Study

Fishery resource utilization of a restored estuarine borrow pit: A beneficial use of dredged material case study

  • Published source details Reine K., Clarke D., Ray G. & Dickerson C. (2013) Fishery resource utilization of a restored estuarine borrow pit: A beneficial use of dredged material case study. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 73, 115-128.

Actions

This study is summarised as evidence for the following.

Action Category

Refill disused borrow pits

Action Link
Subtidal Benthic Invertebrate Conservation
  1. Refill disused borrow pits

    A before-and-after, site comparison study in 2004–2007 of two soft seabed sites in Barnegat Bay estuary, New Jersey, USA (Reine et al. 2013) found that partially refilling a disused borrow pit led to increased invertebrate species richness, abundance and diversity after 2–3 years, but these remained lower than at a nearby natural site. Refilling the pit increased average species richness (before: 1–13; after: 14–24 taxa/sample), abundance (before: 0–144; after: 151–495 individuals/sample) and diversity (presented as diversity indices) but these remained lower than at the natural site (species: 40; abundance: 1,370). Abundance at the natural site had increased over the same time (before: 435; after: 1,370) and species richness remained stable (before: 40; after: 40). In 2004, a borrow pit was partially filled with dredged sand, reducing its depth from 11.5 m to 6 m and increasing relief complexity-. Once in 2006 and twice in 2007, eighteen sediment samples were collected at the restored pit and six at a nearby natural site using a grab (0.044 cm2, 6 cm depth). Invertebrates (>0.5 mm) were identified and counted. Data post-restoration (2006 and 2007) were pooled. Data prior to restoration were obtained from Versar (1999).

    Versar (1999). Biological sampling for dredged holes in Barnegat Bay, Ocean County, NJ. Data Report prepared for the US Army Corps of Engineers, Philadelphia District, Philadelphia, PA.

    (Summarised by: Anaëlle Lemasson)

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