In Louisiana, The Coastal Conservation Association, with partial support from FAF, has begun building inshore artificial reefs to support oyster growth and increase the number of finfish swimming in Louisiana waters. The group procured 4,200 tons of Kentucky limestone to create the first one-acre reef. The new reef and others like it will compensate for the loss of marine habitat due to erosion.
In Texas, with FAF support, the Galveston Bay Foundation is trying to restore some of the 40,000 acres of wetland habitat lost due to ground water withdrawals causing the land to subside. That problem has been corrected by getting the cities off ground water use. Now the group hopes to restore at least 30,000 acres by 2010.
"Before planting grass, we come in and raise the elevation of the ground from 18 inches to 3 feet using fill material from different parts of the bay," said Chuck Wimple, executive director of the foundation. "We used to hold an annual event called Marsh Mania that drew 2,000 people one year. Now we hold two events a year that typically draw several hundred volunteers," said Wimple. "They come from high schools and universities, homeowners associations and other community groups."
FAF also funds various stock enhancement programs, including support for hatcheries in Florida and Texas, and provides funds for important research projects. Two such initiatives have led to two important papers- No Take Marine Protected Areas (nMPAs) as a fishery management tool, a pragmatic perspective by Dr. Bob Shipp, and The Economic Effects of Sportfishing Closures in Marine Protected Areas, by Robert Southwick, that debunk much of the questionable science being used to create so-called Marine Protected Areas that ban all forms of recreational fishing.
The Foundation
FAF is the foundation arm of the American Sportfishing Association which is a trade association. Money used for grants comes from association members, from direct donations to the foundation and an endowment fund. Grants are provided anywhere in the U.S. for support of fresh or saltwater fish species. The foundation also works through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Restoration Center on funding smaller restoration projects that affect marine and anadramous fish habitat.
"This is our 20th year," said FAF director DeGroff, "We started funding local sporting club projects in 1983 because the people out there fishing are the ones who have the most at stake. The last couple of years we've awarded between 70 and 80 grants totaling just under a million dollars."
But it's never just fish that benefit. When you improve habitat for the top predators, you help just about every species connected to the aquatic ecosystem. "We do a lot of wetlands restoration which benefits wading birds, mammals, and even insects, but there is always a component that will improve sportfish," said DeGroff. "Anglers are very passionate when the end result is more fish to catch. These projects provide an opportunity for them to go out there and do this good work."
For more information visit the FAF website at www.fishamerica.org. Or contact Johanna DeGroff, Acting Director, FishAmerica Foundation, 225 Reinekers Lane, Suite 420, Alexandria, VA 22314; (703) 519-9691; email jdegroff@asafishing.org.
