A free symposium on the health and future of Baffin Bay will be held from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, June 28 at the Del Mar Center for Economic Development, 3209 S. Staples Street. Open to the public, the symposium features a slate of experts who have been conducting research on the bay. 
Thanks to a team of volunteers — some armed with boats — scientists from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi are three years into what could be a six-year study of the bay. The study began after reports of fish kills, emaciated black drum populations and prolonged brown tide algal blooms in the area in 2012 and 2013. 
“The volunteers play an integral role, taking us out on boats and helping us take samples,” said Dr. Michael Wetz, Associate Professor of Marine Biology at TAMU-CC. “We could not have collected the data without them.”
More volunteers are needed as the study continues, Wetz said, especially those with boats that can handle the open waters of Baffin Bay. 
“What happens, is we meet with volunteers, bring them into the lab and show them how to do some of what we do,” Wetz continued. “If they demonstrate a capability of working with what we show them, they get incorporated with other volunteers.”
Anyone interested in volunteering should contact lead volunteer Scott Murray at baffinbay@grandecom.net.
HOW BAD IS THE WATER?
So far, study results have shown that the bay is facing serious water quality issues. Excessive algal growth caused by an excess nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus, coupled with increased water temperatures have lead to the growth of brown algae. 
“From a fisheries standpoint, it seems okay,” Wetz said. “But as to water quality I would say it’s not great and it appears over the past several decades that quality has declined.”
Two recent reports of Vibrio vulnificus infections in people who swan in the Gulf on beaches in Galveston and Port Aransas cannot be directly linked to the current increase of algal growth, but it could be in the future. Vibrio vulnificus is a deadly flesh-eating bacteria that often leads to amputations and even death.
“Vibrio likes these enriched conditions,” Wetz said. “The water quality study doesn't a direct link to that, but these types of conditions are where these systems become enriched over time and support bacterial growth.”
The most direct way to positively affect water quality in Baffin Bay is to reduce the amount t of nutrients washing into it.
“We can’t do anything about the water temperature,” Wetz said. “The nutrients we can do something about.” 
One suggestion is to add wetland plants along riparian buffer zones, the streams and creeks that carry water into the bay. The plants act as a natural filter, soaking up pollutants before they can collect in the bay. 
Holding a symposium to educate people about the problem and its possible solutions is just a first step in improving water quality in Baffin Bay. 
“We want people to understand that we have a much better understanding of the challenges Baffin Bay is facing,” Wetz said. “We want people to learn about the problem, get interested in this issue and inform other folks. Then we can start down the path of restoring Baffin Bay to better health.” 
Reservations are not needed to attend the symposium. For more information, visit the symposium’s Facebook event page.