Investigation and Monetary Values of Fish and Freshwater Mussel Kills

Robert I. Southwick and Andrew J. Loftus, editors

177 pages Published by American Fisheries Society Publication date: September 2003

Summary

Special Publication 30

This book is an update and expansion of the widely accepted monetary values of fish that have been published by AFS since 1975 (last updated in 1992 as Special Publication 24). This publication has been adopted as the legal basis for restitution or fines in more than half the states and has been upheld in numerous legal challenges. In this current version, freshwater mussels are included for the first time. The publication contains comprehensive methods for assessing fish kills and freshwater mussel kill events and for assessing restitution based on replacement cost for organisms lost in the kill. Tables containing updated replacement cost values for most major fish species that are cultured and for all freshwater mussel species in the USA are included. This book is a must for anyone involved with fish or freshwater mussel kills, propagation, and water pollution policy

Table of Contents

Preface Acknowledgements Symbols and Abbreviations Important: Read this First Chapter 1. Procedures for Investigation a Fish Kill

Initial Notification Coordinating the Response Effort Assembling Materials and Equipment On-Site Procedures Public Relations Report Preparation Suggested References Chapter 2. Field Guidelines for Counting Dead Fish

Narrow Streams Lakes and Wide Streams Large Meandering Streams Multiple-Day Counts Chapter 3. Principles of Sampling Dead Fish

The Nature of Fish Kills Complete Enumeration Area Sampling Systemic Sampling with Random Start Estimating Total Number of Dead Fish Stratified Random Sampling Inaccessible Areas Drifting Fish in a Stream Precision Sample Size Variability among Sample Units Approximate Standard Error Subsampling Use of Random Number Tables Significant Digits Chapter 4. Costs and Economic Valuation of Fish Kills

Statement of Applicability for Valuation of Fish Kills Economic Data Estimating Monetary Damages Examples Chapter 5. Procedures for the Investigation of Freshwater Mollusk Kills

Importance of Mollusks Causes of Kills Difficulties Encountered Goal of this chapter Coverage of this chapter Planning the Investigation Procedures for Investigating a Mollusk Kill Guidelines for Establishing the Magnitude of a Mollusk Kill Chapter 6. Costs and Economic Valuation of Freshwater Mussel Kills

Statement of Applicability for Economic Valuation of Freshwater Mussel Kills Source of Replacement Cost Data Estimating Replacement Costs Examples Consideration of Mussel Values References Appendix A: Replacement Costs of Fish Appendix B: Threatened and Endangered Species of Fish Appendix C: Methodology for Determining Replacement Cost for Fish Appendix D: Legal Precedents Appendix E: Threatened and Endangered Mussels Appendix F: Replacement Costs of Juvenile Freshwater Mussels Appendix G: Table of Random Numbers