30 SIMPLE WAYS TO KEEP COASTAL WILDLIFE HAPPY & HEALTHY
(In no particular order)
Coastal biodiversity is under constant threat and is being lost faster than natural extinction due to a wide variety of human induced issues including climate change, habitat loss and fragmentation, rapid urbanization of coastal lands, increasing plastic pollution and microplastics, illegal wildlife trade of terrapins, sea turtles and sharks, overfishing, bycatch, ghost fishing gear, invasive species, and increasing air and water pollution around the world.
Members of Save Coastal Wildlife Nonprofit have provided a few simple ways for you to help, and to keep generations of coastal wildlife happy and healthy.
Go Vegan!
One of the most effective actions you can do to lower your carbon footprint and protect non-farmed wild animal habitat is to avoid eating animal products as much as possible, especially from corporate factory farms. This includes meat from fish, cows, pigs, sheep and YES, this includes bacon, which comes from a pig.
According to the Humane League: Every piece of food we eat makes its own impact on the environment. But, some foods make much more of an impact than others. The production of meat takes a huge toll on our planet. Breeding, raising, and slaughtering billions of animals for food every year requires massive amounts of natural resources, like fresh water and land, and it generates massive amounts of waste and pollution. Simply put, our appetite for meat—and the factory farming system that feeds it—is unsustainable. In the United Nations’ 2021 report on climate change, the UN identifies plant-based diets “as a major opportunity for mitigating and adapting to climate change,” and it recommends that governments around the world adopt policies to reduce meat consumption in their countries and regions.
Did you know:
According to the Ocean Conservation Trust, eating less meat or going vegan can help support a healthy ocean system. Here’s how:
Global Warming: Meat farming contributes to Greenhouse Gases causing our atmosphere to heat up rapidly which, in turn, disrupts the natural ecosystems of our planet. Many ocean habitats, such as coral reefs, have already been lost or put at risk due to climate change. By reducing your carbon emissions as much as possible you’ll be helping to prevent the loss of species who can’t adapt quick enough to rising temperatures, as well as reduce the threat of sea levels rising.
Ocean Biodiversity: By eating less seafood you will be reducing the risk of biodiversity decline in the ocean. When certain fish species are in demand, they can be overfished to the point where it could cause local fisheries to collapse and biodiversity to decline since there isn’t enough food within a local food web for, not only people, but the aquatic animals who rely on them too. Salmon, cod, tuna, sardines, herring, eels, halibut, conches, are just some of the species we’ve endangered from overfishing.
Water - Raising animals for food consumes more than half of all freshwater in the United States. It takes 2,500 gallons of freshwater to produce a pound of meat, but only 25 gallons of freshwater to produce a pound of wheat.
Deforestation of Rainforests - Rainforests around the world once covered 14% of the earth's land surface; now they cover a mere 6% or less. One and one-half acres of rainforest are lost every second, in part, to create space to raise animals (cattle) for food, such as cheap pet food and inexpensive meat for fast-food restaurants in the United States and Europe. Experts estimate that we are losing 137 plant, animal and insect species every single day due to rainforest deforestation. That equates to 50,000 species a year.
One of the best things you can do for the environment and for wildlife is to go vegan, vegetarian, or at least reduce dramatically the amount of domestic meat you eat every week. At the very least try “meatless Mondays.” If you do taco Tuesdays, try a vegan or vegetarian taco.
Buy Organic, seasonal, and local food.
Not many people put too much thought into where their food comes from. By choosing to eat locally sourced food, you know exactly where it comes from. You should also try to purchase foods that are organic. Organic foods are those that are not processed or do not contain any synthetic ingredients. They are produced without the use of pesticides, herbicides, or other artificial chemicals. Organic farmers also avoid using genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in their crops.When we purchase organic foods, we are supporting farmers who don’t use harmful pesticides and herbicides, which means that these chemicals aren’t entering our bodies or the environment. Organic farming also has a lower carbon footprint than conventional farming, as organic farmers often use sustainable methods such as crop rotation and green manures to improve soil health, which helps to sequester carbon in the ground and combat climate change. In addition, when you buy from local farmers and grocers, your money remains within the local economy, as it passes from the farmer to the local hardware store or the local feed store, and beyond. Whereas when you buy from a national or international grocery store chain, your money mostly leaves the local economy as soon as it leaves your hands to profit corporations.
Support Your Local Farm Market!
Buy local fruits and vegetables, which you should be eating more of anyway. Stop fruits and vegetables that are raised far away from other countries that use lots of nasty chemicals and waste lots of freshwater to grow something that doesn’t even taste that good as compared to something grown locally. Local fruits and vegetables always taste better!
