Sept. 17, 2026
What the Coast Is Worth: How a Dollar Number Is Already Funding Its Protection
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Overcast A boat's wake looks harmless right up until you watch it happen over and over. Every wake a boat throws off chips away at a shoreline that took centuries to build, and it happens on calm days, sunny days, days with no storm anywhere near. A NOAA study at Snow's Cut, North Carolina found that roughly half of all boat wake heights on that stretch of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway exceeded the largest wind driven waves measured there, and boats moving at the slow, considerate seeming "plowing" speed threw the tallest wakes of all.
Habitat pushes back, and now that push has a number attached to it. A study by Doughty and colleagues found mangroves and marsh can reduce wave height by up to 90 percent, and marsh grass paired with an oyster reef cuts wave energy from boat wakes specifically by 67 percent compared to bare mud. Once a benefit like that is measurable, it becomes fundable: global blue carbon storage in mangroves, marsh, and seagrass is valued at nearly $191 billion a year, and a single restored 100 acre wetland saves local water systems about $17,000 a year, the same figure from earlier this week's Nature's Kidneys episode.
Mexico's Riviera Maya coastline puts that funding model into practice. Its coral reef shields around $10 billion in annual tourism revenue, but that value sat informal for years, until a 2018 partnership between The Nature Conservancy, the Quintana Roo state government, local hotels, and the insurer Swiss Re turned it into a parametric insurance policy on the reef itself. When Hurricane Delta hit in 2020, the policy paid out $850,000 within days, funding volunteer brigades that stabilized over 2,150 coral colonies and reattached more than 13,500 coral fragments within three months. This episode closes out this week's coastal habitats series and lands on the one call to your local marina or town council that can actually move the needle.
Takeaways:
- Boat wake erosion is mechanical, not climate driven: NOAA's Snow's Cut study found roughly half of boat wake heights exceed the largest wind driven waves, and slow "plowing" speed produces the tallest wakes of all.
- Healthy habitat is a measured defense: mangroves and marsh can reduce wave height by up to 90 percent, and marsh paired with an oyster reef cuts boat wake wave energy by 67 percent (Doughty et al., PeerJ).
- Once a coastal benefit is measurable, it becomes fundable: global blue carbon storage is valued at nearly $191 billion a year, and a single restored 100 acre wetland saves about $17,000 a year in water treatment costs.
- Mexico's Riviera Maya reef shields around $10 billion in annual tourism revenue, and a 2018 insurance partnership turned that value into a parametric policy that pays out automatically after a storm, no lengthy damage assessment required.
- When Hurricane Delta hit in 2020, that policy paid out $850,000 within days, funding the stabilization of over 2,150 coral colonies and the reattachment of more than 13,500 coral fragments within three months. The model is now expanding to Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras, with mangroves named as the next expansion.
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Transcript
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A lot of times when we talk about coastal
erosion,
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we talk about climate change and how sea
level rise and storm surges
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are really causing that erosion factor.
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And sometimes they are. But one of the
things that we don't realize that causes
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a shoreline erosion in certain places,
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especially in the intercoastal ways in the
United States in Carolina and Florida,
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is usually because of boat waves and boat
traffic.
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That's something we don't normally talk
about.
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We don't really think about, but it's
something that can be stopped and
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can be not necessarily boat traffic,
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but the waves, the wake that it that boats
cause can stop erosion if we
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do it the right way. That's with natural
coastal habitats and proper speed limits
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and enforcement. We're gonna talk about
all of that on today's episode of
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the How to Protect the Ocean podcast.
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This is what we do we talk about
actionable items that we can put
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in place as people.
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As coastal people, as countries and states
and provinces,
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we can put those together and really make
a difference.
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That's what we talk about here on this
podcast called How to Protect the Ocean.
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If you like this kind of stuff,
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hit that follow button. make sure you get
more.
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We do episodes Monday to Friday.
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~ and this has been a fun week of talking
about coastal habitats.
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We've talked about nutrients, we've talked
about a lot of things.
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But today we're gonna be talking about
something that is.
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Very, very important to ~ how we look at
managing coastlines.
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And we're gonna be talking about mangroves
and marshes just as we've been talking
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about all week, but we're also gonna be
talking a lot about the different aspects
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of coastal management and putting a price
on the coastline.
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And so I think that's that's really
important.
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So, like I said, if if we start to think
about climate change all the time,
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we always think climate change is causing
every problem.
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It's it's making things worse,
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but it's not necessarily causing every
problem.
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And because it's such a big problem,
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it's really hard to control the local
effects.
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But what we can control is something
that's fixable,
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is how humans behave really locally within
these areas.
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And that is one, is like this,
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these boat wakes, And and and boat
traffic.
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And so what I want to explain here is is
how like awake mechanisms work.
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NOAA's snow's
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Cut findings. ~ they found about half the
wake heights of of the boat.
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So as a boat moves through the water,
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the back of the motor po pushes the water
away from the boat as it tries
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to move through the water. That that part
of the water in the back of
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the boat are the wakes of the for that the
boat ~ contained.
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The faster the boat moves, the larger the
wake.
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So the higher those waves. You see it a
lot when people are ~ are water skiing,
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And and you see those, like you can
actually take jumps off of them because
they're
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so high. ~ and you can get some really
height.
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And you can it makes it more fun for for ~
water skiing,
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which is great. I'm not a water skier,
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I don't like that kind of stuff.
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Everybody else who likes it, good on you,
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but that's not for me. But people love
that.
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It's fun to watch, it's it's fun to to go
into those waves.
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But those waves, especially in areas where
there's not
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an established coastal habitat that or or
maybe it's a vulnerable habitat.
