Habitats & Threats

Habitats in the Gulf of Maine and its watershed support fish and wildlife, sustain the economy through resource use and tourism, remove pollutants, and enhance quality of life for people. After several hundred years of increasing human impacts, salt marshes, eelgrass beds, and rivers for anadromous fish have been designated by the Gulf of Maine Council as priorities for habitat restoration. Click the links for information about the priority habitats and human impacts.

Salt marshes
Restoration objective: The Gulf of Maine Council’s objective is to support restoration of natural tidal regimes—and thus the functions and values of tidal wetlands—to intertidal habitats through the removal of selected dikes, fill, water control structures, and inadequately sized culverts.

Eelgrass beds
Restoration objective: The Gulf of Maine Council’s restoration objective is to restore eelgrass to improve subtidal water quality, thus supporting social, biological and economic needs in the region.

Rivers for anadromous fish
Restoration objective: The Gulf of Maine Council’s objective is to support restoration and enhancement of riverine habitats and to improve access for fish and wildlife, especially migratory fish, whose historic spawning habitat has been greatly diminished.