♪♪ (Bright melodic music with chimes) NARRATOR: The Chesapeake Bay: an immense estuary where saltwater from the Atlantic Ocean mingles with freshwater from thousands of rivers, creeks, and streams.

From time immemorial, the Chesapeake teamed with aquatic life: striped bass: Maryland's state fish; the world famous Maryland Blue Crab, and the Chesapeake oyster, prized for its salty-sweetness.

But the rise of industrialization, intensive agriculture, overfishing, and uncontrolled urban development devastated Chesapeake waters, and the glory days of abundant harvests soon vanished.

The Bay became so polluted, it was time to act.

MARYLAND GOVERNOR HARRY HUGHES: You have told us to reduce the flow of toxics in the Bay.

We will.

NARRATOR: Since the 1980s, billions of dollars have been spent on some of the most ambitious waterway restoration projects in the nation's history.

Yet today, the Bay barely receives a passing grade.

CBS NEWS REPORTER: The Chesapeake Bay's health slipped back to a C... MALE NEWS REPORTER: Miserable pouring rain- washes all kinds of trash and pollution into the Chesapeake Bay.

CBS WOMAN REPORTER: Blue crab population is on the decline.

MALE REPORTER: As it decays, oxygen is used up, leaving a dead zone.

[Bright music] NARRATOR: But across the watershed... people are adapting to change.

Watermen and waterwomen are finding new ways to harvest and market their catch, farmers are adopting techniques to prevent fertilizers from entering the Bay, and scientists are now more accurately tracking the health of the estuary.

Now, it's not just about what went wrong; but what must be done to save the Bay and ensure a cleaner future.

[Piano music] [Sound of birds and waves crashing] ROBERT BROWN: Now keep going 'til you get through.

NARRATOR: For more than 50 years, Robert Brown has been checking his nets.

Each year, he catches thousands of pounds of striped bass, known locally as rockfish.

ROBERT BROWN: I graduated from grade school back in 1964, and that's when I started working with my brother in the seafood industry.

Mainly whole seining, catching rockfish, perch, spot, trout.

Then I went into the pound netting industry, and I've been doing that since back about '72, '73.

[Sound of crane and fish splashing in net] ROBERT BROWN: A lot of big fish up here.

NARRATOR: Brown's way of fishing, called poundnetting, goes all the way back to the Native peoples who once lived along Chesapeake shores.

They used nets to direct fish into an impoundment, a holding tank from which fish can't escape.

BROWN: Send them on.

Where's that shovel?

NARRATOR: Today, the nets are laden with rockfish, but after years of low spawning rates, scientists believe poor water quality, warming waters due to climate change, invasive predators, and a legacy of overfishing could be threatening this iconic species.

BROWN: Our biggest problem we have is uh pollution, runoff from the land, sewage treatment plants.

It's a tragedy how bad we have treated our Chesapeake Bay from not only the people who work on it, live on it, but all the way up to New York from the watershed on down.

It's not no one simple reason we got where we at.

It's a multiplication of things.

That- it's massive.

[Dramatic string music] NARRATOR: The dawning of the modern environmental movement in the 1970s led to a growing concern about the health of the Chesapeake.

WALTER CRONKITE: It's generally agreed that the Bay is in trouble; it's generally agreed that the Bay must be saved.

There is a point of no return.

The ecologists may disagree on the specific date, but it is not very far down the road when the Bay cannot any longer be turned around.

TIM WHEELER: There was a tremendous surge of excitement around saving the Bay in the early '80s.

A study came out saying that the Bay was in very bad shape and that the water quality was declining and it was endangering fish and the ecosystem in general.

And there was uh, there was a lot of enthusiasm for doing something about it and a lot of urgency.

NARRATOR: The initial spark came in 1983 when three states and the District of Columbia came together to enact the Chesapeake Bay Agreement, the first in a series of agreements, each one setting out new goals the states would follow to reduce pollution, improve water quality, and sustain a healthy fishery.