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To erosion, like maybe it's just sandy or
it's it's got like some sediment there,
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but nothing to really stop it,
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nothing, nothing to hold the sediment
together,
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~ like a mangrove or a salt marsh where
the plants are holding the roots
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of the plants are holding that sediment
together,
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that soil together. And so what they what
they found in this these snows
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cut findings is that the the the wakes of
the boats or half of
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the wakes heights beat the biggest wind
waves.
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So, like if if you look at if you measure
all these heights over a certain time
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and you look at half of them were bigger
than ~ the waves caused by wind,
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which would be considered something like ~
like like climate change storms
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or things like that. and and so like slow
slow plowing speeds through throws like
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the worst wakes of all. So as you start to
slow plowing where
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the bow of the boat is up in the air,
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it it almost it makes it makes it worse.
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So what I what I want to really punch home
here is that these wakes are mechanical.
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They are done by a machine. They were done
by a motor.
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It's not done by climate ch like climate
driven storms or climate driven winds.
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And it's happening right now on the
waterways as you listen to this.
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and this is something that can be cleared
up and can be managed appropriately.
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Now, if you don't know who I am,
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I'm a marine biologist. I use I've studied
the oceans for quite some time.
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I'm not an expert in anything,
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but I'm a bit of a generalist all around.
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And I cover this kind of stuff because I
feel like it's important for
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us to know that activities that we can do
to reduce
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our ~ influence on these types of
shorelines.
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And so when you have intact
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habitats like mangroves or or salt marshes
or seagrasses,
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that's a measurable defense, We have this
these defenses up.
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And there's a a study with by Dowdy and
all that looks at the numbers and it's
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up to 90% of the wave height reduction
from mangroves and marshes,
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67% wave energy reduction from marsh and
oyster reef against boat wakes
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specifically. So there's an engineering
method of doing this by making sure that
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we have
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These complex habitats that provide this
this this ruggedness
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that will when the ~ the energy of the
waves move into the area,
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it gets it gets taken out. ~ that energy
gets taken out and it dissipates over this
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ruggedness of like an oyster reef or
mangrove roots or or what have you.
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Right. And so that's that's important.
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That's part of nature. And plus you get
nature along the sides of this.
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these intercoastal highways in these areas
where they're exposed to waves
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of boats all the time. and so once you
have the understanding of what this
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can cause, right, you can use it,
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you can measure it. And that's fundable.
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when you look at the blue carbon and how
much that's worth,
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that's worth like globally, it's worth
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191 billion dollars. on Tuesday,
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I talked about an example where they lined
the coastline with natural habitat,
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and they were able to save $17,000 per
acre,
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and I think that's an important aspect in
in that I mentioned on Tuesday.
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Because I feel like that's something that
that really puts a a tangible number
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to what it costs to restore, So you you're
looking at it cost seventeen thousand
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dollars per hundred acres. but it was
protected.
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And the the amount of protection saves a
lot in the future.
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and I think that's like a smaller scale.
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You have the global, then you the smaller
scale.
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But then there's there's methods to fund.
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these types of of coastal habitats.
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And it doesn't necessarily have to be a
salt marsh or doesn't necessarily have
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to be a mangrove. It could be a coral
reef.
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In fact, there's a a really great example
in Mexico where there was looked
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at like the resystem protecting Mexico's ~
Maya Riviera ~ was was really
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was really important. it's it's
definitely,
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it's not a mangrove that this was that
this had.
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It was a coral reef.
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And it's something that's that's very
important.
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So, the coastline for the Mexico's Riviera
Maya was was known
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to be valuable informally for years,
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it shields around $10 billion in annual
tourism revenue for the region.
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But the the the valuable part,
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isn't the same as like
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what can be funded. So after a storm
damaged the reef,
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there was no fast way to act to restore
it.
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And there's no way to get dedicated
repairs.
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So the people couldn't pay for it.
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People couldn't go out and do something
for it,
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And so, the restoration was weighted on
like organizations who do
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it themselves who fundraise. And that's
difficult.
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Fundraising is almost impossible these
days.
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Now in 2018, the Nature Conservancy,
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the Quintana Roo state government,
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local hotels
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And the insurer named Swiss RE,
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I think it's Swiss RE or Swiss Re,
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I'm not sure exactly how you pronounce it,
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They set up a coastal zone management
trust.
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Now, hotels already paid the tax for the
beach usage rights in the in that area,
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because it's all resorts. And that tax now
funds this parametric insurance policy
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on the reef itself.
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So it's a policy that pays out
automatically once wind speeds in
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a defined area cross a certain threshold.
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So there's no lengthy damage assessment
that's required first.
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It's right away, it happens. And as an
example,
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in 2020, Hurricane Delta ~ hit the area.
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And that that policy triggered its first
payout $850,000 within days.
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So they had volunteer brigades already
assigned.
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And they used it to stabilize over 2,150
uprooted coral colonies
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and reattach more than 13,500 coral
fragments within three months.
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And then the neighboring towns got wind of
it and they we're gonna come
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up with our own model, for these volunteer
brigades.
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And it's now it's expanding into Belize,
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Guatemala, and Honduras because working so
well.
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Mangroves are named as the next planned
expansion of the same insurance framework
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because they realize look, this is the
funny thing about insurance groups.
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and insurance companies, they know what
protects a coastline.
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They know what will reduce damage.
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And the fact that they have they have an
incentive to ensure that these areas don't
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have to put out a payout, it's cheaper for
them to ensure that there's
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a healthy coastline, whether that's
mangroves or that's marshes
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or that's seagrasses or that's a coral
reef.
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They know that having an intact and
healthy coastal habitat complex that
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has all of those is really important to
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The structure and safety and security of
that coastline.
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this is not a fact of like this is a
charitable work.
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This is working actively to protect the
people who are paying in insurance
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to make sure that their business,
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their activities don't stop. Because if
you lost that coastline,
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or if that coastline got eroded,
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all that beachfront is gone. All those
resorts that will not make money.
