How Does EPA Help to Improve Fisheries, Marine Life, and Coastal Habitats?

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has several roles in protecting and restoring coastal habitats and communities – through policy, regulation, assistance, and research. The agency’s mandates and actions promote clean air and clean water, control uses and disposal of toxic substances, pesticides, and hazardous wastes, and support restoration of lands and waters that have suffered environmental harm. Most relevant to coastal habitats, the goal of the Clean Water Act (CWA) is to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation’s waters for “the protection and propagation of fish, shellfish, and wildlife . . .” For example, it was shown recently how biological criteria could be used by states and territories to protect coral reefs under CWA. Scientists from EPA’s Office of Research and Development work directly with the offices responsible for policy and regulation; a current example is the science underlying numeric criteria to protect Florida’s coastal waters from excess nutrient loads. EPA, working with a variety of partners, is looking beyond regulatory mechanisms to develop the science and tools to help communities toward sustainable management of the environment – from quantifying the effects of habitat alterations on the sustainability of coastal fisheries, to holistic environmental-economic-social models of coastal communities, to evaluating our growing needs for sustainable water resources and the technology and infrastructure to support them.