Harmful algal blooms (HABs) occur when algae - simple photosynthetic organisms that live in the sea and freshwater - grow out of control while producing toxic or harmful effects on people, fish, shellfish, marine mammals, and birds. There are many kinds of HABs, caused by a variety of algal groups with different toxins. The HABs in fresh and marine waters are usually very different, but they overlap in low salinity estuaries (places where rivers meet the sea). ... States have rigorous monitoring programs to ensure that commercially harvested fish and shellfish are safe to eat.

Residents of the Goodbee area northwest of Covington who have been fighting the development of new subdivisions in the flood-prone area for years got some good news at the St. Tammany Parish Zoning Commission's Feb. 4 meeting. Commissioners approved a request to reduce the size of the planned unit development formerly known as The Preserve at Goodbee Lakes from 75 to 32 acres and rezone the remaining 43 acres to A-1 Suburban District so they could be maintained as wetlands. The number of homesites would be reduced from 92 to 66.

The goal of this project is to re-create marsh habitat in the open water behind the shoreline. This new marsh will maintain the lake-rim function along this section of the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain by preventing the formation of breaches into interior ponds. Sediment will be dredged from Lake Pontchartrain and contained in cells within the interior ponds to create approximately 417 acres of marsh. In addition, 149 acres of degraded marsh will be nourished with dredged material.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a collection of marine debris in the North Pacific Ocean. Marine debris is litter that ends up in oceans, seas, and other large bodies of water. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, also known as the Pacific trash vortex, spans waters from the West Coast of North America to Japan. The patch is actually comprised of the Western Garbage Patch, located near Japan, and the Eastern Garbage Patch, located between the U.S. states of Hawaii and California.

Submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) thrives across the estuarine salinity gradient providing valuable ecosystem services. Within the saline portion of estuaries, seagrass areas are frequently cited as hotspots for their role in capturing and retaining organic carbon (Corg). Non-seagrass SAV, located in the fresh to brackish estuarine areas, may also retain significant soil Corg, yet their role remains unquantified.

Total coliform bacteria are a collection of relatively harmless microorganisms that live in large numbers in the intestines of man and warm- and cold-blooded animals. They aid in the digestion of food. A specific subgroup of this collection is the fecal coliform bacteria, the most common member being Escherichia coli. These organisms may be separated from the total coliform group by their ability to grow at elevated temperatures and are associated only with the fecal material of warm-blooded animals.

Submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) are underwater plants that grow in shallow water and do not emerge above the surface. These areas are important nurseries for juvenile fish and provide refuge for smaller species of fish and invertebrates from predators.

Wetlands contribute to the national and local economies by producing resources, enabling recreational activities and providing other benefits, such as pollution control and flood protection. While it can be difficult to calculate the economic value provided by a single wetland, it is possible to evaluate the range of services provided by all wetlands and assign a dollar value. These amounts can be impressive. According to one assessment of natural ecosystems, the dollar value of wetlands worldwide was estimated to be $14.9 trillion. (Source: Costanza et al.

Underlying wetland mitigation is the assumption that it is scientifically possible for humans to recreate the structure and functions of a wetland, either by restoring a site that had previously been a wetland or by creating an entirely new wetland. The purpose of this chapter is to discuss the ecological principles of wetland creation and restoration science and evaluate the current scientific ability of practitioners to restore or create various aspects of wetland functioning in a variety of environments.

Management is failing to adequately protect coastal ecosystems. Here we reviewed the policies, legislation, plans and management frameworks intended to protect seagrass meadows in 20 case-studies with the aim of identifying critical gaps in seagrass protection. The case-studies were chosen to represent a range of regions known to have high cumulative impacts or outstanding seagrass management