Estuarine Ecosystem Issues on the Chesapeake Bay

Abstract

On a global basis, estuarine systems constitute a small percentage (~0.5 percent) of the world’s oceanic areas. However, the very high fisheries production (~21 percent of world’s catch), proximity to major urban areas and transportation networks, and the use of these areas for recreational purposes make them far more important than indicated by spatial extent alone (Houde and Rutherford 1993). In part because of the location of these systems at the margin between land and ocean, serious degradation has become widespread during the last few decades. If current demographic projections are correct, we should expect that human activities in the coastal zone will continue to intensify. In 1988, for example, the average population density in coastal counties in the northeast region of the United States (Maine to Virginia) was about 340 people per square mile; it is expected to increase by an additional 30 percent by 2010. Sediments, nutrients, and an array of toxic materials will probably find their way into these aquatic systems, leading to further declines in water quality, habitat conditions and living resources, especially if these areas do not have effective management programs (Culliton et al. 1990).