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People go for the beaches.
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And and they're already having enough
problems with with sargasm to have this
aspect
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to help them out with this coastal
security is huge.
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And to have the money already saved up so
that when it comes when
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and the policy just triggers it in a
response right away.
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So within three months, they're back up
and they feel safer.
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And I think this is what it requires to
ensure that we we've talked
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all week about how.
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Making sure that coastal habitats can
sequester that nitrogen and the carbon,
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making sure that healthy coastal reefs are
there to act as the
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the like nature's kidneys to make sure
nutrients don't get out into
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the ocean and into the coastline to cause
all this green water
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and disrupt coastal ecosystems,
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which would cause a lot of death,
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would cause red tide, all this kind of
stuff.
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And then, yesterday we talked about,
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black like making sure that these like
like from like the as example
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of the Blackwater ~ area, making sure that
the marshlands can move back inland
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if there's if there's a problem with sea
level rise.
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So making like this is all what happens
when we manage a coastline properly.
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The policies need to be in place right off
the bat.
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Today's story is an example of that with
Quintana Roo.
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Making sure that we have a policy that
triggers the funds like right away.
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Not an assessment done first, not waiting
a year for it to happen.
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The money gets triggered. The policy gets
triggered,
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00:11:57,439 --> 00:12:01,811
the money gets given, volunteer brigades
go out and the the pay the payments done
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00:12:01,811 --> 00:12:04,272
to restore this area. It is expensive.
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Almost a million dollars to restore parts
of a reef is hugely expensive.
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00:12:08,174 --> 00:12:13,456
And and so all week we've been talking
about managing the coastline
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by looking at specific habitats.
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00:12:16,171 --> 00:12:18,762
This happens with all habitats all around
the world.
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A lot of places don't have these policies
in place or don't have
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00:12:23,062 --> 00:12:26,724
the ability to trigger the money to come
out.
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00:12:26,724 --> 00:12:32,866
And it requires community to actively
investigate these types
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00:12:33,066 --> 00:12:38,048
of setbacks or predict these types of
things that are happening to manage that,
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00:12:38,048 --> 00:12:42,019
making sure that, coastal habitats can
migrate back in case sea level rise takes
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00:12:42,019 --> 00:12:43,019
them over.
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00:12:42,870 --> 00:12:46,481
All these things, making sure that there's
money available for restoration after
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00:12:46,481 --> 00:12:50,812
a storm. Make sure that the ~ the the
habitats are healthy,
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00:12:50,812 --> 00:12:53,044
make sure that at the end of a pipe of an
industry,
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00:12:53,044 --> 00:12:55,876
it's down to a specific number for
nitrogen and phosphorus,
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00:12:55,876 --> 00:12:59,847
those nutrients, so that you don't trigger
a a bloom,
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00:12:59,847 --> 00:13:03,619
along the coastal area that could trigger
a red tide bloom.
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00:13:03,619 --> 00:13:08,000
All this happens through management
activities.
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00:13:08,000 --> 00:13:10,061
Sometimes you just can't.
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00:13:10,211 --> 00:13:14,863
Allow, nature to recover on its own
because we've damaged it so much.
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00:13:14,863 --> 00:13:21,525
And there's so many combinations of things
that can happen that will take it out.
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00:13:21,525 --> 00:13:27,918
And if you set up the habitat properly and
you manage the habitat properly,
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00:13:27,918 --> 00:13:29,168
and there's areas of restoration,
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00:13:29,168 --> 00:13:30,869
identifying areas of vulnerability,
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00:13:30,869 --> 00:13:36,351
working with the community, ensuring that
human disturbances like boat wakes
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00:13:36,351 --> 00:13:38,092
and things like that are taken out.
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00:13:39,618 --> 00:13:41,825
Well, now you've got a a properly managed
area.
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00:13:41,825 --> 00:13:45,046
Whether it's you call it a marine
protected area or a managed area,
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00:13:45,046 --> 00:13:46,750
you're managing that coastline properly.
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00:13:49,048 --> 00:13:53,752
And and so what I want you to think about
is if you live along a coastal area,
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00:13:53,752 --> 00:13:56,083
you live near a marina, you live near a
mangrove,
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00:13:56,083 --> 00:13:59,516
you live near a marsh, make sure that,
238
00:13:59,516 --> 00:14:03,068
these areas are managing those properly.
239
00:14:03,068 --> 00:14:07,722
That's there's enforcement in in like slow
speed or no wake zones,
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00:14:07,722 --> 00:14:10,183
right, near marsh and mangrove shorelines.
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00:14:10,183 --> 00:14:13,986
It's a mechanical mechanism that can be
controlled.
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00:14:14,949 --> 00:14:18,690
And and this is like one lit like this
these types of calls to action
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00:14:18,690 --> 00:14:21,251
by calling local marinas, calling harbor
authorities,
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00:14:21,251 --> 00:14:25,912
or calling your town council, that's one
mechanism you can use as
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00:14:25,912 --> 00:14:28,293
an individual and you can push on it.
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00:14:28,293 --> 00:14:33,844
To make sure, like, not to where the boat
wakes are in the habitats protection.
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00:14:33,844 --> 00:14:35,604
That's where they meet. That's where you
want to hit.
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00:14:35,604 --> 00:14:37,565
That's where you want to focus your energy
on.
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00:14:37,565 --> 00:14:41,306
That's where we start to see real policy
happen.
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00:14:44,520 --> 00:14:48,464
This this series, this week was all about
nutrient pollution ~ that
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00:14:48,464 --> 00:14:52,288
has a natural filter. And we know that red
tide has a tracking tool,
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00:14:52,288 --> 00:14:54,320
so we don't have to be exposed to it.
