For
many years the American Littoral Society has been at the forefront of
habitat restoration in our region. We are restoring oysters and the
habitat their reefs provide in Barnegat Bay and Delaware Bay. We
are promoting and implementing "Living Shorelines" throughout New
Jersey--an innovative technique to restore shallow water habitats
while controlling shoreline erosion. Our large-scale scale salt marsh
restoration in Jamaica Bay is well under way. All of this work is
designed to strengthen fisheries and support the industries (and
people) that rely upon them.
A new report, More Habitat Means More Fish,
makes a compelling case for this special relationship between habitat
and healthy commercial and recreational fisheries. It was
released earlier today by Restore America's Estuaries (RAE) and the
American Sportfishing Association (ASA) and co-authored with the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Key Findings
More Habitat Means More Fish
is packed with real life examples of coastal habitat restoration
projects that have been implemented around the U.S. and the positive
impact they have had including:
- Over
75 percent of our nation's commercial fish catch and 80-90 percent of
the recreational fish catch depend on key estuary habitat at some point
in their lifecycle.
- Fish
populations can respond quickly to habitat improvement and the impact
will last over an extended period of time. Rebounds in fish populations
can occur within months and persist for years.
- Since
2000, in Massachusetts and New York, herring, shad and sturgeon have
doubled and tripled in population due to habitat restoration projects.
Sandy Recovery Connection
Coastal
habitat restoration has become doubly important in our post-Sandy
recovery period and our voice is the loudest advocating for
including habitat restoration in NJ and NY recovery plans. Restored
habitats such as oyster reefs, natural shorelines and restored tidal
marshes can contribute to the overall resilience to storms and help
reduce hazards. These benefits, coupled with the economic benefits to
our fisheries and the industries supported by healthy, restored,
fisheries habitats, make it crystal clear that restoration of fisheries
habitats should be a priority in our recovery from Sandy.
Restored
habitats can help protect our communities and support the health of our
fisheries, and the communities that depend on them.
