Beaches
Our diverse work on beaches of Vashon-Maury are helping highlight the islands’ natural shorelines as a regionally important ecological resource. Island beaches form half the shoreline existing in King County, and host major forage fish spawning locations. Salmon born as far away as the Stillaguamish River have been documented feeding along our shores
Forage Fish
Forage fish (including Pacific herring, surf smelt, and sand lance), make up the foundation of the entire Puget Sound food web. Once plentiful, their populations are in decline. Undeveloped island beaches make up over half of the undeveloped shoreline in King County(!) and provide critical habitat for the forage fish of Puget Sound. Vashon Nature Center works in partnership with King County, Washington Department of Natural Resources, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the University of Washington to put these small but mighty fish on the map. Through monthly forage fish surveys we seek to answer basic questions about these animals’ biology and habitat needs: When do they spawn? What beach substrates and other habitat features do they need? When shorelines are restored do fish populations rebound?
Number of Beaches Documented Having Forage Fish Spawning
Publications and Press
Fardad, Arianna, 2023. Small but Mighty: Forage fish signal the need for shoreline restoration in Puget Sound. University of Washington Capstone Program Lightning talk at University of Washington using data collected by VNC BeachNET volunteers.
Miller, K, Martin E and B Perla. 2018. Shoreline Armoring in Puget Sound: Impacts on nearshore habitat in the Maury Island Aquatic Reserve. Poster at Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference, Seattle, WA.
Perla, BS and Metler, MA. 2018. Maury Island Aquatic Reserve Shoreline Monitoring Pre-Restoration Baseline 2016-2018. Vashon Nature Center, Vashon, WA. 56 pp.
Related Projects