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00:14:54,320 --> 00:14:56,661
we know that sea level ride has a a moving
target,
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00:14:56,661 --> 00:14:58,324
these habitats can actually chase.
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00:14:58,324 --> 00:15:02,398
And now coastal erosion has a real dollar
value attached to it so that
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00:15:02,398 --> 00:15:03,398
it can get fixed.
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00:15:04,165 --> 00:15:08,996
none of this here is like guesswork
because of major problems with climate
change
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00:15:08,996 --> 00:15:12,407
or anything like that. It's about
engineering and finance.
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00:15:12,407 --> 00:15:16,869
And in a lot of places it's already
working to man like the management
260
00:15:16,869 --> 00:15:23,671
is already working. And and that is
helping to bring back areas like Tampa
Bay,
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00:15:23,671 --> 00:15:25,552
to protect areas like Quintana Roo,
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00:15:25,552 --> 00:15:29,743
to make sure that the future of the
Blackwater Park.
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00:15:30,289 --> 00:15:34,011
will continue because we'll have migration
corridors where these marshes
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00:15:34,291 --> 00:15:37,993
can still be healthy and can be out of the
way from of danger.
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00:15:37,993 --> 00:15:42,346
And and that's the episode. That's what
that's what we talk about here.
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00:15:42,346 --> 00:15:43,346
We talked about a lot of stuff.
267
00:15:43,286 --> 00:15:46,868
I'd love to hear you your thoughts about
this episode as well as
268
00:15:46,868 --> 00:15:49,160
the other episodes this week about coastal
habitats,
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00:15:49,160 --> 00:15:50,640
about nutrients, about carbon,
270
00:15:50,640 --> 00:15:54,602
all these things that are really important
they have fixes.
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00:15:54,602 --> 00:15:57,474
And and that's where I want you to get is
like you can
272
00:15:57,806 --> 00:16:00,757
Take a bite out of this. You can actually
have make a difference in this
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00:16:00,977 --> 00:16:05,957
by ensuring that policies are in place
locally to protect those areas.
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00:16:05,957 --> 00:16:08,279
And you'll be well off for that.
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00:16:08,279 --> 00:16:10,810
I guarantee you, especially if you live in
those areas or you don't live
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00:16:10,810 --> 00:16:12,260
in those areas. Maybe you visit that area.
277
00:16:12,260 --> 00:16:13,680
That's that's what's really gonna help.
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00:16:13,680 --> 00:16:15,661
So that's it for the episode for today.
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And of course, this week, tune in on
Monday because we have a really great
episode
280
00:16:19,332 --> 00:16:20,332
for you on Monday.
281
00:16:20,800 --> 00:16:25,351
We have ~ Anupa Ahsoka, who's gonna be
talking about how
282
00:16:25,473 --> 00:16:29,864
the California Marine Protected Area
System is failing the people in
283
00:16:29,864 --> 00:16:32,544
the way they are implementing adaptive
management.
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00:16:32,544 --> 00:16:33,995
And that could be fixed. Again,
285
00:16:33,995 --> 00:16:36,826
another fix that can happen. But we're
gonna talk about some of
286
00:16:36,826 --> 00:16:40,937
the problems and some of the
recommendations that her and her
organization fish on,
287
00:16:40,937 --> 00:16:45,658
as well as her collaborators, really have
for this marine protected area process
288
00:16:45,918 --> 00:16:49,019
and making sure that they approach it from
a scientific angle.
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00:16:49,747 --> 00:16:52,549
and maybe that will reduce a lot of the
conflicts that are happening there.
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00:16:52,549 --> 00:16:55,252
That's on Monday. We're gonna talk all
about marine protected areas for
291
00:16:55,252 --> 00:16:56,572
the rest of the week on that day,
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00:16:56,572 --> 00:17:00,646
on that week. And I can't wait to ~ be
able to provide that to you.
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00:17:00,646 --> 00:17:04,358
So thank you so much for joining us on
this episode of the How to Protect
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00:17:04,358 --> 00:17:06,060
the Ocean podcast and all this week.
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I'm your host, Andrew Lewin. Have a great
day.
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00:17:07,881 --> 00:17:09,923
We'll talk to you next time in happy
conservation.
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,331
A lot of times when we talk about coastal
erosion,
2
00:00:02,331 --> 00:00:06,694
we talk about climate change and how sea
level rise and storm surges
3
00:00:07,035 --> 00:00:08,896
are really causing that erosion factor.
4
00:00:08,896 --> 00:00:13,419
And sometimes they are. But one of the
things that we don't realize that causes
5
00:00:13,630 --> 00:00:15,790
a shoreline erosion in certain places,
6
00:00:15,790 --> 00:00:20,563
especially in the intercoastal ways in the
United States in Carolina and Florida,
7
00:00:20,563 --> 00:00:24,936
is usually because of boat waves and boat
traffic.
8
00:00:25,322 --> 00:00:26,943
That's something we don't normally talk
about.
9
00:00:26,943 --> 00:00:30,136
We don't really think about, but it's
something that can be stopped and
10
00:00:30,136 --> 00:00:32,287
can be not necessarily boat traffic,
11
00:00:32,287 --> 00:00:38,153
but the waves, the wake that it that boats
cause can stop erosion if we
12
00:00:38,153 --> 00:00:43,177
do it the right way. That's with natural
coastal habitats and proper speed limits
13
00:00:43,177 --> 00:00:47,000
and enforcement. We're gonna talk about
all of that on today's episode of
14
00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:48,581
the How to Protect the Ocean podcast.
15
00:00:48,581 --> 00:00:52,385
This is what we do we talk about
actionable items that we can put
16
00:00:52,385 --> 00:00:53,926
in place as people.