NARRATOR: A major issue the states tried to tackle was stemming the tide of pollutants running into the Bay from impervious surfaces, farmland, and urban development.

DON BOESCH: One of the biggest problems that was identified early on and still remains a really big problem, and that is the pollution, the excess amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus coming down to the Bay.

We've made some progress in controlling pollution from non-point sources, but the challenge remains that now the largest amount of pollution coming into the Bay that we need to control is coming from farms and from stormwater from urban areas.

WHEELER: Every time it rains, the rain runs off the land into the water and with it carries nutrients and sediments and other toxic pollutants.

And those are much harder to control.

BROWN: We got so much blacktop, we got so many houses, we got so many, shopping centers and all that.

And when you get rains, it comes back quicker than what it used to when John Smith was running around the shores.

NARRATOR: The Bay Watershed states set limits for pollution runoff in the 2014 Bay Agreement with a deadline to meet them in 2025.

But despite good intentions, the states largely failed to achieve those reductions.

While progress was made on reducing overflows from wastewater treatments plants, nitrogen and phosphorus continue to enter the Bay.

These nutrients degrade water quality, which directly affects people like Luke McFadden, who relies on a healthy Bay to earn a living.

LUKE MCFADDEN: I'm first-generation fisherman.

I don't come from a fishing family and uh, my parents had a friend who was a commercial crabber.

He let me come out on the boat with him one day to work, and I kind of got the bug, and I've just kind of been at it ever since.

Even just in my short career that I've had, the bad water has been, you know, something you can count on [chuckles] pretty much every year.

There's a lot of giveaways that there's dead zones.

Number one, sometimes, you know, you'll pull up pots and the crabs are, you know, dead or they're real lethargic and slow.

A lot of times you can just see the water looks like, you know, coffee, you know, it's like it'll either be kind of like mahogany, like reddish or straight brown.

NARRATOR: Algal blooms occur when excess nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus spur the growth of too much algae.

The algae dies and decomposes, causing dead zones, areas in the water that lack enough oxygen to sustain aquatic life.

MCFADDEN: It just cuts down on the bottom that we can fish, like, when all the water over 12 or 15 foot in the summertime is is a dead zone, thats that cuts out like 80 percent of the territory that we- the bottom that we would want to crab across.

So, the crabs can't live in that.

NARRATOR: Dead zones in the Bay affect more than just crabs.

They can also suffocate finfish species like rockfish, leading to massive fish kills.

Scientists have found the largest cause of dead zones is agricultural runoff.

DON BOESCH: These non-point sources that come off of the land- the problem is getting only more challenging.

So the farmer's under a requirement to maximize his production.

So add a little bit more fertilizer or grow more crop on on a certain segment of land.

So agricultural intensification is outdoing some of the gains we've had.

NARRATOR: There are more than 80,000 farms in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

When farmers fertilize their fields, the chemicals they use can run off the land into the Bay.

To address this problem, farmers like Trey Hill, who owns Harborview Farms on Maryland's Eastern Shore, are encouraged to use best management practices to mitigate the negative impacts of their business.

TREY HILL: BMPs are considered best management practices.

The main one that I do is cover crops.

So, in order to grow corn or soybeans or wheat, we have to add fertilizer.

And after we harvest the crop, there's an opportunity for that, those nutrients to get into the Bay, get into ground water, etc.

and what the cover crops do is allow us to pull any of that up.

So, if we get a heavy rain, rather than all the water percolating down or sheeting off the fields, it gets absorbed by the plants and taken up.

And we've taken fields where we didn't have cover crops, and we had cover crops and measured nitrate going down through the soil.

And what we learned was that when we had the cover crops, we really were minimizing that to a very negligible amount.

[String music] NARRATOR: Minimizing the flow of nitrogen and phosphorus from farm to Bay is a key conservation goal of the Bay Agreement, but convincing farmers to plant cover crops can be a tough sell.

