2019-2020 Maryland Coastal Bays Report Card

The aim of this report card is to provide a transparent, timely, and geographically detailed assessment of 2019-2020 Coastal Bays health. 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. The 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+ for the 2019-2020 reporting cycle. This was a decrease from the last full year of data in 2017.

Keywords: Maryland Coastal Bays,Report Card,ecosystem,health,grade,scores,hard clams,seagrasses,water quality,biotic,indicators,