Seacoast priorities targeted

What are the priorities for protecting the Greater Salem seacoast? Salem Sound Coastwatch will identify five important areas when it hosts its annual meeting on Thursday at the Salem Maritime Visitors Center.

As part of the program, the organization will formally announce its ''Top Five Environmental Tasks" for the Salem Sound watershed, which is shared by Salem, Beverly, Danvers, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Marblehead, and Peabody. This is the first time in the 14-year history of the coastal watershed protection group (formerly Salem Sound 2000) that it has presented such a list.

''I think it sets certain goals," said Robert Buchsbaum, conservation scientist for Massachusetts Audubon Society and a member of the Salem Sound Coastwatch board of directors. While all five tasks reflect ongoing effort, Buchsbaum said, restating them in this way brings a more explicit focus to the issues. ''Clearly these are organizational priorities."

Rob Gough, executive director for Salem Sound Coastwatch, said the tasks are not prioritized but considered equally important. They are:

To increase efforts to reduce contaminated storm water discharge.

To increase protection of local coastal habitat.

To detect and quantify marine invasive species in local waters.

To promote environmental literacy and watershed awareness.

To help empower the region's municipalities to implement effective solutions.

The local focus on storm water contaminants and protecting or restoring wetlands habitat (according to the most recent figures, the region has lost two-thirds of its salt marshes since 1965) mirrors ongoing national environmental initiatives, according to Gough. The effort to detect and quantify invasive marine species has gained more attention in recent years.

''It's still a relatively new issue, at least in terms of widespread recognition," Gough said. Just as conservationists are concerned about invasive plants such as purple loosestrife and phragmites that will outcompete other types of plant life in a marsh or pasture, marine biologists are concerned about nonnative plants and invertebrates (green fleece algae or the Asian shore crab, to name two) that thrive at the expense of other species, creating a monoculture where there had been biodiversity. For example, invasive invertebrates such as the Asian shore crab or European green crab are foraging scavengers that will eat young clams and oysters.

''There is a strong educated suspicion among many that this could have a social and economic impact on our communities. Because of the economic threat to the shellfish industry and the recreational and commercial fishing industries, it's important to the fabric of the community," Gough said.

''For better or worse," he added, ''Salem Sound is somewhat of a hotbed for invasive species."

Buchsbaum, who is also working on the invasive species project, noted that the first Asian shore crab in Beverly was found four years ago. ''Now they're pretty common," he said. ''If you go to Lynch Park and lift up some rocks, you'll find it."

Buchsbaum noted that one of the organization's strengths is its ability to marshal volunteers' efforts.

''They do a great job of getting people involved with their outreach and public education about the issues," Buchsbaum said.

The Thursday Salem Sound Coastwatch Annual Meeting and Volunteer/Member Appreciation Night is a free event and the public is welcome. Reservations are appreciated but not required. The meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at the Salem Maritime Visitors Center. For more information, call 978-741-7900 or go to www.salemsound.org.