By Eric Schott, Associate Research Professor, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science at IMET

Since before Baltimore was an industrial city and international port – and now in its post-industrial phase – the body of water we call Baltimore Harbor has served many functions. It was, and still is, a marine ecosystem in its own right. In the summer, it is full of rockfish and crabs, and they don’t come here by accident. They are finding food and habitat as they follow menhaden and Atlantic silversides, barnacles, mussels, and other invertebrates that are part of the harbor food web. But it has not always been such a healthy environment for people.

The Healthy Harbor Initiative has provided a forum for diverse stakeholders to work towards the shared goal of a harbor that is also a healthy ecosystem for people.  For scientists like me and my colleagues at the University of Maryland’s Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology (IMET) on the harbor, participation in the Healthy Harbor Initiative has opened up conversations with non-profits and municipal partners, and this has helped us learn where our scientific approach and capacity can help meet that shared goal. 

Five years ago, the Waterfront Partnership contracted with IMET to better understand microbes in the Harbor. For the next three summers, we used state of the art genetic methods that are more precise at detecting sewage contamination than the EPA -approved methods. Occasionally, the more precise methods showed the harbor had little or no sign of sewage when the standard methods showed contamination. This did not mean that the water was always safe for human contact, but that it was safe more of the time than one might have known using just the older methods. 

An urban waterway like our Harbor has more hazards in it than just sewage. For example, fishermen and boaters know that the Bay can have naturally-occurring bacteria that cause skin infection and illness. At IMET, we measured the incidence of naturally-occurring vibrio bacteria and saw that these were no more prevalent here than what is seen in non-urban areas of the Chesapeake Bay.

I want to acknowledge the real hands and brains of the Harbor microbe study. Over the years, graduate students, undergraduate summer interns, and even a visiting Fulbright scholar were trained in state-of-the-art methods to support clean water and got to participate in a project that has real local environmental relevance.

These scientists are now part of a community that Healthy Harbor has fostered, including the National Aquarium, Blue Water Baltimore, Downtown Sailing Center, and more, who are committed to finishing the job of making the harbor a healthy ecosystem while keeping human well-being in the center.

The Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology is enthusiastic about working with this community to make our urban estuary a healthy environment for everyone.



Originally presented by Eric Schott at Waterfront Partnership's Healthy Harbor: A Swimmable, Fishable Update on November 9th, 2023.