Predicted survival of the bay anchovy (Anchoa mitchilli) in the heated effluent of a power plant on Galveston Bay,Texas

Synopsis The bay anchovy (Anchoa mitchilli), collected from the intake canal of the P.H. Robinson Generating Station, Bacliff, Texas, were tested for 180 min at various constant temperatures during June 1974 through September 1975 to determine if they could survive passage through the discharge canal system.Three-h survival temperatures were significantly lower, throughout the year, than the temperatures in the discharge canal both afferent and efferent to the cooling towers. This indicates that the bay anchovy entrained and entrapped from the intake canal and exposed to the heated effluent could not survive in the cooling water system. However, the cooling towers should aid survival of the fish in the canal below the towers.