17
00:00:54,206 --> 00:00:58,809
As coastal people, as countries and states
and provinces,
18
00:00:58,809 --> 00:01:02,391
we can put those together and really make
a difference.
19
00:01:02,391 --> 00:01:06,853
That's what we talk about here on this
podcast called How to Protect the Ocean.
20
00:01:06,853 --> 00:01:08,154
If you like this kind of stuff,
21
00:01:08,154 --> 00:01:10,325
hit that follow button. make sure you get
more.
22
00:01:10,325 --> 00:01:12,456
We do episodes Monday to Friday.
23
00:01:12,456 --> 00:01:16,919
~ and this has been a fun week of talking
about coastal habitats.
24
00:01:16,919 --> 00:01:19,520
We've talked about nutrients, we've talked
about a lot of things.
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00:01:19,520 --> 00:01:22,852
But today we're gonna be talking about
something that is.
26
00:01:23,300 --> 00:01:29,421
Very, very important to ~ how we look at
managing coastlines.
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00:01:29,421 --> 00:01:32,202
And we're gonna be talking about mangroves
and marshes just as we've been talking
28
00:01:32,202 --> 00:01:36,493
about all week, but we're also gonna be
talking a lot about the different aspects
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00:01:36,993 --> 00:01:41,975
of coastal management and putting a price
on the coastline.
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00:01:41,975 --> 00:01:44,035
And so I think that's that's really
important.
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So, like I said, if if we start to think
about climate change all the time,
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00:01:48,806 --> 00:01:51,027
we always think climate change is causing
every problem.
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00:01:51,201 --> 00:01:52,742
It's it's making things worse,
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00:01:52,742 --> 00:01:54,823
but it's not necessarily causing every
problem.
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00:01:54,823 --> 00:01:56,684
And because it's such a big problem,
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00:01:56,684 --> 00:01:58,905
it's really hard to control the local
effects.
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00:01:58,905 --> 00:02:02,087
But what we can control is something
that's fixable,
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00:02:02,087 --> 00:02:07,040
is how humans behave really locally within
these areas.
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00:02:07,040 --> 00:02:09,131
And that is one, is like this,
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00:02:09,131 --> 00:02:11,751
these boat wakes, And and and boat
traffic.
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00:02:11,751 --> 00:02:17,454
And so what I want to explain here is is
how like awake mechanisms work.
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00:02:17,454 --> 00:02:18,454
NOAA's snow's
43
00:02:18,555 --> 00:02:22,938
Cut findings. ~ they found about half the
wake heights of of the boat.
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00:02:22,938 --> 00:02:24,480
So as a boat moves through the water,
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00:02:24,480 --> 00:02:29,203
the back of the motor po pushes the water
away from the boat as it tries
46
00:02:29,203 --> 00:02:32,476
to move through the water. That that part
of the water in the back of
47
00:02:32,476 --> 00:02:36,099
the boat are the wakes of the for that the
boat ~ contained.
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00:02:36,099 --> 00:02:38,091
The faster the boat moves, the larger the
wake.
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00:02:38,091 --> 00:02:43,255
So the higher those waves. You see it a
lot when people are ~ are water skiing,
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00:02:43,815 --> 00:02:47,097
And and you see those, like you can
actually take jumps off of them because
they're
51
00:02:47,097 --> 00:02:49,149
so high. ~ and you can get some really
height.
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00:02:49,149 --> 00:02:53,740
And you can it makes it more fun for for ~
water skiing,
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00:02:53,740 --> 00:02:55,291
which is great. I'm not a water skier,
54
00:02:55,291 --> 00:02:56,342
I don't like that kind of stuff.
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00:02:56,342 --> 00:02:58,323
Everybody else who likes it, good on you,
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00:02:58,323 --> 00:03:00,944
but that's not for me. But people love
that.
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00:03:00,944 --> 00:03:03,856
It's fun to watch, it's it's fun to to go
into those waves.
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00:03:03,856 --> 00:03:07,098
But those waves, especially in areas where
there's not
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00:03:07,118 --> 00:03:12,722
an established coastal habitat that or or
maybe it's a vulnerable habitat.
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00:03:13,175 --> 00:03:17,137
To erosion, like maybe it's just sandy or
it's it's got like some sediment there,
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00:03:17,137 --> 00:03:18,558
but nothing to really stop it,
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00:03:18,558 --> 00:03:21,820
nothing, nothing to hold the sediment
together,
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00:03:21,820 --> 00:03:25,632
~ like a mangrove or a salt marsh where
the plants are holding the roots
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00:03:25,632 --> 00:03:27,864
of the plants are holding that sediment
together,
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00:03:27,864 --> 00:03:32,166
that soil together. And so what they what
they found in this these snows
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00:03:32,166 --> 00:03:37,209
cut findings is that the the the wakes of
the boats or half of
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00:03:37,209 --> 00:03:40,161
the wakes heights beat the biggest wind
waves.
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00:03:40,736 --> 00:03:44,058
So, like if if you look at if you measure
all these heights over a certain time
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00:03:44,058 --> 00:03:48,871
and you look at half of them were bigger
than ~ the waves caused by wind,
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00:03:48,871 --> 00:03:53,824
which would be considered something like ~
like like climate change storms
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00:03:53,824 --> 00:03:59,056
or things like that. and and so like slow
slow plowing speeds through throws like
72
00:03:59,056 --> 00:04:02,168
the worst wakes of all. So as you start to
slow plowing where
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00:04:02,168 --> 00:04:03,739
the bow of the boat is up in the air,
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00:04:03,739 --> 00:04:06,210
it it almost it makes it makes it worse.
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00:04:06,210 --> 00:04:11,972
So what I what I want to really punch home
here is that these wakes are mechanical.
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00:04:11,972 --> 00:04:15,844
They are done by a machine. They were done
by a motor.
