Do we want to continue to enjoy the sport of fishing?

The most important time of a fish’s life (and in fact, all marine species) is when they are micro organisms, in the juvenile stages of life.  Just as we as babies need a protective environment with parents to protect us until we can take care of ourselves, fish and other marine life need the protection of our coastal nursery areas (marshes and estuaries) to survive to adulthood.  

The population that impacts fish nurseries is increasing at an alarming rate.  70% of the US population lives within 50 miles of the shore.  People are drawn to the coast because of the beauty and natural environment of these areas. This trend is contributing to the pressure that is severely stressing marine habitat, damaging shellfish beds, reducing breeding grounds, and squeezing wildlife out of dwindling habitat:

§        Factories and industry tend to build on or near our rivers and waterways that eventually empty into our estuaries and coastal waters. §       Developers are filling in and destroying wetlands so they can build more waterfront homes or condos. §       Unplanned coastal development is increasing at an alarming rate with no apparent effort to protect our nursery areas.

I have been living on the water all of my life and feel blessed for the experience. I am now concerned about future generations and hope that we are not stealing from them something that can not be replaced. We need to eliminate the causes of the destruction of our nursery areas and try to repair the damage already done using restoration techniques before we destroy a whole ecosystem. Industry leaders, developers and citizens need to be involved in protecting the habitat and environment, unless they just want to look at the water or enjoy talking about having a waterfront home. 

In 1963, I had a bumper sticker on my car that read “Save our Marshes for Fish and Other Wildlife.”  I was a member of the American Littoral Society and they gave these bumper stickers to each member when they joined. The American Littoral Society is not a book club.  It gets its name from the Latin word litus meaning “beach” or “coastal.” The littoral zone is the source of nutrients that energizes the sea. I felt then that it was important to protect our coastal areas.  Today, I feel that we must protect our coastal areas - or lose a whole way of life.

I see the danger of what I call the “seen vs. the unseen” or the “visible vs. the invisible.”  Many people tend to go through life only concerned about what they can see, or what appears to affect them personally. Most of the fish, crabs, shrimp and other marine organisms that depend on the nursery areas can not be seen by the naked eye in their early stages of development, a critical period of their lifecycle. Since they are invisible, nobody even knows or hears about their death from unnatural causes or pollution – and it happens every day. 

The general public and the news media concern themselves about a fish kill or dead fish because they are visible and easy to understand, yet millions of underwater babies are being destroyed in their microscopic stages and nobody even knows about it, because they are not visible.

Fish and other marine species depend on the marshes and sea grasses for protection and nutrients as they grow - sea grasses that are disappearing at an alarming rate, in some areas. The water needs to be clear in order for the sunlight to penetrate to the grasses so photosynthesis can take place. If the water is too turbid or muddy the sunlight will not be able to penetrate it, the grass will not be able to grow, and it will die. (An example to relate to: cover a portion of your lawn with a tarp and see how quickly it dies without sunlight.) The grass actually helps keep the water clear by reducing the disturbance of the silt and mud. Grasses need to be protected where they still exist, and we need to restore them in areas where they are declining.

Another way to improve and protect our water is the use of oysters.  Oysters are filter feeders: they filter the water as they feed. They help improve the quality of their surrounding water, and if they are not present in stressed areas they should be introduced.

We as anglers need to support conservation organizations and public servants who support providing fish and other marine life with a healthy environment to grow up and become adults. Contact the local conservation or environmental organizations in your area and ask them what they are doing to protect and enhance the nursery areas where you live and fish. Focus your support on the ones that are working to protect and restore the marine habitat. We need to designate more areas as “no motor zones” and we need to do more research on habitat enhancement and restoration. Public awareness really needs to be stressed. Fisheries Management needs to start at the bottom of the food chain.

I still have a bumper sticker on my vehicle that reads “Save our Marshes for Fish and other Wildlife”.

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