Bay Health and Restoration Assessment

During the first quarter of each year, the Bay Program assembles an assessment of Chesapeake Bay health and restoration, which synthesizes the previous year's Bay ecosystem health, restoration efforts and factors impacting Bay and watershed health.

Current assessment: 2008 | Executive Summary

Learn more about our assessment process.

Previous Health and Restoration Assessments: 2007 | 2006 | 2005: Health / Restoration | 2004 | 2002 | 1999

2008 Annual Assessment
Bay Health

Bay Health

Despite small successes in certain parts of the ecosystem and specific geographic areas, the overall health of the Chesapeake Bay did not improve in 2008. The Bay continues to have poor water quality, degraded habitats and low populations of many species of fish and shellfish. Based on these three areas, the overall health averaged 38 percent, with 100 percent representing a fully restored ecosystem.

  • Water Quality: In 2008, water quality was again very poor, meeting only 21 percent of the goals, the same as 2007.
  • Habitats and Lower Food Web: Overall, the vital habitats and lower food web that support life in the Chesapeake Bay continued to be in bad shape in 2008, meeting 45 percent of the goals, the same as 2007.
  • Fish and Shellfish: Most fish and shellfish populations in the Bay remain far below desired levels. Overall, 48 percent of the goals have been met for fish and shellfish, a 2 percent decrease from 2007.
Restoration and Protection Efforts

Restoration and Protection Efforts

New restoration programs and projects were put in place in 2008, but resulted in only incremental gains toward goals. The measures for restoration and protection efforts averaged 61 percent, a four percent increase from 2007.

  • Reducing Pollution: Based on available data, scientists project that 58 percent of the pollution reduction efforts needed to achieve the goals have been implemented since 1985, which is a 1 percent increase from 2007.
  • Restoring Habitats: Efforts to restore habitats throughout the watershed achieved modest gains in 2008, with progress toward the overall goal at 55 percent, an 11 percent increase from 2007.
  • Managing Fisheries: Overall work to develop ecosystem-based fisheries management plans for blue crabs, oysters, striped bass, Atlantic menhaden and American shad stands at 51 percent, just a minimal gain from 2007.
  • Protecting Watersheds: Progress was made toward protection of the thousands of smaller watersheds in the region during 2008, with a 3 percent gain toward the overall goal. Overall, the partnership is 74 percent of the way toward its goals for protecting watersheds.
  • Fostering Stewardship: Programs to foster the public’s stewardship of the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed resulted in a score of 65 percent, which reflects an increase of 5 percent from 2007.
Factors Impacting Bay Health

Factors Impacting Bay Health

The impact of human activity is overwhelming nature and offsetting cleanup efforts in the Bay and its watershed.

  • Pollutants:The Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries are unhealthy primarily because of pollution from excess nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment entering the water. The main sources of these pollutants are agriculture, urban and suburban runoff, wastewater, and airborne contaminants.
  • Land Use: One of the greatest challenges to restoration is continued population growth and development, which destroys forests, wetlands and other natural areas.
  • Natural Factors: Annual rain and snowfall affect how much water flows in rivers. The levels of pollution entering the Bay each year generally correspond with the volume of water that flows from its tributaries.
  • Other Pressures: There are several other factors that impact the overall health of the ecosystem. These include climate change, invasive species and fisheries harvest.
Watershed Health

Watershed Health

The presence and diversity of snails, mussels, insects and other freshwater benthic macroinvertebrate communities are good indicators of stream health because of their limited mobility and their known responses to environmental pollutants and stressors. Consequently, these communities are often used as indicators of the attainment or nonattainment of aquatic life uses protected by state water quality standards.

Additional Assessments

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