Presented by Thomas E. Bigford, NOAA/NMFS Office of Habitat Conservation, at the HC/MSC Joint Energy Seminar, ASMFC Annual Meeting, Atlantic Beach, North Carolina.
Habitat Special Reports
In-depth reports on specific topics or issues of particular importance to fisheries management and conservation.
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The purpose of this document is to provide a comprehensive discussion regarding a variety of materials that have been used in the development of marine and estuarine artificial reefs in the United States.
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Many beaches along the east coast of the United States are eroding, which threatens habitat, property, public infrastructure, and the tourist industry. Loss of sand can be attributed to natural factors such as storms, sea level changes, waves, currents, tides, wind, bathymetry, shoreline geology, sand supply and quality, and sand movement among dunes, beach, and offshore bars.
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To enhance protection of SAV, the Commission adopted an SAV policy in 1997 with the goal of preserving SAV, and ultimately achieving a net gain in SAV distribution and abundance.
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The body of current knowledge and expertise in manmade reef development and technology has been produced either directly or indirectly through all these state efforts. This document represents the collective knowledge and policy direction of the state programs, through the interstate marine fisheries commissions, and is intended to be complementary to the Plan and any subsequent revisions thereto.
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ASMFC is establishing this policy on submerged aquatic vegetation, emphasizing both the true seagrasses and freshwater species, because of the important role SAV plays in the habitat of ASMFC managed species, and because some of these species utilize both seagrass and freshwater SAV habitats during their ontogenetic development.
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The decision to focus ASMFC’s attention on submerged aquatic vegetation was prompted by increasing concerns that the coast-wide health of this valuable resource may be declining, that certain human activities may be adversely affecting SAV, and that the Commission may need to take action in its fishery management plans (FMPs) to protect SAV as valuable fish habitat. Based on those facts, Habitat Committee Chair Tom Fote (NJ) established the Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV) Subcommittee on May 28, 1996.
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Technical working papers from a symposium on artificial reef development held at the American Fishery Society Annual Meeting in Tampa, Florida, August 29, 2995
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The Artificial Reef Technical Committee of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission was established in 1984 to provide critical advice to the Commission on development of artificial reefs along the Atlantic Coast. The committee is composed of the senior state scientists responsible for marine artificial reef programs in eleven of the Commission’s fifteen member states (Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida). Representatives of the National Marine Fisheries Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Environmental Protection Agency also participate on the committee. The following report was produced…
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