Do you see the circles in the bottom 2/3rd of the picture? That is damage to eelgrass beds made by boats anchoring. Even after a boat has pulled up anchor, the effect of a chain dragging in circles for long periods of time can have an effect.
The answer is to do the following:
- When possible, use a mooring ball instead of anchoring, even if it costs a few dollars.
- If possible, anchor in sand or mud and avoid sensitive ecosystems. Sometimes one can choose to put an anchor down in a sandy spot between areas of vegetation. It gives you better anchorage and helps the sea bottom.
- If you do anchor in grass, try not to overuse one particular area so that the grass has a chance to grow back
- When retrieving your anchor, for the sake of your windlass and the ocean bottom, motor towards the anchor and try to lift it straight up
- Attach a trip line to the crown of your anchor when
anchoring. This is particularly easy to do with a rocna, mantus or other modern anchor. If your anchor is stuck, you can pull it out by the trip line and it usually comes out more easily. It also means you don’t have to replace your anchor and these modern anchors usually set better, which also causes less bottom damage from the anchor dragging.
Aquatic invasive species (also called exotic or non-native) are plants and animals that are transported to an ecosystem where they don’t belong. Often this means in the new location they don’t have natural predators and the population can explode out of control. This hurts native species, the ecosystem balance and often the local economy as fishermen and local property values can be affected. The only way to stop an invasive species from causing harm is to prevent them from entering the environment in the first place. For more information, take a look at this U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Aquatic Invasive Species
Yes, choosing a sunscreen that doesn’t hurt our oceans matters! And, the great folks at Haereticus labs have a certification program for ecofriendly sunscreens called Protect Land + Sea Certification. Click here to read more
The Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch® program for consumers helps us all know what fish are sustainable to eat and which fish if we eat cause damage to our oceans by the way they are fished or if that fish population is threatened. Our choices 100% determine what fish are caught. Making sustainable choices in fish rewards fishermen who do things the right way and preserves the biodiversity of our oceans.
Integrated DC-Powered Watermakers
Hand-held Watermakers
