What is an Estuary?

Shifting sandbars at the mouth of the Connecticut River barred the development of a major port. These tidelands remain largely undeveloped. It is one of a very few major rivers that can make that claim. For this reason the lower 37 miles of the Connecticut River has been designated by the Nature Conservancy as one of the forty "Last Great Places" in the western hemisphere.

The estuary has also been indentified as a "Wetlands of International Importance" by the Ramsar Convention, an international treaty signed by 83 nations in 1971 to recognize globally important wetland ecosystems. (Source: Connecticut River Museum - Essex, CT)

Where the Connecticut River's freshwater meets the saltwater of Long Island Sound, the estuary supports a rich abundance of fish and shellfish. Shallower and more protected than the open ocean, it provides a nursery area for many commercial and sport fish and good habitat for wintering waterfowl. For migrating fish and birds, this is the gateway to the Connecticut River, its tributaries, uplands and forests.

Estuaries are very productive habitats. Tidal flow keeps the water oxygenated, distributes nutrients, and delivers food particles to shellfish. The conditions are just right to support a variety of seaweeds, sea grasses, algae and phytoplankton. These plants produce abundant food for a variety of zooplankton, shellfish, snails and young fish. These, in turn, are food for larger fish and birds.