Ammonia, another source of nitrogen for algae, is abundant throughout the year. Moderate amounts enter the estuary and even greater quantities are regenerated from the decay of organic matter. The exact combination of nutrients and salinity must also be aligned with a relatively slow flushing time of the estuary before a bloom of algae will occur. Often the nutrient conditions seem right but the high rates of inflaming water dilute the incipient bloom and even wash it into Pamlico Sound before the algal concentrations build up. The estuary of the Neuse River is currently biologically rich but not too rich.
Fish are abundant at certain times of the year and crabs and shrimp are common.
Obviously the estuary is functioning properly despite the algal blooms and high respiration rates. One unanswered question is whether the condition of the river would be improved if the organic load were to be reduced. Indeed, their data do show such a correlation. However only the bottom waters are affected by deoxygenation and, in addition, the low oxygen concentrations they found were closely correlated with warm temperatures. Unfortunately, we do not know what the oxygen conditions or fish movements were in the river before man modified the drainage basin so the question is not resolvable.