RESTORING SHORELINES TO IMPROVE FISH HABITAT
Researchers study the link between shoreline type (armored, restored, natural) and fish assemblages by conducting surveys and integrating their new data into an existing database to gain insight into this link at multiple spatial scales.
Tessa Francis, University of Washington Tacoma, Puget Sound Institute
Timothy Essington, University of Washington
Jameal Samhouri, NOAA Fisheries/NMFS
Jason Toft, University of Washington
To fill the gap in knowledge regarding how shoreline restoration affects subtidal habitat and fish assemblages, researchers conducted fish surveys of restored, armored and natural shorelines. They also evaluated how associations between fish assemblages and nearshore habitat vary at different spatial scales by synthesizing their data with existing data from the Beach Strategies database — a highly-resolved dataset on shoreline characteristics — and regional environmental data. The team aimed to shed light on whether restored and natural shoreline types provide higher quality habitat for fish and, ultimately, to create a set of criteria for use in prioritizing nearshore restoration through maximizing results for recovering fish populations.