Population Health
December 20, 2016
Effects of shoreline armoring on the ecosystem
The seawalls and bulkheads around the Salish Sea protect the land from erosion and landslides. However, the unintended consequences from this armoring include smaller beaches and reduced habitats for spawning fish and invertebrates, which then indirectly impacts larger species such as orca whales.
A recent University of Washington study analyzed 65 pairs of sites broadly within Puget Sound to assess the impacts of shoreline armoring to the ecosystem of the Salish Sea. The study also offered recommendations for how to attempt to mitigate the cumulative effects of armoring that researchers identified during their work.