Push to Have Every Hospital & School Offer Vegan, Organic, & Local Option Meals!
As of December 6, 2019, all New York hospitals must guarantee a vegan option at every mealtime. But in New Jersey, many hospitals don’t even offer milk alternatives let alone at least one vegan meal option. Although some colleges and universities in New Jersey offer vegan meals, such as The College of New Jersey, which has a whole station in the dining hall dedicated to vegan food called “Vegan Loop,” many other higher learning institutions as well as countless primary and secondary public schools in New Jersey lack menu choices for students, including breakfast and lunch options for vegans and vegetarians.
This is the 21st century, not the Stone Age!
It is no longer acceptable to serve just meat and dairy products in hospitals and schools. People of all ages deserve food choices. But this will not be easy! The National Cattlemen's Beef Association, the National Pork Producers Council, the North American Meat Institute, the National Chicken Council, the International Dairy Foods Association, and the American Farm Bureau Federation and its state groups—have collectively spent approximately $200 million in lobbying since 2000, lobbying yearly against climate-related issues and greenhouse gas regulations. At the same time the meat and dairy industry lobbies political leaders, there have been numerous scientific studies that have shown the regular eating of meat and dairy products increases the risk of health problems such as obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, cancers, diabetes, and more in both children and adults. Offering only meat and dairy option meals in hospitals and schools is just wrong. There’s no nutritional need for humans to eat anything from animals. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics says that compared with meat-eaters, vegans enjoy lower blood cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure and lower body mass indexes — as well as decreased rates of cancer, hypertension and type 2 diabetes. Plus, eating vegan, even for a short period, may slow down the aging process of the heart, the liver and the hormonal, inflammatory and metabolic systems, according to a new study published in BMC Medicine.
The only way to be truly green and healthy is to "go veg"!
Support Reform of Fishery Management!
Overfishing and bycatch are two of the greatest threats to ocean health. Overfishing is catching too many fish at once, so the breeding population becomes too depleted to recover. Overfishing often goes hand in hand with wasteful types of commercial fishing, including bycatch that hauls in massive amounts of unwanted fish or other animals, which are then discarded. Decades of destructive overfishing and bycatch has resulted in the steep decline of key fish stocks such as bluefin tuna, Atlantic cod or scrod, Atlantic and Greenland halibut, Atlantic salmon, as well as many species of sharks, rays, and skates, in addition to collateral impacts to other marine life including seabirds, seals, and sea turtles. Hundreds of thousands of marine mammals, seabirds, and sea turtles are captured each year, alongside tens of millions of sharks. Many of these species are endangered and protected, while some such as the vaquita porpoise, Eastern Pacific leatherback turtle, and Maui dolphin are on the brink of extinction.
Reforms need to be put in place to help save ocean life. The world needs healthy fish populations, not populations depleted by overfishing and bycatch. For starters, the role of science needs to be strengthened and increased with more funds and better tools in place to study and to evaluate and monitor fish populations, but not just commercial stocks. Popultions of aquaitc species that are often caught as bycatch including sea stars, seahorses, sharks, skates, rays, seals, and dolphins need to monitored as well.
Furthermore, we need to increase the amount of marine protected areas (MPAs) in the ocean. MPAs are areas where fishing is prohibited or greatly restricted. Currently, only 26% of US marine waterways are MPAs. Increasing this number could reduce overfishing, bycatch, and increase the health of marine ecosystems. Implementing new MPAs in areas where overfishing has already occurred can reverse its negative effects. For example, an area off the coast of New England called Georges Bank was an excellent fishing location for centuries. However, in 1994, the National Marine Fisheries Service found that the population of cod fish in the area had decreased by 40% over four years. The government acted quickly and banned fishing in the area the same year. Within a few years, cod fish populations began to increase again.
We also need to promote increasing use of selective fishing techniques. Destructive fishing practices such as using large trawling nets to catch bottom fish or shellfish has lead to a large amount of habitat damage and unintended catch. Trawling involves dragging a large net across the ocean floor, picking up all sea life in its path. By adopting more selective techniques we can change the size and shape of the fishing nets used to catch only the species required.
We need to always make sure fishing regulations and quotas are strictly followed.
