Fishing and Fish Habitat Restoration:
Restore Full Tidal Exchange Wetlands
Background
Wetlands restoration was evaluated as a general action that will require further
planning and site selection. Because large-scale wetlands restoration is costly
and numerous entities are involved in coastal wetlands restoration in the
Southern California region, the presumption was that MSRP funds will be used to
augment a larger-scale restoration project in the region. In particular, MSRP
funding will be directed at habitat restoration of tidally-influenced wetlands
that are used as nursery and foraging habitat by commonly caught coastal fish
species, such as the California halibut.
The costs of this action are scalable and proportional to the size and nature of
the project. Existing large-scale wetlands restoration work involving
significant engineering can cost several tens of millions of dollars, not
including land acquisition costs. Given the limits of MSRP funding, restoration
funds will be best used to complement funding from other sources in achieving
larger-scale habitat improvements. The selection of specific sites (see below)
was guided by the MSRP goals and objectives for restoring fishing and fish
habitat. NOAA and the other Trustees sought specifically to restore coastal
wetland/estuarine habitats in the region that have direct tidal links to the
ocean and serve as nursery habitats for fish, especially species that are
targeted by ocean anglers. Two projects were funded in 2007.
(Watch Wetlands Restoration Film)
|
Project Updates
Huntington Beach Wetlands
Habitat Restoration
-
MSRP provided funding to restore parts of Talbert and Brookhurst Marshes within
the Huntington Beach Wetlands system.
-
This project opened up approximately 140 acres of full-tidal wetlands that play
an important role as nursery and foraging habitat for fish and birds.
-
Restoration work at the Brookhurst/Talbert sections of the Huntington Beach
wetlands were completed in March 2009.
Biological Monitoring
-
In collaboration with California State University, Long Beach and the
Huntington Beach Wetlands Conservancy, MSRP intiated a two-year study to follow
the functional recovery of the wetland.
-
This project focuses on feeding and movement patterns of juvenile and adult
California Halibut in the wetland system.
-
The first year of the study was conducted in 2009, starting shortly after the
Brookhurst marsh was breached.
Bolsa Chica Wetlands
-
MSRP provided funding for dredging of the Bolsa Chica wetlands to maintain full
tidal exchange which is a critical element in the wetlands function as nursery
and foraging habitat for marine fish.
-
This project is one of the largest full-tidal-exchange wetland restoration
projects in Southern California.
-
Dredging was completed in March 2009, removing approximately 200,000 cubic
meters of sand that had accumulated in the tidal basin.
|
|
|
If you cannot view the video,
click here to install the latest Adobe Flash Player
|
|
|
