INSHORE ZONE, NEARSHORE ZONE, and INSHORE ZONE
dependent species.
There are many definitions of INSHORE ZONE and NEARSHORE ZONE
which complicates their use. We have
adopted INSHORE ZONE as representative of our area of activity as – in contrast
to
INSHORE ZONE: We define the INSHORE ZONE as extending from
high tide level to a depth of 20 meters in estuaries, bays, the saline zones of
tributary rivers and their adjacent wetlands, and the shores of islands.
Other definitions of INSHORE ZONE are a distance from the coast
such as the Tasmanian, Australia, inshore trawl fishery
(within State waters, generally within three nautical miles of the coast)
(State of the Environment, Tasmania, 2003); or in British meteorology as
Inshore Waters Forecast to 12 miles offshore.
NEARSHORE ZONE: Description
from the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, Nearshore Habitat
Program www.dnr.wa.gov. There are many different definitions of
nearshore depending on your scope of interest, geography or status as a
manager, scientist, naturalist or enthusiast. The term 'nearshore' has evolved
to encompass a rather large area, not just those areas that are adjacent to or
'near' the shore line. Most commonly it refers to the backshore, intertidal and
shallow subtidal areas of shoreline. In
INSHORE ZONE dependent species and fisheries: Between 75 and 89 percent of all marine
fishery resources are dependent for their survival (as spawning, nursery,
feeding and/or migration corridors) on "inshore" habitats such as
estuaries, bays, tributary rivers and their adjacent wetlands. Important
"inshore" habitats for living marine resources include seagrass
meadows, salt marshes, mangrove forests, coral and marl reefs, kelp beds, tidal
inlets, unvegetated coastal and bay bottoms, tidal flats, river and stream
channels, forested headwater streams, freshwater marshes, oxbow lakes,
bottomland hardwood swamps, beaches, and larger bodies of water such as sounds,
lagoons, bays, and estuaries - collectively "inshore
ecosystems." "Inshore-dependent" species are those
considered to be dependent upon inshore ecosystems for essential reproduction
(as spawning or nursery areas), migration, or feeding. However, the
living marine resources that have been affected most by habitat degradation and
loss are those dependent upon inshore ecosystems. However, massive ecosystem alteration and
continuing habitat degradation, if allowed to continue, will limit recovery for
the preponderance of the nation's marine species. This will affect the
economies and social characteristics of coastal regions, recreational pleasure
for millions, and continued production of the nation's highest quality food
source. Moreover, without such critical inshore habitats, these species would
not exist in the abundance they are (or were) found. The living resources
of inshore waters are predominantly juveniles - often the young of species
hatched offshore and carried by currents to coastal waters or downstream migrants
from headwater spawning sites. For example, inshore-dependent resources
include: (a) salmon, which spawn far inland and mature at sea; (b) shrimp,
whose larvae are carried by currents from offshore spawning areas to estuarine
nursery areas; (c) bluefish, which spawn offshore and use estuaries and coastal
waters to feed; (d) oysters, which survive best in the lower salinity zones of
estuaries; and (e) red snapper, which are characteristic reef fish.
Inshore-Dependent Species Contribute $46.5 Billion Annually to the