Salt Marsh Die Off, Red Snapper on the Fly, Hard Times for Shad, New Arrivals at Old Spawning Grounds

June 15, 2012 By: Erin Block

  • Recreational fishing has been linked to salt marsh die offs in Cape Cod. “It’s like coral in a coral reef,” Mark Bertness of Brown University says. And the grasses are the foundation holding marshlands together; without them, everything washes away.
  • It may take a village to raise a child, but it takes a whole crew to catch a red snapper on a fly rod.
  • Hudson River shad have come upon hard times. And while habitat conservation measures are being taken, “since no one’s catching or eating the fish, will people care? In 2025, will wildlife officials be motivated to protect a fish that has no commercial value and everyone’s forgotten about?” wonders journalist Lynn Woods.
  • Above the old Elwha River dam site, steelhead are already arriving to spawn.