HILL: It adds a lot of workload.

Like right now we're standing out here in the fall and I'm trying to get my harvest done.

So we're trying to get our soybeans out of the field.

But at the same time we have to be planting cover crops.

So it adds extra work and it adds it makes things a little more complicated.

That's where the state funding comes in.

Without that money coming from the state, that would be difficult to justify.

NARRATOR: Organizations like The Chesapeake Bay Foundation work with lawmakers to incentivize farmers through cost-sharing programs.

HILARY HARP FALK: We think that farmers are key to a healthy Chesapeake Bay.

And are some of the best conservationists that I know.

Our success depends on healthy farms, and so we know that as we continue to work side by side with farmers and continue to figure out how to support farmers that are doing the right thing, we will make progress on our pollution goals.

NARRATOR: Farmers using best management practices in the upper part of the Bay can directly improve the lives of those who work in the lower Bay, people like Crystal Jordan, who is carrying on a family tradition.

CRYSTAL JORDAN: When I first started crabbing, I was 13 years old.

I'd be in school in the morning, and then I'd go with dad crabbing.

Basically... um, this is where it goes.

Ooh.

It's worse when I try to hold it in... For me to spend time with my dad was to go to work with him, so that's what I did.

Growing up crabbing, I didn't- I couldn't imagine my life being any different, really.

Um, catching the crabs is exciting.

It's every single pot.

I've done it for, over 26 years that I've seen crabs come up in a pot and it doesn't matter.

Every pot that comes up, male crabs, white bellies coming up.

You're like a little kid in a candy store.

[Laughs] Like yeah, they're in it.

Uh...I don't know.

It just gets me, it excites me.

It's in my blood.

That's all I know.

You gotta pull back hard, there you- there you go.

Oh yeah, look at him!

NARRATOR: Under the Bay Agreement, states hoped to achieve a stable blue crab fishery, but a recent survey concluded that crab populations in the Chesapeake Bay dropped to its second lowest point since the 1990s.

Scientists are still investigating the causes of blue crab population loss, but believe weather patterns, climate change, and the rise of invasive species could be to blame.

CRYSTAL JORDAN: For us to have a future in this industry, we need it to thrive.

We need, you know, populations to stay good.

So, it's not just what we want.

It's what we need.

NARRATOR: The architects of the Bay Agreement set cleanup goals based on science and measurable outcomes, but no one was able to foresee what is perhaps the biggest threat the fishery now faces.

NBC NEWS REPORTER: It's an invasive species that is devouring native populations of fish.

FISHERMAN: I bet you there won't be another fish in this river besides catfish.

BROWN: This is the uh, invasive species, blue catfish.

It's killing our whole Chesapeake Bay.

[Dramatic music] BROWN: The invasive blue catfish, they feed on all kinds of fish: menhaden, white perch, yellow perch, shad, herring.

Whatever comes by and he's hungry, he eats it.

They eat crabs, too.

So I mean it's, it's really putting pressure on our industry.

It's now the biggest predator on the Chesapeake Bay.

NARRATOR: With blue catfish devouring everything in sight, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources came up with a plan that might reduce their numbers.

WAMR-2 REPORTER: There's a push to get people to eat more blue catfish hoping that it'll save Maryland's blue crab population.

The Department of Agriculture is partnering with chefs to put the invasive blue catfish on their menu.

NARRATOR: Jimmy's Famous Seafood in Baltimore is one restaurant doing its part to fight against the invasive blue catfish.

ANTONIOS MINIDAKIS: We source seafood from all over.

We have a strong tie to the- the watermen and local community.

And I think we're, you know, doing our best to make sure that the invasive species are are being eaten.

I guess that's our part in it, is to put them on the menu and turn them into tasty dishes.

We've had it on the menu probably ten different ways.

