Why Estuaries Are Important Estuaries are semi-enclosed bodies of water where fresh water from rivers and streams mix with salt water from the ocean. Estuaries are among the most productive natural systems on the earth, rivaling rain forests and coral reefs. An estuary can produce more food per acre than the most productive Midwestern farmland. A constant influx of nutrients, combined with tidal mixing, shallow water, and miles of shoreline, create regions of extraordinary beauty and bounty. Chesapeake Bay, our nation s largest estuary, is home to over 2,700 species of plants and animals.
People love estuaries too.
By the year 2010, our coastal regions will be the home of 127 million Americans. Unfortunately, we have seriously degraded our estuaries through careless development, overharvesting of living resources, and pollution. Harmful algal blooms, like Pfiesteria piscicida in the Chesapeake Bay, are occurring in every coastal region. They are but the latest sign that our estuaries are at serious risk. In the Chesapeake Bay, forests, wetlands, underwater grasses and oysters all serve the dual functions of providing habitat for countless organisms, while at the same time filtering out the many kinds of pollution that threaten human and ecosystem health.