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00:04:15,844 --> 00:04:21,136
It's not done by climate ch like climate
driven storms or climate driven winds.
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00:04:21,136 --> 00:04:24,297
And it's happening right now on the
waterways as you listen to this.
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00:04:24,297 --> 00:04:29,579
and this is something that can be cleared
up and can be managed appropriately.
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00:04:30,457 --> 00:04:31,707
Now, if you don't know who I am,
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00:04:31,707 --> 00:04:36,169
I'm a marine biologist. I use I've studied
the oceans for quite some time.
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00:04:36,169 --> 00:04:38,129
I'm not an expert in anything,
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00:04:38,129 --> 00:04:40,180
but I'm a bit of a generalist all around.
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00:04:40,180 --> 00:04:43,181
And I cover this kind of stuff because I
feel like it's important for
85
00:04:43,181 --> 00:04:47,632
us to know that activities that we can do
to reduce
86
00:04:47,792 --> 00:04:52,093
our ~ influence on these types of
shorelines.
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00:04:52,093 --> 00:04:55,814
And so when you have intact
88
00:04:56,606 --> 00:05:00,848
habitats like mangroves or or salt marshes
or seagrasses,
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00:05:00,848 --> 00:05:04,128
that's a measurable defense, We have this
these defenses up.
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00:05:04,128 --> 00:05:08,610
And there's a a study with by Dowdy and
all that looks at the numbers and it's
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00:05:08,610 --> 00:05:13,392
up to 90% of the wave height reduction
from mangroves and marshes,
92
00:05:13,392 --> 00:05:19,384
67% wave energy reduction from marsh and
oyster reef against boat wakes
93
00:05:19,384 --> 00:05:25,037
specifically. So there's an engineering
method of doing this by making sure that
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00:05:25,037 --> 00:05:26,037
we have
95
00:05:25,960 --> 00:05:32,355
These complex habitats that provide this
this this ruggedness
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00:05:32,716 --> 00:05:36,939
that will when the ~ the energy of the
waves move into the area,
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00:05:36,939 --> 00:05:43,124
it gets it gets taken out. ~ that energy
gets taken out and it dissipates over this
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00:05:43,124 --> 00:05:47,468
ruggedness of like an oyster reef or
mangrove roots or or what have you.
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00:05:47,468 --> 00:05:49,710
Right. And so that's that's important.
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00:05:49,710 --> 00:05:53,193
That's part of nature. And plus you get
nature along the sides of this.
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00:05:53,405 --> 00:05:58,309
these intercoastal highways in these areas
where they're exposed to waves
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00:05:58,309 --> 00:06:03,534
of boats all the time. and so once you
have the understanding of what this
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00:06:03,534 --> 00:06:06,647
can cause, right, you can use it,
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00:06:06,647 --> 00:06:08,938
you can measure it. And that's fundable.
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00:06:08,938 --> 00:06:11,981
when you look at the blue carbon and how
much that's worth,
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00:06:11,981 --> 00:06:14,203
that's worth like globally, it's worth
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00:06:14,771 --> 00:06:18,453
191 billion dollars. on Tuesday,
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00:06:18,453 --> 00:06:25,236
I talked about an example where they lined
the coastline with natural habitat,
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00:06:25,236 --> 00:06:29,828
and they were able to save $17,000 per
acre,
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00:06:29,828 --> 00:06:34,481
and I think that's an important aspect in
in that I mentioned on Tuesday.
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00:06:34,919 --> 00:06:38,981
Because I feel like that's something that
that really puts a a tangible number
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00:06:39,241 --> 00:06:43,372
to what it costs to restore, So you you're
looking at it cost seventeen thousand
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00:06:43,372 --> 00:06:48,253
dollars per hundred acres. but it was
protected.
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00:06:48,253 --> 00:06:51,984
And the the amount of protection saves a
lot in the future.
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00:06:51,984 --> 00:06:54,195
and I think that's like a smaller scale.
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00:06:54,195 --> 00:06:56,435
You have the global, then you the smaller
scale.
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00:06:56,435 --> 00:07:00,037
But then there's there's methods to fund.
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00:07:00,322 --> 00:07:02,513
these types of of coastal habitats.
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00:07:02,513 --> 00:07:05,305
And it doesn't necessarily have to be a
salt marsh or doesn't necessarily have
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00:07:05,305 --> 00:07:07,886
to be a mangrove. It could be a coral
reef.
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00:07:07,886 --> 00:07:12,208
In fact, there's a a really great example
in Mexico where there was looked
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00:07:12,208 --> 00:07:17,091
at like the resystem protecting Mexico's ~
Maya Riviera ~ was was really
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00:07:17,131 --> 00:07:18,995
was really important. it's it's
definitely,
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00:07:18,995 --> 00:07:21,263
it's not a mangrove that this was that
this had.
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00:07:21,263 --> 00:07:22,264
It was a coral reef.
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00:07:22,730 --> 00:07:24,962
And it's something that's that's very
important.
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00:07:24,962 --> 00:07:30,968
So, the coastline for the Mexico's Riviera
Maya was was known
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to be valuable informally for years,
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it shields around $10 billion in annual
tourism revenue for the region.
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But the the the valuable part,
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isn't the same as like
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what can be funded. So after a storm
damaged the reef,
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there was no fast way to act to restore
it.
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And there's no way to get dedicated
repairs.
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So the people couldn't pay for it.
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People couldn't go out and do something
for it,
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And so, the restoration was weighted on
like organizations who do
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it themselves who fundraise. And that's
difficult.
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Fundraising is almost impossible these
days.
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Now in 2018, the Nature Conservancy,
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the Quintana Roo state government,
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local hotels
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And the insurer named Swiss RE,
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I think it's Swiss RE or Swiss Re,
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I'm not sure exactly how you pronounce it,
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They set up a coastal zone management
trust.