I think that the guests really enjoy eating it and they know that they're also doing their part in protecting the Bay.

So it's a win-win.

EMCEE: Please join me folks: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!

[Air horn sounds, crowd cheers] BROWN: The state of Maryland.

It's been a seafood state ever since the beginning of time.

HILARY HARP FALK: You can't imagine Maryland without crabs or Virginia without oysters.

It is so much a part of the culture and I think it has so much to do with who we are as Marylanders.

HANNAH BUSH: Eating oysters and eating crab, it brings people together because it's kind of like family style, the way that you eat it.

You put them on a picnic table and a piece of paper and everyone kind of just, gathers and eats.

And it's just like a community of that kind of food just fosters, you know, like togetherness.

[Cheering] [Cheering and applause] GARDNER DOUGLAS: You know honestly I just love the oyster community.

I really do.

I love the oyster community.

You know, there's a few of us and that few is growing.

As long as we keep planting seeds, a future is possible, a brighter future is possible.

[Crowd cheering] GARDNER DOUGLAS: Wild harvesters, you know, the tongers, and then you've got the aquaculture farmers raising oysters, you know, we all got to work together.

NARRATOR: Oysters have long been a bellweather for the health of the Chesapeake Bay.

Today, the oyster fishery contributes millions of dollars to Maryland's economy.

Heading out of Oxford, Maryland, oyster tonger Jake Schuman keeps an age-old tradition alive and makes his living on the water.

[Sound of oysters spilling out] JAKE SCHUMAN: I hand tong, and it's the old fashioned way of catching oysters.

Basically like using two garden rakes is all it is.

Rake them in a pile and then you got to get them shut, that's the hard part.

NARRATOR: Since the late 1800s, oyster populations have steadily decreased due to habitat loss and overharvesting.

In the 1970s and 1980s, the population was significantly decimated by diseases like Dermo and MSX, bouncing back slightly in the early 2000s as some tolerance to the diseases emerged.

SCHUMAN: When I first started, they were so scarce it was like, actually hard to catch some.

So you had to learn a lot.

Like, we could work and we would work here, and you might catch this many all day.

And now it's what, 8 o'clock?

With the work that they've done and replanting public bottom, I've definitely seen where the oysters do grow back on shells that they plant overboard.

And I think that works great.

NARRATOR: Replanting oysters has been successful.

Under the 2014 Bay Agreement, watershed states got to work, restoring oysters in ten tributaries including the Severn River near Annapolis.

[Shaking oysters] JESSE ILLAF: We're putting out about 2,000 cages a year through the Marylanders Grow Oysters program here on the Trace's Hollow Reef.

Now, here in between the Route 50 and 450 bridges on the Severn River, we have four different oyster restoration reefs.

Each year, we raise money to plant somewhere around 10 million spat-on shell in one of these targeted reefs.

[Bright piano music] NARRATOR: Oysters are essential to the health of the Chesapeake Bay.

Each one filters the water, stabilizes habitat, and supports the entire ecosystem.

These restoration areas are helping to rebuild the population, strengthening the fishery.

MOLLIE BOYD: So at 2 meters, the temperature is 14.4.

Dissolved oxygen in milligrams per liter is- We collect data here that really helps us understand what the water quality looks like above our oysters, and if they're doing well, if they're helping the water quality or if there's low dissolved oxygen, we know that the oysters might not be doing well in that area.

So it informs our decisions of where we put oysters, so they have the better- the best chance of survival.

ILLAF: Ideally, we'll get to a point where the oyster population can start to self sustain, and we don't need to put as much effort into keeping their populations up.

HILARY HARP FALK: The Chesapeake Bay now is the largest oyster restoration effort in the world.

In 2014, they set a goal of ten tributaries restored by 2025.

That goal became a reality and actually they didn't just restore ten tributaries, they restored eleven.

That to me is like, gold star from the 2014 agreement.

