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and What Threatens Their Health? 



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1. WATER COLUMN 



The water columns of rivers, sounds and 

 sea are essential to all aquatic life. Water 

 quality influences the health and abundance of 

 finfish and shellfish, as well as life up and 

 down the food chain. 



Threats to the water column include 

 pollution from stormwater runoff, sedimenta- 

 tion, turbidity, excess nutrients, bacteria, 

 toxins, trash, invasive species and alteration of 

 the natural flow of water. 



2. WETLANDS 



Wetlands include coastal saltwater 

 marshes, freshwater and brackish swamps and 

 bogs. Wetlands provide nursery and feeding 

 areas for many finfish, as well as shrimp and 

 crabs. Many anadromous fish spawn in or near 

 wetlands. Wetlands also filter pollutants from 

 stormwater runoff — protecting coastal 

 waters. 



Threats to wetlands include dredging, 

 filling and draining for development, intensive 

 agriculture and timber production, stormwater 

 runoff, boat wakes and bulkheads. 



3. SUBMERGED AQUATIC VEGETATION (SAV) 



Sea grasses and other underwater plants 

 grow in the shallow, coastal sounds and 

 estuaries. They provide critical sources of food 

 and shelter for many species of fish and marine 

 life. Bay scallops, red drum, hard clams, blue 

 crab, gag grouper and spotted trout depend on 

 SAV for some part of their life cycles. 



Pollution poses a primary threat to SAV. 

 Sunlight, essential for photosynthesis, cannot 

 penetrate murky waters polluted by 

 stormwater runoff. Boat groundings, anchors 

 and wakes and some fishing gear also are 

 threats. 



4. OCEAN HARD BOTTOMS 



Ocean hard bottoms, both nearshore 

 and offshore, are exposed areas of rock or 

 hardened sediments. These areas provide 

 spawning grounds for reef fish and cover and 

 food for snappers, groupers, sea bass, king 

 mackerel and flounder. 



Threats include some fishing gears, such 

 as trawls, boat anchors, dredging and ocean 

 dumping. 



5. SAND AND MUD BOTTOMS 



Most of North Carolina's ocean, sound 

 and river bottoms are comprised of a mixture 

 of mud and sand. These provide key habitat 

 for burrowing species — clams, mole crabs, 

 worms — that are delicacies for mullet, blue 

 crabs, shrimp and croaker. 



Threats to these areas include dredging, 

 mining, and deposition of toxic sediments 

 from sewage discharges and polluted 

 stormwater runoff. 



6. SHELL BOTTOMS 



Oysters live in the shallow waters of 

 tidal rivers, creeks and sounds. More than 

 3,000 oysters can grow in one square yard of 

 healthy habitat. Shell bottoms provide the 

 substrate for more than other oysters. A 

 variety of fish, including black sea bass and 

 red drum, enjoy the smorgasbord of marine 

 life that shell beds offer. 



Cited threats to shell bottoms include 

 diseases, boat wakes, dredging, sedimenta- 

 tion, invasive species, polluted stormwater 

 runoff and certain fishing gear, such as trawls. 



SOURCE: N.C. Division of Marine 

 Fisheries. Images courtesy of N.C. Depart- 

 ment of Environment and Natural Resources 



18 HIGH SEASON 2003 