Support Sustainable Seafood Choices
How can you protect fish populations? Educate yourself on the types of fish that are endangered and threatened before eating a fishy meal. Check to make sure the fish you purchase is local and sustainably sourced. When eating at a restaurant, don’t be afraid to ask the server where the seafood they serve is sourced from. If they do not know or provide a vague answer, this is most likely not the type of resturant you want to spend your money and support. Specific species with extremely low populations should be avoided completely including: Atlantic Halibut, Atlantic goliath grouper, Beluga Sturgeon, Southern Bluefin Tuna, European Eel, Totoaba, Queen Conch, and many species of rays, skates, and sharks including winter skate, whale sharks, basking sharks, great white sharks, porbeagle sharks, thresher sharks, hammerhead sharks, silky sharks, and oceanic whitetip sharks.
Obey All Fishing Regulations!
If you go recreational fishing, please follow the law. Regulations are in place to make sure people and fish are safe, and there is enough fish for future generations. Please always check your state’s fishing regulations to make sure you are following current laws. All are intended to conserve and improve fish populations.
Handle Fish With Care!
If you are planning to go fishing, try catch-and-release. Minimize out-of-water time and handle a fish as little as possible, but always with wet or moist hands to protect the layer of slime on a fish, which helps to keep a fish healthy and sick-free. Click here for current New Jersey hunting and fishing regulations.
Stop Aquatic Invaders!
Invasive species displace native species, disrupt ecosystems and harm recreational activities. Please help to reduce the spread of invasive species by never transporting animals, including, fish, shellfish, and plants/algae, from one body of water to another. Also, never dump unused bait or fish carcasses into a waterway. Be sure to remove all mud and aquatic plant material from gear, boots, boat motors, and trailers.
Buy Responsibly Online!
By not purchasing wild animal products online from e-commerce websites, such as bones, fur, claws and other body parts, from endangered or threatened wild animals (including seals, walruses, elephants, rhinos, whales, dolphins, porpoises, sharks, tigers, hawks, seahorses, sea turtles, and certain species of fish like the totoaba, which is critically endangered), you can stop the selling of wildlife merchandise globally from being a profitable enterprise.
Stop Contributing to Fast Fashion
The international fashion industry is one of the worst polluters on the planet and wreaks havoc on our wildlife in countries across the world. For example, when clothes made from synthetic fibers (polyester, nylon, acrylic) are washed in a washing machine, millions of tiny microfibers are released into local waterways since they are too small to be filtered. These microfibers often get ingested in a wide variety of species including crabs, lobsters, fish, turtles, penguins, seals, manatees, whales, and sea otters. Microfibres have even been found in the food we eat. This situation is bad news for wildlife: the fibers can carry toxic materials and block the digestion tract and damage stomach lining leading to reduced feeding and starvation. But it’s not just synthetic clothes, cotton has become one of the most unsustainable crops on the planet, because it uses so much water to produce. This contributes to the freshwater shortage across the globe (it can take over 730 gallons of freshwater to make just one cotton t-shirt). The manufacturing of cotton also requires high levels of pesticides and other hazardous chemicals, which leach into waterways and soil. Cotton production is responsible for 22.5 percent of insecticide use globally.
What can you do? Try to reuse clothes and buy quality clothes and shoes that will last a long time.
Repair worn out clothing and shoes rather than throwing them away.
Think Before You Buy!
Do you really need it and what kind of impact is that product having on the environment and wildlife. Choose products that are energy efficient, durable, and made from sustainable sources. Don’t buy products that cause harm to animals and habitats, such as low efficient vehicles, disposable plastics, paper products not made from recycled paper, and products made from palm oil. Palm oil unfortunately can be found in quite a few processed foods and beauty products including lipsticks. Palm oil is typically grown in large plantations that used to be tropical rainforests. Sadly, palm oil plantations are now displacing the last remaining habitat of orangutans and many other tropical rainforest species.
Use Less Plastic Bags!
According to the Center of Biological Diversity, the world uses 5 trillion plastic bags a year. Many plastic bags eventually wash into coastal waterways. Every year floating plastic bags will kill thousands of seabirds, sea turtles, and marine mammals, which mistake plastic bags for jellyfish or squid, and then starve to death after filling their stomach with plastics, which don’t digest easily. Use bags or containers made from natural and organic materials and reuse bags and containers until they can’t be used any longer. Forget single use plastic bags and containers.
Stop Releasing Balloons!
All released balloons, including those falsely marketed as “biodegradable latex,” return back as trash to the ground or more likely to the water (since over 70 percent of Planet Earth is made up of water). For example, more than a hundred balloons were collected at Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge in New Jersey at a cleanup, and that’s just the number that made it to this one particular beach. Balloons choke, entangle, trap, and kill countless animals every year. Sea birds, sea turtles and other aquatic animals commonly mistake balloons for food. No matter where you live, inland or along the coast, balloons can travel thousands of miles to pollute. Balloons are also a waste of Helium, a finite resource.
Always Respect Wildlife!
