Synthesis of linkages between benthic and fish communities as a key to protecting essential fish habitat

Several essential fish habitats lack the protections necessary to prevent d egradation because of failure to integrate the scientific disciplines requi red to understand the causes of the degradation and failure to integrate th e fragmented state and federal management authorities that each hold only a piece of the solution. Improved protection of essential habitat for demers al fishes requires much better synthesis of benthic ecology, fisheries ocea nography, and traditional fisheries biology. Three examples of degraded hab itat for demersal fishes and shellfishes are high-energy intertidal beaches , subtidal oyster reefs, and estuarine soft bottoms. In each case, both sci entific understanding of and management response to the problem require a h olistic approach. Intertidal beach habitat for surf fishes could be protect ed by constraints on the character of sediments used in beach nourishment a cid restriction of nourishment activity to biologically inactive seasons. S ubtidal oyster-reef habitat for numerous crabs, shrimps, and finfishes coul d be protected and restored by reduction of nitrogen loading to the estuary and elimination of dredge damage to reefs. Estuarine soft-bottom habitat f or demersal fin- and shellfishes could also be protected by reduction of th e nutrient loading of the estuary, which could prevent associated problems of nuisance blooms and low dissolved oxygen. Although a broad general under standing of the nature of habitat degradation exists for each of these thre e examples, the interdisciplinary science needed to sort out the separate a nd interactive contributions of all major contributing factors is incomplet e. Adopting the holistic approach embodied in the principles of ecosystem m anagement sets a course for addressing both the scientific inadequacies and the management inaction.