Fish Health

Restoration of living resources, including oysters, crabs, fish, and their associated habitat is the highest priority of the Bay restoration. Low dissolved oxygen has caused fish kills in some areas of the Bay. Additionally, fish kills and lesions related to Pfiesteria and other pathogens are still a concern in the Bay. The CBP is working to develop multi-species management plans by 2005 to address both the environmental factors and harvest limits needed to support healthy fish populations. Understanding the effect of disease and environmental factors on fish health is one technical need the USGS is helping to meet by:

• Addressing the affect of endocrine-disrupting chemicals on fish egg quality and survival;
• Documenting the influence of contaminants and water-quality conditions on fish larval survival;
• Understanding the factors affecting the health of adult fish including the occurrence of fish lesions.

Please visit the Programs and Projects page to find links to the USGS programs that monitor the fish health in the Bay. For links and information on various USGS data and spatial information sites on the Bay area's habitat and resources visit the Data page. Many reports and publications are available visit the Publications page to find them.

We welcome comments on this page that will make the Web site more useful.

Back to the top