Enjoy the sight of wildlife from afar, at least 150 feet away! Invest in a good pair of binoculars or a spotting scope to get a better view of wildlife without disturbing or scaring animals away. Do not touch, harass, get close to, feed or pick up wild animals. Your actions are stressful to an animal, and it’s possible that the animal may harbor rabies, diseases or deadly bacteria in their mouth. Always respect wildlife from a safe distance and let a wild animal live its life in peace.
Promote Natural Methods to Protect the Coast!
Forget man-made costly engineering methods to protect the coast from sea level rise, extreme weather events, and global warming. We need to go natural and promote natural methods to protect the coast. This includes protecting and expanding natural ecosystems such as marshes and tidal wetlands, enhancing sand dunes with a diversity of natural vegetation and building them up high, preserving, protecting and keeping natural barrier islands and beaches, installing natural reef systems of oysters or coral, expanding mussel beds along shorelines and within tidal wetlands, and installing or expanding natural vegetative buffers along waterways.
Although massive structures like seawalls, often made of concrete or metal, are often looked to as the first line of defense to protect communities from crashing waves and floods, these structures are often expensive to build and require constant and excessive maintenance to keep going, plus seawalls can dramatically change the natural structure of other nearby coastal areas by escalating (not absorbing) the energy of waves. Instead, alternative natural methods should be investigated first including restoring wetlands and expanding open spaces, as well as relocating people out of flood zones. Coastal environments are among the most dynamic ecosystems on Earth. They have been constantly shaped by waves, winds, tides and storms. For eons, natural ecosystems have thrived amidst change. We need to learn from Mother Nature and go natural.
Protect Wildlife Habitat And Open Spaces!
The greatest threat that faces many species is the widespread loss or destruction of habitat. Scientists tell us the best way to protect endangered species is to protect the special places where they live. Wildlife must have places to find food, shelter and raise their young.
Be A Green Coastal Resident!
Conserve water, reduce plastics and fossil fuel use, and limit waste. Recycle and purchase recycled products, bring reusable bags every time your go shopping, try to take public transportation as much as possible, turn off lights and electronic devices when not in use, don’t waste freshwater, keep the heat low in the winter and use the air conditioner less in the summer. Walk or bike instead of using a fossil fuel vehicle. Save energy, cut carbon emissions.
If You Own A Home, Create A Wildlife-Friendly Yard!
Help improve your local environment by creating a safe space for birds, butterflies and other wildlife to rest, relax, and feed. Start by providing the basics: clean water, plants with flowers for nectar, fruit-bearing plants to provide fuel for migration and shrubs or evergreens for cover and thermal protection in the winter, and nesting habitat. Choose native plants to landscape. Native plants require less maintenance including less fertilizer and watering, because they are always adapted to the local environment. Native plants will also provide food and shelter for native wildlife. Add a bird, bat or butterfly house to your yard or garden to attract and shelter specific species. Yards that mimic surrounding natural plant communities not only attract more kinds of birds and wildlife, they could help reverse the loss of urban-suburban biodiversity from poorly planned development.
Get To Know The Plants & Animals In Your Neighborhood!
It isn’t enough to know the people in your neighborhood, we need to go beyond humans to know the plants and animals too. Unfortunately, every corner of New Jersey, including the Jersey Shore, has plant and animal species that are endangered or threatened. But many people have little to no idea that they are living near them. The first step to protecting endangered species is learning how interesting and important they are to local ecology and food webs. Even a small bit of insight into the topic can inspire you to help make a change and educate others. Take a little time to discover your local environment and the threatened and endangered animals in your state, and you might be surprised about what you find.
Keep Your Pet Cat Indoors!
Pet cats are hunters by instinct and can become predators for other animals, such as birds or mice. While their predatory instincts can be helpful indoors to catch harmful rats and mice, they can also kill birds if left to roam freely outdoors.
Scoop Your Dog’s Poop!
Animal waste adds nitrogen to the water. Excess nitrogen from many domestic animals depletes the oxygen in water necessary for beneficial underwater grasses, wildlife and fish. In addition, no one likes to step in pet waste and potentially spread it into homes, cars and businesses. It’s easy to clean up pet waste by carrying a few paper towels in your pocket and a paper bag or even a plastic bag (a good way to re-use all those unnecessary plastic bags you received from stores). The bag can be secured and thrown away in the garbage. Cleaning up after your pet is always the right thing to do. Your neighbors, friends, and family will appreciate your good manners.
Use Less Fertilizers!
Excessive nitrogen and phosphorus from fertilizers can cause red or brown tides. Even if you don’t live close to the coast, rainwater mixes with pollutants, including excessive fertilizers, and flows into storm drains, carrying polluted runoff into a nearby waterway that drains to the coast.
