About the Project

Restoring shellfish populations can help control eutrophication and achieve mandated water quality targets; however, this approach requires that managers have a good understanding of how nitrogen moves through their estuary and the nitrogen removal capacities of their shellfish communities. 

By leveraging a well-established collaborative group at GTM Reserve and engaging additional users, this project helped create a better understanding of shellfish distributions, health, filtration capacity in and around the Guana River Estuary. The project not only generated valuable water quality and shellfish data but it also established a path for increased research and monitoring by fostering connectedness between people and data.

About the Resource

This handout describes water quality impairments in the Guana River Estuary, as well as the impairment process through the Clean Water Act, options for water quality restoration, and next steps for the Guana River Estuary. This handout may be a useful communication tool for other impaired water bodies, and users are encouraged to customize it for their own estuary.