Cuyahoga River Quantitative Fish Surveys, 1990-1992, from Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District

Electroshocking fish surveys of the Cuyahoga River upstream and
downstream of Southerly Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) and
downstream of lower Harvard bridge were conducted during the months of
August, September 1990, June, August, September 1991 and July,
September, October 1992. The purpose of the survey was to evaluate the
fish communities in the Cuyahoga River by calculating two indexes, the
modified Index of Well Being (MIwb) and the Index of Biotic Integrity
(IBI), which serve to assess overall fish community health. This data
set was generated as part of the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer
District's (NEORSD) water quality monitoring program, which has
conducted routine sampling of area surface waters since 1986. Fish
surveys of the Cuyahoga River have been conducted since 1990.

The survey was conducted at three sites along the Cuyahoga River:
river mile 11.3, upstream of the Southerly WWTP; river mile 10.5,
downstream of the Southerly WWTP; and river mile 7.1, downstream of
Harvard Avenue. Samples included individuals from up to 19 species.
Presence or absence of DELT anomalies, which include deformities,
eroded fins, lesions and tumors present on fishes was recorded.
Pollution tolerance values were obtained from a Ohio EPA pollution
tolerance classification for these fish species. Abbreviations HT, MT
and MI correspond to highly tolerant, moderately tolerant and
moderately intolerant, respectively. Weight (kg) refers to the total
weight of all fish of a particular species caught on the sampling
day.

The data were collected under the project, NEORSD Greater Cleveland
Area Environmental Water Quality Assessment.