Forgo Pesticides!
People in the United States of America use more than 1.1 billion pounds of pesticides annually, with approximately eight to ten percent of this material being applied to yards and gardens. Pesticides move through a food chain and have been implicated in bird and fish die-offs. They also potentially can cause long-term lethal effects, such as eggshell thinning and neurological damage.
Always Recycle Used Motor Oil!
Don’t toss that used motor oil! Never pour it down a storm drain or into the soil. More than 200 million gallons of used motor oil is improperly disposed of on the ground, tossed in the trash, or poured down a storm sewer or household drain. Instead, place it in a container with a lid and bring it to an auto parts store or other local auto repair shop to keep it out of local waterways and give it a new life.
Keep Chemicals Out Of The Water!
Hazardous chemicals, including pharmaceuticals, gasoline, oil, and other vehicle fluids have been shown to have a negative influence on marine life, such as causing some species to change sex or by causing the death of wildlife. Always keep your vehicle well maintained and properly dispose of your medical waste products.
Always Use Environmentally Safe Sunscreen and other Natural Care Products While At The Beach!
Everything you rub or spray onto your body will wash off in the water when you go swimming at a beach. Many commercial sunscreens are full of nutrients, like phosphates, that are known to negatively alter the ecosystem and promote algae growth, which can dramatically alter the lives of different species of fish, crabs and mollusks, and can contribute to polluted water. In addition, research suggests the once common active ingredients in sunscreens—oxybenzone and octinoxate—are linked to coral reef bleaching. Coral becomes stressed when exposed to high concentrations of these chemicals, causing algae that is critical to its survival to leave. Weakened, bleached coral doesn’t regenerate, eliminating shelter and food for entire wildlife ecosystems. Instead, look for sunscreens that contain safer ingredients such as zinc and titanium, or apply sunscreen an hour before hitting the beach so that is better absorbed by your skin.
Keep Beaches, Wetlands and Waterways Clean!
Help keep wildlife safe by keeping or cleaning up our beaches, wetlands, waterways, and the nearby environment and watershed area. Visit Save Coastal Wildlife’s webpage to join a coastal clean-up. Always make sure to properly dispose of your trash, or better yet - reduce, reuse, recycle your trash. Also, keep your lawn, driveway, and neighborhood clean by picking up trash, reducing pesticides and fertilizer use, and checking your vehicle for leaks.
Keep Your Butts To Yourself!
If you still smoke cigarettes (really dude?? that’s a serious health issue that you should get help for), please stop throwing your cigarette butts on the ground, parking lots, and roadways. Since cigarette butts are so small, most people who smoke don’t think much about its outcome on our environment. But the effects of tossing a cigarette butt are far from harmless. For example, cigarette butts pollute our water, traveling through storm water or a storm drain system to end up in streams, rivers, and the ocean. A coastal animal can mistake a cigarette butt for food. Plastic pieces from the filter have been found in the stomachs of fish, birds, whales, and other coastal wildlife. This can cause deadly internal injuries, suffocation, and starvation.
Slow Down When Driving Near Or Alongside Parks, Preserves, And Other Natural Areas!
Many animals live in urban and suburban areas, and this means they must navigate a landscape full of human hazards, including roads and highways. Countless roads divide habitat and present a constant hazard to any animal attempting to cross from one side to the other. So when you’re out and about, slow down and keep an eye out for wildlife near forests, wetlands, parks, nature preserves and other natural areas.
Become A Naturalist And Promote Science Literacy In Schools And Communities!
Study nature around you, get to know the names of the birds, insects, mammals, fish, trees, plants, and other wildlife in your neighborhood. Observe and keep notes of the kinds of different plants and animals you see everyday and their location. Join the Great Backyard Bird Count in February. Pew Research also notes that science literacy is frequently touted as a key to good citizenship. We should represent science literacy in our personal lives. We should also represent pride in our nation’s scientific accomplishments. After all, science helped make America great in the first place. Public interest in science and technology is higher in the US than many other nations, with China as a notable exception.
Get Outside And Enjoy A Beach, Park or Nature Preserve!
Whether you like to hike, bike, boat, bird-watch, kayak, swim, surf, mediate or do yoga on the beach, or another outdoor activity, there is no doubt that coastal living has many recreational opportunities for all ages to enjoy. Get outside, enjoy the coast. Take pictures, leave only footprints.
Get Involved!
Why not volunteer with Save Coastal Wildlife to help protect the species that you love along the coast? Visit our contact page to receive more information about ways to get involved.