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Now, hotels already paid the tax for the
beach usage rights in the in that area,
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because it's all resorts. And that tax now
funds this parametric insurance policy
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on the reef itself.
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So it's a policy that pays out
automatically once wind speeds in
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a defined area cross a certain threshold.
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So there's no lengthy damage assessment
that's required first.
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It's right away, it happens. And as an
example,
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in 2020, Hurricane Delta ~ hit the area.
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And that that policy triggered its first
payout $850,000 within days.
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So they had volunteer brigades already
assigned.
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And they used it to stabilize over 2,150
uprooted coral colonies
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and reattach more than 13,500 coral
fragments within three months.
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And then the neighboring towns got wind of
it and they we're gonna come
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up with our own model, for these volunteer
brigades.
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And it's now it's expanding into Belize,
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Guatemala, and Honduras because working so
well.
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Mangroves are named as the next planned
expansion of the same insurance framework
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because they realize look, this is the
funny thing about insurance groups.
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and insurance companies, they know what
protects a coastline.
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They know what will reduce damage.
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And the fact that they have they have an
incentive to ensure that these areas don't
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have to put out a payout, it's cheaper for
them to ensure that there's
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a healthy coastline, whether that's
mangroves or that's marshes
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or that's seagrasses or that's a coral
reef.
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They know that having an intact and
healthy coastal habitat complex that
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has all of those is really important to
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The structure and safety and security of
that coastline.
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this is not a fact of like this is a
charitable work.
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This is working actively to protect the
people who are paying in insurance
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to make sure that their business,
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00:10:13,971 --> 00:10:19,613
their activities don't stop. Because if
you lost that coastline,
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or if that coastline got eroded,
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all that beachfront is gone. All those
resorts that will not make money.
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People go for the beaches.
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00:10:27,790 --> 00:10:32,633
And and they're already having enough
problems with with sargasm to have this
aspect
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00:10:32,633 --> 00:10:35,616
to help them out with this coastal
security is huge.
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00:10:35,616 --> 00:10:39,498
And to have the money already saved up so
that when it comes when
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and the policy just triggers it in a
response right away.
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So within three months, they're back up
and they feel safer.
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And I think this is what it requires to
ensure that we we've talked
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all week about how.
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Making sure that coastal habitats can
sequester that nitrogen and the carbon,
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00:10:58,158 --> 00:11:02,311
making sure that healthy coastal reefs are
there to act as the
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00:11:02,311 --> 00:11:07,265
the like nature's kidneys to make sure
nutrients don't get out into
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00:11:07,265 --> 00:11:11,549
the ocean and into the coastline to cause
all this green water
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00:11:11,990 --> 00:11:14,442
and disrupt coastal ecosystems,
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which would cause a lot of death,
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00:11:16,063 --> 00:11:18,536
would cause red tide, all this kind of
stuff.
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And then, yesterday we talked about,
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black like making sure that these like
like from like the as example
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00:11:25,405 --> 00:11:31,090
of the Blackwater ~ area, making sure that
the marshlands can move back inland
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if there's if there's a problem with sea
level rise.
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00:11:33,322 --> 00:11:39,507
So making like this is all what happens
when we manage a coastline properly.
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The policies need to be in place right off
the bat.
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Today's story is an example of that with
Quintana Roo.
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Making sure that we have a policy that
triggers the funds like right away.
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Not an assessment done first, not waiting
a year for it to happen.
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The money gets triggered. The policy gets
triggered,
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00:11:57,439 --> 00:12:01,811
the money gets given, volunteer brigades
go out and the the pay the payments done
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00:12:01,811 --> 00:12:04,272
to restore this area. It is expensive.
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00:12:04,272 --> 00:12:08,174
Almost a million dollars to restore parts
of a reef is hugely expensive.
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00:12:08,174 --> 00:12:13,456
And and so all week we've been talking
about managing the coastline
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by looking at specific habitats.
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This happens with all habitats all around
the world.
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00:12:18,762 --> 00:12:23,062
A lot of places don't have these policies
in place or don't have
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00:12:23,062 --> 00:12:26,724
the ability to trigger the money to come
out.
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00:12:26,724 --> 00:12:32,866
And it requires community to actively
investigate these types
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00:12:33,066 --> 00:12:38,048
of setbacks or predict these types of
things that are happening to manage that,
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00:12:38,048 --> 00:12:42,019
making sure that, coastal habitats can
migrate back in case sea level rise takes
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00:12:42,019 --> 00:12:43,019
them over.
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00:12:42,870 --> 00:12:46,481
All these things, making sure that there's
money available for restoration after
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00:12:46,481 --> 00:12:50,812
a storm. Make sure that the ~ the the
habitats are healthy,
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make sure that at the end of a pipe of an
industry,
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00:12:53,044 --> 00:12:55,876
it's down to a specific number for
nitrogen and phosphorus,
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00:12:55,876 --> 00:12:59,847
those nutrients, so that you don't trigger
a a bloom,
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00:12:59,847 --> 00:13:03,619
along the coastal area that could trigger
a red tide bloom.
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00:13:03,619 --> 00:13:08,000
All this happens through management
activities.
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00:13:08,000 --> 00:13:10,061
Sometimes you just can't.
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00:13:10,211 --> 00:13:14,863
Allow, nature to recover on its own
because we've damaged it so much.
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00:13:14,863 --> 00:13:21,525
And there's so many combinations of things
that can happen that will take it out.
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00:13:21,525 --> 00:13:27,918
And if you set up the habitat properly and
you manage the habitat properly,
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00:13:27,918 --> 00:13:29,168
and there's areas of restoration,
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00:13:29,168 --> 00:13:30,869
identifying areas of vulnerability,
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00:13:30,869 --> 00:13:36,351
working with the community, ensuring that
human disturbances like boat wakes
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and things like that are taken out.
