<div><strong><u>Provincetown scientists release multi-year analysis of water quality in Cape Cod Bay</u></strong></div><div> </div><div>Researchers in the Cape Cod Bay Monitoring Program (CCBMP) at the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies (PCCS) have announced the release of the technical report <strong><em>"How is Our Bay? Five Years of Environmental Monitoring of Cape Cod Bay".</em></strong></div>
<div> </div><div><strong><em>"How is Our Bay?"</em></strong> presents the results of analyses of five years of data on water quality collected at 54 stations throughout the Cape Cod Bay; four years of eelgrass habitat studies at five locations; four years of monitoring in five harbors for the presence of marine invasive species; and a summary of a preliminary assessment for the presence of four pharmaceutical compounds at five sampling locations in Cape Cod Bay.</div>
<div> </div><div>The overall results of the Cape Cod Bay Monitoring Project are mixed:</div><div> </div><div>* Water quality has improved at 55% of the stations monitored, declined at 40% of stations, and stayed the same at 6%. Overall, there is a pattern of deteriorating conditions each year in the summer months in the inshore and nearshore stations.</div>
<div> </div><div>* Eelgrass, the aquatic plant that provides valuable habitat for juvenile fish and shellfish, also exhibits variations in the health and growth of beds throughout the Bay, reflecting the degrees of disturbance and pollution in the test areas. An increase in certain invasive plants and algae are also having a negative impact on the health and distribution of eelgrass habitat.</div>
<div> </div><div>* Pharmaceutical compounds were detected at four of five sites sampled in 2010</div><div> </div><div>The CCBMP just completed its seventh field season and these data and an analysis of all the data from 2006-2012 will be available next spring. </div>
<div> </div><div>For more information about the Cape Cod Bay Monitoring Program please contact CCBMP Director Amy Costa (<a href="mailto:acosta@coastalstudies.org">acosta@coastalstudies.org</a>; 508-487-3623 ext. 122), or Marine Policy Director Pat Hughes (<a href="mailto:phughes@coastalstudies.org">phughes@coastalstudies.org</a>; 508-487-3623, ext. 121). They are available to discuss the results of the CCBMP and/or make a presentation on the observations and results discussed in "How is Our Bay?" </div>
<div> </div><div>The report can be viewed and downloaded at: <a href="http://www.coastalstudies.org/images/HowsOurBay-WEBFINAL-refedit-1.pdf">http://www.coastalstudies.org/images/HowsOurBay-WEBFINAL-refedit-1.pdf</a></div>
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