According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Bay Program, in the lower bay seagrasses have receded by 63 percent since 1992. One of the threats to grasses, which are vital to the development of young fish and crabs, comes from the excess nutrients which wash into the water from surrounding farms. These nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorous, overstimulate algae growth which cuts off needed light to the grasses. The root of the problem is the poultry industry. Farmers routinely spread poultry manure on their fields as fertilizer, but due to the tremendous buildup of the industry on parts of the Eastern Shore, far more waste is being produced than the land can absorb.
Soils are over saturated with nutrients.
As water runs off and erodes the soil the excess nutrients wash into the water.