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"If we would just leave them alone...."
-- and not pollute, overfish and destroy them, they would come back.
We wish.
The fact is, we do all those things, and we are one of the most
environmentally conscious countries on the planet. Yet even we still allow
estuaries to be polluted, overfished and insulted in other ways.
So what can we do?
You've started already, just by being a member of Teen Anglers. I'll
have more to say about this later.
Meantime, what are we actually doing to bring estuaries and other
wetlands back to health?
I can't speak for other states; I don't live there. But I do know a
little about national efforts, and about what we're doing here in Florida.
So here goes.
I mentioned earlier there are four basic problems here: habitat
destruction, suspended solids, dissolved materials, and overfishing.
Obviously, these are interconnected, and as I go through these, see if you
can find some of the connections. I'll point some out, too.
One more general note before I get specific. Money is always involved.
Destroying some part of an estuary generally makes money or saves money
for someone, or some corporation. It may be a developer creating expensive
waterfront property by destroying a grass flat, it may be a city which
doesn't want to raise taxes for advanced wastewater treatment, it may be
an industry that doesn't want to cut into its profits to treat its
chemical wastes - or it may be a commercial fisherman trying to make
enough money to pay for his boat and keep his family together.
Generally speaking, I have a lot of admiration for commercial
fishermen. Most barely make a living, and only fish because they love the
water so much. It is sad that this often involves damaging or even
destroying the very resource they depend upon.
So what do we do?
First, stop destroying habitat. We have laws - which are pretty well
enforced - to stop destruction of shallow bottoms by dredge and fill
projects, to stop siltation by requiring silt barriers, to regulate in
varying degrees how much change you can make in the littoral zone. These
laws, when they are well enforced, go a long way to prevent physical
destruction of habitat. Here in Florida, some of this enforcement is by
the state through our Department of Environmental Protection and other
agencies, and the remainder by our local county commissions. How about
where you live? Your county probably has a web site; check for the
environmental department, and see what they have posted about local
situations.
I live in Port St. Lucie on the East Coast (find it on a map of
Florida), and we are trying to put in a third parkway from US 1 west to
I-95. But there is a protected river in the way. We will have to build a
bridge to cross it, but the area we need to cross is a State Preserve. It
is estimated it will take at least five more years to come up with a
design for that bridge that the state will approve. Some construction
projects here, especially when they involve wetlands, may require permits
from more than two dozen different county, state and federal agencies.
These generally take years to be approved.
Suspended solids, the second problem. Some states do pretty well with
this problem, but from the Middle Atlantic States to New England, streams
bring loads of suspended solids with them. They come from clearcutting
hillsides, and from mining of coal. Try Googling it: maybe start with
"suspended solids + pollution + coal mines" and see what you
get. Try other keywords, too: siltation, storm runoff, things like that.
Remember that suspended solids from these sources get into the waterways
after rainfall events.
Dissolved materials, the third problem. Again, the situation varies
state to state. Look into the effluent from sewage treatment plants, what
happens to "pig ponds" - ever smell pig excrement? Wholesale pig
producers take the feces (imagine how much from a 400 pound pig!) and
usually just dump them into a pond, which stinks and may overflow when
there's a lot of rain or when a nearby river floods. Those feces are not
only suspended solids to start, but as they dissolve, the nitrates and
phosphates are added to the river, stream, lake, estuary - whatever.
Look into the states of North Carolina and Missouri to find problems
associated with pig ponds. Many of the environmental group websites have
bulletins or articles about pig farms; check Audubon, the National
Wildlife Federation, maybe the Sierra Club. You might also check River
Keepers. Look especially into Hurricane Floyd and the effects of its
flooding on the Neuse and Tar Rivers in North Carolina, and the subsequent
effects of river runoff flooding on both Albemarle Sound and Pamlico
Sound.
Industries of many kinds are major contributors of dissolved materials.
Even a "clean" industry like electronics gets involved. They use
acids of many kinds to clean components as they are manufactured, and
those acids have to go somewhere. For you New Jerseyites, I can remember
in the 1940s betting with my brother what color the Raritan River would be
as we went to pick up my dad, who worked for Bakelite, a major plastics
company. The colors in the Raritan came from Calco, another plastics firm.
Some days it would be white as snow, sometimes red, or purple - or black.
Finally, overfishing. I'll share with you a lesson I learned from a
Professor at Appalachian State University about managing wild populations
which are subject to either hunting or fishing (just another kind of
hunting). What he said was this:
Suppose you have a population of animals which are prized by fishermen
or hunters. Let's say freshwater trout in a stream. As the population
dwindles, there are typically three steps which are taken, usually in the
following order, to bring the population back.
1. Rules and regulations. Size limits, bag limits, open and closed
seasons are the typical ones. In Florida, we also limit nets.
The population continues to decrease, so more is needed. The rules and
regs are kept, and something is added.
2. Restocking. Raise wild animals and turn them loose, to be
"taken" (killed) by hunters or fishermen. Game farms and fish
hatcheries are common in many states.
While I was in North Carolina during the 1970s, we had what is called a
"put'n'take" fishery for rainbow trout. Every Tuesday the
hatchery truck would dump 7 inch trout at specific points (which everyone
knew), Wednesday was no fishing, and on Thursday folks would go out and
catch these hatchery trout on corn niblets. The niblets resembled the food
pellets the hatchery fish were used to eating.
Result: the native populations continue to decline. Time for the third
step, which often made the difference and allowed native populations to
rebuild.
3. Habitat restoration. Control and remove sources of pollution,
prevent habitat destruction, and actually rebuild (or replant) habitat. In
the Indian River Lagoon, we are replanting cordgrass and mangroves and
experimenting with seagrass restoration. In many lakes, FADs (fish
attracting devices) are placed on the bottom of the lake to provide what
fishermen call "structure," an important hiding place for fish.
In many streams, downed logs may be used to create eddies in the current
where fish can rest and to increase the diversity of species living in the
stream.
The most important of these is controlling and/or removing sources of
pollution. It is also the most difficult.
4. Overfishing. Lots of rules and regs, and more importantly, a change
in attitude among many fishermen. Becoming more and
common is the philosophy of "catch and release." This is
especially important with the bigger fish; the difference in egg
production between a ten pound grouper and the same grouper at fifty
pounds is thousands of times more eggs. More eggs,
more young, more grouper to eat. YUMMMM!
Yes, we're getting better. Most people are much more environmentally
conscious today than even just ten years ago, and support for all of the
things I have mentioned continues to grow.
Remember I mentioned that being a member of Teen Anglers was a good
start? You can go further!
Seriously consider joining one of the conservation organizations which
are both nationwide and even worldwide. Generally, a donation of $25 to
$50 makes you a member, and brings their magazine or newsletter to you.
Some you might consider include the National Audubon Society, the National
Wildlife Federation, the Sierra Club, Greenpeace, the Sea Shepherd
Society, Ducks or Trout Unlimited, the Rainforest Alliance, Zero
Population Growth - and there are many more. Google 'em.
At no cost, you can take part in public hearings about conservation
issues, read your local newspaper about issues, write letters to the
editor, join blogs on the web - just keep the overall goal in mind.
Conservation first!
One last thought. If you get involved in discussions about conservation
issues, remember always that honey gets better results than vinegar. Ask
your parents.
Test Lesson 8
Bob Bergen, Professor of Science, Retired. Teen Angler Mentor
Copyright ©
2008[National Teen Anglers]. All rights reserved.
Revised: February 10, 2010
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