NARRATOR: With the 2014 agreement expiring in 2025, it was time for scientists and state officials to chart a new course for Chesapeake cleanup.

WBOC NEWS REPORTER: Chesapeake Executive Council today signed off on a new roadmap for restoration efforts in the nation's largest estuary.

CBS WOMAN REPORTER: The revised Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement establishes four goals: thriving habitats, fisheries, and wildlife; clean water; healthy landscapes; and engaged communities.

GOVERNOR WES MOORE: The momentum that we are now seeing throughout the Chesapeake Bay to be able to protect this heirloom is because of partnership.

Our progress thus far has been undeniable, but we also know that we have more work to do.

We're here all united with a common goal, protect the Bay.

WHEELER: I-I think it's time to retire the word 'restoration' when it comes to the Bay, it's not going to go back to the... Bay of John Smith.

Now will be cleaner than it was in the 50s or the 60s?

It can be.

But it's going to require constant effort.

Am I hopeful about the future?

I have to be.

I'm hopeful in seeing that young people who care about the Bay come into it with a sense of purpose and with new ideas and a willingness to keep at it.

MCFADDEN: So today I'm going to take you guys with me.

And we are picking up gear for the last of the 2025 crabbing season.

This weekend's crowd forecast is a 100 percent chance.

A big, giant, beautiful, wild caught Chesapeake Bay blue crabs caught by yours truly... I started making TikToks originally because I wanted to sell my own crabs.

There's no crab guy on the internet, right?

So there's kind of an opening in the market.

Oh, look at that!

Pretty crab.

Look at that.

Very first pot got a really nice big pretty large crab right there.

I mean, watermen care about the preservation of the Bay because it's the thing that supports our families.

It's our living, our livelihood.

So you know, without something to catch the next year, we're out of a job.

We care about sustainability and catching crabs sustainably and, and leaving something for the next generation.

[Brakes squeak] SUZANNE SULLIVAN: Good morning everyone!

KIDS: Good morning!

SUZANNE SULLIVAN: Welcome to Horn Point Lab right here in Cambridge.

NARRATOR: Suzanne Sullivan believes that hope for a cleaner Bay begins by nurturing a love for it with the next generation.

SUZANNE SULLIVAN: Environmental stewardship has to happen at this young age, and it has to happen with giving kids the opportunity to connect with the waterways.

If we start at a young age and they have an understanding that the river is not only a benefit to the ecosystem but to them personally, they're going to have that connection and that passion to do the work to help protect it.

SUZANNE SULLIVAN: Someone tell me, what are we looking at right now?

KIDS: A map.

SUZANNE SULLIVAN: It's a map!

And I love it.

We are looking at a map of the Chesapeake Bay.

Put your finger on the start of the river.

And follow your river to where it opens up.

Then put your hand there.

So our hands represent the Chesapeake Bay.

I really feel hopeful about the Chesapeake Bay as I've watched these students progress and want to follow up and take stewardship action.

Once you care and once you learn, it becomes part of your everyday life.

HARP FALK: When I've seen how much progress has- has been made in 40 years, sure, we're not where we want to be.

Um, but incredible amount of progress.

We're not going back, but we can go forward and we can build, a vision for the Bay um that focuses on people and nature and connects people to this remarkable watershed.

BROWN: You know the past, you can't change.

You can only look ahead into the future.

The Chesapeake Bay is our livelihood, it's our way of life.

It's our heritage.

It's what we were brought up in and we're proud to be a part of.

JORDAN: If I couldn't work on the Bay, I would be 100 percent lost.

Yeah, there's nothing else that I can picture myself doing at all.

[Hopeful dramatic music] MCFADDEN: I'm not interested in catching the last crab.

You know, I'm interested in hopefully if I have kids one day, them being able to make a living doing this if they so choose, and I hope that the days I think are the glory days now are nothing compared to what they're going to see.

[Bright guitar music with chimes]