The interaction of yearly temporal variation in net flow 
with spatial variation in spawning and nursery habitats appeared 
to be a major factor in the annual variation in survival of 
striped bass. We hypothesized that in critically low water 
years, or when certain pollutant "events", such as spills, 
occurred during spawning migration, this spatial-temporal equi¬ 
librium was disturbed. When this happened, the effects of 
pollutants and other environmental stress factors appeared to 
play a larger role in contributing to the mortality of striped 
bass. This system was thought of as a "model" for the inter¬ 
action of the anthropogenic stressors of water diversion and 
pollutants. 
To begin research, we derived the following specific goals: 
1. To determine the consequences of chronic pollutants 
impacting a fishery's population. 
2. To use striped bass, an apparently declining population in 
the San Francisco Bay ecosystem, as a "model species" for 
such a study. 
3. To compare the San Francisco Bay-Delta striped bass popula¬ 
tion to other populations less impacted and more impacted 
by pollutants. 
4. To determine the condition or health of striped bass 
caught in the field, and if in poor condition, to deter¬ 
mine correlation with pollutant burdens in tissues. 
5. To do laboratory studies to corroborate field-determined 
correlations between fish condition and pollutant burdens. 
6. To formulate a quantitative model showing relationships 
between pollutants and the condition of the bass popula¬ 
tion in terms of reductions in growth, reproduction, and 
survival. 
7. To provide recommendations to appropriate agencies in¬ 
volved with management of fisheries, specifically, the 
striped bass fishery, and to agencies responsible for the 
maintenance of water quality and the health of marine 
ecosystems. 
8. To cooperate with other agencies in determining the main 
sources of pollutants deleteriously affecting striped 
bass. 
9. To cooperate with other agencies in determining the pol¬ 
lutant burdens in striped bass potentially harmful to 
human health. 
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