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North Carolina Department of Environment Quality

NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources
Marine Fisheries - Shoreline Hardening

Marine Fisheries

Shoreline Hardening

Habitats Affected: Water column, SAV, wetlands, soft bottom

Common Sources: Bulkheads, jetties, seawalls, groins

Impacts

  • Increased wave energy on shoreline due to hardened structures accelerates erosion of wetlands and leads to loss of intertidal soft bottom habitat.
  • Increased turbidity in the water column.
  • Deepening of nearshore habitat and elevated turbidity due to hardened structures deters future colonization of wetland or SAV plants.
  • Reduced fish and invertebrate use of hardened shore due to decrease in habitat complexity and toxicity of wood preservatives.
  • Prevents landward migration of wetlands (along estuarine shorelines) or barrier islands (along oceanfront).

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N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries • 3441 Arendell Street • Morehead City, NC 28557 • 252-726-7021 or 800-682-2632

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