boards were placed in strategic areas below New Savannah Bluff in hopes of catching roe from the spawning sturgeon. Eggs collected from those boards are being analyzed to determine their species.
What's next? The sturgeon might someday be able to swim past New Savannah Bluff to access ancestral spawning grounds 15 miles upstream at the Augusta shoals. Such access depends on Congress and its willingness to finance $22 million in renovations to the dam.
Those renovations are expected to include a fish ladder. Although the project is likely years into the future, its completion will trigger similar fish passage requirements for two other dams upstream: the Augusta Diversion Dam at the canal headgates and the Stevens Creek Hydropower Dam in Columbia County.
If all those dams were accessible to upstream fish migrations, a species that has existed in this planet in various forms for almost 220 million years would have a 100-fold increase in spawning habitat - and a greater chance to survive in a changing world.
COOKIN' FOR KIDS: Last weekend's annual Cookin' for Kids benefit for Child Enrichment Inc. and the Child Advocacy Center was largely rained out, but it didn't stop the cooking teams from doing their best.
Dan Hillman, the group's executive director, said everyone who committed to helping with the event showed up - despite the all-day downpour - and did their best.
"The cookers cooked, and the judges judged," he said. "That is loyalty ... dedication and providence."
The cookers donated back their prize money, which yielded proceeds for the child groups. The Friday night oyster roast, he added, generated $2,800.
"We didn't sell any beer, French fries, burgers or dogs, so some revenue will be down," he said. "But we should be good with overall income."
Reach Rob Pavey at 868-1222, ext. 119 or rob.pavey@augustachronicle.com.
STURGEON FACTS
-Two sturgeon species inhabit the Savannah River: the federally endangered shortnose, which can weigh 30 pounds or more, and the federally protected Atlantic sturgeon, which can reach 8 feet in length and weigh more than 300 pounds .
-Both species are categorized as "living fossils" and have survived almost unchanged for more than 220 million years. They are important "indicator species" that help document the quality of a given habitat.
-Sturgeon swim upriver to spawn and require fast-flowing water and rocky shoals. Their sticky roe, known as caviar, clings to the rocks in spawning grounds until the eggs hatch. Juvenile sturgeon remain in the shoals until they are large enough to swim downstream to coastal estuaries.
-Damming of rivers and the creation of reservoirs have prevented upstream migration and eliminated spawning grounds, contributing to their decline.
-In the Savannah River, sturgeon are blocked by New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam below Augusta but are believed to use gravel beds downstream for limited spawning. Above the city, just 4 percent of the shoals where they once spawned remains intact.
Source: National Marine Fisheries Service, The Nature Conservancy
The Augusta Chronicle ©2010 Morris Communications, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
One sturgeon showing up at the dam is not sufficient to have any kind of a valid scientific statistic. Unless the Corps, led by their scientific arms - the US Fish and WIldlife Service and the Nature Conservancy - can do better than that, the true scientific results says the shortnosed sturgeon will spurn the spawn and do what they want when they want. Stop spinning this to keep your jobs. Go up the coast where they are spawning and growing in numbers.
My problem is with flows between Thurmond Dam and Stevens Creek Dam. If we are measuring flows at Thurmond during periods of heavy rain, we should also do that during dry, summer periods. That would mean flows from Thurmond in excess of the allocated flow. The 12.5 miles between those dams have low oxygen content which affects ALL fish in that portion of the river. Depending on rain run-off adds zero oxygen content to the Columbia County portion of the river. Fish are affected dramatically. The least we can do is help out during the summer.