Why should we protect habitats essential to fish?
Because marine fish depend on habitat for survival and reproduction,
it is important to protect the habitats that sustain and enhance
commercial and recreational fisheries. Coastal and marine habitats
are disappearing at alarming rates. In some cases they are physically
destroyed while other times they are degraded by indirect impacts.
Many habitats are lost due to human-related threats:
- Pollution: Run-off from urban areas and agricultural lands
can lead to the degradation of many coastal and marine habitats.
In the Gulf of Mexico, this type of pollution has lead to a “Dead
Zone” the size of New Jersey where fish cannot live.
- Coastal Development: In Addition to contributing to polluted run-off,
increasing coastal populations and new development leads to the
physical destruction of important wetlands. Wetlands provide nursery
grounds for young fish and contribute to the maintenance of water
quality. Since the time of our Founding Fathers, the Lower 48
States have lost over half of our wetlands.
- Dredging: These activities help maintain shipping channels and
support beach nourishment projects by digging up bottom sediments
and placing the sands and soils on beaches. The dredging process
can be highly disruptive, disturbing the habitats upon which fish
depend and often re-suspending toxins that have settled on the
bottom over time.
- Fishing: Some fishers use gear such as dredges and trawls that
catch fish by dragging along the bottom of the ocean. These gears
can have harmful effects on certain habitats such as coral reefs.
Our dwindling habitats need protection from these threats so our economically important fish stocks can survive and reproduce.