**Delaware River Juvenile Striped Bass Seine Survey**

Since 1980, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
(NJDEP) has conducted a striped bass young of year survey in the
Delaware River. The main objective of the survey is to provide an annual
index of relative abundance for young-of-year (y-o-y) striped bass in
the Delaware River. Thirty-two fixed stations are sampled twice a month
(for five months) from last two weeks of June through the first two
weeks of November.

The Delaware River recruitment survey area is divided into three
distinct habitats:

1\) Region I \-- brackish, tidal water extending from the springtime
saltwater/freshwater interface to the Delaware Memorial Bridges.

2\) Region II \-- brackish to fresh tidal water extending from the
Delaware Memorial Bridges to the Schuylkill River at the Philadelphia
Naval Yard, and

3\) Region III \-- tidal freshwater from Philadelphia to the fall line
at Trenton.

Regions I & II represent the historical striped bass spawning grounds.
Saltmarsh vegetation predominates along the Region I shoreline while
Region II is primarily urban with a shoreline heavily developed for
commerce and industry. Region III is sporadically developed by industry
with considerable freshwater marsh.

Field sampling utilizes a bagged, 100-foot long, by 6-foot deep by
1/4-inch mesh beach seine. All fish are identified to species,
quantified and minimum and maximum sizes recorded. Basic water quality
parameters that included water temperature, salinity and dissolved
oxygen are also recorded.

Some type of oil was observed at most stations from Raccoon Creek to
Eagle Point while sampling during the 2005 beach seine survey. A
resident from Oakwood Beach had reported oil washed up along the beaches
there and in the marsh near the Salem River Cove. Our sampling crew
would routinely see or even meet the clean-up crews while sampling from
Raccoon Creek to Eagle Point (Region 2) at the following stations: Sand
Ditch, Tinicum Island, Mantua Creek, UPS Beach, Bramell Point and
Raccoon Creek. Many times during low tide, oil sheen was observed at or
near the water line. During warm to hot days, small (dime-sized or
smaller) "oil globs" would rise up in the shallow water and dissipate to
a sheen and which would eventually completely dissipate. We had to take
the water quality readings further out from the shallows, since when oil
was present, it would contaminate the dissolved oxygen probe on the YSI
meter.

2005 data not available -- In 2004, over 34,000 finfish representing
over 47 different species were collected.

![](media/image1.wmf)Delaware River Recruitment Survey Sampling Area.

**Delaware River Station Locations**

+-------+------------------------+----------+------------+------------+
| **Reg | ####### Station Name   | **Riv    | **         | **L        |
| ion** |                        | ermile** | LATITUDE** | ONGITUDE** |
+-------+------------------------+----------+------------+------------+
| I     | Augustine Beach        | 54.2     | 3930.355   | 7534.706   |
+-------+------------------------+----------+------------+------------+
| I     | Clay Beach             | 55.4     | 3930.942   | 7531.630   |
+-------+------------------------+----------+------------+------------+
| I     | Oakwood Beach          | 58.7     | 3933.406   | 7531.086   |
+-------+------------------------+----------+------------+------------+
| I     | Fort Mott              | 61.4     | 3936.086   | 7533.130   |
+-------+------------------------+----------+------------+------------+
| I     | Gambles Gut            | 63.4     | 3938.316   | 7535.883   |
+-------+------------------------+----------+------------+------------+
| I     | New Castle             | 65.9     | 3939.391   | 7533.969   |
+-------+------------------------+----------+------------+------------+
| I     | Penns Beach            | 66.2     | 3938.918   | 7531.986   |
+-------+------------------------+----------+------------+------------+
| I     | Churchtown             | 67.7     | 3940.257   | 7530.779   |
+-------+------------------------+----------+------------+------------+
| II    | Helms Cove             | 70.9     | 3943.435   | 7528.607   |
+-------+------------------------+----------+------------+------------+
| II    | Rodneys Hideout        | 73.0     | 3944.448   | 7528.256   |
+-------+------------------------+----------+------------+------------+
| II    | Oldman\'s Point        | 74.8     | 3945.750   | 7527.692   |
+-------+------------------------+----------+------------+------------+
| II    | Naaman Creek           | 77.6     | 3947.750   | 7527.099   |
+-------+------------------------+----------+------------+------------+
| II    | Raccoon Creek          | 80.7     | 3948.662   | 7522.868   |
+-------+------------------------+----------+------------+------------+
| II    | Old Canal Corner       | 82.4     | 3949.621   | 7521.222   |
+-------+------------------------+----------+------------+------------+
| II    | Chester Island         | 83.5     | 3950.422   | 7520.539   |
+-------+------------------------+----------+------------+------------+
| II    | Sand Ditch             | 84.9     | 3950.514   | 7518.602   |
+-------+------------------------+----------+------------+------------+
| II    | Tinicum Island         | 86.9     | 3951.128   | 7516.833   |
+-------+------------------------+----------+------------+------------+
| II    | Tinicum Island (NE; Pa | 87.5     | 3948.420   | 7521.713   |
|       | SIDE)                  |          |            |            |
+-------+------------------------+----------+------------+------------+
| II    | Bramell Point          | 87.6     | 3950.485   | 7516.179   |
+-------+------------------------+----------+------------+------------+
| II    | UPS Beach              | 88.5     | 3951.425   | 7515.422   |
+-------+------------------------+----------+------------+------------+
| II    | Billingsport           | 89.0     | 3951.086   | 7514.353   |
+-------+------------------------+----------+------------+------------+
| II    | Mantua Creek           | 89.8     | 3951.239   | 7513.499   |
+-------+------------------------+----------+------------+------------+
| II    | Pebble Beach           | 92.0     | 3952.483   | 7511.576   |
+-------+------------------------+----------+------------+------------+
| II    | Eagle Point            | 93.4     | 3952.693   | 7510.633   |
+-------+------------------------+----------+------------+------------+
| III   | Pennsauken Creek       | 105.8    | 3959.844   | 7503.195   |
+-------+------------------------+----------+------------+------------+
| III   | Pompestron Creek       | 108.8    | 4001.225   | 7500.428   |
+-------+------------------------+----------+------------+------------+
| III   | Hawk Island            | 111.8    | 4002.718   | 7458.548   |
+-------+------------------------+----------+------------+------------+
| III   | Cornwells Heights      | 114.8    | 4004.409   | 7455.056   |
+-------+------------------------+----------+------------+------------+
| III   | Edgewater Park         | 116.5    | 4004.386   | 7453.417   |
+-------+------------------------+----------+------------+------------+
| III   | Burlington Island      | 118.5    | 4005.166   | 7451.447   |
+-------+------------------------+----------+------------+------------+
| III   | Landreth Channel       | 120.4    | 4006.290   | 7449.948   |
+-------+------------------------+----------+------------+------------+
| III   | Newbold Island         | 125.4    | 4007.634   | 7446.095   |
+-------+------------------------+----------+------------+------------+