Chesapeake Bay Foundation says state of the bay remains at D+ ranking, needs improvement

DELMARVA – The Chesapeake Bay Foundation says the state of bay for 2020 remains at a D+ ranking. That’s the same from the last report two years ago. But it’s important to note, this year’s score dropped one point. “Reducing pollution, restoring natural filters, and careful management of fisheries are key to saving the bay,” said CBF President Will Baker.

According the CBF, one of the contributing factors to the lost point is what they called mismanagement of the bay’s striped bass population. CBF Senior Regional Ecosystem Scientist Chris Moore says they’ve been monitoring striped bass for a couple of years now. He says that’s because the female population of the fish dropped 40% between 2013 and 2017. Moore adds that the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission mandated an 18% reduction in striped bass fishing for 2020 season.  “In the next year we’ll work with the Atlantic states Marine Fisheries Commission to make a more comprehensive rewrite of that plan,” said Moore.

On top of keeping an eye on striped bass, the CBF also reviewed how oysters and crabs are doing in the bay. The CBF says scores for oysters and crabs improved. But Baker warns that if more isn’t done to prevent overfishing or increased pollution, the local seafood and tourism industries could be harshly affected. “The production of seafood will fold. It will not reach anywhere near what we would like, and what the communities that rely on the bay’s productivity rely on,” said Baker.

Another one of the main concerns in the report is making sure the EPA is holding watershed states accountable in the progress they’re making toward the Chesapeake Bay Clean Water Blueprint. The deadline for that plan is in 2025. “At that time, the bay states and District of Columbia have agreed to have various pollution reductions in place and have all programs implemented,” said Baker.

Part of meeting those goals involves asking the federal government to step in and help states reduce pollution. Baker says he’s hopeful President-Elect Biden will undo some of President Donald Trump’s rollbacks in federal environmental funding. “The new administration can be an advocate for funding as opposed to cutting funding to zero, or cutting funding by 90%,” said Baker.

Meanwhile, CBF Director of Science and Agricultural Policy Beth McGee says nitrogen and phosphorous levels in the bay are down. McGee says the level of dissolved oxygen and water clarity are critical to bay health. She adds that the dead zone found in the bay in 2020 was the second smallest in Maryland since the 1980s. But, McGee says more still needs to be done when it comes to reducing pollutants overall. “Reducing pollution to improve water quality is really the centerpiece of our bay restoration efforts. The good news is that all pollution indicators, except for one – toxics – improved,” said McGee.

McGee says climate change is adding to the problem. She says that’s because more frequent and stronger storms can increase pollutants in the bay. McGee says warmer water also tends to have lower oxygen levels. “When you factor those two things together, scientists estimate that by 2025 pollution reduction efforts are going to need to increase by 10% in order to meet our goals,” said McGee.

The CBF says part of making that commitment to slowing climate change and reducing pollutants also includes investing in safer and cleaner environmental use. “We want to see an increase there and more of the permanent practices that require one time investments, and maybe some maintenance. But they aren’t something that the state and farmer need to do year over year,” said CBF Vice President of Environmental Protection and Restoration Alison Prost.

Prost says investing in conservation practices, like creating more grazing operations and increased buffer management are just two things that can help. “What we’re looking to see is more permanent agricultural practices. We have largely met our agricultural goals with very successful programs around cover crops,” said Prost.

The CBF is also closely monitoring the habitats found both in and around the Chesapeake Bay’s water. They say that forests, wetlands, and underwater grasses serve as natural filters that can help reduce pollution flowing into the bay. McGee says forest buffers and underwater grasses decreased slightly. “Buffers will filter out pollutants. They’re also good for climate change and sequestering carbon. They’re good to shade streams. There’s multiple ecosystem benefits,” said McGee.

Overall, the CBF says if the issues in the State of the Bay report aren’t addressed, the Chesapeake Bay could never be truly healthy again. “The Chesapeake Bay system is still dangerously out of balance. But there’s hope for improvement as pollution levels decline,” said Baker.

To read the full report, click here.