Category FAQs Search : Ecosystem
Question: Why Coastal Wetlands are Important
Answer: 1. If you love seafood you have a coastal wetland to thank for your favorite dish. Many kinds of fish—from salmon to striped bass, as well as lobster, shrimp, oysters and crabs—depend on coastal wetlands for places to live, feed, or reproduce.
2. If you enjoy fishing, you’ll appreciate wetlands that provide spawning grounds, food, and safety for young fish. In 2014 anglers generated more than $100 billion in economic impact and supported 439,000 U.S. jobs.
3. If you vacation on the coast, you’ll find wetlands throughout parks and natural areas, where you can explore history, nature, and recreation.
4. If you own coastal property wetlands protect you by absorbing storms, floods, and high waves.They stabilize shorelines and prevent land from eroding.These storm damage services are valued at over $23 billion annual dollars.
5. If you drive a car, cook, or heat your home you might be using oil or gas that traveled through coastal wetlands. Eighteen percent of U.S. oil production and almost 25 percent of U.S. natural gas production originates in, is transported through, or is processed in Louisiana coastal wetlands.
6. If you live near a river, even hundreds of miles from the coast, that river eventually flows into a coastal wetland. Rivers pick up excess fertilizer, pesticides, and sediment as they flow downstream. Plant life in healthy wetlands filters impurities before they reach the ocean. Unfortunately, high concentrations of pollution can overwhelm a wetlands’ capacity, leading to dead zones in once-productive waters.
(Source: NOAA Fisheries, 27 Jan 2021)
Source Link: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/habitat-conservation/coastal-wetlands-too-valuable-lose