SONGS Mitigation Monitoring Program, 2018-2019: Reproductive output, growth, and food-chain support of fishes on the Wheeler J. North Artificial Reef

As mitigation for the effects of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS), Southern California Edison Company (SCE) was required by the California Coastal Commission to construct an artificial reef large enough to sustain 150 acres of kelp forest. Several performance standards must be met in order for SCE to receive full credit for the mitigation provided by the artificial reef. The proposed work will gather data necessary to evaluate three performance standards: that (1) reproductive rates of fishes, (2) fish production, and (3) benthic community food-chain support for fishes are similar on the Wheeler J. North Artificial Reef to that on natural reefs within the region. Fishes will be collected on the artificial reef and two natural reefs used as reference, San Mateo Kelp and Barn Kelp, from late spring through early autumn in 2018 and 2019. A suite of abundant and important kelp forest fishes will be targeted for this work: kelp bass (Paralabrax clathratus), California sheephead (Semicossyphus pulcher), senorita (Oxyjulis californica), blacksmith (Chromis punctipinnis), and black perch (Embiotoca jacksoni). Gonads, otoliths, and digestive tracts will be dissected from the fishes, and they will be used to determine reproductive rates, growth rates, and feeding success of the targeted fishes. These data will be used to assess the three performance standards and determine whether the artificial reef is functioning similarly to the natural reefs.