More than 90% of the commercial fisheries and seafood products breed in these kinds of areas. In addition, dozens of species of migratory birds breed in the marshes and raise their young there. Commercial fishing and its dependent industries would not survive long without these areas intact. As it is, commercial fishing of wild species is being badly impacted by aquaculture, which was another unforeseen consequence of development, in this case, economic development.
These estuaries and marshes are also important protection for the coastline. They furnish the barrier islands with purified sediment and absorb all the overflow during a storm. The barriers islands serve as the first frontal protection for the coastlines. They are constantly built up from both sides. New Orleans has lost much of its barrier island acreage and the accompanying marshes and estuaries to development. Systems of levees were created for flood control protection from Lake Ponchetraine. In addition, some areas were eliminated to make room for aquaculture. Shrimp and fish are farmed in controlled systems of man made lakes. Swampland, estuaries and barrier islands were all affected. It has also been found that wild species are turning up with diseases promoted by aquaculture. In essence, the coastal areas of New Orleans were redesigned by engineers. The damage to St. Louis was much more than it would have been if the original...
Southeast Louisiana's wetlands are the nursery for a $1 billion fishery. They protect 155 miles of interior waterways over which more than 100 million tons of cargo are shipped annually. Eighteen percent of the nation's domestic oil production comes from coastal Louisiana, and the marsh helps protect the petroleum industry's pipelines and wells." (Dunne, Mike 2001)
Sometimes we need to harmonize our life style with the natural environment, instead of trying to take control and change it. The examples cited above of
North Carolina and the New Orleans coast are only two of many examples where development, human habitation and pollution is having dire consequences. Perhaps we need to look again at what we are doing to our environment.
Cited Sources and References Consulted
Dunne, Mike. "Divert a River, Save a Marsh.(Louisiana's wetlands in danger)," Planning, February 1, 2001.
Louisiana Hurricane Resources
http://www.laseagrant.org/hurricane/archive/wetlands.htm
North Carolina Division of Environment and Natural Resources
http://www.oibgov.com/pdf_files/CAMA_Handbook_for_Development.pdf
Observer (Raleigh, NC); 6/4/2006: Stem the tide: North Carolina's coastal counties are being spoiled by rampant development.
