Puget Sound shorelines offer habitat for small fish such as outmigrating juvenile salmon, beach spawning forage fish such as surf smelt, and shellfish beds. Shoreline armor reduces habitat for fish, disrupts natural beach processes by blocking the movement of sediments, and can reduce safe and easy access to the water, impacting people’s access outdoor activity. 

Feeder bluffs and the use of soft shore techniques are getting significant attention for targeted restoration, leading to recovery in sediment supply and functions. Quantifying scale of human impacts can be a challenge due to the difficulty and cost of producing regular shoreline armoring maps. 

Like terrestrial forests, kelp forests form extensive living structures that provide valuable ecosystem services. There are stark variations in the status of floating kelp in different parts of the Puget Sound, ranging from stable to substantial documented decline, and total loss.  

There are approximately 51,700 acres of eelgrass in greater Puget Sound. Despite localized decline in eelgrass area, the stability of eelgrass area since monitoring began in 2000 is reassuring and sets Puget Sound apart from other developed areas where large scale declines are ongoing. 

Eelgrass health is linked to the Marine Water Vital Sign. Excessive input of nutrients and organic matter can lead to algae blooms, overgrowth that shades eelgrass beds, and lowers the density and depth that eelgrass grows. Additionally, eelgrass wasting disease has the potential to become a major stressor under increasing climate change and warmer water temperatures.