Co-Evaluation of Success Components in Salt Marsh Restoration and the Shellfish Industry on Outer Cape Cod, Ma
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University of Rhode Island DigitalCommons@URI Open Access Master's Theses 2014 CO-EVALUATION OF SUCCESS COMPONENTS IN SALT MARSH RESTORATION AND THE SHELLFISH INDUSTRY ON OUTER CAPE COD, MA Katherine A. Castagno University of Rhode Island, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/theses Recommended Citation Castagno, Katherine A., "CO-EVALUATION OF SUCCESS COMPONENTS IN SALT MARSH RESTORATION AND THE SHELLFISH INDUSTRY ON OUTER CAPE COD, MA" (2014). Open Access Master's Theses. Paper 339. https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/theses/339 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@URI. It has been accepted for inclusion in Open Access Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@URI. For more information, please contact [email protected]. CO-EVALUATION OF SUCCESS COMPONENTS IN SALT MARSH RESTORATION AND THE SHELLFISH INDUSTRY ON OUTER CAPE COD, MA BY KATHERINE A. CASTAGNO A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN MARINE AFFAIRS UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 2014 MASTER OF ARTS THESIS OF KATHERINE A. CASTAGNO APPROVED: Thesis Committee: Major Professor Richard Burroughs Tracey Dalton Marta Gomez-Chiarri Nasser H. Zawia DEAN OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 2014 ABSTRACT Salt marshes in their natural form provide innumerable ecologic, economic, and aesthetic benefits to coastal communities. Salt marsh restoration projects have been implemented along coastal landscapes in an attempt to reclaim their original ecosystem services. The ecological and social components of restoration, like its connection to the shellfish industry, are well understood, but the inherent linkages between the components are not. Through the co-evaluation of these components, social and ecologic linkages are identified and assessed. This project explores the shellfish industry of five outer Cape Cod towns containing salt marshes that have undergone restoration: Orleans, Eastham, Wellfleet, Truro, and Provincetown. Salinity data was used to determine the ecologic success of Hatches Harbor (Provincetown), East Harbor (Truro), Herring River (Wellfleet), Sunken Meadow (Eastham), and Namskaket Creek (Orleans). Annual town harvest reports were used to determine trends in quahog (Mercenaria mercenaria), soft shell clam (Mya arenaria) and oyster (Crassostrea virginica) populations. Shellfish constables, experts in marsh restoration, and shellfishermen were contacted to determine ecologic and social variables in the explored linkage. This project determined the robust social link between salt marsh restoration and the shellfishing industry. The hypothesis that restoration and associated ecosystem services augment shellfish harvest is lacking. The sense of community and culture that rallies around both salt marsh restoration and shellfishing, however, proves that the link between ecologic and social understanding is important, since both play a valuable role in the community. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I extend my gratitude to Dr. Richard Burroughs, my major professor, who has aided and guided me tremendously throughout this process. I also would like to sincerely thank my thesis committee, Dr. Tracey Dalton, Dr. Marta Gomez-Chiarri, and Dr. Arthur Gold, for their time and support. Judy Palmer has also been an incredible resource for the entire Marine Affairs department. It is through their support, along with the support of the rest of the University of Rhode Island and Marine Affairs community, that I was able to undertake such a process. I would like to thank the members of the outer Cape community who took the time to speak with me and share their insights about shellfish and salt marsh restoration—the shellfish constables Dawson Farber, Mike O’Connor, Andy Koch, and Tony Jackett; the restoration experts Sandy Macfarlane, Henry Lind, Tara Nye, and John Portnoy; and the shellfishermen who graciously accepted my phone calls. I would also like to extend my thanks to Gordon Peabody, of Safe Harbor, whose brainstorming sessions were imperative in the formation of this thesis. Finally, a thank you is in order to my parents, extended family, and friends (at URI, Smith, Wellfleet Bay, and beyond) for supporting me throughout this journey. Their unfaltering love continues to push me to achieve my goals. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract .................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements .................................................................................................. iii Table of Contents .................................................................................................... iv List of Tables ........................................................................................................... vii List of Figures .......................................................................................................... viii 1. Introduction ......................................................................................................... 1 2. Background .......................................................................................................... 6 2.1 The role of social ecology .............................................................................. 6 2.2 The ecosystem services argument ................................................................. 11 2.2.1 Provisioning ecosystem services ........................................................... 13 2.2.2 Regulating ecosystem services ............................................................... 15 2.2.3 Cultural ecosystem services ................................................................... 18 2.2.4 Supporting ecosystem services .............................................................. 19 2.2.5 Valuation ............................................................................................... 19 2.3 History of restoration on the outer Cape ...................................................... 21 2.3.1 Shifting values ........................................................................................ 21 2.3.2 Governance, Legislature, and Assistance .............................................. 22 2.4 History of the shellfishing industry on the outer Cape ................................ 25 2.5 Commercially important species ................................................................... 29 2.5.1 Soft-shelled clam .................................................................................... 29 2.5.2 Quahog (hard-shelled clam) .................................................................. 30 2.5.3 Oyster ..................................................................................................... 30 iv 2.6 Definitions of success .................................................................................... 31 3. Methodology ........................................................................................................ 34 4. Results .................................................................................................................. 41 4.1 Orleans ........................................................................................................... 41 4.1.2 Shellfishing Industry .............................................................................. 42 4.1.2 Restoration Project: Namskaket Creek ................................................. 43 4.2 Eastham .......................................................................................................... 46 4.2.1 Shellfishing Industry .............................................................................. 47 4.2.2 Restoration Project: Sunken Meadow Marsh ........................................ 48 4.3 Wellfleet .......................................................................................................... 51 4.3.1 Shellfishing Industry .............................................................................. 52 4.3.2 Restoration Project: Herring River ....................................................... 53 4.4 Truro .............................................................................................................. 56 4.4.1 Shellfishing Industry .............................................................................. 57 4.4.2 Restoration Project: East Harbor ......................................................... 57 4.5 Provincetown .................................................................................................. 61 4.5.1 Shellfishing Industry .............................................................................. 62 4.5.2 Restoration Project: Hatches Harbor ................................................... 62 4.6 Summary ........................................................................................................ 65 4.6.1 Marsh Social Success Scores ................................................................. 65 4.6.2 Shellfishermen Trends ........................................................................... 68 4.6.3 Shellfishermen Restoration Opinions .................................................... 71 v 4.6.4 Shellfish Harvest Trends ........................................................................ 74 4.6.5 Results Summary .................................................................................... 76 5. Discussion ............................................................................................................