Inside the nearby maritime museum, Ian Jones, 16, is growing sea grasses.
It's his Eagle Scout project. Every week he replenishes the water in two shallow tubs and tests the pH.
Grasses are critical for the bay, providing shelter for blue crabs and young striped bass, plus food for waterfowl. And because they're sensitive to changes in water quality, they're an excellent barometer of bay health.
Out on the Susquehanna Flats - the river delta - the grasses cover 23 square miles, dense enough to be visible in satellite photos.
Scientists don't know all the reasons for the comeback of the grasses, but they feel certain that one is less nitrogen from the Susquehanna. Monitors upstream show a 25 percent drop in the last two decades.
Healthy grass beds improve water even further by filtering out sediment and nutrients.
"The first thing that strikes me is how clear the water is," says Lee Karrh, a biologist with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. "Then, the abundance of life."
But the grasses are a small beacon in a gloomy picture.
The bay's deeper channels in particular are where its problems remain most troublesome. They are low-oxygen dead zones where little can survive. And the crab and oyster industries remain much reduced.
"The river is running cleaner, but not nearly clean enough," says Rich Batiuk, associate director of science for the Chesapeake Bay Program.
A cleaned-up bay would have more dissolved oxygen to support aquatic life, the water would be clear and free of chemical contaminants, underwater bay grasses would flourish, tidal wetlands would be abundant and productive. Above all, the bay's oysters, blue crabs, and fish would rebound and thrive.
Gone fishin'
"Watch this," Logan Myers says, grinning in anticipation.
