JAMES Magazine Online: Annual Ecosystem Report from DNR Shows Moderate Improvements
Friday, April 26th, 2024
To read all of JAMES Magazine Online’s daily news, SUBSCRIBE HERE. *Subscription includes a complimentary subscription to JAMES Magazine.
The Georgia coast holds a unique place in the state and in the country for it’s ecosystem. Thanks to a quirk of interests from 19th century elites, many of the islands in the chain of barrier islands were privately owned and remote, leaving many relatively undeveloped. Recent growth on the coast however, and the increasing traffic at the Savannah port – and all the warehousing and storage that goes with it – are challenging the current environment.
The Coastal Resources Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) issues an annual report that takes a look at a number of factors that contribute to the overall health of the ecosystem. The health of the coastal environment is important for general ecosystem reasons on its own but also to the continued tourism in the area.
The DNR report tracks four categories: water quality, fisheries, birds and sea turtles. There are twelve total indicators making up the four categories, largely measuring animal populations that can serve as an indicator of overall ecosystem health but also pollution levels, such as fecal coliform.
“Environmental report cards are powerful tools used around the world to highlight long-term survey data, increase public awareness of coastal resource statuses, and influence members of the public to act to improve the health of the coast through public support and restoration projects,” said Jan Mackinnon, manager of CRD’s Coastal and Ocean Management Program, which produced the Report Card.
Apparently working off of the modern education model of grade inflation, the overall score was 78 percent, constituting a grade of a “B.” The highest scoring indicators were red drum, spotted seatrout and sea turtle nesting – all perfect scores of 100. Seatrout have seen a strong recovery since regulations changed in 2016 increasing the minimum size limit. DNR now uses three locations to get a broad picture of the population, the Wassaw, Ossabaw and St. Andrews sounds. As for the sea turtles, thanks to strong monitoring and protections, nesting has maintained a score of 100 percent for all ten years of the survey. Hatching however is a much more precarious situation. Hatchlings are certainly preyed on by birds but the introduced species of feral hog also has a big impact, dropping the hatching score from 73 percent to 49 percent this year thanks to hogs and raccoons on some of the barrier islands. Continued success on nesting however should eventually boost populations and help ensure long-term viability.
On the bird index, bald eagles have seen a strong recovery, as well as wood storks, but American oystercatchers had the lowest score this year at 8 percent. Oystercatchers are a ground-nesting bird, making them vulnerable to higher tides or “overwashing,” as well as the aforementioned feral hog problem and other mammal predation.
Importantly, on the fisheries index, for both our food and economy, as well as the food of all the other specie on the coast, the shrimp continues to have good scores. Shrimp have an average score of 90.6 for the last ten years, making it more likely to find a Georgia shrimp on your local dinner menu.
To see the full report card:
