GONG 

 WITH 

 THE 

 FLOW: 



Aquaculture's Water 

 Quality Woes 



^^>lean water. Fish need it, shellfish 

 need it, and people want to live near it. 



But the livelihood offish and shellfish 

 farmers depends on it. 



As development in North Carolina's 

 coastal regions continues to increase, 

 waste and water quality issues are being 

 forced to the forefront of North Carolina's 

 aquaculture industries. 



A closer look at shellfish growers and 

 hybrid striped bass farmers in eastern 

 North Carolina illustrates how aquaculture 

 operations can both suffer from and 

 possibly contribute to the degradation of 

 water resources. 



For shellfish growers, the ever- 

 increasing residential and commercial 

 development in coastal watersheds causes 

 more polluted storm water to enter creeks 

 and streams. That means increased 

 closures of shellfish beds, lost revenue, 

 and the risk of a contaminated product. 



For hybrid striped bass farmers, 

 releasing too much effluent from earthen 

 ponds into nearby streams can pollute 

 water in residential areas downstream. 



As populations of once-rural areas 

 continue to grow, so will public scrutiny 

 of fish farms and the demand for stricter 

 water quality standards. 



Issues concerning water quality may 

 be different for each industry, but the 

 question remains the same: how do we 

 keep the water clean? 



Coostwatch I Winter 2006 



Em 



Www.ncseagrant.org 



