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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1Habitat Assessment Take HomeHabitat Assessment Surveys 4/11/23 124 total areas Current Significance System Normalized         64 increased since 2011 48 increased since 2011   26 stayed same since 2011 48 stayed the same since 2011     11 went down since 2011 28 went down since 2011 61 areas in 2011 out of 124 had 3 or more people unfamiliar with area 1 area in 2022 out of 124 had 3 or more people unfamiliar with area More people in 2022 know the shellfishery (we intentionally selected those that are familiar with these areas or we know will go out to survey the area instead of just saying they are unfamiliar with it). Need to take into account our program has expanded from growing 600,000 quahogs in 2011 to 4.5 million quahogs in an effort to supplement the wild populations among the shorelines of the Three Bays. These ratings are not necessarily an indicator that the habitat is improving, but rather that the habitat is more valuable and significant or important to shellfishers which is what this tool is used to do. This is a subjective tool which is why it is only one of many used in assessing NOIs. We have on the ground studies done by private consultants and Natural Resources to assess current standing stock and current substrate conditions. Going forward, my reports will include all three numbers: significant, not significant, and not familiar