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Well, now you've got a a properly managed
area.
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00:13:41,825 --> 00:13:45,046
Whether it's you call it a marine
protected area or a managed area,
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you're managing that coastline properly.
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And and so what I want you to think about
is if you live along a coastal area,
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you live near a marina, you live near a
mangrove,
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00:13:56,083 --> 00:13:59,516
you live near a marsh, make sure that,
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00:13:59,516 --> 00:14:03,068
these areas are managing those properly.
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00:14:03,068 --> 00:14:07,722
That's there's enforcement in in like slow
speed or no wake zones,
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00:14:07,722 --> 00:14:10,183
right, near marsh and mangrove shorelines.
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00:14:10,183 --> 00:14:13,986
It's a mechanical mechanism that can be
controlled.
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00:14:14,949 --> 00:14:18,690
And and this is like one lit like this
these types of calls to action
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00:14:18,690 --> 00:14:21,251
by calling local marinas, calling harbor
authorities,
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00:14:21,251 --> 00:14:25,912
or calling your town council, that's one
mechanism you can use as
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00:14:25,912 --> 00:14:28,293
an individual and you can push on it.
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00:14:28,293 --> 00:14:33,844
To make sure, like, not to where the boat
wakes are in the habitats protection.
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00:14:33,844 --> 00:14:35,604
That's where they meet. That's where you
want to hit.
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That's where you want to focus your energy
on.
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That's where we start to see real policy
happen.
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This this series, this week was all about
nutrient pollution ~ that
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has a natural filter. And we know that red
tide has a tracking tool,
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00:14:52,288 --> 00:14:54,320
so we don't have to be exposed to it.
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00:14:54,320 --> 00:14:56,661
we know that sea level ride has a a moving
target,
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00:14:56,661 --> 00:14:58,324
these habitats can actually chase.
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00:14:58,324 --> 00:15:02,398
And now coastal erosion has a real dollar
value attached to it so that
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00:15:02,398 --> 00:15:03,398
it can get fixed.
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00:15:04,165 --> 00:15:08,996
none of this here is like guesswork
because of major problems with climate
change
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00:15:08,996 --> 00:15:12,407
or anything like that. It's about
engineering and finance.
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00:15:12,407 --> 00:15:16,869
And in a lot of places it's already
working to man like the management
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00:15:16,869 --> 00:15:23,671
is already working. And and that is
helping to bring back areas like Tampa
Bay,
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00:15:23,671 --> 00:15:25,552
to protect areas like Quintana Roo,
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00:15:25,552 --> 00:15:29,743
to make sure that the future of the
Blackwater Park.
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00:15:30,289 --> 00:15:34,011
will continue because we'll have migration
corridors where these marshes
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00:15:34,291 --> 00:15:37,993
can still be healthy and can be out of the
way from of danger.
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And and that's the episode. That's what
that's what we talk about here.
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We talked about a lot of stuff.
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00:15:43,286 --> 00:15:46,868
I'd love to hear you your thoughts about
this episode as well as
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00:15:46,868 --> 00:15:49,160
the other episodes this week about coastal
habitats,
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00:15:49,160 --> 00:15:50,640
about nutrients, about carbon,
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00:15:50,640 --> 00:15:54,602
all these things that are really important
they have fixes.
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00:15:54,602 --> 00:15:57,474
And and that's where I want you to get is
like you can
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00:15:57,806 --> 00:16:00,757
Take a bite out of this. You can actually
have make a difference in this
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00:16:00,977 --> 00:16:05,957
by ensuring that policies are in place
locally to protect those areas.
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00:16:05,957 --> 00:16:08,279
And you'll be well off for that.
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00:16:08,279 --> 00:16:10,810
I guarantee you, especially if you live in
those areas or you don't live
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00:16:10,810 --> 00:16:12,260
in those areas. Maybe you visit that area.
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00:16:12,260 --> 00:16:13,680
That's that's what's really gonna help.
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00:16:13,680 --> 00:16:15,661
So that's it for the episode for today.
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And of course, this week, tune in on
Monday because we have a really great
episode
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00:16:19,332 --> 00:16:20,332
for you on Monday.
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00:16:20,800 --> 00:16:25,351
We have ~ Anupa Ahsoka, who's gonna be
talking about how
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00:16:25,473 --> 00:16:29,864
the California Marine Protected Area
System is failing the people in
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00:16:29,864 --> 00:16:32,544
the way they are implementing adaptive
management.
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00:16:32,544 --> 00:16:33,995
And that could be fixed. Again,
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00:16:33,995 --> 00:16:36,826
another fix that can happen. But we're
gonna talk about some of
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00:16:36,826 --> 00:16:40,937
the problems and some of the
recommendations that her and her
organization fish on,
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00:16:40,937 --> 00:16:45,658
as well as her collaborators, really have
for this marine protected area process
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00:16:45,918 --> 00:16:49,019
and making sure that they approach it from
a scientific angle.
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00:16:49,747 --> 00:16:52,549
and maybe that will reduce a lot of the
conflicts that are happening there.
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00:16:52,549 --> 00:16:55,252
That's on Monday. We're gonna talk all
about marine protected areas for
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00:16:55,252 --> 00:16:56,572
the rest of the week on that day,
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00:16:56,572 --> 00:17:00,646
on that week. And I can't wait to ~ be
able to provide that to you.
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00:17:00,646 --> 00:17:04,358
So thank you so much for joining us on
this episode of the How to Protect
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00:17:04,358 --> 00:17:06,060
the Ocean podcast and all this week.
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I'm your host, Andrew Lewin. Have a great
day.
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We'll talk to you next time in happy
conservation.
