Why It Matters: Healthy habitats can support an abundance of species and contribute to an ecosystem’s resilience to changing environmental conditions. In some cases, manmade, artificial habitats can enhance species carrying capacities beyond natural habitats. Numerous studies coupled with angler observations and experience, serve as testimonies to the ability of artificial structures, especially aging oil and gas infrastructure, to enhance biodiversity in our offshore marine environments. Artificial habitats can, and should be, embraced as important tools for enhancing biodiversity both nationally and globally. Highlights:
- Chris Horton, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation’s (CSF) Senior Director of Fisheries Policy, recently represented recreational anglers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Smithsonian Institution’s Summit on Ocean Biodiversity at the Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.
- Novel ecosystems created by artificial habitats are an important tool to enhance biodiversity, promote climate resiliency, and increase angler appreciation and access to healthy ecosystems.
On January 23, CSF’s Chris Horton served as a panelist representing recreational interests at the Summit on Ocean Biodiversity (Summit), organized by NOAA and the Smithsonian Institution and hosted at the Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. The purpose of the Summit was to convene leaders from government, tribal communities, science, NGOs, philanthropy, and industry to highlight the crucial role of ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes biodiversity for the well-being of human communities and economies and steps needed to protect and promote healthy ecosystems.
Horton’s panel focused on Valuing Biodiversity for Conservation and the Blue Economy. Specifically, the question to the panel was, “What is needed to ensure we understand the true value of biodiversity and its worth to human communities and economies?” Horton explained that it was difficult to quantify what we mean by “biodiversity” among scientists, much less anglers, many of whom may associate calls for protecting biodiversity as a way for the government to prevent them from accessing their preferred fishing locations. However, Horton noted that we fish in the places we do because they have good habitat, and by association, generally higher species richness and biodiversity whether anglers inherently recognize that or not.
That said, Horton went on to point out that the most diverse habits we see as anglers are generally not on natural bottoms but rather artificial structures like oil and gas infrastructure. He cited several studies that confirm the benefits of offshore oil and gas platforms for not only fish production but also for enhancing coral populations, some species of which are found on oil and gas platforms in the Gulf of Mexico yet are listed as critically endangered elsewhere in the world.
Horton concluded by challenging attendees to consider novel ecosystems created by artificial habitat, including oil and gas infrastructure, as a tool for enhancing biodiversity and climate resiliency. He noted that if we are willing to do that, it is much easier to explain the value of biodiversity to anglers who can experience for themselves the importance of healthy habitats, manmade or natural, that have a diversity of life living on and around them.
