What is healthy fish habitat?
So you think there are fewer, smaller fish in your local waterway? Take a good look at your brook …is the bottom silted? Is it flat straight across? How often are there pools? Do the banks have trees and shrubs? Ask yourself if there been changes to the watercourse or to the land upstream and inland. And in the end, ask yourself what constitutes healthy fish habitat? A combination of things from above, below and within the water makes up healthy fish habitat. From above, forested streambanks provide shade for cooler temperatures, overhead cover from predators, food and nutrients from falling leaves, insects and other organic matter to the fish and aquatic insects. Well-vegetated streambanks also serve to stabilize banks from erosion and clumping while allowing the formation of undercuts for cover. A healthy stream needs sunlight to warm waters to enable fertilized eggs to hatch. The sun is also required for plant growth to feed insects and provide instream cover. A good stable insect
