327 



universal throughout coastal areas wherever suitable deposits and a 

 market exist. 



Oyster shell is an extremely useful construction material in the 

 Gulf of Mexico biophysical region. Twenty of the 22 million tons of 

 annual U.S. production are in the Gulf States, with Texas and 

 Louisiana producing the vast majority of it. 



Phosphate rock is an important estuarine mineral resource; about 

 75 percent of the total U.S. production is in the estuarine zone of 

 Florida and North Carolina, particularly around Tampa Bay and 

 Pamlico Sound. 



AQTTACULTUEE 



The great fish and shellfish resources of U.S. coastal waters have 

 adequately supplied the seafood demands of the increasing popula- 

 tion for over 300 years. Now, however, the demands for some j)roaucts 

 is so great that the normal fishing grounds and fisheries are in great 

 danger of being exhausted, both from overfishing and from the indirect 

 effects of man's encroachment into the estuarine environment. To sup- 

 ply future needs of some fish products new approaches toward com- 

 mercial fishing are needed, both in harvesting the natural growth and 

 in controlling the entire fishery. Aquaculture is defined as the rearing 

 of aquatic organisms, both plants and animals, under controlled con- 

 ditions using the techniques of plant and animal husbandry. It in- 

 volves a variety of operations, some that are highly sophisticated 

 where man exercises control over the principal environmental factors 

 affecting the cultured species, and others that are very simple with only 

 minimal control of manipulation of the habitat and the cultured, 

 animal. 



SHORELINE DEVELOPMENT 



The use or development of estuarine water either governs or depends 

 on land or shoreline use. 



Commercial development of the shoreline includes loading termi- 

 nals, docks, and shipyards, airports, industrial plants, and the smaller 

 municipal and local piers. Recreational facilities include marinas, 

 beaches, parks, fishing piers, and vacation cottages, motels, and hotels. 

 Although the motels and hotels are a commercial venture, their prime 

 purpose is to support the recreationist. Residential development of 

 water front property in many communities places on the shoreline in- 

 tensive housing development accompanied by boat docks, fishing and 

 swimming piers, and private beaches. Commercial and personal 

 transportation requires airports, highways, and commercial port 

 facilities. 



Structures built to protect or conserve the shoreline include bulk- 

 heads to hold the shore in place, dikes to prevent flooding and to extend 

 reclaimed land, jetties to provide a protective barrier between the sea 

 and ship channels, and groins along beach areas to control sand 

 movement. 



THE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC VALUES OF ESTUARINE USE 



All uses have value, both individually and as part of the development 

 and use of the entire estuarine resource for the benefit of the present 

 and future national community. The importance and total value of any 



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