Nearshore hardbottom habitat are the primary natural reef structures at depth of less than 15 feet and is primarily made up of tube-building polychaete worms or coquina shells. Hardbottom reefs are often centrally located between mid-shelf reefs and barrier island estuarine habitats. The reefs provides habitat to more than 530 marine organisms, including juvenile snappers, grunts, groupers, wrasses, and sea turtles. These reefs help stabilize nearby beaches. Nearshore reefs reduce wave and current energy and protect against coastal erosion.
Unfortunately, beach renourishment projects, which involve dredging sand from offshore and pumping it onto the beach, impact nearshore habitats, as well as the green turtles that find food and shelter there. In particular, the artificially wide, man-made beaches bury large sections of nearshore reef and hardbottom habitats used by sea turtles and many other forms of marine life. The projects can also increase turbidity in the water, which affects the reef algae – a food source for juvenile green turtles.
