Struggle to Protect Estuaries 



per thousand parts water, the 

 warmer waters are more inviting to 

 developing young fish and shellfish. 



Large or sudden influxes of fresh 

 water can disrupt that delicate bal- 

 ance, and fishermen often point an 

 accusing finger at upstream farmers 

 whose drainage ditches funnel fresh 

 water down rivers into estuaries. 



More and more, however, farmers 

 are turning to techniques such as 

 water management, strip cropping 

 and vegetation lines designed to 

 reduce runoff. In five years' time, 

 Copeland says he has seen much 

 improvement in the quality of water 

 coming downstream and off fields. 



He notes, too, that runoff isn't 

 necessarily bad. An estuary, by 

 definition, refers to that zone where 

 salt water and fresh water meet. 

 Land drainage is a permanent part 

 of that picture. 



"I don't know how one changes 

 nature," says Copeland, who 

 recently completed a detailed study 

 of the Albemarle-Pamlico estuarine 

 system. 



"[Drainage] is not going to 



change," he says. "But you can 

 change how it goes. How much 

 water do you let loose when?" 



Further restrictions on upstream 

 use could be coming if the N.C. 

 Wildlife Resources Commission 

 agrees to extend nursery protec- 

 tions to waterways it controls in- 

 land of the estuaries. 



Widening the existing nursery 

 zones would help protect shrimp, 

 crabs and other ocean animals 

 that cross that imaginary line now 

 separating estuarine waters over- 

 seen by Marine Fisheries — which 

 recognizes nurseries — and the 

 wildlife agency, which doesn't. 



Last fall, the Division of Marine 

 Fisheries suggested that wildlife 

 officials add 10,000 acres to those 

 areas already designated as nur- 

 series. Inland waterways currently 

 include no protected nurseries, 

 though a wildlife official says dis- 

 ruptive activities such as trawling 

 or dredging are not allowed anyhow. 



"Most of the things [the Divi- 

 sion of Marine Fisheries] protects, 

 we don't allow in any of our 



waters,' ' says Fred Harris, chief of 

 boating and inland fisheries with 

 the Wildlife Resources Commis- 

 sion. "There's not going to be a lot 

 of additional protection, with the 

 exception of possible [rules on] 

 water quality." 



The 13-member commission 

 has agreed to call for a public 

 hearing on the matter, and Harris 

 says approval of the new nurseries 

 appears likely. 



Whether by expanded nurseries 

 or by increased pressure to im- 

 prove upstream water runoff, 

 North Carolina must heighten ef- 

 forts to save its all-important 

 playgrounds for young fish and 

 shellfish, Copeland says. 



Unlike similarly sized estuaries 

 in the Chesapeake Bay and Long 

 Island Sound, North Carolina's 

 estuaries are "relatively clean," he 

 says — clean enough that they can 

 be preserved. 



"We've got to do it now," the 

 Sea Grant director says. "If you 

 don't do something now, you won't 

 have a chance later.' ' 9 



