When scientists and citizen activists want to implement regulations to protect the shoreline, one of the things that they are attempting to protect is spawning habitat for a critical piece of our ecosystem, such as sand lance. These fish spawn on the shore, and nearshore, and supply food for salmon, and most other species of fish that we eat. So the inconvenience of protecting some shorelines is off set by the food resource all of us get from it.
While much attention is paid to herring spawning, kelp habitats are critical for a number of forage fish species and life history stages, including young of the year sand lance. Here’s a glimpse of this captivating and beautiful component of our marine ecosystem. (Coastal Watershed Institute)
Nearshore Spring 2015 https://vimeo.com/126381367