Virginia Coastal Program: 2002 Coastal Grant Project Description and Final Summary
Project Task:
FY2002 Task 12.02
Grantee:
Virginia Institute of Marine Science - Wachapreague
Project Title:
Virginia Seaside Heritage Program: Aquaculture, Shorebird Prey, & Water Quality
Project Description as Proposed:
Rapid growth of
hard clam aquaculture in the coastal bays over the past decade has
lead to a number of real and perceived user conflicts. In an effort
to support the development of aquaculture practices and management
options that reduce these conflicts and support environmentally-sound,
sustainable aquaculture in the coastal bays, we will develop best
management practice (BMP) guidelines for the industry. Working together
with the industry and with other user groups, we will identify those
aquaculture practices which raise environmental or sociological
concerns. We will document the spatial occurrence of these practices
and we will identify solutions.
Current hard clam aquaculture practices include the extensive use
of plastic mesh netting for predator exclusion. In Virginia’s
coastal bays the grow-out phase in clam aquaculture is conducted
on intertidal and shallow sub-tidal mudflats, some of which also
serve as foraging areas for migratory shorebirds. In a related study
as part of the Seaside Heritage Program, Dr. Brian Watts will be
developing GIS data layers depicting the spatial pattern of shorebird
foraging on these flats and sedimentary sign-ature based upon aerial
images. Following the development of these data layers, we will
conduct quantitative sampling of benthic invertebrates on (1) mudflats
that are heavily used as foraging grounds by migratory birds, (2)
mudflats of similar characteristics that are not heavily used by
shorebirds and (3) mudflats with hard clam aquaculture. All invertebrates
that represent potential prey species for birds will be identified
and enumerated. Our goal is to develop an inventory of available
prey species and abundances and relate that to the distribution
of shorebirds and aquaculture operations.
A number of studies over the past decade have collected water quality
data at various locations within the coastal bays. Unfortunately,
these data are unconsolidated and fragmentary. In order to evaluate
what we know about the status of water quality in the coastal bays
and to identify important data gaps, we need to develop an inventory
of existing data. Additionally, we need to synthesize these data,
identify priority areas for future monitoring and establish a framework
managing regional water data. This project will address each of
these tasks.
Federal Funding:
$42,000
Project Contact:
Mark W Luckenbach, (757) 787-5816, luck@vims.edu
Project Status:
Grant Closed
Final Product Received:
Project Summary Provided by Grantee:
Development
of Aquaculture Codes of Practice and BMP's-Our objective during
the first year of this project was to work with the clam aquaculture
industry to develop a draft set of Environmental Codes of Practice
(ECOP's) and Best Management Practices (BMP's) for clam culture.
Our ultimate goal by the end of the second year is to have these
documents completed and adopted by the industry. There is currently
no formal group that represents this industry, so we have worked
closely with the five largest members of the industry (repesenting
~80% of the total production) and developed draft sets of guidelines
for both the ECOP's and BMP's. The draft ECOP's was presented at
the 2003 annual meeting of clam growers on the Eastern Shore and
received their general endorsement. The draft set of BMP's is scheduled
to be refined in the second year of this project and will again
be presented to industry members and other stakeholders at public
meetings. Drafts of both documents are supplied as deliverables
with this project. The goal of this effort is not simply to prepare
these two sets of documents, but rather to obtain industry buy-in
to the process along with their commitment to implement them.
Shorebird Prey and Clam Aquaculture Conflicts-The ultimate goal
of this three-year project is to develop an understanding of how
clam aquaculture in the coastal bays affects the feeding activity
of migratory shorebirds. During year one of this study we obtained
data on areas of shorebird concentrations in the lower coastal bays
from aerial surveys conducted by Dr. Brian Watts (Task #12.01).
We also obtained data from the VMRC on shellfish leases in the area
that will be used to produce GIS layers that will show regions of
potential overlap. (Due to limitations in the format of the VMRC
data, we are still in the process of putting these into a GIS format.)
We used high resolution aerial photography obtained from the VA
Geographical Information Network to map the locations of clam nets
in the southern portion of the coastal bays. The combined maps show
areas of actual overlap between shorebird foraging areas and aquaculture.
A digital map showing these areas of overlap was provided to DEQ
Coastal Program. During year 2 of this study we will take benthic
samples before and after shorebird migrations at sites with and
without clam aquaculture to determine the prey species and abundances
available to shorebirds and the potential impacts of clam aquaculture
on prey availability. A more detailed sampling design was provided
to DEQ Coastal Program along with the map showing locations of shorebird
concentrations and aquaculture operations.
Water quality database- The objective of this one-year study was
to conduct an inventory of all available water quality data from
the Virginia coastal bays and compile all of the information in
one location. We have compiled and formatted water quality data
for over 400 sites on the seaside spanning the period from 1962-2003
into both ACCESS and EXCEL databases containing over 41,000 entries.
Parameters in these databases include dissolved oxygen, pH, water
temperature, salinity, nitrate, nitrite, total dissolved nitrogen,
orthophosphate, total dissolved phosphate, total suspended solids,
fixed suspended solids, volatile suspended solids, dissolved organic
nitrogen, dissolved organic phosphorous, chlorophyll a, pheophytin,
urea, DFAA, DCAA, DOC, PAR, Brown Tide counts, secchi depth and
fecal coliform counts. These data have been provided by several
sources including VIMS (5 sources within), ODU, VDH, and links to
existing databases provided by EPA, UVA LTER, and DEQ. Metadata
have also been produced for the database. Data are provided with
latitude and longitude for importation into GIS. The databases,
metadata and a listing of web links were provided to DEQ as a final
product.
Form C end
Disclaimer: This project summary provides the federal dollars initially awarded to the grantee. Due to underexpenditure or reprogramming of grant funds, this figure may change. For more information on the allocation of coastal grant funds, please contact Laura McKay, Virginia Coastal Program Manager, at 804.698.4323 or email: Laura.McKay@deq.virginia.gov
A more detailed Scope of Work for this project is available. Please direct your request for a copy to Virginia.Witmer@deq.virginia.gov
