Maryland Coastal Bays Report Card 2014

Maryland Coastal Bays Report Card 2014The aim of this report card is to provide a transparent, timely, and geographically detailed assessment of Coastal Bays' health in 2014. Coastal Bays health is defined as the progress of four water quality indicators (total nitrogen, total phosphorus, chlorophyll a, dissolved oxygen) and two biotic indicators (seagrass, hard clams) toward scientifically derived ecological thresholds or goals. These six indicators are combined into one overarching Coastal Bays Health Index, which is presented as the report card score. The overall score for the Coastal Bays was a C+ in 2014, a very similar score to last year.